الثلاثاء، 1 سبتمبر 2015
McCarran seen as fifth fastest-growing U.S. airport in next decade
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WIN a $250 cabi Clothing Gift Card
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Aussies snubbed over all-day brekky
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How much should you have saved for retirement?
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County weighs allowing resort cinemas to serve alcohol
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Google Declares War On App Install Problem It Helped Create
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How to Save Money on a Car Seat, Without Compromising Your Child’s Safety
As a parent, there are a lot of baby and child expenses you can’t — or simply don’t want to — skimp on. Especially ones that are safety-related, intended to protect your child.
But safety can come with a big price tag, as some parents in New Jersey are discovering this week.
The state just updated its car seat rules for babies and kids, mandating that infants can’t be flipped from a rear-facing car seat to a forward-facing one around their first birthday, as most parents are accustomed to. Now, children have to stay in those rear-facing seats until age 2, or until they pass 30 pounds.
A new rule like this can lead to a bit of backseat juggling: you’ve got to make sure your kids are in the right car seat for the right amount of time, which could even mean buying another car seat.
What’s a stressed-out parent to do?
Some penny-hoarding parents might turn to secondhand sources to make sure their car seat needs are covered. But is buying a used car seat safe?
We took a look at the rules of the road for car-seat shopping.
Is Buying a Used Car Seat Safe?
Every state has its own rules for child safety seats, and those aren’t exactly rules you want to mess with. Plus, violating safety seat laws comes with hefty fines and sometimes points on your license.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t save money when you’re investing in a car seat or booster for your little loved one. Here’s what you need to know about buying and selling used car seats.
Car seats have expiration dates: It’s different from when milk expires and turns sour within a week or so — safety seat expirations exist as a precaution.
“One of the main reasons seats expire is that they are made of plastic,” Debbi Baer, R.N. and expert at The Car Seat Lady, explains on her site. “Plastic becomes brittle and weak as it ages — two qualities you don’t want in a car seat that has to withstand severe crash forces.”
The expiration dates also help families know they’re using the latest safety technology on the market, though complying can become expensive, especially if you have several children a few years apart.
If an expiration date isn’t listed on your car seat or one you’re considering purchasing, check the owner’s manual or give the company a ring.
It’s not illegal: Despite much online debate, it’s not illegal to sell or buy a used car seat.
But it is illegal to sell a recalled car seat — one that’s been deemed unsafe. Before you try to save on a used car seat or try to make a buck selling yours, double-check the model hasn’t been recalled.
How to Buy a Used Car Seat (Safely)
If you’re thinking of pursuing the secondhand route, or you’re scrambling to find another car seat to accommodate the new laws, here are some guidelines.
Only Buy Used From People You Know
You can use the idea of “knowing” someone loosely: a neighbor, mom you know from a school group, local listserv member, or a friend of a friend are probably OK bets.
But this isn’t a simple transaction you can complete after glancing at some photos on Craigslist. You need to have a frank discussion with the seller before you commit.
Baer, The Car Seat Lady, recommends going over the following:
- The entire history of the car seat, from purchase to the point of resale
- Crash history for every vehicle where the car seat was used
- Parts and add-ons, to ensure good working order of the entire contraption
- And, as noted above, the expiration date for the model
Any seller who isn’t willing to go over these points probably isn’t a trustworthy source of a secondhand item, let alone one designed to keep your kid safe.
What about crashes? Baer says, “When in doubt, throw the car seat out — do not sell, buy or borrow a car seat if you are unsure about its crash history.”
If You’re Using a Secondhand Car Seat, Leave a Cushion on the Expiration Date
Baer recommends only using rear-facing seats with at least one year of use left and front-facing or convertible car seats with two or three years of use left. Any booster seat should be good until your child is at least 10 years old, to accommodate the child until they hit the height mark.
How to Save Money on a New Car Seat
Don’t feel comfortable going used? If you’re hitting the big-box shops in search of a new car seat, here are a few ways you can save.
Don’t Start Looking for Car Seats Until You Decide on a Stroller
If you’re planning to push 10 stroller models around the store before choosing the perfect one for your family, don’t pick up just any car seat because of a good price, new or used. If you’re considering a car seat that clips in and out of the car to be used in a stroller base, you may have compatibility issues.
