Traveling for Business? How to Make the Most of It

by Miranda Marquit · 0 comments

I’m on a business trip right now. As I’ve prepared for this trip, and as I’ve got under way, I’ve been thinking about how to make the most of it, especially financially.

If you are traveling for business, there are ways to maximize the situation so that the financial impact is relatively small; you might even come out ahead.

Get Someone Else to Pay

There’s nothing like traveling for free. On this trip, the client is paying the expenses. I’ve traveled for clients in the past, but they have always reimbursed me. This time, though, I don’t have to pay out of pocket. The client bought my plane ticket, and reserved my hotel. I love that I don’t have to wait to be reimbursed for this trip.

Depending on the situation, you might be able to get someone else to pay. If you travel for a company, chances are that all the arrangements will be made, and you don’t have to worry about it. If you are being reimbursed, though, you need to make sure that you save all of your receipts.

Finally, consider a per diem. Many companies provide a per diem for food and other incidentals. In some cases, you might actually get to keep what you don’t spend. If this is the case, carefully planning can help you actually make money on the trip. And, of course, you should also be paid for your work time.

Rack Up the Points

If you have the chance, rack up the points that you can. While you might not be able to benefit from airline tickets charged to the company credit card, you still might be able to get frequent flyer points. If you belong to a program that will credit you for trips taken when you enter your confirmation number, you can at least get a few extra points. That’s what I’m doing on this trip. The client gets the credit card reward points, but since my name isn’t connected to their frequent flyer account, I get the frequent flyer miles.

If you are going to be reimbursed for your expenses, use your rewards credit card to make your purchases. From airfare to hotel reservations to rental car reservations to food, use your rewards card. Rack up the points or cash back, and save your receipts. Once you are reimbursed, use the money to pay off the credit card. You get to keep the points, and you didn’t have to pay for the business trip.

Tax Deduction

Finally, if you travel for business but you aren’t reimbursed, you can take a tax deduction. While I am being reimbursed for expenses on this trip, I’m not being reimbursed for mileage on my car, and the IRS allows a deduction for mileage. So, I’m keeping track of the mileage it takes to get to and from the airport, and I’ll get a tax deduction.

If you aren’t being reimbursed for airfare or hotel, or other similar expenses, you can claim a deduction. It’s also possible to claim a deduction for a portion of meals that’s not reimbursed.

Before you travel for business, consider your situation. You might be surprised to find that there are ways to make the most of your travel.

Allowance: Money-Management Training

by Jessica Sommerfield · 0 comments

Paying children an allowance, a practice that’s become prevalent in our society, can be either a hindrance or a help to a child’s concept of money management. A recent survey indicated that the average child receives $15 a week in allowance; in a year, some kids make close to $800.

While being given a certain dollar amount to spend on non-essential purchases can teach a child budgeting skills and appreciation for the value of money and possessions, receiving too much spending money can also foster dependence and set unrealistic standards. Research indicates that the higher the amount of allowance a child receives, the more non-essential expenses their parents are likely to fork out for them in other areas. With the current trend of the Millennial generation living at (or moving back) home later into their twenties, parents should consider carefully how much support they want to provide.

There are many different ways parents determine how much allowance to give their children. Some give children a dollar amount that’s half their age or $1 for every year, while others base allowance on their budget and their children’s discretionary spending habits and needs.

Whatever the allowance plan you set up for your children, you need to be intentional. Here are some suggestions for how to teach money management concepts to your children through their allowance.

Set up an allowance budget.

If you stop at giving your children money every week and provide no guidelines on what to do with it, they will probably spend it…all of it. While allowance is designed to be spent, letting your children spend 100% of their income can make it harder for them to save when they reach adulthood. Many financial advisers suggest requiring your children to save 1-10% of their allowance for short-term as well as long-term goals. With older children, it’s also good to set up a college fund they can contribute to.

