This week's top 10 money tips
1. Start earlier to buy an airline ticket because you need to compare the cost of classes within the plane, too.
2. Check out these tips on what to do to avoid over-spending on your cars or cars.
3. Let the FTC know you don’t like surveillance pricing. Prices for products and services need to change based upon supply and demand, not people’s web surfing habits or buying history.
4. Take a look at these seven household expenses, in addition to gasoline, that may rise when oil stays above $100 a barrel including groceries, package and food deliveries, airfares, heating and electricity, household products and clothing, and home repairs and construction.
5. Check out these tips on how to reduce your utility bills in addition to commenting on proposed increases for electricity, gas, water, sewer, and garbage.
6. Expect yields for savings accounts, money market funds, and Treasury bills to be slightly lower due to the recent .25 percent interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
7. Build a financial plan by starting with your goals, not someone else’s; be selective about who you listen to; remember that financial planning is about more than investing; and learn the difference between news and noise.
8. Think about September, rather than January, as a better time to set and work toward your big money goals. As the seasons shift, vacations are over and the kids have gone back to school, and you’ve lived enough of the year to know what’s working and what isn’t.
9. Be aware that 63 percent of U.S. consumers have stopped shopping with a retailer or abandoned a purchase because of its return policy, a survey shows.
10. Be aware scammers are using AI to mine information from obituaries to fool family members. Stop and consider if you need to include things such as full names, specific hometowns, employers, schools, and other identifying details.
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September 17, 2026