Search results for Bargaineering
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Posted
Dec 31 2007, 08:36 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This devil's advocate post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. What do Suze Orman, Robert Kiyosaki, David Bach and every other so-called personal-finance expert have in common? They don't know you, but they know exactly what's wrong with you and how to fix it. Orman thinks you're a moron, that you need tough love, and that those 0% financing offers from Ford are awesome. Kiyosaki says you're like his poor dad, you should aspire to be like his rich dad (who apparently isn't real), and that you should buy one of his books. Bach thinks, without the indignation that comes with Orman, that you should get out of your own way and make things automatic. I think you should ignore personal-finance experts -- all of them. You might think this is a self-serving devil's advocate post -- and it is, because personal- finance bloggers aren't experts. Then again, bloggers don't treat you badly and tell you how you need a wake-up call. Bloggers just write about themselves and invite you to check out how normal and bad at personal finance we are. Experts are a totally different animal, and here's why you should ignore them.
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Posted
Mar 04 2008, 05:26 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. A trimmable expense is one that fulfills a want rather than a need. Buying fruits and vegetables is not a trimmable; buying chocolate-covered fruit is. While you could go through all of your expenses and try to eliminate everything that is discretionary, you might find yourself enjoying life less and less. Trimmables, while not required, are there to help you live life and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Rather than cutting out a trimmable, consider reducing either its quantity or frequency. Spa treatments may seem frivolous, but if they are valuable in reducing stress, cutting them out entirely may not be a smart move in the long run. If you go every week, consider visiting every other week. If you go every other week, consider going every three weeks. Don't cut it out entirely. Reduce it so you can save a little but not lose the recuperative effects.
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Posted
Mar 11 2008, 06:08 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. If your employer offers tuition reimbursement and you're not taking advantage of it, you're leaving a tremendous amount of value on the table each year. In the two jobs I've had since graduating college in 2003, I've been lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to pursue higher education in return for sacrificing some of my time. At my first job, every education dollar I spent was fully reimbursed (you were allowed to take two classes a semester, or six a year) with no requirements afterward. In my second job, I was afforded $5,000 a year with some continuation-of-work requirements. Through both programs a majority of my MBA was paid for. In both cases, I took advantage of reimbursement to the fullest extent possible. If you have this opportunity, you should too.
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Posted
May 13 2008, 06:52 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. When I was young, I used to write a fake company name on all sorts of papers to make it look like my company stationery, as if I were a big-swinging successful entrepreneur like Andrew Carnegie. We'd play football in the streets and pretend to be Joe Montana throwing yet another touchdown pass to Jerry Rice. We'd tackle each other in the field and pretend we were LT (no, not Ladainian Tomlinson -- the real LT, Mr. Lawrence Taylor) getting Joe Theisman, minus the snapping leg.
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Posted
May 27 2008, 06:27 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. -- Sun Tzu's "Art of War" In this post, I'm going to try to identify a salesperson's tools, why they work, and what you can do to defend against them whenever you're going to make a purchase.
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Posted
Jun 24 2008, 05:45 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity: Do you want to know how I shaved nearly 13% off my college costs? I took Advanced Placement classes. I graduated college a semester early in part because I had loaded up on AP classes while I was in high school. Someone got it into my head that I could take AP classes for free (not counting the nominal fee for the exam) and get college credit for getting high marks on the AP tests. At the time, my brain wasn't thinking, "Oh, I can save money on college," but rather, "I can spend time now and have it count twice -- once in high school and once in college," so it was in part the bit of hustle inside of me that spurred me to action.
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Posted
Jul 22 2008, 07:25 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. With presidential hopeful Barack Obama mentioning a potential second economic-stimulus check, many folks are clamoring to know more. Unfortunately, there's not much else to say about it other than that he'd push for one in the short term. I, however, offer a different solution. In order to find an additional $600, you need only cut $50 in spending a month. In reality, that comes out to only $11.54 a week. Reduce your spending by $11.54 a week and you will have created your own stimulus check. That's it. Can you do it? I'm betting that you can, and here are some recommendations for what you might want to trim.
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Posted
Aug 05 2008, 05:13 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity: I've never liked having debt because I've always felt uncomfortable owing someone money. When it comes to major purchases like a home, it's usually unavoidable; but for smaller-ticket items, I avoid debt like the plague because I know it's a slippery slope. You start owing a little here, a little there, and the next thing you know you're making large monthly payments with little to show for it. But we've all been there; we all slip up. Whether it's eating too much at a meal, spending too much when you're out with friends, or something else, stuff happens and you deal. Well, if debt happened and you're looking for some tips on how to get it unhappened, I'd like you to check out these 10 steps I've learned over the years.
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Posted
Aug 18 2008, 11:15 PM
by
Ryan MacClanathan
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial
Prosperity.
Upselling is when a salesperson
tries to sell you something more expensive than what you are already buying.
Cross-selling is when a salesperson tries to sell you something that is related
to or can be integrated into whatever you're already buying.
A prime example is a digital camera.
If you were buying a 5-megapixel camera, an upsell would be an offer of a 7-megapixel
camera at a reduced price. A cross-sell would be offering a camera case,
digital printing services, printers or even just printer paper. Upselling and
cross-selling are crucial parts of the sales process because you've already
identified yourself as someone willing to buy something. Now it's just a matter
of convincing you to buy more.
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Posted
Nov 04 2008, 05:08 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity: For the last 10 years, certificates of deposit have gotten a terrible rap. Interest rates were low compared with the blockbuster returns of the stock market, and you were locked into that CD for 12, 24 or even 60 months, all making it an unappealing investment option. For many, CDs came up in financial conversation only when you were talking about laddering an emergency fund because protecting principal was your No. 1 goal. Times have changed. CDs have once again come into vogue as investors have plowed hundreds of billions of dollars into the CD market. Here are three good reasons you should save with CDs and three reasons why you shouldn't.
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