Be Wealthy & Smart

Learn why you don't want to buy financial items on Craig's List. Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about another awesome podcast called Profit Boss Radio. Profit Boss Radio, hosted by MBA and Certified Financial Planner Hilary Hendershott, highlights inspiring women who have created success in their financial and professional life. Each week you can tune in and hear how women have paved the road to sustained success with both beliefs and actions. Check out www.profitbossradio.com. There was a gold scam with counterfeit gold bars being sold on Craig's list. The article is on my website at www.lindapjones.com, go to podcast 256. In addition, I've heard of people trying to get your VIN number on your car, trying to get your credit card information, etc. Beware of scams, don't give out personal information, don't buy currency or precious metals, be cautious. Please subscribe and leave me a review on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Move your net worth in the right direction by getting "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com

Learn smart hacks to save money while traveling and shopping abroad. Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about another awesome podcast called Profit Boss Radio. Profit Boss Radio, hosted by MBA and Certified Financial Planner Hilary Hendershott, highlights inspiring women who have created success in their financial and professional life. Each week you can tune in and hear how women have paved the road to sustained success with both beliefs and actions. Check out www.profitbossradio.com. It's listener question day! Dear Linda, My husband and I are traveling to Spain soon. He gave me a budget and I'm trying to be smart with money while we're traveling. We're already using points for a free hotel, what else do you recommend? Tina (name changed intentionally) Here's what I recommend: 1. Always make sure your passport expiration date is way in the future! 2. Make sure your credit cards have a chip or they won't be accepted. 3. Buy a travel book like Fodor's or Lonely Planet or Rick Steve's a to find good restaurants and know how expensive they are before you eat there. Beware of low budget books, you are not traveling by back pack and hostel! Remember to allocate larger restaurant and hotel budgets to big cities. 4. Use a debit card at ATM's to get cash. They are cheaper than the bank, foreign exchange windows and the hotel. Immediately exchange $20 to $50 when you land so you have some petty cash for tips. 5. Bring some US dollars in $1, $5 and$10 for street purchases. 6. Use credit cards for purchases. You'll get the best exchange rate and you'll be protected in case of fraud. Only make small purchases at flea markets, on the street, etc. (Jewelry vs. scarf). 7. If you have foreign coins and the bank won't buy it back from you, you can donate it to Unicef, change for good on an American Airlines flight or you can send it to Change for Good in NY. 8. Be aware some vendors don't like Amex and prefer VISA because they have lower fees to the vendor and they will net more on a large purchase. Please subscribe and leave me a review on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Move your net worth in the right direction by getting "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com

Learn where grocery stores are fooling you to pay more when you think you are paying less. Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about another awesome podcast called Profit Boss Radio. Profit Boss Radio, hosted by MBA and Certified Financial Planner Hilary Hendershott, highlights inspiring women who have created success in their financial and professional life. Each week you can tune in and hear how women have paved the road to sustained success with both beliefs and actions. Check out www.profitbossradio.com. I've noticed something about the grocery store and wonder how many people realize there's a common rip off happening with items on sale? Have you ever calculated how much you are paying per item for the item on sale? For example, grocery stores will often have a small, medium and large size in a product. They put the medium size on "sale". It gets you to spend more than the small size. It also gets you to pay more per unit than the large size! Check the per unit cost of the cottage cheese, ketchup or rolls of toilet paper. Even when the medium size is on sale, the large size is cheaper per unit! If you can buy the larger size that's NOT on sale, you're often getting the best deal. The scam is you think you are being smart to buy on sale, but the store is ripping you off because you are still paying more than the large size! Don't be a zombie "sale" buyer. Check the price per unit! Buying in bulk usually saves you the most money, that's why COSTCO often has the best prices. I also save 10% by buying 6 bottles of wine at a time. If you bring bottles to other people's homes and you consume some, make the purchases all at once, not one at a time and you'll almost save the price of a bottle! Shopping on Tuesdays also gets me 10% off all of my groceries at Gelson's, so I can get food on sale and save 10% once a week! It adds up! If you're not a coupon clipper but want to save, just calculate your cost per unit, buy large sizes or in bulk and you'll usually save more! Please subscribe and leave me a review on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Move your net worth in the right direction by getting "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com.

