The salesperson who pressures you to buy now should trigger a red warning flag in your mind. Consider the friend who drops by to give you an opportunity to invest in a red-hot deal. Unfortunately, you must decide today (they say) because they are going to start drilling for oil in the morning.

Now you may be thinking that you would never be seduced into buying drilling rights over the telephone. Don’t be so sure! Greed will get you nowhere. Although many modern consumers have gotten more savvy and are now less easily fooled, greed is still part of human nature. People out there still keep coming up with deals that sound smart to conscientious consumers—but aren’t.

Many banks and credit card companies urge their cardholders to buy protection for losses that occur if their cards are lost or stolen and used by someone else for about $25 a year. Many don’t know, however, that federal law limits cardholders’ liability for unauthorized charges to $50 and then only for charges made before notifying the card issuer. The protection is a waste of money.

Your thoughts on this subject? Your comments appreciated!

Content © Rich Brott, 2011

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