2. The Right to:  To purchase products and brands that you want and reject the others  To become any profession that you want  Enter into any enterprise that you want

3. Responsibilities:  Find out about the products that we buy to ensure quality  To get the best value for our money  Protect ourselves as consumers and not rely on stores and businesses to do so

4.  Throughout history consumer rights have been labeled as caveat emptor,,Latin for “buyer beware”  Consumerism is a movement to educate consumers about the products that they buy and to demand better and safer products from manufacturers

5.  Congress has passed numerous laws to protect the consumer -many of these laws affect labeling -Fair Packaging and Label Act *requires that every package has a label which identifies the weight and contents of the package

6.  Private groups and organizations also protect -many run by business groups rather than by consumers *businesspeople recognize that the key to success lies in the trust given by the consumer -Better Business Bureau

7.  Designed during the Kennedy and Nixon administrations to strengthen the consumers’ voice  5 major rights of the consumer: Consumers have the right to 1. A safe product: one that will not harm their health or lives 2. Be informed: protection against fraudulent, deceitful, or grossly misleading information and to be given facts needed to make informed choices

8. 3. choose: have a variety of products and services at competitive prices 4. be heard: guarantee that consumer interests will be listened when writing laws 5. to redress: the ability to obtain adequate payment from the manufacturer if their product causes financial or physical damage

9. 1. If a product or service is faulty, it is the consumer’s responsibility to begin the problem solving process  Report the problem immediately  Do not try to fix the problem yourself- doing so may void the warranty  State the problem and suggest solutions 2. The consumer must exhibit ethical behavior  Respect the rights of producers and sellers Example: returning a used product because you found it cheaper elsewhere

10.  Depends on the amount of available income  Depends on how much of your available income you choose to spend or save  Regardless of the size of income, the consumer must make constant decisions

11.  2 types of money 1. Disposable income  Money made after all taxes has been paid  Also called take home money  The amount that the check is made out for you to cash  Spent on all kinds of goods and services, but generally spent first on the needs (house, food, clothing)

12. 2. Discretionary income  The money that is left over after paying for the necessities  This is the money that is used to buy things that are considered wants (vacations, expensive tennis shoes, sports cars)

13.  Can be purchased with 1. Cash 2. Charged to an account  A line that is extended by a particular store to a regular customer  Bill prepared and paid monthly

14. 3. Charged to a credit card  Can be used in any business that accepts credit cards  Issued by banks and some businesses  The business collects the purchase price from the issuer of the credit card and then the issuer sends a monthly bill to the credit card holder for the purchase  Card holder can pay the bill in its entirety or make installment payments  If cardholder is paying in installments, interest will be charged according to the agreement made with the card issuer  Late payments may result in additional passed to the cardholder by the issuer

15. 1. Decision making  All steps in discussion making involve opportunity costs  What is the next highest choice that you can do with your money if you don’t make this particular purchase? 2. What are your Goals?  Create a personal budget  Create long-term goals *Suppose you are saving for a car that costs $5500. You are working long hours to make the money. If you decide to use some of the money to buy new clothes and go on dates, then it will take longer to purchase the car. Spending some now, will reduce the chances of buying the car, while saving and not using the money for those items will increase the chances of buying the car.

16. 3. Saving for the Future  Setting aside a portion of your income for future use  Part of your income that is not spent  A way to help reach your long-term goals  Can be a difficult habit to establish -some people think that they should enjoy spending every cent that they make; thus spending their money as quickly as they get it  Reasons for saving -most people cannot make major purchases (car, house) without putting aside money to help pay for them -emergencies (the air conditioner at your house breaking, your car breaking down) -vacations  When individuals save, the economy as a whole benefits -provides money for others to invest and spend -allows businesses to expand, which provides increased income for consumers -raises the standard of living

17.  An easy way is for employers to withhold a fixed amount for an employees’ paycheck which will be automatically deposited into a participating employees’ savings account  Another way is for consumers to deposit each week or month, a specific amount that they budget for savings  When placing the money into a bank account, the consumer will earn interest on the deposited amount

18.  Saving involves a trade-off: the more you save today, the more you can buy in the future  Saving increases a person’s future purchasing power  Saving will decrease the amount of money that you have to spend now  Deciding how much to save depends on how you would answer the following questions: 1. How much do you spend on everyday expenses? 2. What are your main reasons for saving?

19. 3. How much interest can you earn from your savings and how fast will the savings grow? 4. How much income do you think that you will be earning in the future? -if you expect to make a much higher income in the future, you will have less of a reason to save a large percentage of your present income -when you are a self supporting adult with more responsibilities, you will be saving for other reasons, such as a retirement and emergencies