BUSN380 Week 5 TCO 4 Chap 8 Notes - Consumer Purchasing Strategies & Legal Protection

-          Economic (inflation, interest rates, tax rates, Gov regs, product safety)

-          Social (lifestyle, interest, hobbies, peer group, culture, advertising, media)

-          Personal (gender, age, occupation, income education, marital status, family size)

The only way to have long-term financial security is to not spend all of your current income.

Throughout your life your buying decisions reflect many influences. You should consider opportunity costs to maximize the satisfaction you obtain from available financial resources.

Commonly overlooked trade-offs when buying include:

-          Paying a higher price over time by using credit to buy items you need now

-          Buying unknown possibly poor-quality brands that are less expensive

-          Selecting brands that may be difficult to service or repair

-          Ordering by mail or online, which saves time and money but may make it harder to return, replace, or repair purchases

-          Taking time and effort to comparison-shop to save money and obtain better after-sale service