Category Archives: Tips and Techniques

Black Friday : 8 Tips on How to Save Money while Shopping

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Mhel Ignacio | 0 Comments

Black Friday Tips on saving money while shopping

Black Friday – it’s that time again when hundreds of retail stores offer huge discounts to deal-hungry shoppers. But, it’s also the day when a lot of people get enticed by stores to purchase items at marked down prices. At this time of the year, a few weeks before Christmas and New Year, how can you save on your Black Friday shopping? Here are some tips to save you from financial woes after Black Friday:

 

Black Friday Money-Saving Tips

1. Search for the best deals you can find.

Many stores announce their Black Friday offers as early as the third or last week of October. Subscribe to your favorite retail store’s newsletter to get the latest or even exclusive offers they have.

Compare prices between stores so you’d know where you can get the best deals. You might even be surprised that some stores offer the same discounts online.

Early bird discounts are also offered by many stores before Black Friday, so keep an eye out for them.

Find out the Black Friday 2012 store hours of some retailers and list of Black Friday early bird discounts.

 

2. Plan ahead and stay on the budget.

Set a budget ahead of time. Keep in mind how much you’re willing to spend on items you’re planning on buying come Black Friday. And make sure you stay within that budget.

Buy gift or discount cards, but make sure you’ve read or know the store policies. You might not be able to use any gift or discount coupons on items that are already on sale during Black Friday.

 

3. Don’t spend beyond what you can pay off your credit card.

This shopping day is when most people tend to overspend, especially when they’re using their credit cards. As what I said in tip #2, stay on the budget. You might be happy with your purchase, but you’d most likely end up selling those precious finds just to pay off your credit card bills. You wouldn’t want that, would you?

 

4. Make sure you’re buying those that are actually on sale.

I can attest to the psychology behind this – how retailers lure shoppers during shopping seasons around Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas. Since we are already in the shopping mood during sales, we tend to forget that not all items are on sale. And trust me, those stores know this and they would even strategically place regularly priced items with the discounted ones.

Also, be careful and verify if the price tags you see are actually for the items that you’re getting. Since stores are chaotic during Black Friday, you’d see a lot of misplaced products.

Lastly, make sure you check the prices when you’re checking out. You might be surprised that there are some prices that are higher when they scan the barcodes.

 

5. Don’t be vulnerable to thieves.

Holiday shopping is not all merry, sad to say. There are many scumbags who’ll take advantage of the situation when shoppers are vulnerable. So, always be aware of your surroundings and keep your belongings, wallet and money safely secured.

 

6. Don’t be fooled by bundled products.

Some bundled products may actually cost more than when you buy them separately. And stores will usually place those individual products away from each other, so you’d have a hard time comparing them. Well, make sure you do.

Buying bundled products usually mean that we end up with items that we didn’t really need in the first place. Don’t be tricked into buying them.

 

7. Stick to your game plan and shopping list. Avoid ending up with items you don’t really need.

This, for me, is vital. We tend to forget our budget and shopping list when we see items that are on sale and offered at huge discounts. For sure, you will be tempted to buy items that you don’t really need. Stick to your shopping list and budget. And, before you grab or ask for that item off the shelf, ask yourself if you actually need to buy it NOW.

 

8. Be patient and wait for the right time.

No, not while waiting in line during Black Friday, but there are actually items that are best purchased on any other day of the year. You have to consider the fact that since retailers expect thousands of people to go on massive shopping sprees, they won’t be offering the best deals on their most popular products. It’s supply and demand – one of the rules of economics is at play here.

So, it pays to actually be patient or keep track of the price of the item you’re planning on buying. If it’s not an immediate need, why rush, right? I personally won’t recommend buying a new TV come Black Friday.

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Those are just some tips to help you save money while you shop this Black Friday. I’m sure if you keep them in mind, you’ll have enough money saved up for your Christmas and New Year celebrations with your family and friends. :)

What other money-saving tips for Black Friday do you have in mind? Share at the comments section!

