Resumo de Consumer Confidential (the Money Saving Secrets They Don't Want You To Know)

Companies produce & market the goods, the salesmen sell them, the consumers purchase them, by spending money, which forms the basis of earnings by the companies. Consumers need many items, & have their own limitations of money. Hence, they should try to purchase more items, with the same amount of money. Their interests are just opposite, to those of the companies, & therefore there is clash of interests. If consumer is made aware of some finer points of consumerism, he can save some money on each transaction. Matters like insurance, travel, privacy, investing, savings etc. need to be looked upon similarly. The author discusses these various aspects in nine Chapters of this book, & in his experience, there is always a cheaper way to purchase things.
First of all, a good consumer should be aware of his rights, be able to negotiate & sort out the matters. He should obtain the services of a good adviser, for helping in debt issues, use of credit cards etc., & should be cautious of bill collectors, return of items to shops, gift cards of large shops etc. Similarly, he should discourage tele-marketers, junk faxes, junk e-mails, junk mail by post, credit card offers & free surveys with prepaid envelope etc. There are people trying to steal our personal & private information, & use it for their benefit. Therefore, our personal papers should be disposed by burning or shredding. For insurance, we must take the help of suitable agents, for taking decisions about type of insurance policies, their periods & amounts etc., & also the policies which need not be taken at all. The author lays emphasis on health (medical) insurance, with proper study & negotiations, house insurance & house-hold goods insurance etc. .Regarding purchase of automobile (or some other vehicle) & its repairs etc., we should first see whether we need it all, & then consider our requirements, i.e. type of vehicle (four or two wheeler, luxury or normal car, old or new car etc.), amount available etc. We should study the process of buying the car, compare prices & get status position of old cars through an expert mechanic,& total amounts to be paid etc. Also car repairs should be arranged, from a reliable & authorized agency, with proper written warranties for repairs carried out.
For going on vacations, we should keep a tag on our maximum expendable amount & plan the destination(s) & stays in hotels etc. in discussion with the travel agent. We may plan for off-season travel, get discounts in travel tickets, buy return tickets, take odd hours of travel etc., considering all likely problems, including health of the family. In a nut shell, savings can be effected, if tried. We must limit our expenses, keeping adequate savings for future. We should not emulate others, in acquiring many showy things, even when not needed. We must not depend on loans & debts. Regarding investing, we have to learn many things ourselves, from various sources including agents. We should make a proper comparison & then decide, what is the best for us, since these vary from person to person. Investing for retirement time, needs serious considerations. Investment in shares, mutual funds, banks etc., may be done, considering where some tax rebate or benefit can be obtained & without putting all eggs in one basket.There are many factors to be considered, for owning a suitable house for the family. It is a big investment. We should keep in view, our budget, floor area requirement, school, college, hospital etc. in nearby areas etc. The physical condition of the house should be checked, & got inspected by an authorized person. The broker's commission should be negotiated. If house loan is needed, we should compare terms & conditions of the loans from different agencies, & take a long term loan. Similarly, selling our house or arranging repairs to our existing house, also need proper considerationsfor final decisions. Some times, consumers get offers of help from some people, on the basis of caste, language, religion etc. This is fraught with danger, if not examined properly. Some people send e-mails & ask for money for some offers, give advertisements for body weight reduction, offer free things, offer repairs to auto or house at reduced rates, offers asking for instant decisions etc. We, the consumers have therefore to be always alert, & not get duped. We should get a proper deal & we should not suffer monetary loss, since money is precious.

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