Gotcha Capitalism

Gotcha Capitalism PDF Author: Bob Sullivan
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345504887
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
What is Gotcha Capitalism? Coughing up $4 fees for ATM transactions. Iron-clad cell phone contracts you can’t get out of with a crowbar. Paying big bucks for insurance you don’t need on a rental car or forking over $20 a day for supposedly “free” wireless internet. Every day we use banks, cell phones, and credit cards. Every day we book hotels and airline tickets. And every day we get ripped off. How? Here are just a few examples of how big business can get you: • You didn’t fill up the rental car with gas? Gotcha! Gas costs $7 a gallon here. • Your bank balance fell to $999.99 for one day? Gotcha! That’ll be $12. • You miss one payment on that 18-month same-as-cash loan? Gotcha! That’ll be $512 extra. • You’re one day late on that electric bill? Gotcha! All your credit cards now have a 29.99% interest rate. But not for much longer. In Gotcha Capitalism, MSNBC.com’s “Red Tape Chronicles” columnist Bob Sullivan exposes the ways we’re all cheated by big business, and teaches us how to get our money back–proven strategies that can help you save more than $1,000 a year. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Gotcha Capitalism

Gotcha Capitalism PDF Author: Bob Sullivan
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345504887
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Get Book Here

Book Description
What is Gotcha Capitalism? Coughing up $4 fees for ATM transactions. Iron-clad cell phone contracts you can’t get out of with a crowbar. Paying big bucks for insurance you don’t need on a rental car or forking over $20 a day for supposedly “free” wireless internet. Every day we use banks, cell phones, and credit cards. Every day we book hotels and airline tickets. And every day we get ripped off. How? Here are just a few examples of how big business can get you: • You didn’t fill up the rental car with gas? Gotcha! Gas costs $7 a gallon here. • Your bank balance fell to $999.99 for one day? Gotcha! That’ll be $12. • You miss one payment on that 18-month same-as-cash loan? Gotcha! That’ll be $512 extra. • You’re one day late on that electric bill? Gotcha! All your credit cards now have a 29.99% interest rate. But not for much longer. In Gotcha Capitalism, MSNBC.com’s “Red Tape Chronicles” columnist Bob Sullivan exposes the ways we’re all cheated by big business, and teaches us how to get our money back–proven strategies that can help you save more than $1,000 a year. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Stop Getting Ripped Off

Stop Getting Ripped Off PDF Author: Bob Sullivan
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345520033
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
New York Times bestselling author of Gotcha Capitalism and MSNBC.com "Red Tape Chronicles" columnist Bob Sullivan strikes again to help you evade the financial traps big businesses set for unwary consumers—and shows you how to get the best possible deals every single time. Today's marketplace is full of hidden fees, fine print, and other booby traps designed to trip you up and take your money. You may be losing big even when you think you're getting a steal! But with Sullivan's keen guidance and sensible advice, you can save money and regain control of your financial life. Clearly and concisely, Sullivan reveals • why American consumers make such easy targets for corporate America (you'll be stunned, for example, at how poor our math skills are) • how Wall Street will skim off one third of your retirement money (avoid this trap with Sullivan's new "Pitfall-Proof Pyramid") • the myths behind credit-card reward programs and "the 21st-Century Bank Account" • the real numbers to focus on when buying a new car • why you should spend more time shopping for your mortgage than your home • the key questions you must ask before buying life insurance • the secrets to saving for college and paying off student loans the right way • the best deals on cell phones and pay-TV service With Sullivan's empowering message, financial savvy, and knowledge of consumers' wants and needs, you can outsmart the system, keep your hard-earned cash, and finally stop getting ripped off. And you'll become part of a growing grass-roots movement to rein in the abuses of corporate America before consumers get hurt by another boom-and-bust cycle. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Identities for Life and Death

Identities for Life and Death PDF Author: Robert J. Pellegrini
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1452052085
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 742