Teach your children how to save, even at a young age, by letting them use their allowance money for a special toy or game.
Instead of covering the full cost of your teen’s first vehicle, have them contribute towards it.

Make clear what your children are expected to pay for with their allowance, and keep it realistic. For instance, your 10-year old probably isn’t going to be buying her own clothes, but your teenager will.

Provide incentives.
Just as we adults are lured to work harder by the promise of overtime pay or a bonus, you can teach your children to be motivated to work hard with the promise of a reward.

Offer bonus allowance for completion of extra chores
Hire them to be your personal assistant for a day
Reward academic diligence, whether getting good grades all semester or completing all homework on time

Don’t bail them out.
It’s easy to overspend, as well all know, and your children will undoubtedly do it from time to time. Whether the consequences include failing to save enough for a special outing or purchase or being unable to go to the movies with their friends, don’t give in to the temptation to bail them out, especially if they’re repeat offenders. Children whose parents always cover them regardless of their irresponsibility with their allowance learn to lean heavily on the assistance of others. Letting them face relatively trivial consequences at a young age may save them larger blunders later on. Your children need to learn to budget their money if they’re going to succeed on their own.

It goes beyond money.
While learning good money management skills while they’re young, setting habits, and in a protected environment will help them grow into financially responsible adults; teaching kids how to handle their allowance can also help them develop traits that will affect all areas of life, such as:

Good work ethic
Motivation
Personal discipline
A sense of accomplishment
Frugality
Thankfulness
Generosity

When You Should Hire a Professional Instead of Doing It Yourself

by Gina Blitstein · 1 comment

Many times, you can save a considerable amount of money by tackling tasks and projects yourself rather than hiring someone to do them for you. This has been discussed in a couple previous posts: Should You Do It Yourself? and DIY or Hire Help? 6 Questions to Ask Yourself.

The fact is, however, all do-it-yourself questions aren’t simply a matter of hiring someone because you don’t want to do it or because you don’t know how. Sometimes, no matter how willing you are to give a project your “do-it-yourselfer” best, it’s not prudent to take it on. Certain important projects require the professional expertise, even though it seems like you could potentially do it – and save yourself some money to boot. Hiring a professional will help you prevent getting in over your head or making a serious or expensive mistake by taking on a project that entails more than you’re equipped to handle.

Here are some areas in which the stakes are particularly high and where a lack of expertise may lead to serious and unfortunate consequences. You may well be better off hiring a pro when considering anything that:

Concerns health, legal or financial matters – The consequences of being under-informed in treating an ailment, making a will or investment decisions could be devastating on a life-changing scale.
Requires specialized knowledge and/or skill – Major construction, renovations, electrical, plumbing or landscaping is not to be approached lightly. Costs can quickly spiral out of control and dangerous situations can be unwittingly created by the uninitiated.
Is potentially dangerous – Working at heights, heavy lifting, working with dangerous materials or chemicals… these are best done by those who are trained and/or highly experienced.
Involves braun and/or stamina – Even if you are fit and healthy, some jobs like moving furniture or shoveling snow are simply performed better, faster and with less risk of injury by those who do it professionally.
Requires specialized equipment – Buying – or even renting – equipment you need once in a blue moon makes little sense. Hiring someone who already has the equipment (and knows how to use it) is a better solution.
Is overly time-consuming – Don’t discount the value of your own time – or the ability of a professional to get their job done much faster and more efficiently than you as a weekend warrior. Sure, you could re-side your entire house but it may take you the entire summer, preventing you from doing a plethora of other projects that are less time-consuming and just as frugal.

Any project that includes these considerations is no ordinary do-it-yourself job. A misstep on your part could lead to unforeseen problems that could lead to higher expenses – which is decidedly un-frugal. It’s smart to seek out a competent, affordable professional to perform the work.

