Alpha Consumer
-
Making Financial New Year's Resolutions
Continue reading… 9 CommentsAs the New Year begins, I asked some of my favorite personal finance bloggers to share their money-related goals for 2008. I was most inspired by the resolutions related to dreams—saving for a trip to Italy, quitting a day job to work on a passion, or sending a soon-to-be-born son to college. So much personal finance talk relates to problems, such as paying off debt or saving for an emergency fund. Sometimes stepping back and considering the big picture is a welcome break. Here's to a year of turning those dreams into reality.
Boomie at the Wastrel Show: My goal for 2008 is to save up enough money to visit my family in Italy once again. I met most of them for the first time last year and promised to return this year. Because of the falling dollar and rising euro, the same exact trip this year costs $3,500, compared to $2,500 last year. Since I live debt free and do not use credit, it will take me longer to save the money. My revised goal is to see them every 18 months.
-
Study: Costco Customers Are Irrational
Continue reading… 156 CommentsIf you find yourself drawn to membership-based stores such as Sam's Club or Costco, which charge customers a fee for the ability to shop there, because you believe they save you money, you are not alone. But you also may be wrong, at least some of the time.
According to new research from Harvard Business School, paying a fee to shop leads people to think they are saving money even when they aren't. The researchers acknowledge that membership stores do often sell products at a discount. By their calculation, one New England Costco was 9.5 percent cheaper than a nearby Wal-Mart.
-
Credit Card Companies Share Personal Information
Continue reading… 7 CommentsDear Alpha Consumer,
As the owner of a Chase credit card, I recently received the Chase Privacy Policy in the mail. I was surprised to read that even if I request that my personal information not be shared, Chase may share it anyway. Why does Chase ask me if I want to share my information if they are going to do so even if I tell them not to? Does asking them not to share my information mean anything? Is there anything I can do stop them from sharing my information?
After getting my hands on a copy of the Chase privacy policy, I asked the company to explain itself. After all, on the face of it, a policy informing you that you basically have no choice about where your information goes is a bit disconcerting. Does signing up for a Chase credit card mean you are doomed to receive dozens of advertisements from other companies that suddenly know your name and address and, possibly, your buying habits?
-
Do Women Work Harder?
Continue reading… 9 CommentsAn E-mail with an intriguing subject line landed in my in box the other day: "Women must work harder, UVA sociology study says." If this were true, that women did, indeed, have to work harder than their male counterparts, then it would all but confirm the words of Canadian feminist Charlotte Whitton, printed on mugs and magnets around the country: "Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult."
As someone who grew up drinking tea out of a mug that said just that, I was eager to read this study. And after doing so, I'm not sure it does support the phrase.
-
So, What Would Jesus Buy?
Continue reading… 3 CommentsIf you're feeling overwhelmed by shopping this month, What Would Jesus Buy? is the movie for you. By equating elaborate gift giving with consumerism gone wild, it will help you justify the impulse to stop buying presents altogether.
Morgan Spurlock, who also brought us the documentary Super Size Me, produced the film that follows the character "Reverend Billy," the alter ego of consumer advocate Bill Talen, leader of the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, across the United States in an attempt to get people to retire their plastic and, instead, simply enjoy each other's company over the holidays.
-
Student Loans Can Ruin Parents' Credit
Continue reading… 9 CommentsDear Alpha Consumer,
I cosigned for student loans for my children, as they could not get financing on their own when they went to college. In addition, I have also taken out student loans for them in my name. We have found that the education loan companies work differently than most business creditors. They do not offer as long a grace period for your monthly payment and report you to credit bureaus very quickly. On a couple of occasions, my children have been late making a loan payment. These incidents were reported to the credit bureau, and my credit score has dropped as a result. We have tried to replace these loans but have been unable to find a lender willing to do so. I am sure I am not the only parent in this situation. Any advice you might have would be very much appreciated.
You did a nice thing for your children by letting them put your name on their loans. Unfortunately, they are doing a not-so-nice thing to you.
From the lenders' perspective, it doesn't matter that you seem to have an arrangement with your children that requires them to make the monthly payments, even though your name is on the loan. To the lenders, you took out the loan, so you are responsible. If your children are going to make late payments, then it will hurt your credit score, and the only way to get around it is to make the payments for them—something you probably don't want to do.
-
Moving Back With Parents Takes Planning
Continue reading… 3 CommentsFor this week's magazine, I wrote about retired parents who provide financial support to their adult children. It's a pretty common phenomenon, with about 4 in 10 adults age 60 or older giving money to their kids. In addition to assisting with cash, some parents let their grown children live with them or offer free baby-sitting. Many of the 20- and 30-something "children" I spoke with said they couldn't make ends meet without the help.
I know where they're coming from. After I finished graduate school, I moved back home with my parents for just over a year. I paid them $400 a month in rent, but it was nothing compared with what I was getting in return: a fridge filled with food, a warm house, plus parents who would hang out with me when I wanted. (By my mid-20s, I was old enough to appreciate their company again.) If I had had to get an apartment, it would have cost me at least $1,000 a month.
-
Playing the Returns Game
Continue reading… 0 CommentsWhen my new Dell laptop arrived this fall, I couldn't wait to turn it on and start using it. But first I had to spend an hour on the phone with my Internet service provider because the new computer wasn't compatible with my wireless modem. Then I had to devote two Saturdays in a row on the phone with Dell customer service trying to figure out why the computer shut off and started beeping if I left it on longer than an hour when plugged in.
Eventually, I gave up and returned the computer. That required several more phone calls and standing in a long post office line to ship it back. Now, after speaking with retail experts, I realize that I made several mistakes, including waiting too long to ask for a supervisor and not being clear enough in my requests, that made the process even more painful than it had to be. Luckily, there are strategies that can prevent shoppers—one third of whom will be returning gifts they receive over the holidays, according to the National Retail Federation—from wasting as much time as I did.
-
Gift Cards: No Longer Bad Presents
Continue reading… 4 CommentsGift cards, once disdained as a last-resort present, are now almost as ubiquitous this season as the scent of scotch pine. Shoppers are expected to spend $35 billion on gift cards over the holidays, a 25 percent increase over last year and a doubling since 2004, according to Archstone Consulting.
The jump is partly because retailers have all but eliminated many of the former drawbacks of the cards, such as expiration dates, declining values, and fraud. Dave Sievers, consumer practice leader at Archstone, says most stores now use technology that adds the cash value of the card at the register. That prevents shoppers from coming home only to find that the value of their gift cards had already been used up by fraudsters.
-
Online Shopping Raises Ethical Dilemma
Continue reading… 30 CommentsMy friend Nader Iskandar, co-owner of the Book Cellar & Café bookstore in Plymouth, Mich., was recently complaining to me about the customers who browse his shelves, especially the political section, which he spends hours arranging, only to leave the store without buying anything. They often write down titles as they walk around, and Iskandar assumes that they go home and order the books off the Internet.
To him, this behavior is unfair and takes advantage of him and his hardworking staff. I have to admit that I have been guilty of doing it in the past and never gave it a second thought. After all, I want to buy what I need at the cheapest price possible, and if that means browsing in person only to buy online, why not? But speaking with Iskandar made me question the ethics of that approach. I asked him more about his views and would love to hear your own take on the subject as well. Is it wrong to glean information from local stores and then buy online? Please post your comments below.
