Warranted Savings...

Well my laptop is at Best Buy again, it's the 6th time, now they have requested a buy back which means that my extended warranty will pay me back the amount I purchased the computer for when I got it new.  So this brought up the question "When is it good to buy an extended warranty?"  My general rule of thumb us that the price of the coverage should be less than 25% of what the product costs in the first place and the coverage should be at least 3 years for that amount.  Even with that in mind they can be pricey and if you shop at places like Best Buy they will even try to sell it to you when you buy a wall phone that only costs $20.00.  Now truth be told I almost never use the extended warranties before they expire, in some respects that's good and in others it shows I have wasted my money, which means all I have gotten for my investment is a delayed case of buyers remorse.   The other thing to do is read the fine print!  With the Best Buy warranty they can't even suggest a buy back until the device had been sent out three times to be repaired, so they dosen't include the times that it spent in the store being looked at, or any of the parts I was told to buy to fix my problem. It also has to be sent in for the same thing and that's where you need to make sure they word it correctly, I brought the lap top in at one point for the flickering picture (the major and repeat problem) and a loose USB port, well they looked at the screen and couldn't get it to do what it was doing but did replace the USB, and THAT is what they put on the repair ticket so it didn't count.  Please don't think that this is a post against Best Buy, all the service folks there have been wonderful and they are just working with in the confines of the warranty provided by the company Best Buy uses.

After navigating the ins and outs of my own warranty issues I decided to do some checking to see what was available out there.  I found a company called Square Trade that sells extended warranties for much less than you can get them at the store usually, and the best part?  You can get a warranty that will cover used and refurbished items and even items purchased on eBay.  My example uses a Dell - Inspiron Laptop / Intel® Core™ i3 Processor / 14" Display / 4GB Memory / 500GB Hard Drive - Tomato Red that has a retail cost of $599.99 at Best Buy.  The cost for the extended warranty with the store is $129.99 for the 2 year coverage that doesn't cover accidents, with Square Trade the cost is $99.99 for 3 years, so I pay less and add a year of coverage.  The up side of having the coverage through Best Buy is after a point the product would be considered a lemon and you would receive your money back, I didn't see this as an option with Square Trade.

The other thing to look at is which credit card you use to make a purchase.  Now days most of the major credit cards offer an extended warranty when you use their card.  Because each card and level of credit offers their own different protections its best to call and ask a customer service representative what is covered, the number should be on the back of your card.

I hope everyone is having a beautiful weekend!

C.Q.

Avoid having your holiday hijacked...

I noticed ads already for Black Friday pricing starting this weekend!  I think retailers are looking forward to the slightly better economy to boost their sales.  Many people have said that they plan to spend more this year than they did last year so stores are really competing to get your holiday dollar.  This can mean some really great deals for you but it also means more opportunity for scams.  Here is some helpful information to help you avoid being ripped while your looking for your perfect gifts.

Almost everyone knows not to fall for the "I have been robbed overseas please send me cash fast" scam that is going now or the "hey I am from Nigeria and need to get my cash out of the country please give me your Social Security number" that was popular a couple of years ago and still crops up every now and then, but what about the non-cyber crimes?  Here are some things to watch for as you battle the crowds.

First and foremost watch out for the straight forward and criminally tried and true method of simple pickpocketing.  Just like the retail stores, the holiday season is the high point for thieves as well.  To help avoid this take your shopping list and just one credit card, leave any others at home.  Its a good idea to keep a photo copy of the front and back of your credit cards in a secure place in case you do need to cancel them. Take your Drivers license for I.D., if you use checks don't carry a full book (I usually  only carry one) and make a note of the check numbers you have with you so you can tell the bank if you do get robbed.  Ladies need to keep their purse zipped at all times and guys should keep their wallets in a front pocket. 

Another theft that takes place during the holidays is the parking lot smash and grab, thieves will watch mall parking lots for people that need to bring their gifts to the car and go back into the mall.  To avoid losing all your holiday hard work this way make sure to put everything in the trunk, out of sight of prying eyes.  The very best way to avoid this is to see if the mall has a secured area to leave packages while you shop (this is usually only available in large metro areas or mega malls like the Mall of America) or move your vehicle when you come out to put things away.  I have done this in the past and it can be a hassle trying to find a new parking spot, but it is so much better than the alternative.

During the holidays department stores tend to hire seasonal help with a little less of a background check.  This is a scam that my parents fell victim to many years ago, a thief gets a hold of credit card numbers while checking you out then uses your card to purchase small things that you may not ever notice, usually under $10.00.  To help avoid this simply look at your statement when it comes, if you don't remember purchasing something for $5.95 on line then call the credit card company right away.

You have heard me talk about this before, when you are searching for that perfect gift sometimes a gift card is just the only option, but this time of year you need to be wary.  Thieves take gift cards that are displayed on grab-and-go racks, like in grocery and department stores. Using a handheld scanner they can read the code behind the magnetic or scratch-off strip on the back of the card. Using that and the number off the front of the card they can steal the value from that card, leaving you a zero balance to give as a gift.  If you do take a gift card from an open rack take it from as far back as possible.  An even better option is to buy gift cards from behind the counter, having to ask the cashier for the cards may be a little bit of  extra work but its better than giving a worthless gift card.

Lastly, keep an eye on your mail, both in coming and out going.  Petty thieves will think nothing of opening your mail this holiday for everything from gift cards and cash sent in your holiday greeting cards, to your bank statements and credit card bills so they can steal your identity.  The easiest way to avoid this is to mail your outgoing mail in a blue post office box and purchase a locking mail box for your home.  The locking boxes are not that expensive when you consider the cost of identity theft.  Home Depot has a good selection of them for both post and flush mount, depending on if your mail is delivered to your door or the street.

Have a great weekend everyone!

C.Q.

Cashing in on credit...

A lot of us are trying to use our credit cards less now days, but if you plan it out right it can actually benefit you to use them a little more. The first rule of credit is to never charge more than you can afford, its important to pay your credit card off in no more than 2 months or you will defeat the savings you can actually get. The second rule is to always use a card that pays you back for using it, something like Discover, American express, Capital One or Diners Club. If you use these two simple rules you can really make credit work for you, not only do you earn for your spending but if you have an interest bearing account at your bank you also get that as well.

The other bonus to using a credit card is there are many discount offers out there available to card holders. For example if you shop on line American Express and Discover have a specific web site for shopping through that will give you additional cash or points back. American Express offers double rewards on Travel and often upgrades in airfare and hotels for using their card.

The biggest thing to watch for is the annual fees, American Express is high but if you use the card enough you will still get the savings. Many companies will wave the annual fee for the first year. Notice I didn't mention the interest rate because I am talking about paying off your credit debt with in two months each time you use the card. If you pay it in full each month the interest rate won't apply. Also remember you don't need a ton of cards, I carry only three and they all offer some form of reward, the least being a store card that earns me a percentage off at a specific retail chain. There is no need to have individual cards for every little store you visit, I am always offered the opportunity to open an account at Macy's, Yonkers, Sears, JC Penney, Kohl's etc. but I decline because I get better rewards using the cards I have and the points/cash back builds up much faster. It is also better on your credit report to have a reasonable number of cards vs one for every store.

If you interested in finding a new card or just checking out how yours stacks up you can check Credit Card 321 for comparisons. If your interested in applying for a reward type of card be sure to check out the great article at Credit.com, there is also a lot of additional helpful information at this site to help you with many areas of credit and loan information. If you already have a reward card but can't pay it in full here is a great little calculator from the Federal Reserve that will show you how long it will take to pay off your cards balance.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

C.Q.