7 Smart Money Management Tips for Safe Shopping



December 22nd, 2009

Money Management Safe Shopping TipsUse these 7 smart money management tips for safe shopping.

1 – Try to use cash or a debit card instead of a credit card to keep from increasing your debt. If you use a credit card, pay off the balance as soon as your statement arrives.

2 – When you do use a credit card, check your statement to see if it is a daily or monthly interest rate card. If it is a daily interest card, pay it off online as soon as the charge hits your card to stop the interest compounding every day until you do pay.

daily-periodic-rate-dpr

3 – Never allow the cashier to leave your card lying on the counter where someone can read, or snap a photo of, the card information.

I have a client who had someone use a cell phone to photograph their card when the cashier placed in face up on the counter rather than handing it back to my client, and then use my client’s card to wire money from Western Union to their brother in another state. I caught it when I saw the $600 charge and asked my client about the charge.

4 – If you are shopping online, use a Credit Card because it offers more protection for online shopping than debit cards.

If fraudulent charges are made with a debit card and you don’t report the activity within two days, you can be held liable for up to $500. On the other hand, if unauthorized purchases are made on your credit card, U.S. Federal law limits your liability to just $50, and in most cases the credit card issuer will waive that fee.

5 – Check your card statement for fraudulent charges online or as soon as you receive it in the mail. You may face unlimited liability if you fail to report the fraudulent charge within 60 days of receiving of the statement that lists the fraudulent purchases.

6 – When shopping online, make sure your computer has the latest virus and spy protection software.

7 – When shopping online be sure to shop only on trusted and secure sites with https:// as the URL in the web address bar at the top of the screen. The “s” is the signal that the website is secure. You can also look for a closed padlock icon on the bottom of the screen in the shopping cart areas.

htpps-secure-shopping

What other good tips can you think of? Leave them in a comment.

  • http://www.invoice-factoring.org/ Invoice Factoring Guy

    These are some really great tips! Common sense that could save many a small fortune!

    • http://www.moneymgmtsolutions.com Sandra

      Thanks, I’m glad you found this helpful.

  • Ilias

    Hi there,
    Super post. Need to mark it on Digg
    Thank you
    Ilias

    • http://www.moneymgmtsolutions.com Sandra

      Thank you Ilias, I appreciate your marking it on digg.com so more people can get this money management information.

  • http://www.moneymanagementdir.com/ jessica Marshall

    Hey there, thanks a lot for the tips. these are really useful, as something we usually do such as give our card to the front desk officer and he/she can take the photo of the credit card and use it in the mean way.

    Anyhow, great tips and appreciated work. cheers:)

    • http://www.moneymgmtsolutions.com Sandra

      Thanks Jessica, I’m glad you will benefit from these money management safe shopping tips!

  • Hipolito M. Wiseman

    Yup, you hit the nail right on its head and told it as it is. Keep up the great posts. BTW, getting into a large amount of debt is a nightmare and I learned it the hard way. I’ve since then almost paid up all of my debt though …

  • Manuela Obyrne

    This a cool post. I like it. Thanks for sharing this article.

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