Friday, November 29, 2013

Don't Be Fooled By Omaha Steaks

I am not a big steak eater like my husband. However, in any loving relationship, there is compromise, and so, I look for good Omaha Steak deals. Recently, I spent $29.99 and received two additional piece of top sirloin. I didn't expect it to break apart like extremely tender steak. However, I was appalled by the immensely sinewy pieces that I received for free. In other word, they were willing to sacrifice their good name by offering customers with poor quality lost leaders, which is a term in the sales industry to lure customers into buying their product. We were so disappointed that we will no longer buy Omaha Steak. Typically as a smart consumer, I would try to write to the corporate office and ask for replacement. However, I will not do this because I will not patronize this business any longer. I have not been disappointed with poor cuts of meat at Ralph's, yet I am thoroughly disappointed with Omaha Steak, which I thought was trying to set itself as a cut above the rest.  Now, I am looking into eating better quality of beef like grass-fed kind.

No Web Browser Searches Should Be Unpaid

So everyone likes Google searches. I took the comparison test between Google and Bing and found them to be similar. The one difference is that Bing pays for your searches. Little by little, your points accrue and you have enough for a $5 Amazon gift certificate. If you have made 150 searches per month on Bing, you elevate yourself to a Gold Status, which gives you a bit of discount on your reward.
Swagbucks also pays for your searches. From my observation, you can search on Swagbucks which incidentally is powered by Bing, and as soon as you are rewarded, then your next searches should then be on Bing. If you take a break and return to your searches, then use Swagbucks. Why? I have never seen frequent rewarding in a short period of time, but you can assure yourself that you can max out your 15 credits per day on Bing by earning 1 credit for every 2 searches. Occasionally Bing will lower its rate of search per credit. Happy searching and earning Amazon gift certificates, which isn't too difficult to do. 

Good Auto Loan Interest Rate Equals Money Earned

At any social gathering, whether a person is buying a Tesla or a used Jetta sedan, people will often gravitate their conversation to auto loans. I recall using Pen Fed's auto buying service which is comparable to a fleet service and obtaining an oral approval for 0.49 percent in September 2012. I checked the rates recently and it was up to a whopping 0.99. I recall that if the PenFed auto loan failed for any reason, Power Toyota had the car guaranteed under its own loan of 4.99 percent. I calculated that the financial charge on my used Sports Trac was only $25 per year. That's less than 2 value meals from McDonald's or Wendy's, and it was great to have a backup car to a car that broken down twice in 6 months prior to buying our second vehicle. If you are not convinced that PenFed offers the best auto loan interest rate, this is my last passing comment, a comparison to USAA Auto Loan. In September 2012, I asked a colleague about USAA Auto loans, which are supposed to be the best since they offer these loans only to military personnels and their families. At that time, the rate was 2.99 percent while mine was 0.49. Granted mine was the military, too, I did notice that Pen Fed Federal Credit Union is member-owned whereas nothing was said about member ownership of USAA Auto loan. And there you have it. If you are not convinced yet, just make sure that you compare the rate of your loan with Pen Fed as a due diligence before closing any auto loan transaction.

PenFed's auto loan also covers refinancing. So, if your existing car loan is terrible, you don't have to feel trapped. It may not be as good as the loan through the auto buying service, but it may still be better than your existing loan. A little homework may save you a bundle of money and that's money you earned for yourself.