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MONEY COMMENT
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Earlier today when I glanced through the weekly email from the extremely naughty celebrity gossip website, Popbitch, I encountered the following little gem: Michael Jackson cancelled a concert in New York a couple of years back, which would potentially lose him millions in refunds.
So Jacko personally send a refund cheque to each fan with his official signature on the cheque. Which ensured that rather than cashing the cheque, fans kept hold of them as priceless keepsakes. Almost all of the cheques remain unbanked.
Now, regardless of whether not the story is true, you have to admit that it is a classic illustration of lateral thinking! You can do it too. It's unlikely to save you millions but a few quid here and there will soon mount up. So for Fools who aren't already thinking laterally, here are a few to get you started: Self-insure In case you're not aware of it yet, both the Consumers' Association and the Office of Fair Trading have come to the conclusion that Extended Warranties on electrical goods are, for the most part, a waste of money. It's usually much cheaper to save up the premiums you would have paid so that you can pay for the occasional repairs that may be necessary once the manufacturer's guarantee has expired. Use cashback credit cards for big items One Fool saved £150 after paying for his new £15,000 kitchen on his 1% cash back credit card. He paid the bill in full a month later with the cash he'd put aside for his home improvements. Borrow free money to offset your mortgage If you've got a current account mortgage, you could borrow money from credit cards that have a 0% introductory offer and save yourself a wad of mortgage interest for six months. Just make sure that you withdraw the money to pay off the cards when your time is up. Be a cheapskate There's a very amusing novel called Big Spender by John McCabe which is full of top tips about being a tightwad. One of them is called 'First out of the taxi, last to the bar' which begins: Count the number of people you are with. Assess the number of hours you are likely to be out. Work to the Standard British Imbibing Law of one drink every forty minutes, and position yourself as follows... More: Offset Mortgages | Savings Centre