The Rachel Cruze Show - Impulse Buying, Amazon Regrets, Online Scams: How to Avoid Them

Episode Date: October 24, 2022

There are all kinds of money traps and pitfalls that can cause you to give up more of your income, and we all need to be aware of them! So let’s talk through the dangers of impulse spending, Amazon buys you should never waste money on, and how to spot all the red flags when it comes to Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace scams. Stay alert, you guys!   Here’s what’s coming up: ·      How You’re Losing $3,700 a Year Without Knowing It ·      5 Amazon Products You Shouldn’t Buy with But First, Coffee ·      Online Money-Making Methods That Are Total Scams   Helpful Resources: Christian Healthcare Ministries Financial Peace University EveryDollar But First, Coffee                                                 Sponsors pay the producer of this show, The Lampo Group, LLC, advertising fees for mentioning their services or products during programming. Advertising fees are not based upon or otherwise tied to any product sale or business transacted between any consumer or sponsor. The following sponsors have paid for the programming you are viewing: Christian Healthcare Ministries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So definitely convenience with Amazon is amazing, but it's not always great when we start to like fall into the convenience too much for that. You end up buying stuff you don't need. Hey guys. Welcome to the Rachel Crewe Show podcast. I'm so glad that you're here. So in this episode, we're going to talk about how to avoid three ways that you can lose money. I'll talk about online money making methods that are total scams and you don't want to miss this one because because they're all things that we need to be aware of, whether you're buying or selling online. Then you'll hear a conversation I had with Kaylee from

But First Coffee on 10 Amazon products that you shouldn't buy. Yep, this is really good. But we also talk about some products that are worth it. So don't miss that conversation. But first, let's talk about impulse buying. We have all done it, and we've all experienced the guilt that comes with it. but there are some ways to avoid impulse buying.

So let's talk about them. So a recent survey found that the average American spends about $314 a month on impulse purchases. Yep. And about three and four of the survey respondents said that most of their purchases are usually spontaneous. All right. So let's do a little math. $314 a month for an entire year is, $3,700 a year, a year, you guys, like almost, we do Rachel math, that's almost $4,000.

That's how I like to word things, because it's like, what? Almost $4,000. And people are like, oh, my gosh, I'm having such a hard time with my bills and all this. Yes, which is very true because of inflation, how expensive everything is. But that's almost $4,000 back in your pocket if you don't and pulse by. And it is so easy to, I know it is. Oh, but man, it hurts the budget. It really does. It hurts your long-term savings goal, but it is so easy to do. You have to be so

careful. I mean, it's easy to slip in to this because you see something or you're craving something in the moment you want it and you just go and spend and not think twice about it until it's almost $4,000 a year. It's a lot of money. That's a lot of hours that you work. Think about all the hours you work and what you put into your job to make $4,000. And then it's just gone. Just like that. It's gone. So, listen, I want you to have fun in life. I want you to enjoy your money, but I also want you to be wise. And this starts to be in the unwise category of life. Because when you have a plan and you know what you're doing, your money just goes further. And I don't want it just to go further to go further's sake, but you work too hard for it.

Okay. So here are a few ways for you to avoid impulse purchases. Know your impulse spending weak points. What are they? Is it when you're scrolling Instagram? Yep. Mm-hmm. That's me. Is it just making, like, small cheap purchases on things like Target and, like, oh, I don't have a big deal?

Is it being like, oh, I just want something. You know, I'm going to go on Amazon and see, like, what the cheapest thing is. I'm going to just order it. Like, what's the thing that you go to and realize it, okay? And then also realize, too, that most stores are designed and they're laid out in a way to make you impulse buy. Like, truly, when they place products in certain positions, on a shelf or by the registers or on the incaps, they know what they're doing because they want

you to see and have a visual of something that you thought, I didn't know I needed that scarf and those earrings in that purse. Oh, oh, look you here. Just coming right with me, okay? They know what they're doing. And remember that when you impulse buy, you think that it's going to be worth it. And a lot of times in the long run, it's just not. I mean, if you think about it, think about the last thing that you bought on impulse because you thought, oh, this is an amazing purchase. It's going to enhance my life. And now you don't use it anymore. It happens all the time, all the time. All right. Another rule is kind of the classic wait 24 hours before making a purchase. This is a great one. I do this all the time. Add to cart. One of my favorite features in life.

