True to his word, Skancke leaves alliance after short stint

When Tom Skancke was appointed the first president and CEO of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, he told the board members who hired him that he wasn’t in for the long haul. He was true to his word.

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How girl, 8, became mini-mogul

SHE’S only eight years old, but young entrepreneur Lyla Black is taking New York by storm, creating a range of stuffed toys only a kid could imagine.

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10 Things You Should Never Buy Used

It’s tempting to accept a secondhand crib from relatives or friends, but beware: Many of them have been recalled or discontinued because of major safety issues, even as recently as 2011. Photo: Cody Long

Whether you’re trying to save money or be less wasteful in general, shopping at secondhand stores, garage sales, and flea markets is a good strategy. Not only do you get to save an item from the landfill, but you can usually pay a fraction of the retail cost.

Of course, some items work better than others when it comes to a second life. Used gym equipment, tables, and dishes make great secondhand buys, for example. Not only can you clean them up easily, but a quick wash can leave them in “like new” condition. Likewise, used clothing can also be an excellent value. After paying pennies on the dollar for your new shirt or skirt, all you need to is throw it in the washer.

10 Items You Shouldn’t Buy Secondhand

But some items aren’t meant to be bought, used, and resold. Sometimes there’s a safety issue or hazard, other times it’s the unknown that poses the greatest risk. Here are 10 items you should never buy used unless you understand the risks:

Baby Cribs

After multiple baby and toddler deaths, the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned drop side cribs in 2011. Meanwhile, many other crib bans and safety recalls have taken place due to hazards such as lead paint, strangulation, or other dangers. If you’re unsure of whether a used crib has been recalled, you can conduct some research on your own at CPSC.gov.

Car Seats

Although used car seats can be bought for pennies on the dollar, that doesn’t always make them a good value. Not only do car seats have an expiration date or “shelf life” you should pay attention to, but there is often no way to know if a car seat has been damaged or compromised.

The fact that safety technology improves every year is another reason to just buy new if you’re in doubt. If you do choose to buy used, you should at least buy from someone you know who can verify that seat has never been involved in an accident.

Mattresses

Good mattresses are very expensive, so buying one used might seem like a good deal, but it rarely is. Although you’ll save a bundle upfront, a used mattress will almost always have bodily fluids, dust mites, and pounds of dead skin embedded deep in the fabric. Even worse, a mattress infested with bed bugs could easily cost you thousands of dollars in extermination fees. The Environmental Protection Agency lists some telltale signs you can list for when checking for bed bugs, but they certainly aren’t foolproof.

Makeup

While it’s generally okay to buy unopened makeup from an individual, you should never buy makeup that has been used in any capacity. Why? Because used makeup harbors all kinds of bacteria that you don’t want near your ears, eyes, and mouth. Yuck. 

Vacuum Cleaners

Have you ever heard of someone unloading a vacuum that still works great? Yeah, me neither. Most people sell their vacuums and get a new one when their old one stops doing its job. Plus, you never know what that vacuum was used for, and how many dust mites and bacteria are lurking inside. If you’re looking to save money on a vacuum cleaner, try a factory refurbished or reconditioned model or check the scratch-and-dent section.

Shoes

Although it might be fine to purchase lightly worn used footwear, experts warn against buying used shoes that have been worn on a regular basis. Since shoes mold to their owner’s feet, a heavily used pair could cause you pain or even health problems over time.

Baby Bottles

While “newer” used bottles might be fine after you sanitize them, experts caution against stocking up on bottles that are more than a few years old. Why? Because many older bottles contain BPA – a chemical that was banned for use in baby bottles by the FDA in 2012. If you’re unsure whether a used bottle is BPA-free, you’re better off buying new.

Worn Cookware

While sturdy pots and pans may be an exception, you should never buy a piece of cookware with a flaky or worn non-stick coating. The chemicals contained in non-stick coatings such as Teflon can leech out into your food while you’re cooking. In other words, the savings you earn by buying used cookware might come with a side of unsavory chemicals and potential carcinogens.

Upholstered Furniture

Similar to used mattresses, used furniture is often home to dust mites, bacteria, and even bed bugs. And since you can’t throw a used sofa in the washer, you may never get it 100% clean. The bottom line: Only buy upholstered furniture from someone whose cleanliness you trust – not from strangers!

Hats

Although used hats can cost pennies on the dollar compared to new, that doesn’t make them a good bargain. The fact is, used hats may have never been washed – and may even be impossible to wash. Therefore, a used hat will usually contain someone’s hair, dead skin, and sweat — not to mention the potential for head lice. Ewww.

If you’re shopping secondhand to save, you’re definitely on the right track. Still, there are times when buying used presents a huge hazard or risk that makes the savings a moot point. The next time you’re shopping for a secondhand item, ask yourself these questions:

• Will this item fit in my washer?
• Can I clean and sanitize this item thoroughly?
• Can I verify its history?
• Do I know this item is safe?

If you answer “no” to any of these questions, you’re probably better off sucking it up and buying new. Because sometimes, the savings just aren’t worth it.

What items would you add to the list? What items do you refuse to buy secondhand?

The post 10 Things You Should Never Buy Used appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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What Growing Up in a Korean Household Taught Me About Money

Are you familiar with the term TCK, or third-culture kid? It’s a term used to describe people who were raised outside of their parents’ culture for a majority of their lives.

My father is Pakistani and my mother is Korean. We lived in Korea until I was three years old, and then we moved to Hong Kong. My father was happy for my mom to raise my brother and with Korean values and ideals, so our household was largely dictated by Korean traditions. My mother had seen a lot of TCKs grow up to feel indifferent towards their home cultures, or even worse, have a confused sense of identity, so she made sure I grew up with a sense of belonging and commitment to Korean culture.

