There was an article in Time the other day about energy efficient light bulbs may actually cause consumers to spend more on their electric because the perceived savings makes people keep the lights on longer. The phenomenon was likened to dieters who over-indulged in reduced calorie treats. Too much of a good thing can actually be bad or negate the benefits. Energy efficient furnaces, light bulbs and other items are beneficial to saving energy but can also make people think since they are saving money they could have the lights on longer or crank the furnace up.  Then they are spending more money rather than saving money.

It is nice to have energy efficient bulbs. When the electric rates increased in Illinois I did notice a slight increase but as I changed more of my bulbs to energy efficient ones my bill didn’t increase dramatically, they remained about the same. I didn’t change any habits but I did think that it was better to save money and the need to change the light bulbs less frequently.

The amount that I saved kept my energy bill in check. If the savings were large enough, I probably could have indulged in something more tangible but keeping my bill relatively the same amount was good enough for me.

This video speaks volumes. I have long held that greed is one of the great motivators in the world. The love of money makes people do things that hurt others. If you trust a company and find that the only reason they were doing things was because of the company’s sole purpose of business was the love of money instead of wanting to help people… what would you do?

The enactment of the new credit card regulations has people griping about changes in their interest rates. Another way to look at this would be to treat a credit card as cash. Paying the minimum perpetuates debt. Using a credit card in the absence of cash (or the ability to use cash) does not mean the debt does not have to be repaid. This leads otherwise money savvy people to spend what they don’t have in order to make sure they have the necessities.

For those with no balance on their credit cards or a small balance, check out this calculator from the FTC to see how long it will take you to pay off your credit card debt. If you have little or no debt at all and enter in your credit card rate with a fictional amount: pretend you went on a spending spree. The amount of time that it would take to pay off the bill would be enough to keep you on the straight and narrow. Pass it along to friends who need assistance in their finances. It might shock them enough to see how much they pay in interest by paying the minimum.

If you are only spending a small amount and a coupon is burning a hole in your pocket then use it, but don’t just use a coupon when you are making a small purchase if you know you will return to the store before the coupon expires. If you have a coupon and are going to use it anyway… wait until there is a better sale so you can get more mileage out of your coupon. If you have a 20% off coupon and use it for one item that is not on sale that is less than $20 you won’t maximize your savings. Use the coupon when items you want are on sale and get an additional discount. Combine coupons with gift cards and rewards purchases and you can really save a bundle.

If you didn’t know already, people hide things thinking that no one will come looking for the items later. Look around for what you want and you might find it, mis-shelved. I found one of my favorite sweaters hanging on a rack in the mens’ section in Filene’s basement. Maybe someone decided they didn’t want it at the last minute or put it there so they could come back for it later. It happens. Many times when there are items that are in limited quantity or the last one on the shelf, salespeople might squirrel it away for themselves. Since people are at risk of losing their jobs if they do that, they resort to hiding items in the wrong place (where an interested party is less likely to look for the item) or walking around carrying it on the pretense of re-shelving the item.

Looking around in the wrong place for an item takes luck and a little skill when trying to find something. Generally mis-shelved items are not too far away from where they should be, either by chance (or your blind luck) you may find an item that a person has put aside for themselves.

People who hide things aren’t really too ingenious when they put things aside, because if they move things too far out of place, they will be noticed and snapped up by someone else.

If there are items that are on sale at a price that is too good to be true – some stores will have a special sale aisle. Check there first since the regular shelf may have a limited quantity. Featured items may be on display in a place where you would least expect to find item.