Read my other Black Friday articles:

 

BEWARE: Inside Job in Western Union?

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Mhel Ignacio | 12 Comments

Update 3/5/2013: I was checking in on one of the tech blogs I follow and found out that Abe of YugaTech has just recently fallen victim to this fraud. Read more about it here. I’m sure it’s a large sum of money knowing the amount of traffic his blog gets. Surely, the people who are behind this are well aware of that fact.

AND I read this blog post from Pinoy Den. He’s a recent victim too. This is very alarming and I hope Western Union finally takes action.

For now, I would suggest to use Unionbank to claim your Western Union earnings. As soon as you have the MTCN, you can call Unionbank right away.

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As a full-time online money maker, I know for a fact how easy it is for money I earn over the internet to get stolen or disappear into thin air. So, imagine my shock and paranoia when I learned about a fellow blogger’s experience with an alleged inside job in Western Union where she lost $6,267.97.

Western Union

I’m saying alleged, but if you read the story, you’d think that’s exactly what happened. I believe Western Union’s money transfer is secure. However, it’s the people who work for them that can be tempted to steal money from us.  They abuse their power and access to get what they want without thinking about how they’re going to affect the lives of others.

Western Union has been my go-to solution when I need to withdraw funds from my Google Adsense account or when my clients send me payments. I’ve trusted them for years, so I got a bit comfortable with using their services. I guess I’m not that concerned since I don’t make that much monthly, but I still always claim my money the same day I received a notification that payment has been issued.

Jennifer Aspacio, the victim of the most recent Western Union issue, having used their service for years, was assured with the notion that her money will still be there once she returns from her Cambodia trip and pick it up. She was wrong. I am sharing with you her experience to hopefully warn you or let you know that these things happen, and we should keep an eye out everytime.

Dito ka na kung saan kampante kang makakarating ang perang pinadala mo. Para kampante ka, i-“Western Union” mo (Inside Job in Western Union)

That’s one of the television ads in the Philippines of Western Union, the giant international money transfer facility that many people have learned to trust in sending money to their loved ones and one that is also being used by many individuals all over the world for their money transfer transactions.

The Western Union Mission Statement says:  “We do business each day with absolute integrity, honesty and passion, partnering as a team to meet our consumers’ needs.“

So, is your money safe with Western Union?  Are you sure it is a reliable money transfer facility?  Please read on.

My daughters have received wedding cash gifts from friends and relatives  in other countries using the Western Union money transfer facility, and because of that, I have so much trust in the facility.  What’s more, I also heard about people receiving remittances through this facility and they have expressed their satisfaction.

But more than three months ago, something very devastating happened that resulted in the erosion of my trust in Western Union.  My eldest daughter was cheated out of her payout which she used to receive regularly through this facility.  My daughter is a work from home mom and she earns by working using the internet.   Every month, she would receive a notice from Google Adsense  informing her  that her payout was already sent to Western Union, and she then would go straight to the facility to claim the exact amount without any problem.

But three months ago, when Google sent her payout through Western Union, my daughter  was out of the country (March 26-April 3, 2012).  The amount ofUS$6,267.97 was sent to her through Western Union on March 27, 2012, and it would be available for pick up on March 28, 2012.  So hours after she  returned to the Philippines on April 3, 2012, she went straight to Western Union to pick up her money, but to her dismay, she was told by the teller that someone picked it up on March 30, 2012.  She was in Cambodia on that day and there was no way that she could have claimed the payment.

Google uses a security feature that when my daughter would access her account, a security code is sent to her mobile device and that security code should be entered for access to be allowed.   She would need to enter her security code whenever she logged in to her account.  Having received no security code all the time that she was overseas because her phone was on roaming mode, it was not possible that her account was hacked.  So it is a big possibility that there was some kind of an inside job within the Western Union branch here in the Philippines that apparently released her payout.