Out of all the important things my family has taught me, it’s their approach to money that I find myself relying on regularly. As I learned in my travels, Koreans look at money in a totally different way than people in other countries. The attitude towards money in Hong Kong is very similar to that in Korea, so I didn’t realize that my money habits were different than those of others I met until I moved to India for high school. It was an international boarding school, so I met people from all over the world and with completely different ideals. And when I came to the United States for college, I finally figured out how much my upbringing shaped my views on money.

The money habits my mom instilled in me wound up defining my entire approach to personal finance. Here are the rules I’ve always lived by — rules that anyone can apply to help save money.

1. Never Waste Food

Want to really annoy my family? Have a meal with us but don’t finish it.

Wasting food was a sin in our household, and we were expected to eat everything on our plate, down to the very last grain of rice. While this was sometimes frustrating, I’ve kept this mindset throughout my life. I cringe whenever I see a friend fail to finish a meal or – even worse – throw out good food.

It’s funny because some of my friends always made it a point to joke about how I ate like a starved child. But to me, it was pretty much second nature. My mom once told me that even leaving a spoonful of food on my plate would accumulate to a massive amount of waste if I did it constantly. Hearing this made me feel guilty enough to never waste food again, as long as it was edible.

2.  Save as Much as Possible

Going back generations, my family always strived to save everything we could to make enormous purchases and prepare for possible emergencies. Most other Korean families were the same way. We were all expected to save for the future while forgoing some of the minor luxuries other people might be enjoying.

In fact, saving money in Korea is so important that Savings Day is a national event marked on Korean calendars. Although economic uncertainty has dropped the national savings rate from a high of nearly 25% in 1988 to 3.4% in 2012, savings is always at the back of our minds. And there’s almost a sense of guilt when we spend instead of save.

As a kid, this was frustrating because my mom used to take away all my birthday money and new year’s blessing money. Even when I worked during college, she used to make me save 80% of my monthly income. I used to complain that she was cutting down my expenditures as if she was a professional cost auditor, because she really was ruthless when it came down to minimizing our spending.

This is mainly because she was born in the ‘50s, when Korea was still one of the poorest countries in the world (the per capita income during those days was even lower than Iraq, Liberia and Zimbabwe). It’s funny because, now that I’m an adult, I’m glad I was taught this. It took a good two decades for me to finally understand why she was so adamant about saving as much as possible.

Family is the center of life in Korea. With these close ties, it’s common for several generations to live together – including adult children. In the West, living at home after college often has a negative stigma, but that doesn’t exist in Korea. By living with our families, we’re able to scrimp and save enough for the future, thinking long term and toughing it out in the short term.

3. Only Use Cash

Growing up, if we didn’t have cash for something, we didn’t buy it. By not using credit, we were able to live within our means and only buy the essentials. Not all debt is bad, of course, but that’s how we chose to live.

This aversion to debt has stayed with me to this day, despite my expensive but rewarding decision to study in the U.S. I was lucky enough to not need any student loans, but as an international student, my application process required financial statements as proof to show that I had access to at least a year’s worth of tuition up front — in cash.

Korea has had a number of financial crises in my lifetime, which saw many heavily in-debt companies fail spectacularly. Each one of these crises seems to scare people away from using credit for a while. That’s beginning to change, as younger Koreans have recently become more accepting of debt. My mother, however, still believes cash is king. I now have a credit card for convenience, but I always make sure to pay off the balance in full, and on time.

4. Bargain for Everything You Possibly Can

The art of haggling is a skill that most Koreans pride themselves on. Prices aren’t always set in stone, and if there’s a chance we can save some money, we’re going to at least make an attempt.

Most streets in Korea are lined with street vendors, and there is an abundance of market-style shopping complexes where you can haggle for anything from clothes to electronic gadgets. In addition, it’s not uncommon for people to negotiate their rent or even phone service plans. And every local Korean knows that you can haggle with restaurant servers for extra food or karaoke establishments for extra hours.

Outsiders might find this whole ordeal stressful and possibly even offensive to the seller, but it’s nothing like that. It’s a good-natured discussion where both the buyer and the seller try to come away happy with the deal. There are some theatrics involved, with fake pouting and feigned shock about the initial price quoted, but it’s all part of the game, and I’ve played it many times before.

5. Always Live Frugally

You might be surprised considering the flashiness of some of our K-Pop stars, but Koreans as a whole like to live frugally regardless of the size of their salaries — especially for older generations. My parents taught me to be humble and always save for a rainy day. Most of my friends were brought up the same way.

As tempting as it is to buy fun — yet frivolous — things, this lesson from my family made a huge impact on me. Discipline is an important part of our culture. In the 1990s, the government even launched a nationwide frugality campaign to steer people away from buying expensive luxury goods. The movement was so successful that it drew complaints from the U.S. and Europe, who produced most of these products.

That goes to show just how much we value frugality.

Lessons Learned

I’ve carried these lessons from my family with me across the world, and they’ve never done me wrong. They’ve helped me take care of myself and my money. For that, I want to give a big thanks to my family for everything they’ve taught me. I can’t imagine where I’d be — financially or otherwise — without them.

Your Turn: What money lessons did you learn growing up? How have they helped you manage your finances as an adult?

Anum Yoon started and maintains Current on Currency, where she shares her hard-earned insights on money management. You can follow her on Twitter @anumyoon.

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