It’s up to you to draw the line at what you can reasonably do yourself and hire the professionals to do that which doesn’t fall under your purview. Don’t feel that by hiring a professional that you’re copping out on being frugal. Most jobs can be broken down into parts, some of which you can still do in order to defray the total cost of a task or project for which you hire a pro. The important thing to realize is that, while it’s a great idea to do what you can yourself in order to keep your expenses under control, it’s only smart to do so when its appropriate.

In the long run, making wise decisions will give you a better and outcome at a more affordable cost.

Where’s the line where you hire a professional?

How to Avoid 3 Online Shopping Pitfalls

by Miranda Marquit · 0 comments

One of the best ways to get a good deal on just about anything is to shop online. Online shopping provides you with the opportunity to compare prices from multiple retailers, as well as save over buying in town (in some cases).

However, just because online shopping can be a great resource and tool doesn’t mean that there aren’t pitfalls. In fact, there are tricks that online retailers use in an attempt to separate you from your hard-earned cash. Here are 3 online shopping pitfalls to watch out for:

1. Daily Deals

Do you get daily deals and coupons delivered to your inbox? If so, you might be at risk for spending on things you had no intention of buying. While you can get great deals from sites like Groupon and Living Social, there are also concerns that you might spend more than you planned.

First of all, these daily deals are designed to convince you to buy something that you might not have purchased ordinarily. You’re not truly saving money if you spend it on something that you didn’t particularly want or need. Next, you have to consider that these deals are designed to push you into a snap decision by creating a sense of urgency. Most of these deals are only available for a short period of time, and you feel like you might “lose out.”

Instead of falling prey to the daily deals, step back. Would you need this item even if it weren’t being offered for such a deal? If the answer is no, just delete the email and move on with your day. And try not to make decisions when you feel pressured for time.

2. Online Cookies

I don’t know about you, but after I visit a web site, or look at something interest, I notice that it tends to follow me around the Internet. This is due to the cookies that many sites leave on your computer. They keep track of where you’ve been, and deals keep being offered to you. Eventually, you see it enough from site to site that you cave in and buy the item.

If you want to avoid the way this type of cookie crumbles, clear your cache. You can clear cookies from your cache, and the interesting things you thought about, but weren’t really intending to buy, will stop stalking you. You will be able to put up a better fight. Plus, clearing your cache can mark you as a “first time” shopper to some sites. Without the cookie, you might get offered a special deal. In fact, if you are looking for something specific, it can make sense to clear your cache first, and then try to find the item. You might see a better price on something you had already planned to buy.

3. Dynamic Pricing

Interestingly, online pricing can vary based on demand and time of day, and a number of factors. My husband has seen certain items priced one way, and then seen them drop during off-peak shopping hours. My husband loves a good deal, so he uses dynamic pricing to his advantage. Don’t shop at peak times of the day, week, or year. (My husband does all of the Christmas shopping for our son well before the Christmas shopping season starts.)

You can also make use of price comparison web sites. My husband’s favorite is a site that watches the history of Blu-ray prices. He watches for patterns, and only buys when the movie hits his preferred price. You can do this with numerous web sites to avoid falling victim to dynamic pricing.

Lunchbox Savings Can Easily Be Discovered

by Jessica Sommerfield · 0 comments

It’s time to send the kids back to school, and that means getting back into the habit of packing lunches. First of all, packing your child’s lunch instead of paying for poor-quality and nutrition-deficit school-provided lunch items is essential to saving money and keeping your child healthy; even if you don’t think you have the time, it’s important to make the time. Packing lunches the night before and having items ready to go will make school mornings less hectic and eliminate the excuse to skip packing lunches. And, even if you’re already saving money (not to mention nutrition) by packing your child’s lunch instead of paying for hot school lunches, there are countless ways you can make packing lunches more economical and healthier without spending a lot of extra time. The following are easy ways you can start saving more money this school season with every lunch you pack.

Don’t buy single-serve items — you’re wasting money.

