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INTERNATIONAL RN AND SHOPPING TO AVOID DANGEROUS OFFERS.What is RN and shopping about? There are few items that are more affordable in US compared to other countries. Talk about personal effects like shoes, clothing electronics and kitchen wares. Please don’t plan of shipping in all belongings. Shipment may probably cost you extra more than acquiring better and brand new ones. And some electronics may be useless in USA because of the difference in electrical systems. Are you worried about high expenditure in the first few weeks, you can still cut down your budget by getting nice products at the thrift shops. Whilst you buy these items, have you decided to settle in your present location or you will be moving after your contract? If you plan moving to another city or state, remember that hauling your furniture and other goods can be very expensive. Labor is expensive in US you know. You will pay for hiring the truck, insure it, fuel it, and pay for usage of special equipment in the truck. And also pay for the driver. Just be mindful of what to buy if you don’t plan living in your present city. Want to buy a house? Again, have you planed settling in the present city? If yes, compare the amount you dole out each month as rent and the monthly payment for mortgage. If these two are almost the same or your family has two sources of income, it’s ok to go for a house. Please don’t let enticing offers from your bankers and the estate companies push you into buying a house. That is what they know how to do best. Otherwise you may have to either work extremely hard or face foreclosure. For those of you planning to do special shopping, the best time to buy/shop is the holiday season; from thanks giving day in November to first week in January. A lot of good deals, offers and discounts are made around this time. However, many merchants take advantage of the quest for compulsive shopping. They either maintain the same high price or even increase as they know the season will still push people to buy. Thus, weeks to the start of this season go round and note down the prices of those products of your choice. This way you can actually tell if it’s worth it shopping around the season. It is also good to subscribe to customer membership at the warehouse shops. Subscription may cost about $50 annually. Buying here is really cheap. Talking about buying and shopping brings to mind the subject of the sales agents and their offers. The marketing skills and languages used here may be different from what you are used to. A typical example of their language is a hospital being referred to as “not-for profit ’’. And you will be shocked to find thishospital among the top richest in the nation. Another example is receiving offers with claims that it is “free”! Apparently, nothing is free; he meant it is cheap and affordable. And these items usually come with conditions and terms hidden in very small fonts. Few days later, you start getting bills in your mails. This is the time they explain what they meant by “free”, “zero interest”, “no payment till 2013”, etc. But you had already committed yourself. These clichés and marketing phrases don’t literally mean what you thought them to be. Many, including RNs, have fallen prey to these marketing languages when they decided to take the opportunity of the so called great offers.They had to pay huge bills with interests. So any time you want to buy or sign up for any of these offers, make sure you really understand it well. Let them explain further what those words mean. The sales agents will always be at your door, over the phone, and in your mail box. To avoid this stalking and offers, you can opt out of these offers. And also call your phone company to opt you out of the public phone directory. Some phone companies will charge you a dollar or two every month for this. But if you are one, like me, who cannot stand this bugging, go ahead and opt out. New immigrants are their main targets. They know about your arrival and what you do. Some of these offers arrive in your mail box. And if you are a compulsive buyer like me who can easily be tempted into buying and buying, call the opt-out phone number at the bottom of the offer letter to get your name removed from the offer list. Let me tell you about my first TV story. The first day I bought a TV I decided to try if it could pick up some free channels.And I did get some pictures which were not clear but I could see and hear what was going on. Then the enticing ads started to roll. I could not resist them. I reached for the phone and credit card and made purchases over $130 that night. The next day was the same; I rolled out $68. When those items arrived, they were not as fantastic and great as portrayed in the ads. I learned my lesson. Another common offers are credit cards; they will continue to pour in immediately they get to know of your credit report. Check and double check and be sure you understand these offers very well before going for them. I will personally go for a credit card with rewards, not one I will have to be making annual payments/fees.The habit of owning two or more credit cards, when you don’t actually need them, could create the tendency for fraud, avoid it. You only use what you can pay for at the end of the month; and if the card comes with an offer of “no interest for 6month/1yr”, that is cool.
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