Three ways to find a cool deal using Google

February 7th, 2010

(This guest post is by Ann Smarty, a search engine geek, social media enthusiast and a passionate blogger. She has recently started a community of guest bloggers, so if you have a blog and want to promote it for absolutely free, go help Ann build the valuable tool for that by joining and participating.)

Bargain hunting is only effective when done right otherwise you find yourself using a coupon whenever you are aware of one (which causes even more spending) or always forgetting to use a coupon (how many of us first buy something and only then remember they saw a deal for the same product in another store?).

Anyway, here’s my point: to take advantage of special offers, you don’t need to be a bargain hunter (meaning that you don’t need to keep track of all the deals and coupons around the web). All you need is to know how to find a good deal only when you need one.

And, quite naturally, when it comes to searching, Google is more often than not the only tool you will ever need. So here are the 3 (somewhat advanced) Google search tricks to help you find a good timely deal:

1. Search for Synonyms and Related Words

Various sites can use various words to call its special offer: a bargain, a coupon, a sale, etc, etc. To make sure you include all those in your search results, try the following tricks:

1. ~ operator

This search operator will include all synonyms which it refers to, for example [laptop ~coupon] will include [laptop promotion], [laptop deals], [laptop sale], etc and even [laptop free shipping]:

Deals search: Google's synonyms operator

2. OR operator

If you want search results to include any of the terms you mention, use OR between them, for example laptop (coupons OR deals OR promotions):

Deals search: OR operator

3. * operator

If you are unsure what exactly you want to search (for example, you don’t know which exactly computer you plan to buy), use * (wildcard) operator. Google will substitute it for one or more related words. For example, [ "* laptops coupons" (with the quotes) will include Dell laptops coupons, cheap laptops coupons, instant laptops coupons, etc:

Deals search: Wildcard operator

2. Search For the Recent Results

One of the search options I use most of the time is Google's date search: it is accessed via clicking "Show options" link above the search results. It opens up a search side panel which contains the following options:

  • Latest (to see real-time search results from social media sites like Twitter);
  • Past 24 hours (to see pages created/updated over the past 24 hours);
  • Past week (to see pages created/updated over the past week);
  • Past year (to see pages created/updated over the past year);
  • Specific date range (to choose the time frame).

These options are an awesome help if you need to find most recent search results (in our case, to find fresh deals and newest coupons).

Deals search: Google date search

3. Search Within a Site

We all have our favorite sites when it comes to any daily tasks and interests. For example, for me, Google is the only tool to do web search (I never need to use any other) and Buxr is the only site to locate a shopping deal. For the maximum efficiency, I just need to combine the two.

Google's SITE: operator allows to restrict your search to any given domain, for example [site:buxr.com], plus you can take advantage of any search tip listed above:

Deals search: search within a site

Why do I need to search within any site using Google? It is simple: Google offers plenty of unique search options no other site has: besides the two most awesome ones mentioned above, there are other advanced search operators as well as advanced search features and recent advances. With Google’s SITE: operator, you get the freedom to use all those great search opportunities to search any site.

So the fact is, Google is a nice service in itself but when used to its full capacity it becomes your #1 tool no matter what you need to do.


So what are lenders using as criteria today for mortgage qualification?

February 6th, 2010

I’ve been talking about some things related to the home purchase we’re doing now.  One of the conditions of purchasing our new home was ability to get financing.  Since I couldn’t buy with cash, I needed to apply for a mortgage.  What I couldn’t do was make the purchase contingent on the sale of my current home (the property we were interested in was a foreclosure), so I needed to be able to qualify for the new loan without settling my current mortgage.

This seemed to be a bit harder of a condition to meet since it would mean carrying a higher debt load.  I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t qualify, especially now that lenders weren’t writing loans for anyone who happened to have a pulse anymore.

Back before I knew what I could qualify for, I asked around over at Cash Commons to see what kind of mortgage qualification criteria lenders were using to determine a maximum loan amount.  Reduce Debt Faster gave an insightful answer which included things like:

  • Housing expense ratio (ratio of principal, interest, taxes, and insurance to monthly gross income)
  • Debt to income ratio (ratio of total debt service to monthly gross income)
  • Credit score (now they’re looking for 750-ish for prime rates)
  • Income level (the higher, the better)
  • Job stability (the more, the better)
  • Down payment (the more, the better)
  • Loan-to-value ratio (the smaller, the better)

After I applied and got my pre-qualification letter, my jaw dropped at how much they approved me for. Now, I did have a great credit score (even better than FCN’s before it dropped) and the only debt I carried was my current mortgage.  The credit union used the 40% debt to income ratio to determine what they could lend me.  But what got me was that the 40% was based on gross income, not net income.  This would have allowed us to purchase nearly twice the house we were interested in.  If I was worried about qualifying, those worries were blown out of the water.

My take on it is that if you’re the right candidate for a loan then they’ll let you borrow up to your eyeballs — even today.  That doesn’t mean you have to, of course, and you shouldn’t.  Banks are happy to lend you as much as they can if they have excellent assurance that they’ll get paid back.  They’re not nearly as interested in what you have to do in the rest of your budget to make those payments back to them.  You’ll give up a lot of things before you give up your house.

So, it may be tougher to qualify for a mortgage today than it was a few years ago, but it is possible.


Friday Fiscals: Blizzard Edition

February 6th, 2010

We’re in one of the areas that’s getting pummeled with snow this weekend.  Thankfully we still have power, and even Internet access.  Please be safe if you’re in the mess with us.

Here are some links of interest from the past week:

Take care all!

If your bank legitimately calls you, call them back

February 5th, 2010

I initiated a wire transfer today from an out-of-state credit union to my home credit union.  Because the amount of money was fairly significant, they called me up to verify a few things before they did the transfer.

After the woman gave her name and who she worked for, she asked for the passcode to my account to continue the transaction.

I almost told her, but stopped.  Since she called me, I asked, “Uhhh, can I call you back please?  I want to verify who I’m speaking with.”  She agreed without any problem, and gave me her name again, her phone number, and her extension.  I hung up, looked up the number on the credit union’s website, saw that it matched what she gave me, called her back, and finished the transaction.

Initially it surprised me that the credit union could conduct business over the phone in a way that wouldn’t even be remotely acceptable through e-mail.  (If you know when they can do this, let me know!) She started off by talking about my wire transfer, but aside from knowing her personally — I didn’t — how was I to know otherwise that she worked for who she said she worked for?  People who can spot a phishing e-mail a mile away might get taken in by a plausible-sounding phone call.

Here are a few steps to take if this kind of thing should happen to you:

  • Don’t give your account information over the phone if you didn’t place the call. Again, you can’t verify the identity of someone who calls you the same way that they can verify who you are.
  • Ask to call them back. They shouldn’t argue with you.  If they do, that’s a red flag.
  • Ask to get some of their information. Like phone number, extension, name, etc.  They should understand.  If they don’t, that may be a red flag.
  • Verify the information they give you. Don’t just call back the number they give you.  A scammer will just have you call him/her back.  If it’s a place you normally do business with, they should have a website with their phone number on it.
  • When you call back, make sure everything matches up. For example, I got the direct extension from the person who called me, and it was indeed correct.  It should be.

Forewarned is forearmed!  Banks and credit unions verify their customers thoroughly before conducting business.  Don’t be shy about verifying them.