DALLAS — We had so many revealing and valuable moments in our Right on the Money reports in 2022 that we decided to compile them into our first-ever hour-long Right on the Money Special, which included some of the most watched ROTM reports of the year.
There’s always more information in the web articles than we can fit into the individual segments on television, so here are all the installments that made it into the special, with their accompanying links with more info.
Forced Financing at the auto dealership
We got all into ‘forced financing’ at the auto dealership in 2022. But it all started with our original report in 2021 about what seems to be becoming an increasingly popular tactic of many dealers: requiring that you use their lenders if you want to buy their vehicle.
Where our old cell phones go?
We have been upgrading a lot of devices, trading in our old models in favor of the newer, longer-lasting, fancier shiny objects. But on a tour of a phone processing center, we learned that our rejects get a whole new life after we trade them in.
The perils of peer-to-peer payments
That’s a lot of alliteration there, but the risk is real! (Sorry, more alliteration.) Many people have made costly errors while electronically sending money to someone else. Paying this way is just so easy -- and making mistakes while doing it is as well. We explore how to mitigate the risk here.
Keeping up with your auto insurance…and your auto receipts!
Do you have enough auto insurance? Do you keep valuable receipts related to your car? These are things you might not give much thought to. But we did…here’s why.
The Toyota Tour
This year, we felt the need to leave behind the studio green screen and take Right on the Money on the road. One big stop was the Toyota North American headquarters in Plano, where we got a special tour and asked when car sales might return to normal. We also wondered how new electric vehicle incentives will affect the industry.
The (new) fix for some Kia vehicles
2022 was marked by a lack of inventory on many auto dealership lots. But we heard of a bunch of vehicles at some Kia dealerships... that were dropped off there by Kia drivers who interested in a free fix for what could be an expensive problem. Here’s what we found out.
Chip shortage and forced financing at the dealership -- the credit union perspective
About those car lots with scarce inventory... the computer chip shortage raged throughout 2022, affecting supplies of new cars. So, dealers had the upper hand when negotiating the sale of the relatively low number of new vehicles that were available. That led to more stories of ‘forced financing’ at dealerships. And that hit credit unions that were shut out of the car financing process.
The issue of forced financing at the dealership gets the attention of a powerful Texas lawmaker
Our series of reports on forced financing has been going for more than a year. And now it has gotten the full attention of Texas Senator Royce West, who is planning to take on the practice in the upcoming 2023 Texas legislative session. But the senator says he needs consumers who experience this to contact their state lawmakers and file official complaints with the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner. The info is all here.
The ‘key’ to mitigating damage with (another) frigid forecast and (new) worries about the Texas electric grid
As the end of 2022 approaches, we are seeing shades of February 2021, with frigid temperatures being forecasted and early concerns about whether the electric grid will be able to handle all the demand, which it woefully didn’t do in 2021. You can’t make the grid hold up, but you can get an inexpensive tool that can keep a bad situation from getting a lot worse in your household as temperatures plunge. Here's the ‘key’ to keeping waterfalls from running freely from your busted pipes.
Saving thousands of dollars and years in paying off your mortgage
It sounds too good to be true, but a simple adjustment (if your lender and your budget allow it) in how you make your mortgage payments can make a huge difference in the amount of time and money it takes to pay off your mortgage.
If you pay attention to one story in this whole special... make it this one about beneficiaries!
Naming beneficiaries is one of those chores that many of us never think about. Or, well, we do think about it just long enough to think we’ll take care of that later. This report explains why it is so important to do it now!
Press record and document all your stuff at home!
Speaking of things you may never think about, have you recorded your possessions lately? Or ever? Chances are you haven’t. But as we document in this report, it can help you tremendously if your home or apartment suffers a disaster (and we know those happen a lot in Texas).
Buying organic versus non-organic
Earlier this year, we looked at the sometimes surprising difference between the cost of organic produce when compared to non-organic. Here’s what we found.
A Baker’s Dozen (13) of tips for entrepreneurs from the founders of Tiff’s Treats!
This is a parting gift for all you entrepreneurs out there -- and there have been many of you in Texas during the pandemic. We sat down with the founders of Tiff’s Treats (who are from Dallas-Fort Worth) to talk about how they started, and how they made it big. And we got their top 13 morsels of advice for other business-minded types who want to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. Eat it all up here.