from daveramsey.com on 16 Nov 2011

By Jon Acuff

If I listen closely, I can almost hear the mall rumbling. Like a dormant volcano about to explode in a wave of crazy consumerism, it sits across the road from my office. As we march closer and closer to December 25, it will turn into a shopping free-for-all. Are you ready this year? Need a few mall survival tips? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve got 16 different ways you can shop smart at the mall.

1. Park deep. People who wait for close parking spots are wasting valuable time and missing calorie-burning opportunities.

2. Don’t feel shy about using disinfectant after your kid gets a photo with Santa.

3. Do not let your kids bring their baby-doll strollers to push around. Those are cute the rest of the year, but Christmas shopping at the mall is about speed.

4. Always ask if there are more of the item you are looking for “in the back.” The back of most retail stores is a wonderland of unexpectedness. They might have what you need.

5. Bring a spritzer bottle, like you’d use on a cat clawing your furniture, to spray kiosk people if they bother you.

6. Okay, you can’t really do that, but get good at buzzing kiosks like Tom Cruise buzzed the air tower in Top Gun. Some of those folks have great deals.

7. Don’t confuse “talking time” with “shopping time.” If you’ve got a friend who wants a heart-to-heart talk, don’t multitask and bring them to the mall. They’re only going to slow you down. You need friends who will be like a remora on the belly of a shark as you swim through stores quickly.

8. Always, always, always ask about a store’s return policy. Some stores have return policies thicker and more confusing than calculus textbooks.

9. Only let your kids play on the free mall playgrounds if you’re trying to get them a raging cold for the holidays. Those playgrounds are like malls for germs. They breed coughs on those things.

10. Watch out for trains. Our mall back in Atlanta added a big train that tears through the mall. Look twice before crossing at Cinnabon.

11. Shop on big sporting event days. Live in Tennessee? Go when the Vols or Titans are playing. Green Bay? The Packers. Everybody’s at home watching the game!

12. “Buy one, get one half off” really isn’t a deal if you didn’t actually need either item. You just got two things you didn’t need. That’s lose-lose.

13. Allow your kids to push the button on the elevator. Trust me, this is one of the greatest thrills of going to the mall for them.

14. I once read that if you have to try on clothes in a dressing room, bring dry erase markers for your kids. They can color all over the mirror without consequence.

15. Drink a coffee before you go, not at the mall. You need both hands free. At all times. For judo chops if it comes to that. I don’t want it to, but at least be ready.

16. Tell your kids the carousel is broken. You know it’s not. I know it’s not. But it doesn’t count as a lie if your kids think it is. We are constantly telling our kids the ice cream store is closed. Trust me, this is a great move.

Don’t want to trick your kids? Fair enough, my friend, fair enough. Just don’t blame me when a sea of shoppers is washing over the mall and you’re fighting with another mom because your kid wants the frog on the carousel and not some common horse.

Be bold. Be brave. Shop smart and survive!

Jon Acuff is the founder ofstuffchristianslike.net and the author of the books Stuff Christians Like and Quitter. His insight into everything from church, to advertising, to money, to life is as funny as it is true. He’s written branding for companies such as The Home Depot, Chick-fil-A, Staples, Bose and many others. He’s a contributor to CNN.com, speaks nationally on the subject of social media, and joined the Dave Ramsey team in 2010. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Nashville, Tennessee.

CHICAGO (CBS) —  The next time a storm hits, watch out: You could be targeted in a home repair scam.

A year-long investigation called “Operation Hail” has uncovered more than 70 cases of roofing and siding repair scams. Numerous companies are being investigated by the Illinois State Police and National Insurance Crime Bureau.

2 Investigator Dave Savini first began looking into one of the operations a year ago.

Using knuckles, fingers and other instruments to make dents is how phony storm damage is created, insurance-fraud investigators say. CBS 2, using a hidden camera, watched roofing and siding workers swarm a neighborhood after storms.

Cameras caught workers digging into roofs and pressing against siding, hoping to collect insurance money to repair the bogus hail damage.

To Read Full Article click here

Here is another article related to how to protect yourself from storm damage scams.  First and foremost be diligent if your home actually needs repairs.  Its okay to call on companies, contact the BBB, look for credible resources before buying services.

To Read Full Article click here

A survey released by AAA reveals the impact of the economy on vehicle owners in the United States:

• One In four could not pay for a $2,000 car repair bill today.
• More than 12 percent would be unable to pay for a $1,000 repair bill.
• More than half are holding onto their older vehicle because they don’t want the burden of a new one.
•  23 percent admit to neglecting repairs and maintenance because of fears about the economy.

(ARA) – A surprise can be fun on some occasions, like your birthday. But when it comes to home repair emergencies, a surprise is the last thing you want – especially in these economically challenging times.

Unfortunately, this is a situation all too many homeowners find themselves in after a home emergency. Often they discover that a repair they assumed would be covered by their home insurance or local utility is actually their responsibility to fix.

From water and drainage systems to electrical and heating/cooling configurations, your home is a complex network of pipes, wires and electrical components that could require an emergency repair at any time.

An outside water pipe breaking or a sewer line collapsing can easily rank as a homeowners’ worst nightmare; however, when an emergency occurs, most homeowners are not aware of who is responsible for the damage. In fact, less than 50 percent of the homeowners in a recent national survey, conducted by GfK Roper Custom Research, knew that they were responsible for repairs to the water line between their house and the street.

This is where companies that offer emergency home repair plans, such as HomeServe USA, can make the difference between peace of mind and an expensive and time-consuming repair.

“According the results of the survey, one third of all homeowners responding assumed that their local utility was responsible for the cost of a burst water line between their house and the street, when this is usually not the case,” says Tom Rusin, chief executive officer of HomeServe USA.  ”One of the challenges of home ownership is that the potential for expensive repairs is always out there.  In fact, repairing a water service line can cost more than $2,000 and simply clearing a blocked drain can cost upwards of $350.”

Rusin suggests that all homeowners do the following things to minimize the potential financial liability and hassle associated with home repair emergencies:

1. Speak to your homeowners insurance agent to get a clear understanding of which areas of your home are covered by your insurance policy and which ones are not. Potential trouble spots include interior and exterior electrical wiring, outside water service and sewer lines, inside plumbing and gas piping, central heating and air conditioning systems, and the water heater.

2. Similarly, speak to your local electric, gas, and water utilities to determine equipment that you may be responsible for. As mentioned earlier, the water and sewer lines that run underneath the lawn are the responsibility of the homeowner in the vast majority of cases.

3. Proper maintenance of home components greatly minimizes the chance of an unexpected emergency. For example, check the air filter on your central heating or cooling system regularly and change it about once every three months during the season. Protect water pipes from freezing with proper insulation or draining them prior to winter. And fix leaky faucets and toilets to save water and prevent bigger problems.

4. Consider a home emergency protection plan that can relieve you of not only the financial burden of a home emergency, but also the uncertainty involved in looking for a repair person on a Sunday afternoon.

“The more prepared homeowners are for a home repair emergency, the more peace of mind they’ll have and the more time they can spend enjoying their house with their families,” says Rusin.