The Penny Hoarder editor Alexis Grant knows firsthand that sometimes saving money means spending a little. She got a new stroller as a gift, then snagged a loaner infant car seat from a family member. While she saved $100 by borrowing the car seat, she had to purchase a $60 car seat adapter to make the car seat fit the stroller.
Register Wisely
If you’re having a baby shower and plan to create a registry, add a car seat you’ve researched and like, even a toddler seat the child won’t use right after birth. Friends and family members are usually willing to pitch in toward baby safety essentials like car seats, which are common group gift items.
Even if you’re not a first-time parent, consider registering for a car seat for an older child who just won’t stop growing. Having your brand and model of choice picked out makes life easier when grandma, aunties or work friends ask how they can help.
Buy Off Your Own Registry
If you register for a car seat but don’t receive one, you can still get a deal through your registry. Most stores have a scheme that allows new parents to save a bit of cash on registry items.
At Babies“R”Us, any purchase from your registry earns cash back: first in a gift card valued at 5% of the first $300 in registry purchases ($15) and then with 10% of anything beyond that initial $300 emailed to you as another e-gift card. You even earn these benefits when you shop from your own registry.
Buy Buy Baby sends you a certificate — it’s really a coupon — to use on any remaining registry items you wish to purchase close to Junior’s arrival date. The value of this coupon is a closely guarded secret rumored to be between 10-15% off. The store also gives out coupon Goody Bags when you start your registry, so keep an eye out for opportunities to save right away.
Target also offers a slew of coupons when you sign up for a registry. Starting eight weeks before your arrival date, take 15% off remaining registry items. That discount is good for any late registry purchase made by family, friends or you.
Amazon offers 15% off baby registry purchases made by Prime members. There’s also a Welcome Box offer, free samples worth up to $50, that’s available for a brief period of time after you sign up.
Your Turn: What other ideas do you have for saving on child car seats?
Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here. The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu. Thanks for your support!
Lisa Rowan is a writer, editor, and podcaster living in Baltimore.
The post How to Save Money on a Car Seat, Without Compromising Your Child’s Safety appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Marketing Day: Marketing Automation, Google’s New Logo & Simply Measured Acquires Inside Social
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Investment adviser boosts rating for Station Casinos
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Chinese demand for new aircraft expected to drive growth
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IGT selects new head of company's slot machine division
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Notablist – A Search Engine Built For Email Marketers – Includes Over 4M Searchable Email Campaigns
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3 Nevada airports to share $3.5 million in FAA grants
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Run Away and Join the Cat Circus: No, Really, They’re Hiring
Are you obsessed with cats? Do you spend hours browsing cat memes online, going to cat cafes and building a shrine to Grumpy Cat?
We’ve found the perfect job for you. Samantha Martin and the Acro-Cats need a tour assistant for their traveling cat circus.
Yes, this is your opportunity to run away and join the circus. Except this time, it’s a cat circus. You’ll care for feline performers and keep the show running.
Is This a Real Job for Cat-Lovers?
It sure is. This great opportunity was recently posted on Craigslist in Chicago, and you’ll live on the road, traveling cross-country to performances.
Your colleagues include not only trained cats but also “a groundhog, a chicken and a few rats.”
No, we’re not kidding.
What Does a Cat Circus Tour Assistant Do?
Your chief duty will be animal care, but you’ll have plenty of other responsibilities as well.
You’ll need to be able to handle the rigors of traveling with a cat circus and have “a high comfort level engaging with crowds of cat lovers,” as well as a good sense humor.
If you have theater experience, that’s a huge plus, since you’ll help with front and back of house duties including lights, sound, stage management and prop handling.
You’ll need to be in good shape, not just to wrangle cats, but also to move props and transport cat carriers. The ad says you should be able to lift and move 50 pounds.
Finally, you’ll also help wrangle the volunteers who help keep the cat circus up and running.
What Else Should I Know?
You must be comfortable with shared living situations, since you’ll be traveling in a tour bus and sharing RV accommodations and hotel rooms.
Not surprisingly, you shouldn’t be allergic to cats.
How’s the Pay?
Running off to join the cat circus doesn’t necessarily come with steady pay; your income depends on the gigs.
“Pay varies per show and includes a per diem,” explains the posting.
Want this one-of-a-kind gig? Send your resume to polly@amazinganimals.biz. Good luck!