If you take a moment to determine the per-unit price of single-service versus regular-sized items, you’ll quickly discover that you’re paying for the convenience while getting far less actual food for your money. Instead, buy larger units and divide them up into single servings yourself. You can create your own single-serve jello, pudding and fruit cups in more interesting flavors and variety than you can find prepackaged. This can be done ahead of time, perhaps while you’re watching television.

Invest in cheap, reusable plastic ware.

Using plastic baggies is convenient but wasteful. Instead, consider purchasing packages of various-sized small plastic containers that fit nicely in lunch bags and can be re-used again and again. Store-brand plastic containers are usually sufficient quality for this purpose, since you’ll have to replace lost and damaged ones, anyway. Designate these containers for lunch packing and keep them together in one location to make the ritual faster and more convenient.

Make lists and rotate for variety.

Create a good-sized list of lunch box staples (items your kids like and work well as on-the-go foods) and keep them in stock. Packing the same items every day isn’t fair to your children’s pallet. Mixing it up will encourage them to appreciate a variety of different foods and ensure more balanced nutrition. Look for sales on the items you use to pack lunches on a regular basis and stock up, using coupons and sales ads.

Get creative.

Lunches don’t have to be confined to sandwiches, chips, fruit and cookies. Consider utilizing dinner leftovers in your children’s lunches –any items that can be eaten cold or placed in a thermal container that holds heat until lunch time. Soup stays hot in thermos containers and provides a warming meal during cold winter months. Rather than chips, consider packing dry cereal. It makes a great crunchy snack, can be bought in bulk, and usually carries more nutrition than chips. If you want to send something sweet, spend a Saturday at home baking and freeze single-servings of breads, muffins, brownies and cookies. This will be much cheaper than buying treats, and your home-baked goods will contain fewer preservatives and chemicals than the packaged variety.

Make it fun!

Saving money on packing lunches doesn’t have to be boring and mundane. By using a little creativity, variety, and ingenuity, your children will begin to look forward to seeing what’s in their lunch every day, and will make other kids jealous of their ‘cool’ parents who take the time to do what’s best for their child, their budget, and their lifestyle.

Container Garden Update: Vegetable Production Continues Well into Late Summer

by Gina Blitstein · 0 comments

This summer I’ve been growing vegetables in containers and reporting on my garden’s progress. Container gardening is a frugal alternative for those without sufficient or appropriate space for a traditional vegetable garden. In case you’d like to follow along with my adventures from the beginning, previous articles on this subject are, No Space to Grow Vegetables? Try Container Gardening as a Frugal Alternative, Frugal Container Vegetable Gardening in Action and Container Garden Update: the Bounty Begins!

As we near September, my garden has been in full-swing for a month or more, producing a great bounty of vegetables. First the leafy greens – spinach and lettuce – appeared, along with their fellow cool-weather friends, radishes and green onions in June. Next came the green beans and jalapeños along with the herbs – parsley, oregano, chives, cilantro, basil, sage, thyme and marjoram in July. For the past few weeks, it has been a tomato, zucchini and summer squash extravaganza around here. Fortunately, I was prepared for the bounty of tomatoes and have been putting them to good use so none of them have gone to waste.

But even with all its production thus far, the garden is far from done. In mid-July, I planted another batch of green beans. Their growing season is short enough to fit in two harvests in a summer. I’ll already be harvesting some of this “fall crop” within a few days. With the arrival of mid-August, I planted some additional seeds that, because they prefer a cooler growing temperature, will yield produce well into the autumn, including lettuce, spinach, radishes, green onions and carrots. Already all these new plantings have sprouted and are off to a vigorous start. Bear in mind, I’ve used the second half of the seed packets I originally purchased in May for this fall planting so I’m still operating within my ever-so-frugal budget of $100 for all my gardening supplies purchased this season, which included seeds, seedlings and potting medium. The containers I used were ones I already had on hand or were items I’d repurposed into planters, like cat litter buckets and old dresser drawers. The only other expense of vegetable gardening has been water – and I’ve been offsetting its cost in two ways:

Mindfully saving/reusing water from the house. Instead of dumping the cat’s water bowl or what’s left in a glass down the drain, I save it in a pitcher that I use to water my containers. I’ve also used water I’ve used for boiling eggs – most any unsalted cooking water can be put to use in the garden.
Keeping a rain bucket in the garden. It’s been dry this last month but when we do get some precipitation, the bucket collects any rainfall so I can use it to water my containers.

