An Oasis Amidst All The Hype

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Auto Dealership Pressure on Customers Never Goes Away

February/March 2005

Here’s a piece of StraightTalk: Stop right now if you’re thinking about buying or financing a vehicle. More than ever, everything in the car business has become negotiable: the price of the car; the price of the loan; the value of your car; the cost of “add-ons” — even the cost of insurance or service agreements. Quite frankly, you can’t relax for a minute if you want the best deal or the best vehicle.

That’s why we want you to stop and visit StraightTalk before you start the car buying process.

Read more: An Oasis Amidst All The Hype

Fake Check Scams Are Targeting Your Wallet

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Learn the Warning Signs and Avoid the Traps

January 2005

Getting burned by counterfeit checks is something that happens to your local merchants or to other consumers, but not to you or your friends and neighbors, right? Wrong! Some new variants of a very old scam are victimizing many innocent people. Typically, the con artist strikes when these folks are just trying to sell an item on the Internet; others may be trying to start a new business venture, find employment, make a date or locate a roommate to share an apartment. Here are a couple of stories.

Read more: Fake Check Scams Are Targeting Your Wallet

Flexible Spending Accounts—Used Right They Can Save You Money

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November 2004

How would you like to reduce your taxable income while saving money that you can spend immediately to meet health care expenses not covered by your health insurance plan or day care expenses for your children under age thirteen? If your employer offers Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) as part of the employee benefits, then you may have a good opportunity to do just that. Like most potentially good deals, however, you need to find out the facts and do a little homework to see if an FSA is right for you and your family.

Read more: Flexible Spending Accounts—Used Right They Can Save You Money

What Insurance Coverage Do I Need for My Vehicle?

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October 2004

Insuring your vehicle can be confusing, particularly since laws vary from state to state. What is required by state law and what you should have can be different. This report provides reviews of the various types of coverage available and describes which ones you should consider.

Types of auto insurance coverage

Let’s start with descriptions of the various coverages that can be found in an auto insurance policy.

• Bodily injury liability. This coverage pays the following if the policyholder caused an accident: medical, rehabilitation, and funeral (if necessary) of your passengers, the other driver, the other driver’s passengers, and any pedestrians involved. It also covers pain and suffering awards and legal costs.

Read more: What Insurance Coverage Do I Need for My Vehicle?

Is Your Checking Account Saving You $$$$ or Costing You?

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September 2004

All checking accounts are not created equal. Depending on your personal financial needs and habits, selecting the right checking account can save you up to several hundred dollars annually. Select the wrong account, and even a “free” account can cost you big bucks. The following questions can help you take a look at your current bank or credit union checking account.

Is the “free” checking really free? Some financial institutions promote “free” checking accounts that may have no “monthly service charge” but milk a customer’s account for lots of per-service fees every time you use a service. Such fees include ATM fees (including balance inquiry fees), bounced check fees, per-check fees (over a limited “free” number), check card fees, phone transaction fees, online banking fees, etc. In contrast, a checking account that has a small monthly service charge but then does not charge separately for a range of useful services can be a much better deal. CCU’s Value Account offers checking with no minimum balance and no monthly fees.

Read more: Is Your Checking Account Saving You $$$$ or Costing You?