Learn how to cruise and get the most value. Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about another awesome podcast called Profit Boss Radio. Profit Boss Radio, hosted by MBA and Certified Financial Planner Hilary Hendershott, highlights inspiring women who have created success in their financial and professional life. Each week you can tune in and hear how women have paved the road to sustained success with both beliefs and actions. Check out www.profitbossradio.com. A Tale of Two Cruises to the Caribbean - true story! Budget: $3300 Team A: 7 night cruise from Miami to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Martin, St. Kitts. Paid $3,200 for regular class with balcony. Team B: 5 night cruise to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Martin, St. Kitts. Paid $799 for special Aqua class with balcony Both chose same packages: 1. $300 shipboard credit 2. Beverage package Beverage package included all bottled waters, specialty coffees, tea; wine up to $11, cocktails up to $9. Team A chose to spend $175 on internet access. They were concerned about every penny spent. Unfortunately, they didn't study their beverage package, so they didn't realize most of their alcoholic beverages were covered. They were reluctant to order drinks because they were too expensive. The reality was $9 to $11 of their alcoholic beverages were covered, but they didn't take the time to ask what the package included. They spent their time laying in the sun and attending the free entertainment. It was hard to take advantage of anything else like the restaurants, spa or shop because they were on a tight budget. The satellite internet ended up being hard to connect and there was a lot of frustration with the internet. After paying for the internet and tips, they used up all of their budget. Team A ate in port every day, even though they had already paid for food aboard the ship. Team B chose to spent $135 on spa massage, reasoning they could connect to the internet on shore for much cheaper than $175, which turned out to be the case. In some ports internet was free at a restaurant and at others it was only $7. Team B spent less than $20 on internet during the trip and some of that was for a beverage at a restaurant. Team B also had free access to the spa - heated lounge chairs, sauna, hot tub and steam room. Because of their special Aqua class, they were first to embark and disembark the ship. They also had a special, more exclusive dining room although they also could eat in the main dining room if desired. Team B spent their days exploring the ports and collecting the free gifts from merchants. They each collected 8 topaz and silver pendants for free, plus a token coin and charm bracelet. They enjoyed shopping and were treated to free champagne every day while shopping. They were able to negotiate great prices and bought nice gemstone and gold jewelry while staying within budget. Because they had already paid for food, they chose to return to the ship each day for lunch. They also enjoyed free champagne while attending an art auction aboard ship and chocolate martinis at the shops on board the ship. The last evening they ate at a specialty restaurant with an incredible experience. It was absorbed by their onboard credit. Two sets of travelers on the same ship, similar itinerary, but 2 totally different results. Team A made several mistakes…they didn't shop for a great price and overpaid to begin with. They didn't get the upgraded class with special privileges like preferred embarkation and disembarkation, the dining room and spa. They paid for satellite internet aboard the ship instead of getting in on shore. They paid for food on shore that they had already paid for on the ship, wasting money. They didn't understand their beverage package and what it paid for, so they skimped on their drinks. They didn't take advantage of free drinks on board or free jewelry on shore. They also didn't know they could follow their cruise account on the TV. Every day all expenses are posted to your bill, which you can read on the TV in your cabin. It just goes to show, if you're smart you can stretch your dollars and live luxuriously without scrimping or being "frugal". It's not about doing without! It's about being smart with your money, using it to get "deals", and educating yourself about what's available and how to make the best use of each dollar. Please subscribe and leave me a review on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Move your net worth in the right direction by getting "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com.