Although these solutions are a far cry from providing all the water my garden needs, they are helping to keep the water bill from getting out of control.

I’m certainly not an experienced gardener but what I didn’t already know, I researched on the good ol’ Internet and all my questions have been answered. Questions like, “How do I know when my Green Zebra heirloom tomatoes (which are still green when mature) and my Kentucky Beefsteak heirloom tomatoes (which are orange when mature) are ripe?” And, why isn’t my zucchini making any fruit? Yep, all asked and answered.

Container gardening has been an exciting, frugal and productive pastime this year. I highly recommend you try it yourself; it lends itself – at least to some degree – to nearly every housing situation.

Have you tried container vegetable gardening?

What Should You Do If You Can’t Pay Your Student Loans?

by Miranda Marquit · 0 comments

One of the difficulties afflicting many consumers right now comes with student loans. Often, student don’t realize how much they really have in loans until they start making payments. And in an economy climate where good jobs are scarce, it is increasingly difficult to make those student loan payments as required.

So, what happens if you find yourself in a position in which you can’t pay your student loans? The good news is that you have options. Here are some of your possible choices if you find yourself unable to make your student loan payments:

Income-Based Repayment

One of your best options, if you can make some form of payment, is to apply for the government’s income-based repayment (IBR) plan. With an income-based plan, your loans are consolidated, and you are issued a 25-year loan. Your payments are based on your income, so you don’t have to worry as much about affordability.

The downside to the IBR plan is that you might end up paying more over the life of your loan, since you pay for so much longer. Overall, you could pay thousands more by the time the 25 years is up. Also, you have to periodically re-submit your information so that your payments can be adjusted to reflect an increase in your income.

Deferment

Another options is deferment. When you have your student loan payments deferred, you can put off paying principal and interest. In some cases, as when you have a subsidized loan or a Perkins loan, the government will pay your interest during deferment.

If you aren’t eligible to have the government pay your interest during deferment, your interest will continue to accrue, even though you don’t have to make the payments. Additionally, at the end of the deferment period the accrued interest might be added to the loan total, increasing the amount that you end up repaying.

Forbearance

With forbearance, you can stop making payments, or make reduced payments, for a period of up to 12 months. With forbearance, your interest continues to accrue — no matter what kind of loan you have. As with deferment, any interest that has continued to accrue might be capitalized at the end of your forbearance. That means that you could end up paying more overall.

How to Request Help with Your Student Loans

With IBR, you apply through the government’s Direct Loans program. The government then handles the consolidation of your federal loans, including loans like Stafford loans that were in effect before the Direct program took effect.

If you want forbearance or deferment, you need to request it through your loan servicer. You might not qualify for either of these options, although there are some cases in which lenders are required to grant you forbearance — but you have to meet certain conditions.

It’s also worth noting that there are special programs that can help you discharge your student loans a little earlier. Some careers can lead to partial student loan forgiveness, and there are organizations, such as the military and AmeriCorps, that can help you pay off your student loans.

Roundup of Common Products You Can Make Inexpensively at Home

by Gina Blitstein · 0 comments

Most people are conditioned these days to look to the marketplace for all the products they need. It isn’t surprising, since mass-manufactured products are cranked out in abundance and are widely available – and advertised. Consumers rarely question the price of items, their quality or ingredients. If marketing makes us want it, generally speaking, we will buy it without a second thought.