Just put it in there. And then you wait a little bit. You go back to it. And you're like, I still want that. No, I don't need that or that or that or that. It's amazing. Once the emotion and the adrenaline wears off, your brain actually plugs back in, and you start to think again. And you realize, oh, I don't really need that. Another great tip always, you know me, is stick to your budget. Stick to your budget. So if you have margin in your budget to buy things that you're like, oh, I didn't exactly plan for that, but it's there in the budget, then that gives you more permission to say, yeah, you can. But especially if it's not budgeted and it's on a whelm red flag.

red flag. All right, you can also watch a video that I recently did on how to avoid buyer's remorse for some more of these tips because impulse buying and buyer's remorse are like cousins. They're like BFFs. They run together usually. So I want you to make smart purchases. So check out this video. I'll put a link in the description. And it's amazing to me that when you buy something on impulse, again, it feels good in the moment, right? You have this momentary like rush of adrenaline. in, kind of satisfies something. You're like, oh, that's good, that's good, that's what I want it. It's great. And then it goes away. And if you live like that in that instant gratification world that you just want something in the moment and you want it now and you don't want to have the pain to wait for it,

even the pain of waiting 24 hours or the pain to save up for something, then that living in that short-term mindset, you guys, is not going to help you long-term. Because in order to win with money, long term, you have to be diligent. And there's going to be times that you're going to have to say no. There's going to be times you're going to say, no, I'm actually going to wait because what's over there is much better than this quick moment I have right now that I want something. And so what that does is that actually builds up your character.

Like there's something in that people that can function in patience and can function in this idea that I don't have to have it right the second. There is a maturity to that. And that is the same character quality, you guys, that is going to be. going to help you hold on to your wealth later in life. It's going to let you hold your wealth in a really healthy manner versus it overtaking your life. Because again, there's a maturing factor that happens when you delay gratification. So this is a really important thing. So not only tactically, mathematically, financially speaking is impulse buying not great because you're spending

close to $4,000, but it's also feeding kind of that immature child that we all have. So it's an interesting way to look at it, but it's really true. I'm so excited to have Callie on, who is the founder of But First Coffee. She is a mom. She's a wife and was a teacher now turned blogger because she helps people all over help organize their homes, have an efficient house, and do it on a budget. So, Callie, thanks for being on. Thanks so much for having me.

I've been really looking forward to this. I'm a huge Rachel Cruz fan, so I'm excited to be here. Oh, I'm so glad. Well, I love anything when it comes to just being efficient in life, even though I'm not always the most naturally organized person. So people like you, I'm like, you can help me so much. So what made you start doing all of this stuff? I started, I started like way back. I'm coming up on a decade. I've been doing this. So I started before, like, I knew that you could make money doing this. So for me, the motivation has always been that, like, I love creating content.

I started as a blogger that started making YouTube videos. And then it just started grew with me. Like my content grew with me in the sense of like I went from unmarried to marriage. and then, you know, we paid off our debt and affordable living stuff. And then I became a mom and a homeowner. And then, you know, my following just sort of grew along with that, too, until eventually it became a full-time job. That's amazing. Amazing. Now, one of the things you kind of focus on is Amazon specifically. So do you just, you just get a ton of stuff off Amazon? Is that what you found? Yeah. I mean, it's sort of a weird thing because a lot of, I feel like I get excess to what the average person would do, but essentially with the goal of

testing it out so I can sort of share like what's the best, what's not the best, some tips and tricks for navigating Amazon in the best way, because I think we all like the convenience of Amazon, but there's like some definitely some pros and cons there. I spend a little extra time on Amazon than maybe the average person for that. Okay, so how do you narrow down what you pick? Because it is, it's like this black hole of anything and everything imaginable. So what's, what's like the first like couple of things that you do to really get started? It's hard. Definitely, one of the things I do is I follow other people like me, like other people who are Amazon influencers, if you will,

because I know what I go through to vet a product. So I know that they're doing that too. It's sort of that way it's like you're getting a recommendation from a friend as opposed to just, you know, these random reviews and you're not really totally sure. So I definitely have some people I like following because I know they use Amazon. And Amazon has actually gotten really good on their platform about, like showing influencers. I'm sure you've started to see it. Like they're on lives, the founded on

