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JAY'S CONSUMER BLOG - NO MODEM FEE

9/17/2018

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This probably belongs on my Comcast / AT&T post but I will break it out since that one is kind of long.  When Comcast comes out, they bring you a modem.  I advocated in my last post that you get the skinniest bundle of telecom services possible - which means just the basic Internet for most people.  If you are Internet only or internet/TV only, you can purchase a refurbished Arris cable modem on Amazon for $35.00. First check Comcast's site or tech  support to ensure compatibility. Comcast will charge you $11/month to use their modem.   This amounts to savings of around $229/ 2 years to buy your own.  While that may not be huge, the focus is on developing frugal/smart consumer habits and making many small smart decisions that, taken together, can result in huge savings and improved  consumer self-confidence.  I believe AT&T may include the equipment, but if not investigate purchasing your own.
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jay's consumer blog - A FEW POINTS ABOUT the car dealer

9/17/2018

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Car purchases are the second largest purchases for most people. other than a house.  As such, this is a big opportunity for a business to take advantage of us or get us to overspend.  It deserves a more detailed blog post than I can write today, but I will comment on a few things while a bigger more detailed post is in the works.

Payments - like the cell phone, we overspend on cars by focusing on the monthly payments.  There are at least two transactions in a car purchase, really, for most people.  Part 1 is the purchase price negotiation.  Part 2 is the financing negotiation and closing the deal.

Car dealers are great at getting us to jump to Part 2, and this enables them to make us overspend on both the car and the financing.  My suggestion is that you enter the dealership telling them you plan to pay by cashier's check, and begin negotiating the price.  Costco and insurance companies like USAA offer car-buying services that may make this practice much easier.  I usually buy used, but the one time I did buy new I found the USAA service to be excellent and the best price I got by far on a new Subaru.  Focus first on price.  You should almost always go for the base or mid-level trim.  The car company makes lots of money off leather seats and alloy wheels!  When you go to sell, you won't recoup more than a small fraction of these expenses.

Once you have the best purchase-price deal, tell the dealership you plan to shop around for the best financing and ask them what they can do.  Once you get your answer, walk out even if it is a good deal.  Go home and call your bank or credit union - look online for rates.

Suppose the dealer has the best rates so you go back to finalize things.  If so, they will next take you to who I call the "ripoff dude".  He will try to sell you an extended warranty, some sort of spray for underneath the car he says makes it not rust, and an alarm.  Say a firm no to all of it and whatever else he has.  The ripoff dude on my Subaru purchase resorted to guilt tripping me - saying they needed to make some money and I needed to help out!   Dealers do not make nearly as much off new vehicles but they have replaced this revenue stream with financing and rip off dude's array of unnecessaries.   If you want the extended warranty, you can get it later and you may be able to buy it online from another dealership of the same car that discounts them over the Internet.


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Spend physical cash instead of using plastic

9/17/2018

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Physical cash is on the way out - the writing is on the wall.  Venmo, Google Pay, Apple Pay - along with good old Visa and Amex - is where the future is.  Some stores no longer accept cash in the US, and this is even more common abroad.  This is unfortunate, because using physical cash is a great budget-discipline tool.  

In short, it is much more painful to pull out physical cash and hand it to the teller than it is to insert the chip.  This pain will instill discipline in us.  Retailers would hate it if we switched back to cash from "easy money plastic" because we would spend so much less.  

Spending cash has a cost - no frequent flier miles, some of the purchase protection aspects of a good credit card.  But especially for casual shopping trips, I encourage my clients to only spend physical cash for 90 days, and see whether they are cutting back their spending.  

Since bankruptcy is both the end of the road and a new beginning for credit, many clients have no choice but to use cash or an ATM card for purchases.  An overwhelming number have told me they were just as happy, and had everything they needed, and were spending much less than they did in their plastic days.  A large number have told me they continued to do this voluntarily despite having restored their credit.

If you do not want to employ this strategy for all or even most purchases, consider using it when shopping for non-necessities or things that you think you tend to overspend on.
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THE COSTCO TRIP - BUY OFF THE LIST

9/17/2018

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Like me, many of my clients shop at Costco.  I have thought a lot about dollars and sense and Costco trips.  On the one hand, they have great deals on things we all need like paper towels and detergents.  But they also have lots of things we can live without and they are great at getting us to buy them.  I have a two-fold strategy I use and suggest my clients use to keep down the Costco bill.

First, sign up for Google Express for delivery of large, bulky stuff.  It can be delivered to your door without extra charges.  In addition to the convenience?  It keeps you out of the store!

I have noticed how when it rains and I go to Costco, there are great looking umbrellas for sale as soon as I walk in the door.  A little nip to the air, and sure enough - a great deal on Patagonia jackets just past the membership-card checker lady!  Costco is great at what I call "need discovery enabling."