Your Turn: Would you want to work for the cat circus?
Kristen Pope is a freelance writer and editor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The post Run Away and Join the Cat Circus: No, Really, They’re Hiring appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Caesars bankrupt division reports $29.1 million profit in July
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Driving Growth With Marketing Automation – September 9 Webcast
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What is 'Gap insurance'?
If your car gets written off or stolen, most insurers will pay the current market value of your car. Guaranteed asset protection, or gap insurance, will top up the amount you receive from an insurance claim to a pre-determined amount.
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9 Factors to Consider Before Buying Long-Term Care Insurance
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Google Updates Logo To Reflect Multiple Product Lines And Screen Experiences
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How to Get a Free Subscription to Parents, Shape, Better Home and Gardens, and More
When you read articles on how to cut your expenses, nearly everyone suggests canceling your magazine subscriptions. After all, you can read a lot of magazine content online for free, and every penny you save could go to paying down debt or bulking up your emergency fund.
But what if you just enjoy magazines? For a lot of us, holding that magazine in our hands and taking the time to leisurely flip through the pages feels like a treat.
It’s not as much fun to quickly skim an online article at work; what we want is the experience of sitting down with a magazine and taking time to relax. Right?
Well, we’ve got a way for you to get free magazines, so you can enjoy the luxury without the guilt. Most of these require no more than answering a few easy questions, so it will only take a few minutes of your time. Go ahead and grab some of your favorite magazines for free!
Some of these offers only have limited numbers available, so act quickly if you want them — we’ll update the post when they run out.
Parents Magazine
A subscription to Parents Magazine usually costs around $8 for a year or two, but we’ve been given around 1,000 copies to give away this month. We know parents are cost-conscious!
Head over to Mercury Magazines and give them your name, occupation and address, and they’ll send you an entire year’s subscription for free.
Mercury Magazines will probably offer you a few other free subscriptions you might like, too. That’s a nice bonus!
Shape
Ready to improve your health this year?
A Shape subscription typically sells for $8 a year, but you can grab it for absolutely no cost by visiting Mercury Magazines and answering a few quick questions. Use this link (it’s different from the Parents link above) to get your Shape subscription.
You’ll be learning new exercise routines and trying out new healthy recipes in no time! We only have 1,000 copies of this magazine to give away, so get your hands on it while you can.
Better Homes and Gardens
Better Homes and Gardens has been around since 1922, yet its popularity endures due to its focus on homemaking, cooking and gardening. It will run you about $6 a year if you buy a subscription, and far more if you grab it at the cashier before checking out at the grocery store!
Get Better Homes and Gardens the better way by claiming your free subscription through Mercury Magazines. Click this link, tell them a little about yourself, and soon you’ll have this magazine for free at your doorstep!
Like the two magazines above, we have to cap this offer at 1,000 magazines, so take advantage before we run out.
Diabetic Living
We all know diabetes can be expensive to manage, so every penny in the bank counts. That’s why we appreciate this offer to get Diabetic Living for free. Who wouldn’t want to avoid the $16 annual subscription fee?
Follow this link to Mercury Magazines, answer a few easy profile questions, and your subscription won’t cost you a cent!
Again, we have only 1,000 subscriptions to give away, so if this is on your must-have list, grab it while you can.
Fast Company
Love business, technology and innovation? You probably already read Fast Company online, but why not get a subscription without paying a cent? It’s a great magazine to keep on your coffee table for business inspiration, and one of my personal favorites!
It normally costs about $13 for an annual subscription, but if you visit RewardSurvey and give your opinion on a few quick questions, you’ll receive points to spend on a Fast Company magazine subscription.
The survey should have around 20 questions and will only take a few minutes to complete. Not much work for a free magazine subscription, right?
Essence
Essence has provided beauty, fashion and lifestyle tips to black women since 1970. It will cost you about $12 a year.
If you want a subscription to Essence at no cost, visit RewardSurvey and take just a few minutes to answer questions. Then use your points to claim your magazine. Easy as cake!
When one of our writers took the RewardSurvey survey, she got enough points to get either Fast Company or Essence without having to take a second survey, but you might need to take multiple surveys if you want multiple magazines.