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Book Description
This book is all about stories. The stories that shape our identities and how those identities shape our destinies for better or worse, for good or evil, in humanizing or dehumanizing ways. Working from the Shakespearian metaphor, All the world s a stage and all the men and women merely players, Pellegrini argues that only by understanding how our storied selves develop can we acquire the tools to modify the roles they dictate for us to play on the stage in the theater of real life. The author deconstructs a wide variety of what he calls toxic, dehumanizing, death-oriented self-scripts as well as creative, humanizing, life-oriented narratives of groups as well as individuals. Following the Native American parable of two wolves engaged in mortal combat within us, one good the other evil, the fundamental premise here is that our identity determines which of our inner wolves we feed and thus, which of them will prevail. Pellegrini maintains that what s at stake in this battle between humanity s collective inner wolves, is not just the quality but the very survival of life on earth. From this perspective, as individual and group selves are humanizingly or dehumanizingly narratizedby the way we exercise our God-given free will in the choices we make, so shall life be impacted throughout the world. To advance the cause of detoxifying identities in our global society, the author presents a rationale and program for an international grass roots social movement aimed at achieving a universal sense of belongingness to a global life system. You can watch and listen to a video in which Dr. Bob Pellegrini talks about this book, and why he wrote it, by entering Identities for Life and Death in the search bar at youtube.com.]

Save Big

Save Big PDF Author: Elisabeth Leamy
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
ISBN: 0470638982
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
Good Morning America correspondent and ABC News columnist reveals tips for achieving unbelievable savings In this battered economy, saving money matters more to consumers than ever before. But most people are tired of hearing about all the small stuff, like skipping their morning latte. They tried that, and it didn't work. Americans want fresh, bold ideas and Save Big: Cut Your Top 5 Costs and Save Thousands has them. In fresh, engaging prose, Elisabeth Leamy shows consumers how to save big on life's most important and costly items. Filled with actionable advice and the insider secrets readers are hungering for, Save Big Details how to save a lot of money on a few things rather than merely saving a little on a bunch of small items Reveals the keys to saving money and the challenges consumers face Educates consumers on how to save thousands on the five things most people spend the most money on: houses, cars, credit, groceries, and healthcare After the turbulent economic events of the recent past, more and more consumers are focusing on budgeting and creative ways to save money. Save Big can help.

Habit

Habit PDF Author: Neale Martin
Publisher: Pearson Education
ISBN: 0132703904
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
Habit begins with a revolutionary premise–95% of human behavior is controlled by the unconscious mind. This fact exposes the central flaw in marketing theory, market research, and a preponderance of business strategy–that customers are consciously aware of what they’re doing. Habit explains why 80% of new products fail, why billions of advertising dollars are wasted every year, and why even satisfied customers aren’t loyal. In Habit, Dr. Neale Martin persuasively contends that recent research from the brain sciences reveals that our brain evolved two minds–and marketing is focused on the wrong one. By explaining how the mind actually works, Martin shows how 50 years of marketing theory is deeply flawed, and how your customers’ habits thwart even your costliest marketing campaigns. Habit explains in practical terms how to work with both your customers’ executive and habitual minds to not only make sales but more importantly, create loyalty. You’ll discover how behavior actually rewires your customers' mind–and how to leverage this by refocusing on behavior, not on attitudes and beliefs. Martin offers a complete process for working with customers’ unconscious and conscious minds together, to become your customer’s habit, not just their choice. Using these techniques, you can finally achieve the twin holy grails of marketing: higher customer retention, and greater long-term profitability. Why focusing on customer satisfaction is a waste of time Prioritizing customer satisfaction ignores a crucial reality: 85% of customers who defect report being satisfied! How to establish a beachhead in your potential customer’s unconscious Teach new buying habits through cause and effect, reward and repetition Why you should keep your regular customers from thinking about you Learn how to keep repurchase behavior on permanent autopilot

Euphemania

Euphemania PDF Author: Ralph Keyes
Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
ISBN: 0316121959
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
How did die become kick the bucket, underwear become unmentionables, and having an affair become hiking the Appalachian trail? Originally used to avoid blasphemy, honor taboos, and make nice, euphemisms have become embedded in the fabric of our language. Euphemania traces the origins of euphemisms from a tool of the church to a form of gentility to today's instrument of commercial, political, and postmodern doublespeak. As much social commentary as a book for word lovers, Euphemania is a lively and thought-provoking look at the power of words and our power over them.