Even the Western Union representatives were convinced that my daughter was the rightful recipient because of all her proofs.  But they insisted that that they could not give her the money because they are only answerable to Google because of the privity of contract issue.

Western Union representatives did not act immediately after my daughter told them about her case, but after she told them that she would make it her advocacy to reveal to the public her issue with them, it was only then that they promised to make an investigation.

Later, after a thorough investigation, Western Union admitted that they made a mistake in releasing the money to someone who was not the real Jennifer Aspacio, and that they had already returned the money to Google, and that my daughter should communicate with Google to resend the payout to her.

My daughter asked Western Union to provide her with a proof that they really returned the money to Google, but Western Union refused to give a proof, claiming that it was against their policy. My daughter has suffered much inconvenience, damage and prejudice, apart from mental anguish and serious anxiety.   The amount that she was supposed to receive was not all for her indulgence.  Much of that amount would go to pay for advertising campaign expenses as an internet marketer.

My daughter is the one who is supposed to write this blog, but she told me that she does not want to go through the mental anguish that she had gone through three months ago that resulted in many sleepless nights for her,  and so I am compelled to do this for her.

The refusal of Western Union to give the money to my daughter in spite of the fact that it was already established that my daughter is the true legitimate recipient is an IMMORAL ACT.  Why did they have to return the money to Google, when they could just simply give it to my daughter, and that would solve the problem?  And what’s more, Western Union refuses to give a proof that they indeed had returned the money to Google.

My daughter is a hard-working wife and mother, wanting only the best for her family.  She doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment from a giant company like Western Union.

You can read the original post here.

I’ve known Jennifer for over a year now. We see each other at events and having spoken with her many times, I know she’s a very hardworking mom, a loving wife to her husband Jeff (who I’ve also met) and a very sweet lady. She’s one of the beautiful women I’ve known, inside and out. :) She doesn’t deserve this.

The truth is, NO ONE DESERVES THIS because we have put in our time and effort to earn a living over the internet. No one has the right to steal our hard-earned money. NO ONE. I hope that Western Union returns the money to Jen. I hope this gets resolved.

Making money online

Even though this has occurred, I still trust Western Union. But, it’s been tainted because of this. So, I hope they take this more seriously because there is a growing number of people like us who make money online and rely on their services. If this continues, it’ll surely cause a dent on everyone’s trust in them.

Do you use Western Union for receiving money you’ve earned online? How will this issue affect you? Or has it affected you already? Sound off at the comments section!

Watch out for my upcoming post on tips on keeping your money online secure. We never know how many thieves are out there to rob us of our earnings.

The Importance of Brand Marketing

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Mhel Ignacio | 0 Comments

Being a blogger and partnering with different local brands and companies, I know how important brand marketing is. I also happen to work as a social media / creative digital marketing strategist for a US-based company. I’ve learned that marketing isn’t just about gaining new customers, but keeping the ones who are already engaged in business with you.

One of the most important things I’ve learned from my work and my years of reading, observing, discussing with marketing / public relations consultants and applying my acquired knowledge, is that you need to engage your customers, old AND new, so they can feel much closer to you, which will eventually result to brand loyalty.

There are many ways to market your products or your brand. Most commonly used is advertising through print, radio, and television, which can really be costly. In this time and age, engaging your consumers and target market through social media sites should be on top of your to-do list since it’s faster, inexpensive and can be viral. And so is building a more personal relationship with them.

A company or brand can hire an agency to handle all sorts of marketing for them. One of the most creative and effective ways these agencies can handle for you is organizing your own events or making your company more visible by joining local or regional events where you can present your products to prospective customers.

This is why I give kudos to companies / brands who are smart enough to select a marketing agency who can engage their consumers to build brand loyalty. When choosing your marketing agency that will help you, make sure you do your research and find out what they’ve done in the past. They’ll be representing you, so it’s just imperative that you get to know them too.