Amazon and all of that. So I love going to those sort of places and finding people who I like, who I sort of drive with, and then getting product ideas from them. But my favorite place to find products on Amazon, then I feel like a lot of people, like it's this weird hidden. I don't know why Amazon makes it so tiny. But on the Amazon homepage, there's this like little menu bar on your top right. And when you click it, you can get all sorts of like a digital. ways to drill down. So they have deal busters, they have new releases, they have currently trending. And I love it because you can even drill down more and find small businesses, women-owned businesses. And it makes it so easy to kind of like drill down specifically to the

type of stuff you're looking for. Oh, that's so good. Okay, so I'm interested because you mentioned reviews. And I feel like I've heard the rumor of like, they're not all real. What have you found? Is that true or is that false? I think some of it is true. It's tricky when you, especially when get to the, we all know we've gotten to that like Amazon product, like specifically Amazon fashion really clicking through and like the shirts are completely separate shirts. You're like, how can I even trust a review for this? So I always look at reviews to check validity, I feel like, because I have heard stories where people are like, once a product gets good reviews, they'll actually swap the product. You know what I mean? Interesting.

So I do always check reviews. And I check reviews for both reasons. Like I check to see if the reviews themselves are like valid for the product that I'm buying. But I also check them just to like cross reference the reviewers because I feel like sometimes people will leave one star and they'll be like, oh, it was, you know, the package came damage. I'm like, well, this isn't about like the product. Like it's good to know, I guess. But, you know, so sometimes you kind of have to like cross, cross check the reviews that way. So reviews are tricky, but I do. I always look at those. I like to look at photo reviews a lot because I feel like at a quick glance, it gives you the most information. Yes. Okay. So I love Amazon.

for multiple things in my life. But even for clothes, I've gotten bathing suits. I had like two bathing suits this past summer. Or Amazon. I was like, this is amazing. But I'll go through all the pictures because I'm like, okay, you can find your body tight, all of it.

And I'm like, these are real people and their houses. So thank you, random people for posting yourself in a swimsuit that I can be like, okay, it's good. Because I'm like, that's real. That makes me feel good. So when the pictures are out, I'm like, okay, that feels like a real person. Yes.

And you could totally, I feel like you can get a better idea for how, like you said, how it's going to fit and how it's going to fit for your body type. Photos are the first place they go, as opposed to just trying to, like, scroll through all of them. Absolutely. Okay, so what are things on Amazon that you're like, I would absolutely avoid, don't do this, and then what are things that you're like, no, this is a great, this is a great purchase? Because for you specifically, you do everything, a lot of stuff on Amazon, from closed to home organization stuff. Like, I mean, it runs the gamut.

Yeah, I've bought probably across most of the gamut. categories. There are a few things that I generally suggest not buying. The first one is I always say like things that cost $5 or less, which seems kind of random, but whenever you have to buy something that's $5 or less, they're going to make you buy it in bulk because they don't want to send you something for only $5. So now all of a sudden you need like, I don't know, whatever you're buying, like a pack of pencils. Now you've got to buy four packs of pencils. You didn't really need four packs of pencils because the one thing I hate more than spending money that I need to spend is having more stuff in my house than I need it. So definitely that is always something to look out for,

buying something in bulk. Sometimes it's just convenient. We're like, I just like, I really need these pencils for my like kids school or I don't want to go to CBS. But I always try to steer clear of that. Convenience with Amazon is amazing, but it's not always great when we start to like fall into the convenience too much for that. You end up buying stuff you don't need. Can I tell you my kids? Yeah, now that my daughter's in elementary school, we pencils like they're everywhere. So I was like, oh, I need a pencil sharpener, like one or two. It came in a bag, and I should have known, but it showed up, and I was like,

we have 50 of these little plastic things that aren't really even that great. And now I'm like, I threw them all away. At one point, because I was like, like, they were up in kids' rooms. I was like, how do these dang sharpeners get everywhere around our house and drove me nuts? So, yes, it's the same thing.