You go in the store, and the next thing you know, you realize there are all these things you needed that you didn't even know about!  The umbrella, the jacket, the camping supplies.  The enormous bag of organic veggie chips.  Enough to throw a raging party for a bunch of vegans!  Do yourself a favor and spend less time at Costco by signing up for Google Express.  

A further strategy is to only shop off a list when you are there.  If you see something you want, write it on the list for next time.  You may find you don't really want it when you think about what else you could do with your money.  

Lastly, they have a great return policy.  Don't be shy about taking things back when buyer's remorse kicks in.  You don't want to be back in my office, needing to file bankruptcy again.
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The CELL PHONE Bill - bring your own device and be ready to walk

9/17/2018

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​Do you look at your cell phone bill and immediately feel cheated?  Sure, I use my Iphone a lot, but most of the time it is connected to wi-fi at home.   So I have to pay $85.00 just to send a few ten-digit texts a day and read the newspaper while I am sitting in the car waiting for three year old to wake up?  Say it isn't so!

This has been a tough one to get around for me - until lately.  I tried switching to T-Mobile a few years ago, but at least then it did not work when I was hiking or skiing in the Sierras.  I was away from work, so I wanted to be able to check my emails.  So unfortunately, I had to cancel T-Mobile within a few weeks and go back to Verizon and its high charges.  Verizon does have great reception, and great customer service.  But the primary reason I needed customer service was to complain about the bill!  So it really came down to the reception.

My clients' cell phone bills are commonly between $60 for one person up to $225 for a couple with kids.  Sometimes it's more when they have bought phones from the carrier and are paying for them in monthly installments. 

My first consumer tip would be to not pay for a phone in monthly installments.  First of all, it disguises the true cost of the phone.  Is your smartphone really worth $1400 to you?  The $700 one, last year's model will perform all the same functions - except maybe it doesn't have the latest styling or the coolest new camera tricks.  The three years ago one can be had for $200, and still gets the new software updates (until the end of the year, Apple will replace an Iphone battery for $29 due to a legal settlement - making it good as new.)

From my point of view, the only people who should have a $1400 smart phone are people way richer than me.  They look good carrying them and pulling up in their sweet Tesla to get the same cup of coffee and gallon of milk I drink and take home in my 2012 Honda, and it helps me know they are richer than me - and think about how I would invest their money instead.

I don't have clients driving Teslas, but I do have clients with $1000 phones.  The reason they bought those phones was because the monthly installments made them seem cheaper than they are. 

My suggestion for the truly thrifty is to buy a cell phone used in like-new condition.  You can oftentimes find an Iphone with an extended warranty still in place because a Tesla driver wants the shiny new one.  Use the phone two years, and sell it.  It will probably depreciate about $300 over two years.  You then sell the phone on Craigslist or Ebay to someone else.  the total depreciation of $300/24 months = $12.50 a month net cost.  Compare that to the monthly plan payments required for even the same model phone, and you are saving $25 or more a month and living within your means.

On to the bill.  For all clients, I would recommend that they simply call their existing carrier and ask how they can save on their bill.  I see many clients paying 2011 rates because they never changed their package, and a simple phone call could save $25-60 dollars.

In addition, I learned yesterday that Comcast offers cell phone service to its existing internet subscribers.  The best thing about this is it operates entirely on Verizon's network.  The second best thing is that it is cheap.  The representative at the store in Palo Alto offered me $10 off my cable bill if I signed up.  I could have unlimited data for $45, and get a $150 gift card.  You can also simply pay $12 per gigabyte, so many people could reduce their cell phone bill to $12 or $24.   With the $150 gift card and $10 internet discount factored in, the 1 gigabyte user would effectively have a free phone for over 22 months.

With the $10 cable discount factored in, the net cost of the unlimited cell phone service is $45-$10 = $35, plus the gift card.  Verizon is charging me $75.  They are both Verizon service so I can still count on my phone working wherever I am.  Importantly, I am not locked into anything, and can switch if I am dissatisfied.

Over five years, assuming some tax savings ($2) from the lower rate, if I invest this savings and achieve a 7% rate of return I will have saved $3696.00, and all my calls will still be on Verizon's network using my preferred phone.  Buying and selling my phone and saving another $25 makes that number $5543.00. In addition, I won't have to get annoyed every time I see my credit card getting hit with the phone bill.  Not being annoyed 12 times a year for five years is valuable.



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Jay's consumer tips part one:  THe COMCAST, AT&T BIll

9/17/2018

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The most obvious way for almost every consumer bankruptcy client I see to improve their finances immediately is by reducing their spending on telecommunications bills.  Comcast and AT&T bills are a good place to begin your financial decluttering.

First, it is important to understand the business model these companies use.  Comcast will commonly give you an introductory price for one year, then raise the bill by 10-25% or more when your contract is halfway up (typicall month 13).  Thus, their profit goes up 10-25% based on you doing nothing by month 13, andd you don't anything new.

