Twelve true reminders of living in the United States

Twelve true reminders of living in the United States Source: English Writing Network 1. Two for three dollars. Many...

Twelve True Reminders for Living in America Source: English Writing Network 1. Two for three dollars. Many people will have the same question when they first come to the supermarket to buy something in the United States. It says Two for three dollars, so can I just buy one? The answer is yes. Will it be more expensive to buy one? In fact, not at all. If two for three dollars, then buying one is one and a half. But the situation in fast food restaurants is different. McDonald's or Arby's often have some promotions, such as Arby's 2 Sub for 4 dollars. In this case, you cannot buy one alone. 2. Buy one get one free. This is a common promotional technique in the United States. From daily necessities to large cars, there is a buy one, get one free discount. However, since it is buy one, get one free, the price of getting two is the same as getting one, which is different from the two for three dollars mentioned above. 3. Never buy beers without your pictured ID in hand. American law stipulates that all purchases of alcoholic products require a picture ID. (You must be of legal age to purchase alcohol.) Moreover, the regulations vary from state to state and even from county to county. Liquor can be sold in some places, but not in other places. Some states have some very strange regulations, such as Georgia, which stipulates that no liquor is sold on Sundays. (How could there be such a strange regulation?) I didn't know this for the first time. I was happily planning to buy a box of beer for a party on Sunday, but the counter clerk actually refused to sell it to me and told me, Don’t you know that? It’s law! 4. Bring your I.D to the bar, movies and when you write a check. Generally, dancing bars have an age limit, some require 18 years old, and some require 21 years old. For example, in an 18-year-old place, if you are over 21 years old, he will give you a bracelet, which means you can buy alcohol there. As for movies, some theaters will separate general-level and restricted-level movies, and you will not be able to enter without an I.D. As for check, generally we are not used to using checks, but remember when using checks, People will also want to see your ID. 5. The malls close at 6pm on Sunday! It is generally difficult for people from Asia to understand why in the United States (and I think it is also in Europe) almost all business places close at 6pm on Sunday. So if you want to go to the mall on Sunday, please do it early. On average, the business hours are until 9pm, and on Saturdays they are open until 10pm. 6. Remember to renew your insurance. When the insurance expires, remember to renew it yourself (renewal is called renew in English). Some insurance companies will forget to send you a notice, so remember to renew it yourself. The medical expenses in the United States are very staggering, so don’t gamble with your life and health. In addition, the insurance money is called premium. Since the word premium can also be used as the best meaning, you can see many products called premium in supermarkets, such as orange juice, pizza, etc. So don’t confuse the two meanings. When talking about insurance, say premium They all mean insurance money. 7. Down payment and monthly payment. There are generally two ways to pay for things, one is to pay in full, and the other is to pay in installments. Installments are divided into down payments and subsequent monthly payments. Generally, when buying larger things such as cars or insurance, the amount payable by different payment methods will be listed on the advertisement. Some promotional advertisements will display No down payment, which means no down payment. However, if it is an installment payment, you usually have to pay an additional finance charge (equivalent to interest). Is it cost-effective? Do the math yourself. 8. Pay your tag fee before your birthday. Tag fee is the car's license plate tax. It is paid once a year, usually between $200-400. Due to different laws in each state, the payment method and amount are also different. But generally, you must prepay the next year's tag fee before your birthday, otherwise you will be fined 10%. 9. Get your emission test for your car every odd year. Laws vary from state to state, but they should be similar. Georgia's law stipulates that cars must undergo an emission test every two years, and the fee is a public price of $25. If you need specific locations that provide emission test services, Georgia residents can go to http://www.cleanairforce.com/ to inquire. 10. Left turn first if there is a turn-left sign there. Driving in the United States is very different. When the light turns from red to green, if there is a left turn light, it will turn into a left turn light first, so the left-turning car goes first. (In Taiwan, the left-turning light is changed after the straight traffic light is on.) So there is no such thing as a green light to turn. Please don't play tricks. But if there is no left-turn light, it is still the same as the straight traffic before changing to the left. 11. Ten dollars rebate and ten dollars cash back. Rebate and cash back are both very common promotion methods in the United States. The so-called rebate means that after you buy something at home, you fill out an application form, pay the product's computer barcode (UPC), and send it to the manufacturer along with the receipt. They will send you a check. It takes anywhere from two weeks to two months. And cash back means that the cash will be refunded to you directly at checkout, but you still have to pay the tax on the refund. For example, if you buy something for $20, cash back back $10, but the tax you paid is still calculated as $20. Maybe you don’t realize it is a small thing, but if you buy a car and get $2,000 cash back, you will know how big the difference is. 12. Take advantage of the first courtesy. The so-called first courtesy means that if you make a mistake for the first time, you can ask others (usually the bank) for forgiveness. For example, if your check bounces and you are fined by the bank, or if you fail to pay on your credit card after the time limit, you are fined by the bank, or even your car is suspended... You can ask to see if there is a first courtesy policy. Every bank is different, some have it and some don't. If so, you can save yourself a considerable amount of fines.