And then that's more inconvenient than if you had just, like, take in the extra out 10 minutes on your way home to, like, get the kind of sharpeners. And that's it. I know, absolutely. Okay, so that's good. So always that. And then again, products just like in general, some products like will come with all these extra pieces. I find this a lot with like kids toys and electronic stuff. They like try to add in all of these extra little pieces.

I avoid those ones too. A few other ones that I find are not always the best deal that I always kind of will shop around is kitchen appliances. Not that you can't get good kitchen appliances, but I feel like a lot of the name brand kitchen appliances. I'm talking about like, you know, a toaster oven. a blender like the countertop stuff. Usually you get better prices for these if you're shopping, like in some of your main department stores, like you're going into a Walmart or a best buy.

Not always, but those are ones, especially because a kitchen appliance, you're going to spend a little bit more money on it. Take a second. Go to Google. If you don't know this, you can go to Google, you can type in a product, hit the shopping tab.

And like you can price compare across the web, like all of the websites. I find that for some reason kitchen appliances, again, sometimes we resort to Amazon because it's convenient. and the reviews are there, which is nice. Like, I do a lot of shopping on Amazon for the reviews, but then sometimes we'll buy elsewhere because I can get the better price.

So use Amazon for the reviews, but Kitchen Appliances is another one I always check. And then another one I always warn people about is cosmetics if it's not being sold from that brand. So when you're shopping on Amazon, like when you're on the product page, at the very top of where it says the product name, there's like a blue link that tells you the store. Like, if you're buying Tart mascara, it'll say, like, you know, from Tart. And you can click on Tart. It'll show you Tart's Amazon page. Okay.

If it doesn't bring you to Tart's Amazon page, this is like some third-party seller, and there's actually a lot of knockoff cosmetics. I have friends who have, like, bought their favorite products and been like, wait, did they change the formula? And it's because it was a knockoff. Oh, you just kind of blew my mind because, you know what, sitting literally in my, on my front porch because I got a notification before we started filming. Mascarra! Mabel, and I was like, I'm running out of mascara, and I literally just,

went to Amazon. I was like, I can get it in two days, and I just haven't come. Now I'm so nervous. I didn't click a blue link. Callie, man, that's so good to know. Yeah. I find it's not as big of a problem as it used to be, but you definitely, especially if you start seeing a few listings, you're like, oh, this one's a few dollars cheaper and you kind of like always check it. And then also like Apple and Google products, the same thing happens. There was actually a lawsuit in 2016 because Apple said there was a ton of Apple chargers listed on Amazon and they weren't like, actually Apple Chargers. So that's another one.

I feel like, you know, Apple and Google products are kind of like a competitor to, like, Amazon products, like Amazon Fire and the Amazon tablets and all of that. So if you're going to buy an Apple or a Google product, like, just go to Apple or just, like, buy it through Google instead. Just because, you know, I always just get nervous. I'm going to buy something that's not what I think I'm getting. So good. Oh, those are so helpful, Callie.

Okay. I love that. I'm going to, I'm totally, yeah, still are getting at my own personal brain. I'll remember that for next time. Okay, so what are things on Amazon that you're like, this is, yes, do it all day long. It's worth it. It's the best. I have a few, like, brands that I love shopping Amazon.

Specifically, the Amazon Essential brands has kind of become my, like, go-to generic brand because I find the quality is always so good. The price point is always really great. And they have, in the last five years, I feel like expanded into almost everything. So Amazon Essentials is everything from, like, toiletries to, home products to clothing. And everything I've gotten I've been really, really happy with. And the price point is so good. And because it's Amazon and you're buying it,

it's just like, you know, buying grocery brand through the grocery store, you're going to get a really good price. If you use subscribe and save, you usually will get a really good subscribe and save offer on it. So I love any of the sort of Amazon brand stuff. And that's another one you can really search down. Like if you're searching for something, they'll say like shop our brands.