Learn how to get a free credit report. It's listener question day! Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about another awesome podcast called Profit Boss Radio. Profit Boss Radio, hosted by MBA and Certified Financial Planner Hilary Hendershott, highlights inspiring women who have created success in their financial and professional life. Each week you can tune in and hear how women have paved the road to sustained success with both beliefs and actions. Check out www.profitbossradio.com. In response the the episode about making one phone call to make good credit great, Brian said: Linda you are THE BEST...I have been wondering how to boost my credit score now that it's gotten a lot higher since I met you! Thanks Brian! Good credit is a matter of doing a few things right consistently. It's not hard to do if you pay attention to your credit. You can always get one free credit report a year at www.annualcreditreport.com Some credit cards are also supplying your credit report for free. Thank you to people who have left reviews for the show! Please subscribe and leave me a review on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Get your net worth growing by getting "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com.

Learn how to transform a good credit score to great. Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about another awesome podcast called Profit Boss Radio. Profit Boss Radio, hosted by MBA and Certified Financial Planner Hilary Hendershott, highlights inspiring women who have created success in their financial and professional life. Each week you can tune in and hear how women have paved the road to sustained success with both beliefs and actions. Check out www.profitbossradio.com. The full article is posted at www.lindapjones.com, podcast 251. Please subscribe and leave me a review on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Move your net worth in the right direction by getting "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com.

Learn which equity sector ETFs are performing the best and how to use them to spice up your portfolio. Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about another awesome podcast called Profit Boss Radio. Profit Boss Radio, hosted by MBA and Certified Financial Planner Hilary Hendershott, highlights inspiring women who have created success in their financial and professional life. Each week you can tune in and hear how women have paved the road to sustained success with both beliefs and actions. Check out profitbossradio.com. Excited this is our 250th show! When I started 3 years ago, I had no idea we would have the wide audience we do. I want to thank you wealth seekers, my loyal listeners and new listeners who are just finding Be Wealthy & Smart. If you haven't listened to podcast #248, I suggest you do that because I reviewed asset allocation. In that podcast, I mentioned some models use 20% of the asset allocation pie to invest in sectors. You might want to comb through the best performing equity sector ETFs and see if any of these appeal to you (discuss with your financial advisor before making investment decisions). Here are the 14 top performing equity sector ETFs according to IBD (see website at www.lindapjones.com and podcast #250). I'm also going to share the strongest performers of the last 5 quarters. Be cautious, these are already up a lot and can be very volatile. Only invest if you are making a long-term commitment and not just for short-term performance. These are not a recommendation to buy, I'm just reporting on trends. As usual, I will post the article on my website at www.lindapjones.com, podcast #250. Please subscribe and leave me a review on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Move your net worth in the right direction by getting "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com.

Learn why the true value of an item for purchase is not always the price tag and what to consider so you aren't overpaying. Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about another awesome podcast called Profit Boss Radio. Profit Boss Radio, hosted by MBA and Certified Financial Planner Hilary Hendershott, highlights inspiring women who have created success in their financial and professional life. Each week you can tune in and hear how women have paved the road to sustained success with both beliefs and actions. Check out profitbossradio.com. Please subscribe and leave me a review on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Move your net worth in the right direction by getting "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com.

Learn which ETFs are top performing diversified ETFs and how to create a top performing asset allocation. Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about another awesome podcast called Profit Boss Radio. Profit Boss Radio, hosted by MBA and Certified Financial Planner Hilary Hendershott, highlights inspiring women who have created success in their financial and professional life. Each week you can tune in and hear how women have paved the road to sustained success with both beliefs and actions. Check out profitbossradio.com. Please subscribe and leave me a review on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Move your net worth in the right direction by getting "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com.

Learn the what the best health care ETFs are in 2017. Before we get started, I wanted to let you know about another awesome podcast called Profit Boss Radio. Profit Boss Radio, hosted by MBA and Certified Financial Planner Hilary Hendershott, highlights inspiring women who have created success in their financial and professional life. Each week you can tune in and hear how women have paved the road to sustained success with both beliefs and actions. Check out www.profitbossradio.com. The article is posted on my website at www.lindapjones.com, podcast 247. Please subscribe and leave me a review on iTunes or Stitcher Radio. Move your net worth in the right direction by getting "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth" at www.lindapjones.com.