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Archives for January 2011

What Our Chinese Guides Taught Us About Pragmatic Consumerism

January 26, 2011 By Aloysa 13 Comments

If you followed Beaker’s and my stories about our trip to China, you already know that we visited Beijing and Shanghai in November 2009. You also already know that it was an amazing trip with a variety of different learning experiences.

XianChina, in my point of view, has the world’s most fascinating economy. It’s growing at near double-digit rates. Despite its Communist government, China creates vast amounts of wealth, and has a mixture of capitalism and communist in their economy. Just this simple fact amazes me.

China is becoming very influential in the world’s markets. So, are its consumers. For example, Chinese car market is booming. For decades the Chinese government dictated where its people could live, work and whom they could to marry. Now, all of this is left to Chinese people to figure out. The government even encourages personal vehicle ownership.

Our Chinese guides told us that they will not discuss the Chinese government, Tibet and politics with American tourists. They were very honest and open to anything else we wanted to know.

That’s what we learned about Chinese consumers:

1. Most of Chinese consumers are unspoiled by the easy credit. I guess it is because Chinese financial system is not geared towards consumerism and spending. The credit, even though, it does exist, is not easy to get. It is accessible mostly to higher income consumers. But not a lot of them are interested in credit. The Chinese are very cautious about their spending and stay within their means.

We should realize that Chinese culture is one of the oldest cultures in the world. Chinese frugality is a result of the traditions and heritage. I think because of this heritage, no matter how much credit might be accessible in the future, this attitude towards spending won’t change a lot. They love saving and not spending.

2. Chinese also love budgeting. They won’t spend anything unless they budgeted for it. The typical Chinese family will make a list of things they want and need to buy and will discuss it. Together they will decide what they really need and what products are the most appealing to them price and quality wise. There are no impulse, “make me feel good” buys.

3. Our Chinese guide with the American name Joe admitted spending almost a year researching what condo he wanted to buy. He said he could spend about six months researching what computer he wanted to acquire. He admitted spending hours on the Internet comparing different products, brands, features.

Also, word-of-mouth is one of the research tools Chinese use.

Chinese deliberate very carefully over every purchase from food to TV, from clothes to what beauty items to buy. They take a lot of shopping trips simply for research purposes without buying anything. And they take their time.

I think China is a phenomena where Communism and consumerism co-exist, and do it very well. However, Chinese consumerism is a very pragmatic type. Something that we all can learn from.

photo credit: Wilson Loo

Filed Under: Consumerism, Frugality, Saving, ShareMe Tagged With: china, Consumerism, Frugality

Ask for the Special

January 24, 2011 By Shane Ede 4 Comments

I’m not a very outgoing person.  I have a hard time going up to people I’ve never met.  I have a hard time even talking to people I’ve never met.  So, I have a very hard time following the old advice that you have to ask for the real discount.  Luckily, not everything has to be done in person, so I can send emails for some things.  Which is exactly how I proved that old adage true.

For Christmas, instead of receiving gifts from all of our relatives, we asked them to put in the money that they would normally have spent to a mini-vacation fund for us.  We all have set spending limits for our Christmas presents, so it was pretty easy for them to do that.  Then, we took a nice little weekend trip the day after Thanksgiving.

We wanted someplace nice that would be within the budget, but would still count as a vacation.  In other words, Super 8 just wasn’t going to cut it.  We had originally settled on one place, but, being the curious fella that I am, I kept looking for a better deal.  And, as luck would have it I found one.  In fact, for what it would have cost us for one night at the original place, we stayed for two at the next place.  And, if you want my honest opinion, I think the place I found was a lot nicer.  How did we get such a deal?  I asked for it.

Simple really.  I emailed the manager who was listed on the website.  He forwarded my email on to the guy in charge of reservations.  In my email, I simply told him what days we were planning on staying, and asked if there were any specials that would be active for that weekend.  At this point, he could have easily just said no.  But, he didn’t.  And he earned a customer.

IMG_2154The place was very nice. (Here’s a link and a picture of the living room area if you’re curious: Chase on the Lake, I highly recommend it.) They called the room we stayed in a “condotel”.  Basically, it was a two bedroom, two bathroom, suite with a full kitchen and living room.  Everything was way above the typical standards that we have for a hotel room.  Overall, it was incredible.  We spent the whole weekend relaxing (kid-free, thanks to Grandma) and came home refreshed.

We would have gone on the trip in any case.  But, because I asked for the special, it became a lot cheaper than we had planned on it being.  And, if we plan on doing it again (we will), I think we’ve found our place.  Next time you’re making plans for a trip, or just trying to buy something special, make sure you at least ask for a special.  You might just surprise yourself and get one!

Filed Under: Coupons and Discounts, Frugality, Saving, ShareMe Tagged With: advice, chase on the lake, coupon, discount, frugaler, Saving, special, vacation

Don’t Take Abuse. Know Your Rights.

January 21, 2011 By Aloysa 14 Comments

My friend from work came into my cubicle with tears in her eyes. No, she was not being laid off. She was not having troubles with her boyfriend. She was not upset about anything work related. She admitted that she was being hounded by a debt collector. She owed $135 in medical bills that she was unaware of until the day she got the phone call from a debt collection agency.

Since that day her life turned into a never ending nightmare of phone calls from a man who was threatening to call her mother, to tell her boss, to put a lien on her house and to impound her car. Once my friend was woken up in the middle of the night by this guy! When she asked him why he was calling her in the middle of the night, he responded with a simple “To make sure you are at home.”

I listened to my friend spilling out her frustrations and fears. The debt collector that was calling my friend was obviously violating the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. Obviously my friend was letting him get away with it. Few people are aware of their rights. Unfortunately, my friend was one of them.

I told her that she needed to take a deep breath, pick up the phone and face her issues. But she also had to know her rights. She could fight back against unfair and unethical debt collections tactics. It did not matter that she owed money, a debt collector owed her consideration and fair treatment.

He also needed to respect her rights.

Right # 1. The Fair Debt Collection Practices regulates how debt collectors can contact you. They cannot call you in the middle of the night! If debt collectors are calling you outside of 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM time frame (unless you agree to it), you can and should report them.

Right # 2. You want to make sure you are not falling victim of a scam. Make sure that the debt you are requested to pay is yours. Ask questions, request specifics: ask for the names of the caller, the collection agency and the creditor. I strongly recommend requesting something in writing stating what you owe. If the debt is indeed yours, try to work out some kind of payment plan.

Right #3. Assert your right to privacy. Tell the collector that you are the only person to be contacted. It means that the collector should not be contacting your employer, neighbors, relatives or friends.

Right #4. Don’t tolerate whatever abuse a debt collector decides to dish out. The collector is not allowed any idle threats, use profane language, or imply any threats or use negative comments about you. For example, the collector cannot threaten to impound your car just to get you to pay your debt.

Right #5. You can tell a debt collector to stop contacting you by phone. Send them a certified letter stating you preferred methods of communication. Make sure to keep track of all collection letters. But remember, sending such a letter does not get rid off your debt. You still owe money.

For more information go to ftc.gov.

Once your debt is in collections, you credit score has already taken a big hit.  Don’t ignore your debt. Don’t avoid collection calls. It is not a solution. The longer you take to act, the deeper the hole you’ll find yourself in. Please remember that no matter what you do and how you handle a debt collection, you have to act quickly and responsibly. Most importantly – know your rights!

Filed Under: Financial Miscellaneous, Guru Advice, Personal Finance Education

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