Getting Unstuck

Getting Unstuck PDF Author: Hugh Thompson
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698183819
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Just try harder. Just work harder. Just do more. But what happens when working harder doesn’t seem to be getting you better results? You’ve got to get unstuck. In Getting Unstuck, Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson show the different kinds of plateaus that can hold you back and how they can be overcome. Using case studies of both success and failure—including Derek Jeter, Blockbuster, and Google—they identify how to avoid pitfalls and to incorporate the peak behaviors that place breakthroughs within anyone’s grasp. If you’ve ever given more and more to a broken relationship, a weight-loss regimen, or a stalled career—only to get less and less in return—Getting Unstuck will change your life.

Generation Earn

Generation Earn PDF Author: Kimberly Palmer
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 158008236X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
As a young professional today, you are part of a generation with greater earning power and more advanced degrees than preceding ones—along with a fresh, holistic outlook on financial success. Yes, you might have taken out more debt than previous generations, but that doesn’t mean you’re a slacker living off credit cards and takeout as media pundits would have people believe. Kimberly Palmer, the Alpha Consumer columnist for US News & World Report, frequently receives questions from twenty-, thirty-, and forty-something readers like you about making smart, sustainable life choices, including: What should I be doing with my savings? • Should I take on freelance jobs? • Where should I invest my money? • Should I buy a house or keep renting? • Does it make sense to share a mortgage with my significant other? • Can I afford a baby? • How can I support the causes I believe in? • Should I start a nonprofit? In Generation Earn, Palmer answers these questions—and many more—in three parts. Part one centers on the self, covering professional goals, personal spending, debt management, and investing. Part two focuses on creating a home, including renting, mortgages, marriage, and saving for baby. Part three addresses the world at large, including green spending, sustainable donating, and supporting nonprofits. Add it all up and you have a plan for every major decision you’ll have to make to create a successful life.

Scammed

Scammed PDF Author: Christopher Elliott
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118108000
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
A leading consumer advocate reveals how to protect your money, time, and integrity from corrupt businesses Once upon a time store prices were simple and fair, businesses stood behind their products with guarantees free of fine print and loopholes, and companies genuinely seemed to care about their valued customers—but those days are long gone. In this groundbreaking exposé, consumer advocate Christopher Elliot reveals the broken relationship between American consumers and businesses and explains how companies came to believe that fooling their customers was a viable, and profitable, business plan. Scammed explores how companies control information to mislead, distort the truth, and even outright lie to their consumers. Exposes the various ways companies have led their war against information—from seductive ads, disingenuous fine print, and unconventional promotions that involve seeding discussion forums and blogs with company-friendly comments Offers consumers insider knowledge of the system, reasonable expectations, and a clear understanding of the games businesses play Christopher Elliott is one of the nation's foremost consumer advocates Protect yourself, your time, and your money from the predators of the consumer world. Armed with knowledge, readers will become far more discerning and every business's worst nightmare.

The Real Cost of Living

The Real Cost of Living PDF Author: Carmen Wong Ulrich
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101446048
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Every decision, from buying a home to grabbing a daily latte, has costs and benefits-personal as well as financial. The Real Cost of Living helps you make better decisions, both big and small- decisions that involve money, but aren't all about money. Well-known personal finance expert Carmen Wong Ulrich makes personal finance personal and takes into account that we all have motivations that go way beyond number crunching. From marriage and family to career, investing, and more, Carmen examines the "real cost" of the choices we all make every day. *Is deciding whether to go back to work full-time after you have a child really all about money? Should it be? *Is prepaying a mortgage a smart-money move, or is it really about craving security and stability-and which means more to you? *How much do your bad habits really cost you? And is saving thousands of dollars enough of a motivation to get you to stop? *Are college degrees really worthwhile? And if so, how can you maximize the odds of gaining all the benefits of a degree, both personally and financially? *Is becoming your own boss the answer to your career malaise? Can you handle the costs? The Real Cost of Living is a rare melding of personal psychology and personal finance at an important time when we have discovered that having more money may not bring more happiness, but knowing what really will make you happy can be worth any cost. Watch a Video