New York Magazine
New York Magazine is all about what’s new in fashion, style, politics and more. At $25 a year, it’s one of the most expensive magazines on our list. (In all fairness, you also get more issues each year, nearly 30, for that price.)
To get a New York Magazine subscription at no cost, go to Recyclebank. The site is designed to teach people how to improve their recycling skills. Recyclebank provides quick infographics and articles about recycling, as well as quizzes to test you on what you’ve learned.
Earn points for studying the material and taking the quizzes, and redeem your points for a variety of rewards, including your New York Magazine subscription.
Don’t forget to implement the recycling tips you’ve learned — and put the money you save on all these magazine subscriptions to good use!
YOUR TURN: How much money do you spend on magazine subscriptions? Will you try any of these tactics for getting them for free?
The post How to Get a Free Subscription to Parents, Shape, Better Home and Gardens, and More appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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The stockmarket in September
September is the worst month of the year for shares. After the summer lull, things can get exciting again for investors: since 1982 the FTSE All-Share index has on average fallen 1% in September, the worst average return of any month in the year.
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Anticipating Antitrust Decision European Firms Get Ready To Sue Google
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Campus Chronicle: Cracking Content Marketing For Higher Education
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8 Stocks to Profit From America's Love of Burgers
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This Sales Guy Earned $1 Million From His Blog and Now Travels the World
A lot of us dream of traveling, right? We’d love to see the world… if we had enough cash in the bank and enough vacation time saved.
Until then, we have to make do with postcards and YouTube videos of the places we want to visit.
That’s what Johnny Ward thought, too. Then he started a company that gave him the freedom to travel around the world while earning money — and that company has now brought in more than $1 million.
How to Make Money Blogging
As Business Insider reports, Ward, who is from Northern Ireland, was working a high-paying sales job in Australia but wanted to take time off to see the FIFA World Cup. So he made a plan: He would start a blog, quit his job and buy a one-way ticket to Zimbabwe.
Ward used the money he had saved from his sales job to fund his travel, and blogged about his experiences at OneStep4Ward. Then, he realized that his blog was not only a way to write about his travel experiences — it was also a money-making tool.
“I remember the first bucks I ever made,” Ward told Business Insider. “It was like $80. The first guy ever to pay me for an advertisement on my site changed my mindset entirely, and I thought, ‘This might work!'” He’d figured out how to make money blogging.
On his blog, Ward describes what happened next: “Within six months I was making $500 a month, another three or four months, it was $1,000.”
He decided to see if he could earn more money by creating more blogs. Within a few years, he built the digital media company Step4Ward Media, where he makes money by posting articles to his 100+ blogs to boost client SEO rankings, and by helping clients start blogs of their own.
Ward was now an entrepreneur, with a virtual four-person staff and the ability to work anywhere in the world.
Blog Your Way to Success
Want to launch your own remote company and run your business while traveling the world? Ward’s media company has earned over a million dollars, but he advises would-be entrepreneurs to start small.
As he said in Business Insider: “I tell people you don’t need to make $1 million. Initially you can make $1 or $10 or $50, and have that money in your Paypal and then be like, ‘Wow, this is actually possible.'”
Ward also advises new entrepreneurs to start a blog, both as a potential monetization tool and as a way to develop a voice of authority. No matter what type of remote company you plan to build, having a blog helps bring people to you and establishes you as a leader in your industry.
Then, it’s a matter of having a good idea, hiring the right people and figuring out where you want to travel next!
Want to know more about how Ward manages to travel the world while running his company? Read the full story at Business Insider.
Your Turn: Would you like to create a business you could run from anywhere in the world?
Nicole Dieker is a freelance writer focusing on personal finance and personal stories. Her work has appeared in The Billfold, The Toast, Yearbook Office, The Write Life and Boing Boing.
The post This Sales Guy Earned $1 Million From His Blog and Now Travels the World appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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Retire to Morbihan, the Best of Coastal France
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10 Tricks Online Marketers (and Other Scammers) Use to Extract Your Money
It’s pretty hard to spend much time online without seeing some pitch or another for some product that you just can’t live without. Maybe it’s a weight-loss kit or perhaps it’s a tool for cleaning your living room, or even something as simple as software for managing professional contacts or a special course to help you get better at a particular game.
I’ve seen more of these types of marketing pitches than I could ever count. They often pop up on websites that I read, sometimes in the form of advertisements, but sometimes directly in the content. I’ve seen friends share them on Facebook, even.