The first step you should take to reduce your Telecom bill is to analyze your usage.  Almost no one needs the "extra speed" Internet packages.  I recently downgraded to the lowest speed Comcast package at work and at home, and it is more than adequate - including fairly heavy use by another family member at home.  Comcast has raised the lowest speed package about every year or two, so even if the prior base package was not enough, it probably is now.

In addition, ask yourself whether you really need the phone service they provide, or the TV service.  This is 2018, and most entertainment is online and accessible by streaming.  Do you really need a TV in your bedroom or the kitchen?  Those extra outlet charges and extra DVR charges really add up!  If you really want the channels, you can purchase them as packages from Sling or DirectTV now and it will be cheaper, and  you can watch on any device.

Once you have determined what you can live without - likely 65% of what you are currently paying for - call Comcast and ask what deals they have if you renew your contract.  If they are not as good of deals as they advertise for new customers, ask the representative where you can take back all their dusty black boxes and cancel your service immediately.  They will then redirect you to the "Loyalty" department - staffed by individuals who will give you the same prices as new customers if you will re-commit.

If your price went up within the last few months, I have found that the representative will oftentimes retroactively apply the lower rates.  In addition, the loyalty department will often times give you a free 6 - 12 months of HBO.  If you take that offer, you should put a reminder in your phone 6-12 months out to call and cancel.  In addition, once you have renegotiated your agreement, you should put a reminder on your phone calendar that it is time to call back in 12 months.

While the rates will automatically increase in 12 months, you can call back and renegotiate the contract, avoiding the bump up in prices by extending your commitment out another year.

By following these steps on the cable bill, I believe many of my clients can save $75 a month by cutting services they don't use and getting and keeping "new customer" prices.  Some can save far more - I have seen several clients paying over $200 to Comcast!  Another option you should consider is getting these services from Sonic.net.  This company re-sells access on AT&T's network, and has excellent customer service.  I choose to use Comcast because it offers significantly faster upload speeds and a cell phone discount, which will be the subject of another post.

Saving $75 on your telecom bill really adds up.  If you put away $75 a month for 5 years and earn a 7% rate of return on your investment, you will have $5330.00 in your investment account.  In 10 years, you will have $12,346.00.  And what did you give up? - maybe an extra tv outlet, and a few channels you don't watch or extra internet speed that is wholly useless.  In other words, nothing - except a half hour on the phone every year talking to the representative and getting Comcast or AT&T's fingers out of your pocket.

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Jay'S consumer tips - never file bankruptcy twice

9/17/2018

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I am developing a new blog to help clients and other site visitors avoid bankruptcy.  This is obviously against my economic self interest as a bankruptcy lawyer, but is the right thing to do and something I feel very passionate about.  Having filed hundreds of bankruptcy cases, I have been in a position to review my clients' household budgets, tax situations, family finances, and work situations.  I also assist them with obtaining new car and home refinance.  Unfortunately, I see many avoidable mistakes prior to the clients coming in my office the first time.  More unfortunately, I see these same mistakes being made twice!  While it is nice for my clients to keep in touch, I want to hear how they are doing better and that they feel more at peace since we met, and not have them asking whether they qualify for another Chapter 13 or 7 discharge yet!

Additionally, when it comes to my own finances, I have always really liked getting good deals, and have also tried hard to avoid bad deals.  The bad deals make me feel bad about my finances, and worse about my own judgement. There is a temptation to mentally "write off" small economic errors that cumulatively add up to very large amounts of money.   These mistakes may not be the primary cause of bankruptcy.  However, when the bankruptcy is over or while it is in progress, making changes to the household budget could mean the difference between eventual economic security (including a rainy day fund), a more comfortable retirement, and self-empowerment, versus being "played" by multinational financial institutions.  These "players" are all around us!  

I try to be vigilant, but I had some experience with this fairly recently.  As my practice quickly expanded in the early 10s, I took on many software subscriptions, probably bought a few too many computers and Iphones, and generally overlooked small insults to my finances on the basis that I was trying to "focus on the big picture" - making my practice successful and busy.   Once I took a step back from that "big picture" and cut my expenses, I found that the benefits far exceeded the financial benefits.  I felt better about myself when I had fewer financial commitments, was getting better deals, and had less equipment and vendor relationships to manage.  There is a recent, very popular book by Marie Kondo about de-cluttering our homes to reduce stress.  One big-picture purpose of this blog is to advocate for financial de-cluttering.  Whether or not you have any interest or reason to file bankruptcy, I want to help you save money, save stress, and generally feel like a more prudent consumer.  

We walk out of our houses every day, and so-called reputable corporations have their hands in our pocket - almost from the beginning.  So I want to point out these pocket-pickings so my clients benefit financially, and feel more in control of their financial destiny.   I come across good deals, bad deals, and flat-out ripoffs almost daily, so I will use this blog to point those out - along with other consumer tips.
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