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The Difference Between Being Frugal And Being Cheap

Everybody knows that buying things that are cheap is much better than buying things that are expensive, right? Well, not exactly. What you need to understand is that there is a difference between being frugal and being cheap.

The biggest problem that people have is they get these two definitions mixed up and it makes them look bad. You are being cheap when you spend very little but in doing so you sacrifice quality. You are being frugal when you are spending very little but you are getting good deals on exceptional products. For example, if you search cheap London hotels, frugal folks will find great deals on really nice hotels. Every one knows that traveling in Europe can be expensive, however, if you are willing to do a little leg work, you can really find some amazing deals online without having to sacrifice quality. Alternatively, cheap customers will end up in a dumpy hotel that is uncomfortable and perhaps even unsanitary. Frugal customers will have gone online to a website like Priceline.com or Travelstay.com and got a great room for the same price as the cheap customer, but will be staying in a comfortable, clean room. So you see there is definitely a big difference between being cheap and being frugal. Below are some more examples to drill home the point:

April 29, 2013

Shopping

5 Tips For Playing It Safe When You Shop Online

Everyone knows that the Internet can be a dangerous place when you are shopping online. No matter if a particular shopping cart says that it is secure, it could be a scammer trying to take your hard earned money. In fact, statistics say that 14% of all transactions end up costing somebody their money or their identity. However, most of the time, if you take the right precautions, shopping online can be as safe and secure as shopping at a local retailer.

Here are 5 tips for playing it safe when you shop online:

If you feel like a site might be a little suspicious, pay with your credit card and not your debit card. With your debit card a thief can empty out your entire checking account. A bank might give you part of the money back, but because it is essentially cash you can possibly lose a lot of it; this can be extremely unfortunate if you have a lot of money in your account. With credit, you can usually report it as fraud and not have to pay that portion of the bill when your statement comes at the end of the month.

Make sure that the website is a secure shopping site. There are a number of ways to find out if a site or the site’s payment gateway is secure. For one, there might be a little lock at the bottom of the screen that connotes that the site is secure. There might also be a symbol in the URL bar that will ensure that the site is secure and won’t record any of your personal information for later use.

April 29, 2013

Shopping

Purchasing A Home – Is 2013 The Time To Buy?

By now you have probably heard about all the people looking to buy houses. The reason you are hearing all of these rumors is because people want to take advantage of the low interest rates on mortgages at the moment. A lot of people assume that they will not be able to get a house later on down the road because of the interest rates going up; however, that is not true.

What you need to understand is that if you can buy a house in 2013, then you should go for it. The reason I say this is because the interest rates are so low that they will not likely be this low again anytime soon, the housing market has hit the bottom, so the prices won’t be this low for a while either, and there are still many tax benefits for buying a house as opposed to renting one. Just know that 2013 is a great time to buy a house, but if you don’t have the money or the income, then it just doesn’t make financial sense.

April 18, 2013

Shopping

5 Smartphone Shopping Apps To Help You Save Money

Thanks to modern technology, there are now more ways to spend your money than ever before. Internet shopping is a massive industry, with e-commerce sites driving record sales numbers during all of the major holidays. When you watch television shows online, you’ll often be subject to interactive commercials, with one-click access to the purchase of the described item. Megastores like Wal-Mart and Costco are in towns great and small and regional retailers are still doing big business, regardless of the state of the economy. Thankfully, technology is also in place to help you save while you buy. If you have a Smartphone or tablet device, take advantage of these five shopping apps that will help you save money.

First off, check out the I Love Free Things app, which is a free thing itself. It doesn’t get cheaper than free, and with this app you’ll be able to track down any short term free deals in your area. You’ll start an account and enter in your location information, and it will give you a daily breakdown of the free promotions and samples nearby. Use it on a Smartphone and it will tap into your GPS, allowing you to find free stuff when you’re out and about in town as well.

April 6, 2013

Shopping

Essential Versus Luxury Car Features – Which Do You Really Need?

Are you in the market for a new car? If so, you might have your eye on one of the luxury vehicles that are on the market and if so, who could blame you? Aside from how attractive they are, there are so many features that they have that make driving a true pleasure.

However, if your budget is saying that you can’t really afford a luxury vehicle, the good news is that that there are some “luxury features” that you can request in a car that retails for far less money; features that will not just make you feel like you are living among the rich and famous, but will prove to be ones that you actually do need.

So what kind of essential luxury car features should you look for in a standard automobile? We’re so glad that you asked:

Leather seats. There are very few luxury cars that you’re going to see that do not have leather seats. Although they do make a car look quite expensive, there are some practical reasons for why manufacturers put leather in certain cars. Leather is comfortable, durable, it’s easy to clean, it doesn’t trap odor into the fabric and it’s great for individuals with allergies because things like dust, dirt and particles do not penetrate the fabric.

March 15, 2013

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