New EBook on Saving Your Money

I just published my second eBook in a series designed to help you, the consumer, to get your best deal and best service wherever you shop.  My first eBook, "The Best Habits of Highly Skilled Negotiators:How to Get the Best Deal Every Time," provided both general and specific advice on negotiating the best deal. It is available on Amazon Kindle for just $.99. It is a general help book that will undoubtedly save you money whenever you shop. My latest book (entitled "Getting the Best Price on Practically Everything") in the series entitled "Saving Your Money"," while intended primarily for men, gives specific information on how you can get the lowest price on groceries, items in department stores and just about anything else. It is subtitled "The Only Buying Guide You Will Ever Need"because it so comprehensive that you will save money from just one quick read. It is a light-hearted, but very informative book that I know you will enjoy reading and profiting from.  It is available at Amazon for the Kindle for $2.99.
Www.amazon.com

If you decide to purchase either book, please let me know what you think. Thanks.

Do Stock Brokers Need Help to Advise Boomers on How to Invest their Money?

Do stock brokers and financial advisors need help in preparing to advise baby boomers how they should invest their money as they plan for retirement and retire?  Well, Bank of America Merrill Lynch apparently thinks so. According to a report on today's "onwallstreet" website, Merrill has retained a gerontologist, to assist in preparing its advisors to deal with the aging population in America, who are customers of Merrill. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a gerontologist is a person who is trained to study the social,psychological and biological aspects of aging.  It differs from geriatrics which is the medical study of aging.

The gerontologist named by Merrill, Cynthia Hutchins, has a degree in gerontology from the University of Southern California (USC) and has worked for some 28 years in the financial industry and for 15 years with Merrill in various capacities.. She was named by Merrill  to train Merrill's 15000 advisors on how they can better assist clients with age-related issues such as planning for retirement , use of resources in retirement as well as other health and finance issues, as well as issues arising from things such as dealing with adult children who return home and grandparents raising their grandchildren

Sounds like it might be a good idea.  Let me know what you think.

How to Get the Best Deal and Service

Today's USA Today has two articles which touch upon two interests that I have written about on several occasions: getting the best deal and the best service. In the USA Snapshots sidebar on the first page of the Money section, the results of a survey of over 1000 adults determined that the industry with the worst customer service is the cable and internet industry.

The second article, also in the Money section is entitled "Never ever pay full price." The article quotes  the so-called "bargain king", Mark Ellwood, on the best way to get the best deal when making a purchase. One of his tips is to engage the sales person so they will help you get that best deal. I have written about that same approach on this blog and in my Ebook, "How to Get the Best Deal Every Time." (Available at Amazon for $1.99--a real bargain itself). The way to engage the sales person or the customer service rep at the cable company is really quite simple: just ask them how they are doing. You will be surprised how much those few words will save you in money and aggravation.

Sources: USA Today, December 4, 2013, Bargain Fever: How to Shop in a Discounted World by Mark Ellwood

How to Get Money from an ATM while Abroad

Are you traveling to Europe this summer and worry you might not have enough money with you while there?  The simple answer, of course, is to use an ATM if you need immediate cash. Whoa! One problem you will probably encounter is that the machine may not take your standard ATM card (and no, it is not necessarily because you don't have any money in your account).  Most European ATM machines use a different method for reading the card you use. The standard bank card in this country is swiped when using the machine and the machine reads the magnetic strip. European cards, called EMVs, also use a magnetic strip but, in addition, they contain a microchip that provides an extra level of security against fraud and scammers.

This should give you an overview of the problem in getting money from an ATM while abroad. It just might be a good idea to get an EMV card before traveling internationally. For a more complete discussion, see the Nerdwallet blog. 
http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/2012/traveling-emv-credit-card/