I've always been really, really happy with those compared to, like, other generic brands that I buy in store. So that's another one that I always tell people is a great one. I mean, I love buying my, you know, don't get me wrong about cosmetics. I love buying my cosmetics on Amazon. I just like, I always make sure that I'm buying them through the site. Especially around where I live. I don't have, like, big department stores near me. So for me, it's like a great way to get some stuff that I wouldn't always be able to get near me.

And another one that's like sort of bizarre that, again, because I don't have like, huge stores near me is actually pantry items. So like organic dry goods, organic snacks for like my kids or just like all natural sort of stuff. I just, I don't have a good selection where I live. And I feel like a lot of people don't think about Amazon for that. And you can find really, really good quality stuff on Amazon for like dry pantry stuff. That's so smart. I know. Because sometimes with food, I always just think, well, it's going to be fresh food and I'm going and just get it from the grocery store, you know, all that. But yeah, but if you're looking at things that don't have to be refrigerated and, you know,

and it can travel and you're like, yes, stock up. Yeah, absolutely. And a lot of times I get better prices that if you're going to go to, like, you know, some all natural food store or whatever, I get really great deals. And it's like sort of a surprising one to think about. Nobody thinks about Amazon for food, but. Yeah, that's so good. Okay.

Amazon Prime, worth it, not worth it. I have my opinion. Amazon Prime. I think Amazon Prime is like a Costco. membership. I just had a friend the other day. She's like, what do you think about having a Costco membership? I'm like, it's great if you use it right, right? Like, if you use a Costco, if you get a Costco membership and you just go into Costco and you're just like buying all of the stuff because you're in Costco and it's like cute and it's great, it's not going to like work out for you

because now you end up with all this extra stuff. In Amazon Prime membership, in my opinion, is the same way. It's worth it if you use it well. So if you're taking advantage of like what it's offering you. So obviously Amazon Prime is going to give you the quicker shipping and the free shipping. So you need to be someone who's shopping on Amazon, like enough that it comes out to whatever is at $15 a month now, which isn't too hard to do. But make sure you're using like all of the other stuff that comes with it. So we use the Amazon Prime streaming service as like one of our main streamer, streaming streamers. That's part of the main streaming. Streamers in our life. There's a lot.

way we watch TV. Like we don't have to pay for Netflix and we don't play for Hulu because like we get that through what membership we're already paying for. They have music, they have audio books, like taking advantage of that and making sure that you're not using it frivolously as you would with Costco and you're just sort of like buying stuff.

You're like, well, I've got Amazon Prime and like let me just go on and buy a lot of random stuff, you know? Yeah, absolutely. No, being intentional with that, I'm like it is because you'll end up with a house full of crap that you're like, why don't have all this? I don't need it. But you feel like, oh, I just got to use it.

So yes, being strategic about what you use. And that's a good point to have everything else that's out there that you can use, not just the free shipping, because that's, I think, what is top of mind for a lot of people. Okay, so for someone that's like, yeah, I kind of, I do Amazon sometimes, you know, maybe not the right way. What are three tips to say, okay, when you go shopping on Amazon, make sure you do this, this and this. Okay, so one, especially if you, you know, you're new to Amazon, you're like, I got the prime,

membership. Number one, I love is subscribe and save. I feel like not enough people use it. If you don't know what subscribe and save is, you've probably seen it when you've checked out on something where it's like, do you want to buy it one time or subscribe and save? The basic idea is you subscribe to it. You say how many times you want it to come in like once a month or once every three months or whatever. And as long as you have five things that come to you that month, you get a certain percentage off. Sometimes it's 5%. Sometimes it's 20%. So I love it, one, for convenience. I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old. So, like, I don't always, like, remember to get diapers and paper towels. And so, like, to get those things for convenience is really nice. But also because