A person out there is selling something that they claim is life-changing, that you must buy if you want a certain kind of success. They sell it hard.
Regardless of the item that’s being sold, the people trying to sell you things always try to play on the same angles and tug the same emotional strings. Sure, they try doing so in different ways, but at the end of the day, there’s a handful of strategies that they keep coming back to.
Why? It’s because those strategies work.
What follows are 10 of the most powerful strategies that online and offline marketers like to use to convince you to buy something now before you have the time to forget about it or do some additional research. They want your money and they want it yesterday!
Be smart about what you buy. If you see these tricks, head in the other direction.
1. Only 20 Slots Left!
They use a fake impression of scarcity.
People naturally want to be a part of exclusive things. They want to have a leg up on the people around them by having access to something that those other people do not have. It is that natural sense of human envy that drives a lot of behavior in this world, from outright jealousy toward the rich to wanting to have an advantage in any type of competition with someone else.
Marketers know this. They know that exclusivity – that a little something extra that others don’t have – is a real draw. So they use it.
They create the appearance of scarcity, whether it’s real or not. They limit a class to a certain number of slots (or at least claim that they do). Rather than making a production run of 10,000 of an item, they’ll make 100 variations so that each is a “limited edition.” Maybe they’ll release only a small percentage of what they make at a time, so that “only two are left!” is technically true – for this wave.
The goal is to make you feel as though you have a rare chance to get into something exclusive, even though the chance isn’t rare at all and the item usually isn’t very exclusive.
This is particularly true with non-physical goods. Sure, if you’re receiving a physical item, they may have to manufacture more at some point – and they usually will. For non-physical items, such as online videos, e-books, course materials, and so on, it’s easy for them to be duplicated as many times as necessary, so the scarcity idea is complete nonsense. Even things like direct tutoring or face-to-face sessions can easily be expanded, provided that the time spent tutoring is worth the tutor’s time.
If someone tries to tell you that there’s only a certain number left of an item that isn’t genuinely rare, it’s probably not worth the price they’re charging for it. If it is truly a good item, it will be available again, and likely at a better price.
2. Only People Seriously Interested in Success Need Apply!
They try to make you feel as though you’re part of a more exclusive and successful group.
In addition to simply making something seem rare in terms of having a small number of them available, marketers also like to make something seem special by making it appear as if the item is really only available to a select and special group. This is only for people who want “success.” This is only for people truly “committed” to losing weight.
It’s all nonsense. They will happily sell their product to anyone who is buying, whether you are “seriously interested in success” or “committed to dramatic weight loss” or anything else.
What those phrases are actually doing is trying to increase their product’s appeal to people who want those things. Someone who genuinely is seriously interested in “success” is very likely to be excited by the phrase “only for those seriously interested in success.” “That’s me!” such a person would think to themselves. The same thing is true for products for people who are “committed to dramatic weight loss.” “That’s me!” someone might say.
The thing is, it’s not just going to appeal to people who really are seriously interested in weight loss or committed to dramatic success or whatever, but to those people who want to be or aspire to be in that category. “Sure, I’m seriously interested in dramatic success!” you might say, and with that statement, you feel immediately included in that category whether or not that’s something you’re genuinely striving for in your life.
The truth is that there is no special group of people who this product is specially made for. If it’s a product for building “success,” then anyone who might be interested in that is a reasonable customer. All that is really happening is that the marketers are trying to make you feel “special” because you’re buying the product. They want to cultivate a sense that because you bought this product, you really are one of those who are truly committed to dramatic success or whatever it is they’re trying to make you believe. It’s all smoke and mirrors.
3. John M. from Florida Says…
They use “testimonials” with no evidence whatsoever that the testimonials are real.
John M. from Florida could be the person’s old pal from college. It could be their uncle who’s happy to provide a positive “testimonial” to help their favorite nephew. It could even be completely fictional. There’s a chance, I suppose, that it could really be authentic. You have no way of knowing for sure.
Even photographs of these testimonials can be fake. “You can’t fake a picture,” perhaps, but you can certainly buy them from stock photography services.
Don’t believe a product is great just because the person selling you that product has provided you with a powerful testimonial from another customer. You have no way of verifying whether that testimonial is real or not.
