Product Description

Are you getting the most for your money? 1,001 Things They Won’t Tell You offers the experts' knowledge on 100 industries and institutions that readers interact with daily, sometimes profoundly: financial planners, cable providers, car dealers, insurance agencies, caterers, contractors, real estate brokers, funeral directors, dentists, personal trainers, college prep counselors, casinos, florists, cruise lines, and more. Based on the popular and addictive "Ten Things They Won't Tell You” column in SmartMoney, The Wall Street Journal magazine, 1,001 Things They Won’t Tell You will make every reader a wiser, savvier consumer.

The conceit is "what they won't tell you"—in each case, the top ten things industry insiders know that you need to know before making a decision. It covers veterinarians: #2. Vaccinating your pet may do more harm than good. Automobile leasing companies: #7. You call it an odometer; we call it a cash register. Tax preparers: #4. What are my qualifications? Well, I'm real good at Sudoku. Nursing homes: #1. We're careless about the drugs we give out. Cruise lines: #2. Our engines break down all the time. Gourmet grocers: #3. This bottled water is actually tap water. Lawyers: #4. You could win your lawsuit and still wind up with nothing. Plastic surgeons: #1. I trained a whole weekend to learn this procedure. The book outlines what you don't know, then arms you with insights, tips, and techniques to make sure you get the best in every area of your life.

Health, education, insurance, finance, automobiles, goods and services, food and drink, free time—it's everything you literally need to know to save not only money, but also potential headache.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14067 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780761151371
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"A smart and fun guide…and essential reading for the consumer."—Gerri Willis, host, CNN’s Your Bottom Line

From the Back Cover
Buyer beware. Based on the addictive “Ten Things They Won’t Tell You” column in SmartMoney, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, this book is packed with insider secrets and expert knowledge that show you how to take control and manage your money, your health, your material well-being. In all, it covers the top ten things they won’t tell you, covering 100 businesses and professions that readers interact with daily, sometimes profoundly. In addition to outlining exactly what you don’t know, but need to, it arms readers with insights, tips, and techniques to make each of us a savvier, smarter consumer.

Bet You Didn’t Know:
Your Veterinarian: “Vaccinating your pet could do more harm than good.”

Your Preschool: “We serve more junk food than McDonald’s.”

Your Credit Card Company: “Debit cards should come with a warning: Use at your own risk.”

Your Gourmet Grocer: “This bottled water is actually tap water.”

Your Fitness Club: “Our trainers don’t know what they’re doing.”

Your Car-Leasing Company: “You call it an odometer, we call it a cash register.”

Your Cruise Line: “Our engines break down all the time.”

About the Author
Jonathan Dahl is the editor-in-chief of SmartMoney, The Wall Street Journal magazine; previously he was the editor of The Wall Street Journal's "Weekend Journal." He lives in Brooklyn, New York. SmartMoney, with a monthly readership of more than 3 million, is a joint publication of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and Hearst Corp.

Customer Reviews

Great information
This is a fantastic book. It gives you behind-the-scenes information to understand how things work in all sorts of situations that you're guaranteed to encounter in your life. The format for each topic includes the 10 things you won't be told (most often leaving you at a disadvantage) followed by a few tips of how to get on equal footing.

It's not the type of book you read through at one sitting, but I've been doing just that because I find the information so useful. I've read several 10-item sections in one sitting.

This book will remain on my bookshelf as an essential reference for whenever I deal with situations they cover. Highly recommended.

1,001 THINGS is a book I'll refer to often . . . you will, too.
SMART MONEY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL MAGAZINE
has an addictive column, "Ten Things They Won't Tell You" . . . it
contains information that most folks don't know--and perhaps
never even think about.

Jonathan Dahl, editor-in-chief of the above magazine, and his
fellow editors have now put together many of these tips into
one book: 1,001 THINGS THEY WON'T TELL YOU (see also
Section 2) . . . to cite the subtitle, it's AN INSIDER'S GUIDE
TO SPENDING, SAVING AND LIVING WISELY.

You'll find useful advice from 100 professionals on health care,
education, finance, automobiles, house and home, insurance,
goods and services, travel, entertainment, pets, food and drink,
and a whole lot more.

However, what convinced me that this was a book that I
could rely on was the fact that it cited Courtney Yelle--a good
friend and one of the most knowledgeable guys I know--as one
of the experts:

* Courtney Yelle was in his Bucks County, Pa., yard raking leaves
when a gleaming pickup truck pulled into his driveway. Yelle says
that a clean-cut workman emerged and told him it looked as if his
driveway needed to be repaved-which Yelle admits, was the case.
But before he would commit, Yelle, former director of Bucks County
Consumer Protection, said he'd need a written estimate along
with the worker's phone number and address. The guy said he'd leave
it in the mailbox, according to Yelle, then backed out of the driveway
and disappeared forever.

Yelle says that the "worker" was a seasoned scam artist who
approaches people's homes offering to do jobs at bargain-basement
prices, often on the premise that he has leftover materials from a
nearby project. In reality, if he does the job at all, he'll do shoddy
work with low-grade materials, says Wendy Weinberg, former
executive director of the National Association of Consumer Agency
Administrators. While it sounds like common sense to be suspicious
of solicitors, clearly these curbside con artists can be convincing: Lisa
Curtis estimates they bilk homeowners out of $20 million per year
in Colorado alone.

Some stuff in the book I already knew, but I nevertheless appreciated
the fact that it was included so I could share with others--such as
this tidbit:

* Whether they're candy "honor boxes," wishing wells, or plain old tin
cans, those ubiquitous countertop collection boxes you see around
so many checkouts are often not what they appear. In most cases,
the charities aren't getting all the money people drop into the container;
rather, they're renting out their name to for-profit vendors for a flat fee
or a small percentage of the intake in exchange for posting the charity's
logo. . . .

Most charity watchers agree: Go ahead and toss in your spare change
if you want to, but don't expect it to be doing much for the cause. "If you're
serious about helping the charity," says Daniel Borochoff, "then get out
your checkbook and write them a check."

And, lastly, I appreciated this reminder that I'm amazed so few
folks know about:

* Media Mail service--known as "book rate" until 2001--has been around
for years, but few people use it because it isn't well publicized down
at the local post office. Why not? Because Media Mail is primarily used
by business customers, according to a USPS spokesperson. But anyone
can--and should--use it to mail books, films, printed music, sound
recordings, manuscripts, or computer-readable media including CDs
and DVDs. Just be sure that's all that's in the package: To be shipped
using Media mail rates, a package cannot contain advertising or a letter
to Mom, and the maximum weight is 70 pounds. Indeed, if a postal clerk
is suspicious of a box or envelope's contents, he can open it for inspection.

1,001 THINGS is a book I'll refer to often . . . you will, too, so buy a
copy for yourself and while you're at it, for others you think could
benefit from becoming a more savvy consumer

Get the Inside Scoop
This is a great resource to have on hand. "1001 Things they won't tell you" share true insider information of one hundred different industries. You will learn something new in every category. The book covers diverse areas such as Wedding Planners, Nursing Homes, Yoga Instructors, Weight Loss Industry, Tax Preparers, Florists, Restaurants and so much more. This is one of the rare books that you can pick up and open at any page and find yourself drawn in immediately. Highly recommended!