Category — Budgeting

I have always known that I LOVE a bargain but lately I have been realizing I have a cap on what I can reasonably spend on items.  Beyond that cap I am almost incapable of making the purchase.

For instance if I am shopping for tops at the mall, my cap is $30.  If the top is less than $20 is is a great deal and I can buy it no problem.  If it is $20-$25 I am pretty much debating in my head whether I will wear it enough to make it worth the money spent.  If it is $25-$30 I will only buy it if I absolutely LOVE the shirt and the quality is excellent so I know it will wear well.  Beyond $30 I will always wait until it goes on sale, because a top is not worth $30 to me.

When I wanted the Dyson vacuum I realized that it was a very expensive purchase and I pretty much wouldn’t buy it without the discount I got from putting it on my registry.  But at one point I had considered buying a refurbished one at Big Lots because of the unbelievable value.

We got a Big Lots near my house about 6 months ago.  I am not a big fan of Big Lots.  It never seems like there is any quality items there and I am not into driving out of my way to save $.50 on a bottle of soap.  But I do peruse the circulars once a week just in case there is something that jumps at me.  I had never noticed before that they sell high end vacuums and steam mops for about half the price.  The catch is that they are “Factory Reconditioned”.

For instance the ad claims that the Shark Steam Mop is normally $99 (no model number listed) and is on sale for $55. But it is “Factory Reconditioned with Manufacturer’s Warranty”.  Can you trust that the product is still reliable?  The warranty makes you feel like it is a better deal but it is a hassle if the thing does break?

In the Big Lots ads I have seen hand-held vacuum cleaners, mops, high end vacuums like the Dyson and electric brooms all at unbelievable prices … but all reconditioned.  So is saving the money up front worth taking a risk that is will break?

Have you bought a “refurbished” or “reconidtioned” item before?  What was your experience?  Do you think taking the risk of buying something refurbished is worth the savings you get in return?

Texting services are marked up up to 6,500% sometimes, reports CNN.

Today there was a really interesting article on CNN’s website called America’s Biggest Rip-Offs.  It was a list of products we frequently buy that have astronomical markups.  It was good to know where you should definitely not spend your money.

Here are a few highlights …

• Text Messaging - Costs your wireless carrier one third of a cent to deliver but the customer gets charged 10 cents incoming, and 10 cents outgoing.  Even with unlimited texting plans the carrier is making a big profit!
• Movie Theater Snacks - Theaters don’t make much off of ticket sales so they mark up snacks for profit.  I think most of us figured this out when they saw a price tag of $5 on a box of Gummy Bears.  It’s always good to remember how much those gummies cost at Walgreens when you are tempted for a sweet treat.
• Free Credit Report Websites - These sites charge monthly fees to regularly check your credit report when you can get your credit report from the Federal Trade Commission free once a year.  Warning - They automatically charge you for the monthly service when you check your credit report on freecreditreport.com
• Name Brand Pain Medicine - CNN notes that a name brand, like Advil, has a 160% markup on their products.  Always buy generic.  It is the same stuff for a lot less.
• Wine at Restaurants - CNN reports that restaurants mark up cheaper bottles by an average of three times the retail price.  You might want to only splurge on wine at dinner once in a while because once again you are not getting your money’s worth.
• Read the rest of the article at CNN, for the other tips.  It is a good reminder to the consumer, that you are not always getting what you pay for.

My personal computer at home is a Dell I rescued from an old job and had my tech savy Mr. Juicefairy fix up for me.  But it’s outdated now and slow … and makes an incredibly loud whirring noise.  I have been wanting to upgrade to this bad boy for a while now but I just don’t have the extra cash right now.

Then yesterday Mr. Juicefairy mentioned that a coworker got a new netbook and suggested it might be something to look into.  I have been doing some research and read that the netbook is being marketed as a companion to your everyday computer, mostly because it is small.  But I have read that in actuality it could easily be someone’s main computer, especially for the person who can’t afford a computer otherwise.   Here is the breakdown on a netbook vs. a laptop:

1. The screen size is small on a netbook maxing out at 10″.  Smaller than this will not allow you to view an entire web browser and you would have to scroll left and right (annoying) but a 10″ screen is a decent enough size for most work.
   I work with Mr. Juicefairy on his photography business and I wouldn’t be able to do much work on photos since the screen is so small.  But I am using our Studio XPS Dell for that anyway, not my old computer, so I have those needs covered.  I really only use my computer for bills, word docs, listening to itunes, blogging, and surfing the web — all things you can do on the smaller screen. Plus I could probably dock the small netbook at my desk and use my bigger screen if need be, right?
   
