Poor Man Survival
Self
Reliance tools for independent minded people…
ISSN
2161-5543
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
- Henry Van Dyke
19 fees you should
never pay…Plus, Watch for those hidden charges!
Costs associated with airlines, banks, car dealers, credit cards,
and more can add up…how much money are losing each year?
Many online purchases come with concealed charges often
hidden in the fine print…often revolving around automatic charges made to your
credit card each month. These phantom
charges can add up so it is always wise to double check your credit card and bank
statements monthly [or more often].
On average these hidden charges average $215 per person
annually. Of course, there is an app for
that. BillGuard (free for Android and
Apple) spots suspicious transactions which you can dispute directly from your
phone. It can forward your challenges to
the merchant and, if you prevail, wipe the charge from your account.
We all hate the dozens of
little fees which attack our wallet on an endless basis…and not just because
all of that nickel-and-diming adds up to a pretty penny. It’s also because they can be hard to escape.
Consumers pay $2.4 billion per year in credit-card late fees—and $800 million
in expedited-payment fees to avoid those late charges. We cough up $31 billion
annually in debit-card overdraft fees. That’s a lot of $30-a-pop penalties for
payments that banks authorized in the first place.
Airlines fees can be just
as bad. Spirit Airlines, for example, ropes you in with its claim of “ultra-low
fares,” then gouges you for $90 to check your first bag at the airport, $110
for the second, and $100 per carry-on (round-trip).
Still, many fees can be
avoided or minimized. Here’s a guide:
Banking
Banks often give you an
escape hatch, so use it to save. Avoid ATM withdrawal fees, usually $2
to $3, by using your own bank’s machines or fee-free ATM network. Or tap the
cash-back feature many supermarkets offer when you pay by debit card. Stamp out
those $25 to $35 overdraft fees by monitoring balances with a smart-phone banking app, signing up for e-mail alerts that tell you when your balance is
low, and opting out of overdraft protection plans, which set you up to
overdraw.
Avoid big-bank checking fees of $8 to $15 per month by signing up for direct deposit,
maintaining minimum balances, or switching to a credit union, community bank,
or branchless online or smart-phone virtual bank, where free checking is more
common. And axe your bank’s $75 check-printing fee by paying more bills
electronically and by buying the same 500 checks from Costco for just $12
to $14.
Read
the rest here at Consumer Reports:
More Money Saving Tips
Shampoo - Cut the last step out of the “lather,
rinse, repeat” suggestion. One wash is almost always enough to do the trick. Grandma always diluted her shampoo with water
in order to stretch a buck.
Since you don’t have to squeeze hard, you can determine
exactly how much you need. This is good for people with arthritis or other hand
issues. (Hint: Save that bottle when it’s nearly empty and squirt in
half of a new bottle.
Healthy, inexpensive snacks for kids
read more here
read more here
Another
common household item you’re probably misusing is vinegar. Sure, it’s
great for cooking and for dyeing Easter eggs, but it can replace a number of
household cleaners, too. (For more information, see “Earth Day Smackdown: Homemade
vs. Store-Bought Cleaners.”)
It does more than just clean, according to Yazmin
Cruz of the Bargain Babe website. The article “31 Secret Uses for Vinegar” extols
the stinky stuff’s abilities…
Navigating the beef section of
your grocery store can sometimes be a daunting task. Before I went to
culinary school, I was baffled at the huge range of cuts and prices. What is a
clod? What does chuck mean? Grocery shopping shouldn’t feel like a pop quiz! If
you’re searching for affordable cuts, stick with muscles that do the
most work, like the […] MORE >
Cheaper Cooking
Spray
Why pay for fancy
aerosol cooking sprays? I bought an inexpensive spray bottle and filled it with
olive oil. It does the same thing at a fraction of the price!
Now
free of charge…the best damned valuable
information package in America!
Lost in the rhetoric about the decline of the middle class
is the reality of the decline. Nearly everyone is aware that the middle class
is struggling, but few understand how the struggle plays out in everyday life.
How to Survive the…
War on Middle Class and All 9 Bonus Reports can be downloaded
here:
Bruce ‘the Poor Man’
Got a News Tip or Resource to Share With the Poor Man?
Send it to: PoorManSurvivor@Gmail.com
A Shallow Planet Production
No comments:
Post a Comment