The consumerist mindset goes on to assume that mass-produced products are intrinsically “better” than what could be made by an individual. If you get in the habit of being curious about what’s in your favorite products, however, you may be surprised that their ingredients are common, inexpensive, and their formulations easy to recreate at home for pennies. Consider making some of the products you ordinarily buy – it’s a fun way to save on these common products while customizing them to suit your personal preferences.

Here’s a collection of some homemade concoctions that you can create from inexpensive ingredients you may well already have on hand – or can easily locate.

Around the House

General Cleaning
Household Cleaning Products

Garbage Disposal Cleaner
DIY Disposal Cleaner

Laundry Detergent
Recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent

Laundry/Household Stain Remover
Homemade Miracle Cleaner

Bathroom Cleaning
Non-Toxic Bathroom Cleaning and Homemade Soft Scrub Recipe

Hard Water Stain Remover
How to Remove Hard Water

Pest Control
Natural Spider Killer
How to Make Natural Outdoor Fly Repellent with Essential Oils
How To Get Rid Of Ants: Homemade, Natural Ways To Stop An Infestation

Home Improvement/Decor
Make Chalkboard Paint – Chalkboard Rocks

Auto
Easy Car Upholstery Stain Remover

Weed Killer
Weed Killing!

TV/Computer Monitor Cleaner Solution

Instructions: Mix equal parts Isopropyl rubbing alcohol and distilled water. Pour into a clean spray bottle. Wipe surfaces with a microfiber cloth.

Make-It-Yourself Fabric Refresher
Recipe

1/8 cup fabric softener
2 tablespoons baking soda
Hot tap water
Empty large spray bottle

Instructions: Pour fabric softener and baking soda into spray bottle. Fill spray bottle with hot water and shake well.

It takes a little time and effort to make these homemade concoctions but they yield a multitude of benefits, including:

Most are made with common, mild ingredients that are not harmful to humans, pets or the environment.
The ingredients are most likely already around your house or easily procured.
You can control the ingredients, taking sensitivities, restrictions or allergies into account.
You can customize their strength, fragrance, flavor and/or quantity to your own preferences.
They can be as effective as their mass-produced counterparts.
You are being environmentally responsible by eliminating the need for new package manufacturing by refilling existing containers every time you mix up a new batch of your homemade product.
Best of all, they are far cheaper than similar commercially-produced products, freeing up more of your budget because, let’s face it, you’ve got better things to spend your hard-earned dollars on!

What products have you created at home instead of buying?

How Much Spending is Too Much? Where Do You Draw the Line?

by Miranda Marquit · 0 comments

Several year ago, when my husband and I were buying our home, we were confronted with the ability to make a number of upgrades. We were purchasing a new-built home, and since it wasn’t completed yet, we were able to swoop in during the last stages and choose things like carpet and paint color, and where we wanted cable jacks.

We thought about things we wanted in the house, such as a closet for the room downstairs (to make it a true bedroom) and deadbolts (didn’t come standard). With every new thing we added to the house, the cost went up. It wasn’t a huge cost, but it was a cost nonetheless. We decided that we didn’t want to wrap these extra costs into the home loan; we figured we pay for them out of pocket. The final decision was in the kitchen appliances. For $50 per appliance, we could have the stove, fridge, and dishwasher upgraded.

We already felt overwhelmed by everything, and I was was getting a little depressed about the way the costs for the house were adding up (and we hadn’t even put in a yard yet!). So I put my foot down. I drew a line. Even though it was “only” $150, I said no more. I figured that we were spending enough. There would always be more to spend on.

“Too Much” Often Depends on Perspective

Now, years later, I kind of wish I hadn’t drawn that line. Six years ago, $150 seemed like “too much.” Our income was about half what it is now. At the time, it seemed urgent that we cut some spending, and that we do what we could to keep things under control. Now, though, $150 doesn’t seem like a big deal, and when I try to fit all of our groceries into our too-small fridge, I think about how much more cost-efficient it would have been to pay the extra $50 for that appliance, rather than contemplate the possibility of spending hundreds of dollars on a new fridge.

