Читать книгу Do As I Say, Not As I Did - Michael N Marcus - Страница 30
•If you lend more than a hundred bucks to someone—including a relative—put the deal in writing, with signatures and dates, ideally with a witness. •If you file your tax return late, you may have to pay a big penalty—even if the government owes you money. •If you owe money to the IRS, talk to them, don’t hide or run away. You can probably make a deal to pay off a tax debt with surprisingly low interest without paying for the services of an “expert.” •Most of the people I’ve dealt with at IRS are friendly, understanding, compassionate and even logical. •Every year or so use a video camera to make a movie of your home. Open closets and drawers, recording everything, and store the recording outside your home. It could be critical if you have to prove that you actually possessed something that was stolen or destroyed.
Оглавление•Be wary of stores that display “going out of business” signs for more than six months. Or maybe even two months. They may be selling junk at high prices rather than normal products at low prices.
•When you don’t care about your credit rating you live very differently. A threat from a bill collector to ruin your credit rating is just not very threatening.
•“When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose.” (Bob Dylan)
•As you age and if your financial situation deteriorates, it’s OK to cut back on gifts. Sure, it was nice to give birthday gifts to nieces and nephews when they were little children, but if they already have their own children you can stop giving gifts. Send cards and make phone calls, instead. Once neighbors’ kids are teenagers you can stop giving them gifts, too, except for graduations and weddings.
•Before you pay for a ticket for transportation or entertainment, find out if you qualify for a discount.
•If your schedule is flexible, take a commuter train, bus or plane during off-peak hours to save money.
•If you encounter a beggar, particularly an amputee or someone with a sign that says he’s a veteran who “will work for food,” give a buck or more. Sure, some beggars are scammers, but ask yourself if you’d like to trade places with him (there seem to be few female beggars).
•If you’re in a store that offers discounts or other benefits to cardholders and you don’t have your card with you, you can (a) ask the cashier if she can work with your phone number, (b) ask the cashier if she can fake it, (c) ask another customer if you can use her card, (d) apply for a new card.
•If a website or store offers special deals for birthdays, you don’t have to wait months to enjoy your freebie or discount. Put in a date about a month from now.
