How Being a Skeptic Can Save You Money

By stella.louise (view all posts by stella.louise)
at 12:24PM Thursday June 25, 2009
under Money Saving Tips

You know who you are.

Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny? Pffffttt!!!

You may already be a Winner! Work at Home! Lose 10 lbs. in 7 days!

Puh-leeze!!!

You see those "surprise" plot twists in movies coming from a mile away, you shake your head at your friends when they buy lottery tickets and you know the only thing that's "new and improved" with that brightly stamped box of laundry detergent is the inflated price tag.

You are the realist, the cynic, the skeptic. And while your attitude may lead to being branded as a "killjoy" by friends and family, ultimately having a healthy wariness of so-called "opportunities" can save you a lot of money in the long run.

If you don't have ESP--that's Extra SKEPTICAL Perception, then here's a way to increase your ability to see through the scams and schemes and thus save your money:

FREE! - Ain't nothing in life that's free, my friends. Okay, I know that makes me sound like a cranky ol' curmudgeon, but beware of the FREE offer. A recent post on Consumerist exposed the ugly reality of free trial offers. The best things in life may in fact be free--but they usually don't require you to provide a credit card number...
Fast - Patience, Grasshopper! Anything that promises absurdly quick results--whether it's weight loss or money gain--is probably not to be trusted. Bargaineering recently had a great post about delayed gratification and it makes sense to stop and give careful thought to how you spend your money. The only thing you'll really be able to count on in regard to speed is how quickly your check gets deposited by the scammer.
Easy - Hey, didn't your Mom tell you that life isn't fair or easy? She was right. Losing weight isn't easy and making money isn't easy. Losing money, however, is very easy if you're prone to falling for exaggerated claims like these.
Bait and Switch - You've seen the ads for the unbelievable bargain price for the 58" Plasma HDTV? Don't believe it. It's merely a trick to get you into the store where the salesperson will try to sell you a much higher priced model.
Pay to Play - Spend a few bucks to unlock the secret of earning millions? Sign up to receive insider info? Register to be enrolled for unlimited opportunities? They say you have to spend money to make money. but then again, "they" is probably Bernie Madoff and company. Don't buy in to paying for access.
Go Fish - Any email from a bank or PayPal or eBay saying your account has been compromised is most likely a scam. Hover your cursor over the link provided to "update your account info" and look at the status bar at the bottom of your browser. The URL of the link won't be secure (https vs. http) and it won't resemble any URL you've ever seen for your bank, PayPal or eBay. Forward the email to fraud department of the entity the scammer was posing as and let them follow up to stop the spoofing.
Fear - You know those ads for security systems that show the scary prowler breaking into the house only to scurry away at the sound of the alarm going off? Preying on your fears to spend money is an effective marketing tactic. Witness the numerous swine flu websites that have proliferated to promote highly dubious products. Fear causes irrational thinking and irrational thinking causes bad money choices.
Compassion - It seems odd that an honorable instinct like caring for others could lead to bad spending decisions, but there are many scammers posing as charities. This isn't to say you should muzzle your generous impulses--just do a little due diligence before writing that check. Charity Watch and the Better Business Bureau's Give.org are two great resources for double-checking whether those soliciting your contribution are reputable.

Of course there are plenty of scams out there, from the Nigerian Tutoring Scam to those taking advantage of Cash for Clunkers program. Before you get sucked in to the latest email chain letter about the Microsoft giveaway or by that cherubic youngster selling magazine subscriptions, do a little research. Check out the Better Business Bureau for business ratings and consumer complaints. Snopes.com is a good resource for debunking urban legends and they have an entire section dedicated to frauds and scams. And there's also Rip-Off Report where ripped-off consumers provide the benefit of their experience to let buyers beware.

Whatever the angle, you can put your inner skeptic on alert by remembering if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.