My perspective has changed, and so has my idea of what “too much” entails.

But the same can be said for a number of other spending decisions. When is a movie ticket too much? When the price edges up over $12, even though it’s only an increase of $1.00? How much are you willing to spend for a really great meal? When is a dinner entree too much? We draw all sorts of lines when making spending decisions.

In many cases, the lines seem somewhat ludicrous. You’re willing to spend $5.00 but unwilling to go higher and spend $5.50? But if you decide to go over the line, if you decide to spend a little more, where does it end? At some point it becomes more a matter of principle than of actual dollar amounts. If you are willing to cross the spending line even by a little, that line moves. And going beyond the new line is even easier. Soon you find yourself well beyond your original line, and that could mean debt if you aren’t careful.

What do you think? How do you draw spending lines? When do you think it’s worth it to cross them?

Scan law & bounty: a shopper’s guide

by Jessica Sommerfield · 0 comments

Pricing and scan laws differ by state, but are put in place to protect consumers from retailers falsely advertising their prices or underhandedly changing them. Some states require retailers to individually price every item in their store, a practice which is not only time-consuming and expensive, but also creates more opportunities for pricing errors. Michigan, for instance, was one of these states until the law changed in 2011. Retailers in this state are still responsible for correct pricing, but are no longer required to price every item. Other states impose hefty fines on scan law offenders. Scan laws present both advantages and disadvantages to consumers and retailers alike.

How pricing laws affect the retailer

Pricing laws keep retailers accountable for accurate advertising and keep them from changing prices without the customers’ knowledge. It’s only logical that if you’re in the business of selling merchandise, your products should be adequately and correctly tagged as a courtesy to your customers. We already mentioned that stringent pricing laws cause undue labor, material, and unexpected fine costs to retailers; this in turn leads to higher prices to offset higher operating expenses. Changes in scan laws can make a huge impact on the retailers’ ability to pass savings on to their customers, so it’s in customers’ favor that laws be reasonable, but not overbearing.

How pricing laws affect the consumer

They foster a better shopping experience. Consumers frequently find it frustrating when they select an item but find no indication of what price it is. Of course, many retailers feature bar code scanners throughout their facility where prices can be verified before arriving at the checkout, but finding them can be difficult and they may not work.
They protect the consumer from covert price changes. Without scan laws, retailers are free to change their prices on a whim without notifying customers, who may potentially be unaware they’re spending more. Scan laws lead to uniformity in pricing practices that disallow covert or underhanded pricing tactics. According to most scan laws, a refund and ‘bounty’ is awarded to customers who are victims of inaccurate pricing.

How to utilize scan laws

Always double-check prices at the register, particularly sale items. Watch the prices as your items are scanned and mention if there are any discrepancies from what you saw advertised. Then check your receipt (preferably before you leave the building) just to make sure you didn’t miss anything. Even if you don’t choose to take advantage of the bounty law, you don’t want to unknowingly spend more than you’d planned.

Don’t be afraid to request a refund and your bounty. In most states, you have up to 30 days to notice and correct a pricing discrepancy on a receipt. The retailer is required to pay you the difference and up to ten times the amount of the difference, but not more than $5. This can still add up, especially if you were overcharged on more than one item. You may feel as if you’re taking advantage of the retailer by claiming bounty, but just remember that it’s the law, and nothing personal. You can be sure they will correct their mistake so it doesn’t happen again, which benefits other customers, as well. Of course, some people get greedy and purposely look for items to claim bounty on, making a living off of retailers mistakes. Retailers often refer to these types as ‘bounty hunters.’ But in a way, even theses types help ensure more accurate pricing for everyone.

Scan laws are in place to protect shoppers and save them money. By being aware of the scan laws in your state, you can be more prepared to utilize them when you’re shopping and help keep retailers accountable to future customers. Visit your state government’s website or the consumer protection bureau to learn more about the scan laws specific to your state.

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