How to Be a Smart Shopper

Series Summary

Historically, credit is as old as the idea of a promise and as common as opening a tab at the local bar, but an economic system built on credit uses a more restricted meaning. An economy based on credit leaves only the lenders free and literally “scores” individuals based on their ability to stay in debt and continually make money for lenders. Many Americans believe a good credit score means simply that a person is responsible and timely in paying off the loans that he or she was required to take in order to function in society. However, a person with a high credit score can be someone who stays in just the right amount of debt to be a good investment for financial institutions. In this free video series, a registered financial consultant provides advice for people looking to use loans and credit cards. Find out how credit is figured, how secured credit cards work and how child support affects credit scores. Learn about credit ratings, Chapter 13 and its affect on credit scores, and applying for a business credit card. Gain a better understanding of credit and credit cards with help from these free videos.

Video Transcript

"This is financial adviser, Patrick Munro on how to be a smart shopper. In the world of consuming and consumerism in America it is sometimes not how much you make it is how much you save and being a smart shopping is all about savings. You want to make sure that you go into a store if you are looking for an electronics item for instance you would go to one store then another find out the best offer that is available and then compare. Really you can play one store off another if you have existing coupons. You can ask that store to meet or beat that price. Many times there are discount stores and discount clubs that you can belong to that will allow you to pay a lower price than retail on the particular item. One of the most notable of those is called Direct Buy and at Direct Buy you can go out to a retailer and find out what the exact retail price is and then go back to Direct Buy and be able to buy that same item wholesale from the manufacturer directly. Direct Buy of course would charge you a big fee to do that. Being a smart shopper it is also important not to spend too much money out of your overall household budget that would lower your credit score. So be mindful of that. Make sure you only buy what you need and always be mindful that you can be a smart shopper if you put the extra time into it. This is financial adviser, Patrick Munro."