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Consumer Awareness
When my wife and I were first married, there wasn’t a whole lot we knew about being savvy consumers. There were a lot of things we needed to establish our household and we just went out and bought them without thinking of the consequences. We rented furniture because we thought it was cheaper that way, we didn’t do our homework. We made several other bad decisions causing us to live from payday to payday. When you’re making less than $200 a month it doesn’t take much to get you into trouble, if we had an emergency we couldn’t pay one or two of our bills. In order to get out of debt we had to cash all of our savings bonds. Later we learned it was cheaper for us to go buy new furniture than what we were currently paying to rent it. The old saying came true when you hear “Buyer Beware”, you have to do your homework and research things before jumping in with both feet.
You and your spouse are targets; you will be subject of exaggerated product claims, their goal is to get us to buy their products, sellers will use the following advertising tricks on to get you to buy or into their store:
- Informative – Facts about a product because the product sells itself.
- Emotional – TV ads that pull your heart strings, for example pleas for charity.
- Personalized – Information you receive in the mail, free address labels.
- Association – A celebrity sponsor in commercials an advertisements.
- Buzz words – Words you see or hear like “Where’s the Beef”.
- Fear – Something like “This is your brain; this is your brain on drugs” Using fear as a sales pitch, Insurance Companies use this approach.
- Berating – Using Peer Pressure, there’s something wrong with you if you don’t buy this particular item or service.
There are some common scams you should be aware of:
- Auto Repair Rip-Offs – Your car is in for repairs and they find something else wrong other than what you took the car in for, women are very susceptible to this type of scam. Most states require that they give a written estimate and some even limit the estimate to not exceed 10%. Always request to see the old part, its important to have a basic knowledge of the difference between brake pads and a brake job, beware of after market parts.
- Bait and Switch – If it seems too good to be true it probably is. Stores will advertise a fabulous bargain and try to sell you something else when they get you in the store. The advertised item will be out of stock, when this happens run, do not walk to get out of the store.
- Investment schemes – You’ve probably heard them called pyramid schemes, they offer a high rate of return with no risk to you. These schemes are good for the promoters, but not for the participants. Eventually the pyramid will collapse.
- Prize promotions – Telemarketing is really good at this, often this is done through email when you get those emails saying congratulations you’ve just won something or they offer you a free dinner or a trip to Hawaii. These are used to sell expensive time shares.
- Title Loans – They will give you a loan for enormous interest, as much as 400% or higher, the want your car title as collateral. If you forget or miss one payment the car is theirs and they will sell it and pocket the profit, you get nothing. Don’t ever do this, you’ll find a lot of these places around all military installations.
- Payday Loans – These are small loans where repayment is due next payday, you’ll be required to write a post dated check for them to hold until your next payday. The typical interest on these types of loans is over 400%. There are also many of these around all military installations. If you have a valid emergency use your Chain of Command or go see the Navy Marine Corp Relief Society.
- Questionable Charities – Not all charities are legitimate, unfortunately you may receive phone calls asking you to contribute to some law enforcement agency, very few law enforcement agencies solicit over the phone. Beware of copy cat organizations like someone saying they are from the Red Cross; ask for written information before donating.
- Credit Repair – Someone may guarantee you that they can erase your bad credit; no one can fix your credit, except you, only on time and a deliberate effort on debt repayment will improve your credit. Anyone promising to hide your bad credit is breaking the law and that means they’re just out to get your money.
“Buyer Beware” , someone is out there right now scheming to get your money, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
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If you have questions or need assistance after graduating from the SDCC Military PFM course contact one of the counselors listed below:
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General Information
- SDCC has articulated the Navy PFM course for one college credit. Navy personnel who have graduated from the Navy PFM course qualify. Typically, it can be difficult to apply one credit and meet the requirements of a three credit semester long course at most colleges and universities. With that in mind, we have taken the initiative of developing a two credit online course that will be available upon completion of the Navy PFM course. Sailors who have completed the requirements of both the Navy PFM course and the online PFM course will be given credit for completing the three credit Consumer Studies 110 course offered by San Diego City College and Mesa College and transferable to any Servicemembers Opportunity College (SOC).
- For additional information or to see if you qualify contact a PFM counselor.
Military Pay Chart - 2008 3.5% Pay Increase
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