A loss in property value

Homes can decline in value no matter how much you protect your house. Even the most brilliant home buyers can’t say what will happen next. So the best thing you can do is to take precautions – by a house in a low-crime area, where sources of employment are aplenty, or ask the city government about future development plans, etc.

Overwhelming maintenance cost

Incurring a number of maintenance bills is unavoidable once you become a homeowner – so that’s like fearing your own shadow. But never forget to have a home inspection before buying a house. In this way, you wouldn’t be surprised once the sink’s broken pipe floods the kitchen days before you paid for the house.

Buyer’s remorse

Nobody likes regrets. So before buying a house, list all the things that you’re looking for, including the limit of cash you’re willing to spend for your ideal home. Don’t get lazy to look around and don’t be afraid to walk away from a house.

Being unable to afford your mortgage payment

It pays to have an emergency fund. With a month or two’s worth of salary set aside, any future problems, such as unemployment, can be buffered.

Tricky mortgages

If you feel you’re not ready to manage mortgages, you have two choices: first, you can always educate yourself about it; and second, try getting a 15- to 30-year fixed-rate mortage – they’re the most basic and the most foolproof.

http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1110/November-4-5-Real-Estate-Fears-That-Keep-You-From-Buying—Slideshow.aspx

Real estate fears that keep you from buying

Buying a house can be one of the largest purchases of your life. Being paranoid and hesitant about so many things is perfectly understandable, especially if you’re buying one for the first time. But don’t let fear hinder you from having your home sweet home. Here are the most common reasons for holding off on purchasing a home and how to overcome them.

A loss in property value

Homes can decline in value no matter how much you protect your house. Even the most brilliant home buyers can’t say what will happen next. So the best thing you can do is to take precautions – by a house in a low-crime area, where sources of employment are aplenty, or ask the city government about future development plans, etc.

Overwhelming maintenance cost

Incurring a number of maintenance bills is unavoidable once you become a homeowner – so that’s like fearing your own shadow. But never forget to have a home inspection before buying a house. In this way, you wouldn’t be surprised once the sink’s broken pipe floods the kitchen days before you paid for the house.

Buyer’s remorse

Nobody likes regrets. So before buying a house, list all the things that you’re looking for, including the limit of cash you’re willing to spend for your ideal home. Don’t get lazy to look around and don’t be afraid to walk away from a house.

Being unable to afford your mortgage payment

It pays to have an emergency fund. With a month or two’s worth of salary set aside, any future problems, such as unemployment, can be buffered.

Tricky mortgages

If you feel you’re not ready to manage mortgages, you have two choices: first, you can always educate yourself about it; and second, try getting a 15- to 30-year fixed-rate mortage – they’re the most basic and the most foolproof.

Investopedia

Movie Theater Popcorn. Grocery stores sell microwave popcorn at about $3 per box. Each box comes with 3.5 ounce bags. Movie theaters sell a single medium-sized bag of popcorn for $6. The average markup? A whopping 1275%!

Greeting Cards. Creating a home-made card will only cost you a few cents. And yet, people are still willing to pay an average cost of $2 to $4 for a greeting card. That’s a markup of between 100 to 200% for the fancy picture and the cleverly written message.

College Textbooks. Since 1986, the prices for college textbooks have skyrocketed to 186%. Books account for the 26% of the overall cost of college. Broke college students are required to purchase these costly books, hoping that, at the end of the semester, they can sell the books back to the local book store for a few bucks.

Bottled Water. In 2009, the U.S. Congress revealed that 45% of bottled water comes from municipal taps. Bottled water companies can choose to whether or not filter the water before selling it to you for $3 a bottle.

Printer Ink. Think about this: the Red Cross charges $200 for 500 ml of blood. That’s 40 cents per ml. A 42ml cartridge of blank printer ink is sold at $30. That’s 71 cents per ml. So over the life of your printer, you’ll be spending more than 500% of the total price of your printer for ink refills.

Brand-name Fashion. The mark up for branded clothes is at 500 to 1000%. Yet, some consumers still deny the fact that a pair of jeans from a budget store will work as fine as a pair from True Religion or Calvin Klein.

Source: Investopedia

I usually buy my electronics from this one store chain just because among the stores in our locale, they have the best after sales service. Never mind if they are a 3-5% more expensive compared to other outlets.

Warranty claims can be a bitch at times and stores that provide headache-free processing is just a very attractive perk especially in today’s world of unreliability no matter how established a brand is.

But does one really have to pay for the convenience? Shouldn’t all stores be able provide such a service? They should but the reality is many just don’t. And we can all just wonder why.

Perhaps the extra markup goes to better employee incentives making people who assist you have genuine smiles on their faces when assisting you.

But I wonder. A few dollars extra for something that should come with the business seems to go against general principle. And a few dollars that could’ve been saved is worth a lot in this economy.

However, MSN Money claims that there are products where buying in bulk just doesn’t work. With stores like Costco, it’s easy to get drawn in on the buy-bulk thing. Here’s their top 15 list:

1. Brown rice – 6 month shelf life.
2. Candy – Bulk buying = bulk eating.
3. Paper towels – Takes up too much space.
4. Toilet paper – Sames as with paper towels.
5. Nuts – Get rancid quickly.
6. Condiments – Short shelf life.
7. Vitamins and supplements – Variety is good.
8. Diapers – Kids do grow and change sizes.
9. Bleach – Loses 20% effectiveness every year in storage.
10. Spices – Lose potency.
11. Bread – Goes stale.
12. Tilapia – Can be had cheaper.
13. Eggs – Goes bad.
14. Frozen foods – Takes up freezer space.
15. Cereal – Kids also love variety.

There’s sense in the list, but many of these are actually common sense ideas as well.

This is quite common for electronic gadgets. Oftentimes, buyers simply just focus on how much storage, or processing power, or memory you get for the price. However, the real calculation of bang per buck should also take into consideration the following:

Warranty. How long will you be covered. Mind you that when it comes to price, many of the cheaper models might come with shorter warranties. And guess what that probably means about…

Workmanship/Durability. Oh sure, it’s got gigs more storage and a higher-speced processor but the hinges are flimsy and the casing flexes. Shorter warranties and shoddy workmanship means that you’re actually getting less than what you think you’re paying for.

After-sales support. Just in case these things break down. When purchasing electronics, I usually prefer one particular store since they have excellent after sales service. I don’t mind if their prices are pricier by a buck or two. I just feel secure. So is my take on brands. Some brands just have horrible after-sales services despite their higher price tags.