That’s not to say that I don’t value testimonials and opinions on products from others, but I have to know who those people are first. They have to have done something to earn at least a little trust from me. A salesperson with a marketing pitch hasn’t done a thing to earn any trust. Why should I believe that testimonial?
If you see what appears to be a person in the ad telling you how great the product is, don’t believe a word of it. You have no idea who that person really is – or if that person even exists at all. That information is worthless and should be ignored.
4. Trust AnonymousSales.com For Your Needs!
They don’t actually put their reputation on the line.
Think about a normal shopping situation. When a name brand sells a product, they’re putting that brand’s name on the line. You’re going to come up with some associations with that brand based on the product’s quality and, if the product isn’t good, you’re going to have bad thoughts about that brand in the future. You’re less likely to buy that brand’s products. That brand is putting their name on the line with each sale.
With online marketing, there’s usually no reputation whatsoever that’s being put on the line. You don’t have a company or a brand name associated with this product other than perhaps some irrelevant URL. You don’t have a person associated with it either, other than a first name that could easily be faked.
In short, they’ve put nothing on the line here to vouch for the quality of the product. Nothing. If their product is junk, they’ll just rip off a few people, disappear, and reappear with a new version of their scam at a different URL.
Do you have any real reason – beyond what is posted on this site, of course – to trust the person selling this product? If you don’t, then you shouldn’t be buying. Everything within that site is controlled by them, and if they have no outside evidence of a good reputation, there’s no reason to think that they have a good reputation. In fact, I’d assume the opposite – their reputation is likely bad without those things.
5. This Product Is Revolutionary!
They hype fantastical, impossible results.
Whenever someone is advertising a solution that goes far beyond what I could achieve with other solutions, something’s up. There is no magic solution for building a business or losing weight or improving your finances. Those magic solutions don’t exist.
This strategy preys on people who don’t think critically about the problem at hand. They believe in shortcuts and tricks, and believe that those who have actually put in lots of hard work have actually just used shortcuts and tricks.
Here’s the truth: the great successes in life don’t come with shortcuts. Those things are great successes because the people that achieved them have put in a ton of work. They didn’t find some “secret” – they worked their tails off to achieve business success or lose weight or build a strong network of friends.
If a path to success seems substantially better than other paths and it’s not widely known and shared, you should be incredibly suspicious. Most likely, that path to success is nothing more than an illusion being used to sell you on something.
6. Doctors Don’t Want You To Know This Secret!
They prey on anti-intellectualism and mistrust of authority.
This trick is a little different than the previous one. Both tend to rely on the idea that there is some magic secret to your problems that you don’t know, but this one adds in a healthy dose of conspiracy and anti-science and anti-intellectual sentiment.
The vast majority of doctors wouldn’t want to keep some “miracle cure” from you. Even if you’re so jaded that you assume that doctors wouldn’t want to cure you for business reasons, doing so would be terrible for their business. Even a purely jaded doctor would want to cure you because then, in the future, you would come back to them if and when you have other ailments.
This is true for almost every professional. They’re far better off if they solve your problem rather than keeping you from the solution. It’s better for their reputation. It’s more likely to earn them repeat business. It’s also the right thing to do.
The reason that your doctor (or other professional) hasn’t shared this success secret with you is (a) you haven’t asked or (b) it doesn’t really work. In either case, why are you paying some conspiracy peddler for this information?
7. Look at This Amazing Transformation!
They use misleading examples of success.
We’ve all see images that indicate radical changes in a person’s situation. They show dramatic changes and improvements in a person and then promise to show you how to do this. They sure look real… but they can easily be faked, too.
Take, for example, those dramatic weight loss or muscle building videos. Those are easy to fake. All you have to do is reverse the process – take the “good shape” picture first, then take the “bad shape” picture later after pigging out and eating a bunch of salt and water. Here’s an exact example of this.
On top of that, there’s Photoshop. Someone skilled with Photoshop can make anything look real. The vast majority of magazines of all kinds have Photoshopped covers, for example, in order to make things look better than reality.
A side-by-side image is something that’s very easy to fake. It does not serve as evidence of anything other than a good marketer and a Photoshop artist.
8. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee!
They don’t care about your success, especially over the long term.
A “30 day money back guarantee” isn’t really a big benefit for you, the buyer. It’s merely a trick that salespeople use to close the sale.