you're just, I mean, I save so much money on these, like when I price compared the diapers, and the Amazon brand diapers are so good. They're so good. When I compare the price to what I would buy if I went into Target, it saves so much money. So I feel like a lot of people, they're not using that one for the convenience and two, you're just saving. Money in general. That's good. Subscribe and save. Okay. Love that. Yeah. Two, I feel like as far as like the best times to shop, there's not really like any, I don't think there's any like special secrets, like special times a day or anything. I do think the prime days are really good. They do put things on sale. If you have certain things you know you want to buy,

it's definitely a great time to do it. I love Black Friday on Amazon. I almost feel like the Black Friday deals on Amazon are better than the Prime Day ones. So I always do like a lot of my Christmas shopping during the Black Friday. So that's another one. It's definitely Black Friday on Amazon. Amazon. Or cyber. I guess it's Cyber Monday now. I don't know. It's like the whole. Yeah, it's all of it. But one of those days that they just put a bunch of stuff, yes, to take advantage of that. Okay. And then I think the last one is I love to add to cart and not always check out right away. And there's extensions. Like, I don't know if you ever use the Honey app on your Google Chrome. It will tell you when things in your cart drop a lower price because

a sneaky thing about Amazon is the prices are never fixed. Like they are changing all of the time for everything. They're like raising the price and then putting out and saying, you know, there's all of this, this crazy stuff. Like I never, I never say the price of anything in my videos because like tomorrow it could be a dollar cheaper or a dollar more. So if there's something you're considering buying, consider using something like the Honey app because it'll send you notifications and be like, hey, this went $10 off or whatever. So that can be a great way to like kind of wait it out and see if a better price comes around. So good. Callie, this is such good stuff. Such a good stuff because, where I know for me, and I feel like a lot of people I know,

it's just a part of the rhythm. It's like Amazon, it's just, it's there. But to be smart about it and don't just get lost in the black hole of the app, but really think through some things, be strategic, be on guard on some stuff, have fun with the other side, and it's just, it's awesome. So thank you so much for all of your tips. You're welcome. And you have to think about Amazon.

You know, they want you to go on there and buy a lot of stuff. You know what I mean? So you can't always use it the way they want you to use it. you have to kind of use it the way you want to use it. Figure out your own path. I love it. So one question I ask all my guests when they come on is what is one thing you're doing with money that's creating a life that you love?

Oh, I love that. Definitely committing to living debt-free is huge. And I think like keeping new financial goals, like always having new financial goals that we're working on because I feel like you need some type of goal that you're working on to keep you motivated to be. to budget. Like when you're like, oh, you know, I really shouldn't spend extra money on this, you need something to be looking forward to. So like when you hit one, like always said another one, I feel like that's the biggest one for us that always keeps us motivated. That's so good.

So good. Yeah, it keeps that forward progress continuing, right? Right, exactly. That's so awesome. Well, congrats on being debt free and like doing all this stuff, Callie. That's amazing. Thank you. And where can everyone find you and follow you and get more tips. Yes, so I'm on YouTube at But First Coffee. You just bought First Coffee on YouTube. But my website, butferscoffee blog.com, would bring you to all the different places on the interwebs where you can find me. Yes, all there. All there. Awesome. You guys, make sure to check out everything Callie's doing and save some money. And thank you again for being on and giving us all your tips. Love Amazon. And I'm so thankful for people like you that can help us.

So I always talk about selling your stuff when you're getting out of debt, right? when your baby steps, especially one through three, it's like you have so much stuff around your house. Sell it, sell it, use Craigslist, use Facebook Marketplace, get extra money on stuff you're not using or you don't need. It is such a great way to bring an extra income. But there's a lot of sketchy people out there. There can be some really shady money-making methods out there to scam you out of your hard-earned money. So you want to be aware. If you're buying or selling anything, you need to watch out.

for this stuff. Okay? So on Facebook and Craigslist, you want to avoid scammers so that you can hold on to your money. So here are some tips to help you, even if you're looking to buy something or sell something. Either way, these are going to be important. First and foremost, a new Facebook account. Okay, this doesn't always mean someone's a scammer, but most people already have an established Facebook account. So when someone brand new, with a brand new account, tries to buy or sell you something, just could be a little suspicious. Instant interest. So if a buyer wants you to send them a text to schedule an immediate pickup of an item,

this could be a red flag. And people are talking about this everywhere, even TikTok. This is a big thing. So here's the deal. You want to keep your communication on Facebook Messenger or email. Don't give out your phone number. And be wary of someone who's responding to you as soon as you post something. just like,

and listen, I always want to see the good in people. I usually tend to lean on that side of life. But these are really important things for people like me to keep in mind, okay? So again, brand new account. They message you instantly like, okay, we're filling some red flags.

