Michael Finney's Consumer Blog

New study: Eat before investing!

 We’ve all heard the advice to eat before going grocery shopping. The idea is we will buy less if we aren’t hungry. Well according to The New York Times that same advice could apply when shopping for investments. 

>>Get more details at nytimes.com

International Drivers License scam is back

International Driver’s licenses are real, almost… but the email you’ve received pitching its benefits is not. Have you seen the email pitch explaining the benefits of an International Driver’s License? Those receiving the email are told the IDL can be used instead of your state’s license, allowing those who have had their driving privileges taken to legally drive. The email says the IDL can be used to show age to get into bars (Basically a fake ID), and that an IDL will allow you to dodge “points”, so your lousy driving record won’t impact your insurance costs. None of this is true. There is such a thing as an International Drivers Permit, but its use is limited to overseas travel.

>>More details at AAA.com

Dannon lawsuit settlement

If you buy Dannon’s Activia Yogurt products you could have some money coming. Dannon’s advertising for Activia® and DanActive® branded products came under fire in a lawsuit. Dannon never said it did anything wrong, but it has settled the case. If you have bought the Activia yogurt products you could have money coming. 

>>Click on dannonsettlement.com for background and the online forms to fill out

A lead tainted Tiara! Can you say recall?

A dangerous Tiara is recalled because of lead. Wilton Industries has recalled its Youth Tiara Recalled because of a Lead Exposure Hazard.

>>Here’s all the info you need at cpsc.gov

International scheme bilks consumers of millions

The Federal Trade Commission has ferreted out an elaborate international scheme that bilked a million consumers... you could be one. The FTC says an organized crime outfit used identity theft to scam more than $10 million in bogus charges on consumers’ credit and debit cards. Most went unnoticed because the charges were all less than $10; some were as low as 25 cents. The charges were routed through dummy corporations in the United States to bank foreign accounts.

Here’s a list of 15 that the FTC calls sham companies:

• API Trade LLC
• ARA Auto Parts Trading LLC
• Bend Transfer Services LLC
• B-Texas European LLC
• CBTC LLC, CMG Global LLC
• Confident Incorporation
• HDPL Trade LLC
• Hometown Homebuyers LLC
• IAS Group LLC
• IHC Trade LLC
• MZ Services LLC
• New World Enterprizes LLC
• Parts Imports LLC
• SMI Imports LLC
• SVT Services LLC

Check your statements for any of these names or any others you don’t recognize.
 

Go to a movie for free!

Summer vacation has just started and you and the kids are bored already? Take the kids to the Free Family Film Festival. Finney’s Friday Free Stuff!

>>Click here for participating locations at regmovies.com

NOTE: More freebies to come! Watch ABC7 News at 5 PM for Finney's Friday Free Stuff. Details regarding those offers will be posted at ABC7NEWS.COM at 5:30 PM.

This giveaway is not conducted by 7 On Your Side. If there are technical problems or issues with the product, concerns should be directed to the offering supplier. 

Sign up tor receive Finney's Friday Free Stuff and Michael Finney's Consumer Blog newsletters!

 

Free Bragg Sprinkle & Sea Kelp Delight seasonings

Finney’s Friday Free Stuff:  Bragg Sprinkle & Sea Kelp Delight seasonings

>>Fill out and submit an email form to receive your free sample

NOTE: More freebies to come! Check the blog again at 1 pm!

This giveaway is not conducted by 7 On Your Side. If there are technical problems or issues with the product, concerns should be directed to the offering supplier. 

Sign up tor receive Finney's Friday Free Stuff and Michael Finney's Consumer Blog newsletters!

 

Free Deep Dish Pizza!

Finney’s Friday Free Stuff. Free Deep Dish Pizza!

You have to work a little bit for this one, but, hey, it’s a deep dish pizza!

>>Get full details at facebook.com/digiornodeepdish/

NOTE: More freebies to come! Check the blog again at 11 am!

This giveaway is not conducted by 7 On Your Side. If there are technical problems or issues with the product, concerns should be directed to the offering supplier. 

Sign up tor receive Finney's Friday Free Stuff and Michael Finney's Consumer Blog

 

 

How to get the best deal at a garage sale

Getting the best deal at a garage sale means arriving early or so you’ve been told, but actually that’s not true. Many of the best items are sold first, but the best deals are found at the end of the day. That’s when the family putting on the sale is tired from dealing with the public and dreading putting everything away. Arrive then with a low ball offer and you are likely to hear ‘yes.’

How Vegas squeezes every dime from a cheap hotel room. Part 3

Las Vegas hotel rooms are inexpensive right now, and here’s one way the casinos are making up the loss: Changing the rules of Blackjack. Many casinos are now paying out less when a customer gets a blackjack. The standard payout is 3:2 on a multi deck game and 6:5 for a single deck. That mean a $10 bet in a multi-deck game nets a Blackjack recipient $15, the same winner in a single deck game gets $12. Some casinos are changing the rules, paying out 6:5 on all their Blackjack games. $3 a hand might not seem like much, but since a blackjack is dealt about every five hands the casinos really clean up with this rule change.

>>Click here to read Part 1 of the Vegas blog series

>>Click here to read Part 2 of the Vegas blog series