Here’s why: usually, you’re not going to know during that timeframe whether you should get a refund. Many times, people haven’t even begun using the product, or have used it only once or twice. At other times, you’re knee-deep in using the system and haven’t figured out yet whether it really works.
It is a very rare situation where you would call in that 30 day guarantee, and the person selling the product knows that. All that a short term guarantee does is create a false illusion that the person selling the product has a lot of confidence in the product. In truth, no matter how disastrous the product is, you probably won’t turn in the short term guarantee.
A 30 day guarantee essentially means nothing, because it is extremely unlikely that you or anyone else would ever cash it in. Thus, offering a short term guarantee like that offers little risk to the salesperson – but it can certainly help sway a buyer that’s on the fence.
9. Buy Now and Get This Bonus Item FREE!
They split your attention so that you’re deceived into thinking you’re getting more.
Whenever someone “throws in” a bonus item for free if you buy it now, they’ve already planned to sell the items together as a package. You’re not getting anything for free – you’re paying for the free item. You just didn’t see what you were paying for until the last minute.
What this does is that it allows the salesperson to do a strong sell on just one part of what you’re buying and then add onto that a very glossed-over sale of the other parts. While you might wind up with critical questions about the first item, you don’t have enough time or depth to have critical questions about the other parts. So, you feel like you’re buying a good package – one thing you’ve seen somewhat in depth (and maybe question a little) along with some items you know little about that seem good at first glance.
It makes you feel like you’ve seen things in depth when, in truth, you’ve only seen a small part of the package in depth.
This violates the first simple rule of shopping: don’t buy anything unless you know what it is. With this strategy, you don’t know what you’re buying. You only know one small part of the package.
10. Try the ‘Value’ Option for Only $39.99!
They offer incredibly overpriced ‘deluxe’ options to make their normal items seem reasonably priced.
Companies will often offer several different packages at different price levels offering different features. One of these is often a “super deluxe” package that offers a bunch of non-essential features at a very high price, a package that most customers will think of as a ripoff or at least not a great deal.
In comparison, of course, the lower-priced options will seem like it offers much more bang for the buck. In comparison, it will seem like a bargain.
The truth is that the person selling you the package intends for you to pick that one that seems like a bargain. They’re making a good profit at that level. Sure, they’d make a huge profit if you bought the expensive one, but that’s not why they list it.
They list the expensive version solely to make the version they want you to buy appear to be a good deal.
When people see that they can buy the $99.99 premium package with a few extra things or the $49.99 normal package, the $49.99 normal package has the core things they’re interested in, so that’s the one they buy. Which is exactly the plan that the seller has in mind.
Never think you’re getting a “deal” because you’re not buying the high-end premium version. Usually, that one’s just there as a distraction.
Final Thoughts
By themselves, each of these tricks is pretty weak. It won’t convince you to buy a product all alone.
Where the magic happens is when you use a lot of them in concert together. Each trick only gives a little tiny boost to your chances of buying the product, but when you put a bunch of clever marketing tricks together, your chances of buying go up significantly.
That’s why marketers use these tactics. They want sales. They want your money. And, using these tactics together, they’re likely to get it.
So, how do you fight back? Be aware. When you’re about to buy, step back. Ask yourself why. Then start looking for these tactics – and others much like them.
Often, you’ll realize that your emotions are just getting played. You don’t really need this item anyway, not nearly as much as you just thought that you did. And you’ll put the credit card away and close the browser window.
That’s a real victory, one you can be proud of. One that will protect your wallet.
The post 10 Tricks Online Marketers (and Other Scammers) Use to Extract Your Money appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
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Get £150 by opening a First Direct current account
First Direct is offering new customers up to £150 to switch to its current account.
Previously the bank offered £125 to new customers, but it will now pay a £150 sign-up bonus to people who apply via MoneySupermarket.com. This matches the best introductory deal previously available, offered by Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank.
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Get Your Caffeine Fix, But Save Your Cash: 11 Ways to Get Free or Cheap Coffee
Is your morning dismal before you drink that first cup of coffee?
We all know brewing your own coffee at home is cheaper than hitting Starbucks on your way to work, but some days you just don’t have the time or inclination.
Instead, take advantage of these free and low-cost ways to feed your caffeine addiction but save your money.