Now, ideal that seems too good to be true, another red flag. So if you're looking to buy something that's priced way below market value or anything else that seems just too good to be true, that means it probably is. Okay? You may think, oh, well, I'm getting those Tori Birch flats for $75.

So you send your money to this company, and then they send you not real. Nope, not real shoes. Basically fake shoes that fall apart and smell really bad from some weird factory. Yeah, too good to be true. That was me. So, listen, if it looks too good to be true, it is, it is, okay? also getting overpaid. So when you're selling something, sometimes scammers will use a bad credit card or a check to actually pay you more money than what you asked, and then they ask you to send them

the difference. That way, you don't get paid for the item and you end up sending them some more of your money. Not smart. No, that's a no-go. Also, being offered a substitute. So sometimes people post one item for sale and then you're interested and then they say oh it's no longer available but here's a more expensive item instead yeah not doing that now here's another scam the lost package scam yep you sell an item you ship it and they come back to you and they say i never received it and i need a refund when they actually got the package and then they get a refunds if you give it to them and they get your package and they're wherever you're selling and not good so all always make sure you track every single shipment. This is very important. Also, if there's a sense of

urgency, just be aware. If someone is pressuring you into buying or selling something and it's really urgent and they need to make it happen right away, we got to do this right now, red flag. Okay? This actually happens to Winston. He was selling his laptop years ago. And this lady was like, I'm flying out of town and I got to get it right now. And it was like this big urgent deal. Yeah, they ended up giving him fake money. And then he chased her down. got his laptop back. Could have died, but it's fine. That's okay.

We've moved past it. Another red flag is refusing to meet face to face. So if the person claims to be local, but they don't want to meet up and exchange whatever you're buying or selling, could be a red flag. Also, bad spelling and grammar. Now, some people just don't know how to spell,

whom we're not judging, okay? I can fall into that category sometimes. But if there's a lot of typos and a lot of weird sentences. That doesn't seem right. It's probably because it's not right. Next up, unconventional payment methods. Now, these themselves are not scammers, scam-like things, okay?

But people use these entities to scam people. So just be aware. Okay, so Western Union, MoneyGram, cashier checks, money order, Zell, shipping, escrow services, someone claiming to be a third party that's going to handle the payments. Again, just be aware. Just watch out for those. Also, vague messages.

So anytime a message on Facebook marketplace or Craigslist just sounds kind of vague and it's just out there, it's probably because it's just a little weird. Again, just a red flag. Now, listen, if you have any of those interactions above, that does not automatically mean that it is a scam. Okay? It's not like absolutely guaranteed. But if there's enough of these that you're like, just pay attention, you know. Because again, you never know. You don't want to send your money off or send your item off.

and then it disappears and you don't know and you don't get the transaction that you want. So make sure just to investigate. As my dad always said, keep your head on a swivel. Never really understood that one, but it's like, always be looking around, okay? So when you're doing all this online transaction, keep your brain on a swivel, be looking around.

And I always want to think the best of people. And people don't do that. People wouldn't scam you. There are good people on the world. And there are, but there's also sketchy people. So we just need to know the reality because, again, I don't want your hard-earned money leaving you or your hard-earned money that you bought something that you don't want, but you need some harder money to pay off debt. I don't want any of that to go wrong. Oh, man, some scams, y'all. They're out there.

Be aware. Head on a swivel. Remember that, you guys. Head on a swivel. All right, I want to thank Kaylee so much for being on this episode. And thank you guys so much for listening. If you have If you do not subscribe to this podcast, make sure to hit that follow button. And if the spirit leads, you can leave a review. As always, make sure to take control of your money and create a life you love.