It just dawned on me the other day that I could be making better use of my money here in Brazil. These tips are also relevant in the United States however Brazilian business have capitalized on profiting off customers in a "hurry" or customers that want something without having the money to pay for it right away.
Most stores in Brazil offer a "cartão da loja" a.k.a. a store credit card. Employees walk throughout the store like used car salesmen asking (begging) you to sign up for one. While the majority are pretty basic in practice, where they get you is if you buy something and break it up into payments. In the US when when you pay for something by credit it is paid how you choose as long as you make the minimum payment. Here in Brazil you specifically state how many months you want to spread out the payment - some stores go all the way up to 12 months. What they try to hide from you is the interest you will pay; which is and can be as high as 22%. Be careful. It is best just to pay it off at the end of the month and establish a solid credit history with the store. I am not sure if these cards actually report to the credit bureaus but nonetheless you are wasting money when you pay interest on items you can pay for right away.
Another easy way to save money is to buy everything you possibly can in bulk and at a grocery store. Buying items when you are in a hurry comes at a premium. For example a case of beer at the gas station costs R$40,00 where at a grocery store it costs R$19.90. That is a 50% markup. This isn't just for beer, it is for almost all items you purchase.
No comments:
Post a Comment