   
2. The netbooks are very light, compact and very power efficient.  You can use the battery for 5-6 hours without recharging.
   This is awesome because my whole reason for wanting a laptop is so I can carry it with me to work anywhere … even maybe just to sit in the living room with the TV on.  Mr. Juicefairy’s old wide screen laptop would almost always die too quickly and I would have the stupid power cord to maneuver around.  A widescreen laptop is bulky as well and not very comfortable to travel with.
3. Netbooks have a lower hard drive speed, processor speed and less graphics memory, so processor heavy work like working on graphics and video can get slow.  Intel claims that this also hinders multitasking which is generally true when talking about lower processor speeds. However, Gadget Mix claims he uses his “netbook for everything. Even for heavy duty tasks like audio editing and video editing”. “The Atom CPU provides more than enough power for my needs.”  You can read what else he has to say about the netbook’s power here.
   Like I mentioned before I won’t be using my computer for anything more processor heavy than he claims in his article, so it is worth buying a more expensive computer to accommodate more power that I don’t need?
4. Also mentioned is that the keyboard is a bit small which can be annoying for someone with larger hands but on the plus side is has great connectivity — WiFi is built in and some have Bluetooth so you can utilize your 3G mobile internet.
5. Netbooks dont have a CD or DVD drive.  This may be a big loss for some computer users.
   Personally, I have another computer at home with a DVD and CD drive if I need it and I honestly can’t remember the last time I put a CD or DVD into my computer at home.
6. The biggest reason to go for a netbook is affordable price.  For a $300 you can have a new computer.  This is great for families that normally couldn’t afford one, students going off to college, seniors that really just want to email their relatives but don’t need a lot of power.

I haven’t really made up my mind on what I want yet.  Maybe I will check them out at the store and play a bit to see how comfortable I am.  One option is a refurbished Dell laptop, which will save me money but give me the extra screen size and power.  So the question is whether the few inches of screen is worth $200?  Hmmm.

What are your thoughts?

Have I mentioned that Mr. Juicefairy and I got iPhones.  We have been waiting for six months for our old cellphone contract to expire so we could make the move to AT&T and buy our new favorite gadget.  It has its flaws (more on that soon) but overall they are pretty brilliant and we are addicted to them.  We come home and brag about the new apps we’ve downloaded, twitter during dinner (p.s follow juicefairy on twitter) and even sleep with them under our pillows … ok not the last thing.

I’ve wanted to get some accessories for mine but I spent so much on the phone already I needed to find a bargain.  So I hit up this new comparative shopping website called pebble.com

First I searched for skins on Pebble and a bunch of cute colored ones popped up that were all competitively priced.  After flipping a bit I found a blue one for a dime!  Um yeah, $.10!  So I click on the link and it brings me to Amazon, the vendor selling the skin, and the price had actually dropped to $.01!  Now it does have a $2.50 shipping fee.  But that still means the skin is 2.51!  These are typically priced at Office Max for $20 a pop.

Then I decided to search for a car charger.  I found a car accessory kit for only $7.48.  Great price, but I had never heard of the brand so I was skeptical.  One of the things I like about Pebble is that they have included a forum so you can ask other shoppers questions about the product.  It takes all the guess-work out of shopping.

Can’t wait to get my iPhone accessories.  Try out Pebble.com and let me know what you think.

I have been meaning to tell this story for a while now.  More than a few months back our car got totaled.  We were rear ended while getting off the highway and in turn hit someone else, who hit someone else.  Luckily it wasn’t too bad and no one got hurt but we did have to start shopping for a car immediately.

We ended up really liking a slightly used Honda Accord that we found at a Chevrolet dealership.  It was about an hour away so Mr. Juicefairy worked with a salesman via email to get the price where we were comfortable.  Then when it was time to see the car we made the hour drive after work to take a look.

The salesman who was helping us pretty much had the worst attitude ever.  He made it seem as though he were doing us a favor, since we were getting a decent deal on the price, rather than treating us as a customer bringing him much needed business.  Since the economy has hammered the automotive industry you would assume they would a little grateful for a sale.  The uncomfortable customer service almost stopped us from buying the car but it was such a good deal we decided to move ahead anyway.

The car only came with one key, which was annoying because it has keyless entry and having a new key made is pretty costly.  The salesman surprised us by saying he would contact the last owner and see if they had the other key to pass along.  Weeks passed and although the prior owner had delivered the key he had still not mailed it.  When he finally did mail it he threw it in a regular paper envelope, rather than something that could hold something heavy, so the key of course fell out in the mail and we got an envelope sans key.  We called him to complain and he said they would only give us half of what it cost to replace the key since he was doing us a favor by getting us the key in the first place.

At this point we were pretty annoyed and decided to send a complaint letter to his manager.  Worst case scenario is that they would just ignore us, but we were hoping they would at least replace the key that was lost.  Mr. Juicefairy used this template to draft a complaint letter and mailed it direct to the manager of the dealership.

To our surprise, the manager wrote us back with an apology, offered to cover the key fully and also sent us two gift certificates to Chili’s for a total of $50.  That letter, which cost nothing, saved us about $75 on that key and got us a free dinner.  We were just happy to get the key but by them going above and beyond it made us feel not just vindicated, but like we were valued customers.  We would probably consider buying a car from them in the future now just because of this gesture.

Moral of the story is that it never hurts to ask.  There is no shame in admitting you were unhappy with the service you received and letting someone know you expected more.  Because in the end, the customer is not always necessarily right, but should be treated with respect none the less.

Remember these things when writing your complaint letter:

1. Read it over carefully to make sure your letter is not too aggressive.  No one wants to help someone with a bad attitude.  So write your letter and then take a day.  Go back to it later and see if the letter is still diplomatic and courteous while getting your disappointment across
2. Type your letter and make sure to spell check.  Just like a resume you want your letter to be taken seriously.  Bad spelling and typos may keep that from happening.
3. Include receipts and other documentation that help your case.  Make sure to send copies and not originals.
4. Make sure you are writing to someone that can actually help you.  Sending the complaint letter to the right person is important if you want action taken.