💰 The Deal Guy Newsletter - Issue #21

What’s included this week:

• 🔍 Where Shoppers Get Hit with Hidden Fees

• ❌ Crucial Steps For Insurance Claims After A Disaster

• 📰 IN THE NEWS

• 🤫 A Superb App To Better Share and Track Expenses

• 🏷️ Top 5 Deals of the Week

• 👀 Exclusive Tip To Save $$$ on Beauty Products

🔍 Where Shoppers Get Hit with Hidden Fees

Non-Prime Purchases on Amazon: That low price you see for e-bike on Amazon is enticing right before that $250 shipping fee is ticked on before check out. Be wary of merchants that sell on Amazon while adding their own shipping fees.

Not only can it be nearly impossible to deal with customer service from a third party in the event of an issue but you might be on the hook for additional handling fees in the event of a return.

Travel Bookings: Airlines and hotels are big hidden fee culprits. Baggage fees, seat charges, and sneaky "resort fees" can make your trip more expensive than you thought.

I always recommend booking directly from the source whether it be through Hyatt.com or Marriott.com where resort fees now legally have to be disclosed as averaged in to the nightly rate.

Event Tickets: Watch out for processing fees, service charges, and even mysterious "facility fees.". I recently bought tickets to a concert and tickets were listed on Ticketmaster with all sorts of fees but on the artist’s website, I was able to save close to 30% by booking directly.

This is not always possible for major big ticket events but identifying the ticket source is key.

Subscriptions: Whether it’s streaming services or gym memberships, there are often hidden activation, admin, or cancellation fees lurking in the fine print.

As annoying as reading a contract or scrolling can be, this is one of those times where the extra several minutes you spend reading can save you big.

Car Rentals: Expect surprise fees for airport pick-ups/returns and much higher fees for additional drivers. Even with the basic rate not all rentals are all inclusive when it comes to miles.

If you have a Costco membership, I can highly vouch for their car rental booking service to score perks like adding an additional driver for free. At other times, if you face $55 in roundtrip airport pick-up fees, sometimes that $12 Uber ride to a nearby car rental is well worth the added hassle if you have time.

❌ Crucial Steps For Insurance Claims After A Disaster

Filing The Claim Immediately Is The Most Important Thing To Do: If you have evacuated and you know of a friend, neighbor or family member returning to assess their damage before you can, see if they can take photos or video so you can at least submit your claim remotely.

Damage Needs To Be Assigned To the Correct Event: For back to back national disasters - whether it’s aftershocks following an earthquake, back to back hurricanes or storms, insurance company examine weather factors very closely for your area, and if your claim is not assigned to the correct storm or weather event, it can be denied - even if the damage is within days of each other.

Submit your claim online if you can: It’s always reassuring to hear a voice of reason on the other end of a phone during a panicked moment but generally the folks who receive the initial call to file your insurance claims are not adjusters.

These call-takers are inundated after a storm and can also miss important details while you’re explaining your situation. File online, submit all photos and supporting evidence. Your claim will be assigned faster and you are in control of the narrative.

Do Not Hire Your Own People: Unless there is specific time sensitive emergency, hiring your own contractors and clean-up crews is permitted within many policies but you will be on the hook for paying them directly and you undertake extra responsibility.

Using disaster relief clean-up professionals and repair experts under contract to your insurance company means they’re responsible for paying them without you having to seek reimbursement.

📰 IN THE NEWS

Every week in this section of the newsletter, I share some of the most interesting and helpful money-related articles I’ve read over the past week. I hope you find these as valuable as I did!

💵 “7 expenses middle class families should trim before winter hits”  - READ HERE.

💵 “If you recognize these signs, you could be rich one day!” - READ HERE.

💵 “Home buyers use this smart strategy to lower mortgage payments” - READ HERE.

🤫 An Adventurous Way To Save Big and Fight Waste

(THIS IS NOT SPONSORED)

I recently noticed today’s app suggestion climbing the charts this month at #6 in the food category! Too Good To Go is a clever platform that connects users with restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores offering surplus food at heavily discounted prices. Instead of letting perfectly good meals or produce go to waste, businesses across the country liquidate these limited time offerings.

If you are highly selective eater, this app might not be for you but even if you have dietary restrictions, you might still find participating vegan, gluten-free, kosher and various other business participating list "surprise bags" of food at a fraction of the cost.

The process is simple: open the app, browse local spots with surplus food, and reserve a bag. You don’t know exactly what you'll get but it’s unlikely that if you select a taco restaurant you’ll be presented with fish sticks so you do have an element of control.

The app is free to download by clicking here.

1. 💆🏼‍♀️ Shiatsu Back and Neck Massager (UNDER $27!)

2. 🕯️ HUGE YANKEE CANDLE CLEARANCE SALE (Over 50% OFF!)

3. 📺 32” HD TV DOWN TO $88! $160 (Black Friday Pricing!)

4. 🍩 Free Krispy Kreme Donut w/ Any McDonalds Purchase (Oct 14 ONLY!)

5. 🌳 24 Pack Flameless Voice Activated Candles JUST $11 (Clip coupon)

**If you buy something through these links I may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more

👀 EXCLUSIVE TIP TO SAVE $$$ ON BEAUTY PRODUCTS

One of the most frequent requests I receive is for discounts on beauty items. While I understand they’re not essentials, popular skincare and haircare products can often be pricey, especially when purchased from major retailers like Sephora and Ulta.

Did you know that warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club actually stock a lot more of these items than many people realize? While most think these members-only retailers only carry what’s displayed on the warehouse floor, you can actually find nearly every major skincare, haircare, and fragrance product through their online stores at a significant discount.

As an example, this Advanced Night Repair Serum from the Estée Lauder brand is a very popular product right now that I have never seen carried in-warehouse at either Costco or Sam’s Club. A quick search on Costco’s website shows that this is actually available for purchase at a hefty reduction vs the retail price you’d pay at Ulta.

And the same goes for fragrance! This Daisy Perfume from Marc Jacob’s retails for $153 at Sephora, but only $79.54 when I searched it up on the Sam’s Club website!

With the holiday gifting just around the corner, this one tip could save you some serious cash!

🚨 LATEST VIDEO

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this newsletter. If there are any topics you want me to prioritize for next week, please let me know!

Happy Savings!👋

The Deal Guy (Matt Granite)