Here are 11 ways to get your hands on a free or cheap cup of coffee.
1. Visit IKEA on a Weekday
Sign up for a free IKEA Family Card, and you can pop into the furniture warehouse for a free cup of coffee every Monday through Friday.
Plus, you’ll also get other benefits like special discounts on products, 90-day price protection and buy-one-get-one-free frozen yogurt.
2. Be Nice at Pret a Manger
While some baristas have to look over their shoulders to make sure their manager’s not watching before handing over a free cup of joe, employees at Pret a Manger don’t need to worry.
That’s because CEO Clive Schlee encourages his employees to give away 28% of the chain’s coffee for free. Workers can hand out free coffee to anyone like, for any reason at all.
Before Schlee publicly announced the company’s policy, some regular customers were mystified about why they received a cup on the house.
One Twitter user wrote, “Pret keeps giving me free hot drinks and I have no idea why but it’s so brilliant. Feel like I’ve won the coffee lotto.” Head into one of the chain’s shops and you, too, could win the coffee lotto.
3. Try Free Samples at Cost Plus World Market
“Try before you buy” is standard practice at Cost Plus World Market. That’s why the shops typically brew at least one type of coffee each day.
Stores typically offer small cups for you to sip while you do your grocery shopping.
4. Join Starbucks Rewards
Before you go on your next Starbucks binge, be sure to sign up for their Rewards Card. This loyalty program can earn you free drinks, food, custom offers and more.
At the first level of membership, you can earn a free birthday drink or treat and a discount coupon for your next trip to the online Starbucks store. Collect stars by using a registered Starbucks Card. Each transaction (not item) earns you one star.
After collecting five “stars” in 12 months, you’ll earn the above perks plus free in-store refills on brewed coffee and tea (hot or cold). If you earn 30 stars, you earn all of the above plus a free food or drink item after 12 more stars.
5. Get the Dunkin’ Donuts “DD Perks” Card
If Dunkin’ Donuts is your regular haunt, be sure to sign up for the DD Perks Card. You’ll receive a free beverage when you enroll, another free drink on your birthday and a freebie for every 200 points you earn (each dollar you spend earns you five points).
6. Get the Caribou Coffee Rewards Card
The most mysterious of the coffee rewards programs, Caribou Perks promises a bevy of rewards, such as drink upgrades, free bakery items and even free drinks.
You’ll get a perk when you sign up and then others at “surprise” intervals, though the company says the more you buy, the more often you’ll receive these perks. When you receive a notification, you typically have seven days to visit a store and claim your perk.
7. Celebrate Your Birthday With Freebies
Numerous chains and independent shops will give you free coffees on your birthday.
If you have the Starbucks Rewards Card or the DD Perks Card, you’ll definitely get a freebie, but plenty of other coffee shops will be happy to give you an extra jolt on your birthday — you just have to ask. Check out this list of birthday freebies for more ideas.
8. Bring Your Reusable Cup
When you pop into many coffee shops and gas stations, bring your own cup. Many shops will consider it a “refill” if you have your own cup, or offer you a discount in order to encourage this environmentally responsible practice.
9. Follow Your Favorite Coffee House on Twitter
Dunkin’ Donuts gives away coupons and free samples via Tweets, as do several other coffee companies. Be sure to follow your favorite coffee shops so you can see when they have deals, specials and freebies.
10. Grab a Discount Card
When your favorite shop offers a “buy five, get one free” stamp card at the checkout, why not pick it up? Even if you think you’re only popping in once, you might as well pick up a card in case you’re in the neighborhood again.
The tricky part is keeping these cards on hand so you can get them stamped and claim your prizes. Be sure to store them in your wallet or somewhere you’ll remember them.
11. Visit Steak ‘n Shake During Half-Price Happy Hour
Stop by your local Steak ‘n Shake between the hours of 2 to 5 a.m. or 2 to 5 p.m. and you’ll receive half off all shakes and drinks including…. coffee! This “Half Price Happy Hour” is a great way to get an afternoon recharge or a late night pick-me-up.
Your Turn: Did we miss your favorite way to get free or cheap coffee? Share it in the comments!
Kristen Pope is a freelance writer and editor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The post Get Your Caffeine Fix, But Save Your Cash: 11 Ways to Get Free or Cheap Coffee appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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