9 biggest rip-offs in the U.S.

Looking to save money? According to CNN Money these are the top 9 worst deals for your money in the U.S.:

#1.) Text messages: They’re basically free to send and receive. Meaning it doesn’t cost the phone company anything to handle them. But on pay-per-text plans, phone companies will charge as much as 20 cents apiece. That’s a 6,500% markup.

#2.) Hotel mini-bars: At an average hotel, mini-bar items typically cost three to four times the retail price. And at “fancy” hotels, it’s not uncommon to markup mini-bar items by as much as 1,300%.

#3.) Movie theater popcorn: A medium bag of popcorn costs about 60 cents to make, and it sells for about $6. That’s a 900% markup.

#4.) Wine at restaurants: Most restaurants double the price of their more expensive bottles, and triple the price of their cheaper ones. And if you just buy a glass instead of a bottle, you’re going to pay a 500% markup.

#5.) Hotel in-room movies: A movie rental at Blockbuster will run you about $5. But in a hotel, you’ll pay anywhere from $10 to $15. That’s a 200% markup.

#6.) Name-brand painkillers: A bottle of Advil costs $8.49, while a bottle of the generic stuff goes for $5.29. That’s a 60% markup, even though the no-name stuff works just as well.

#7.) Super gasoline: Typically, you’re going to pay about 20 cents to 40 cents more for premium gas than the regular stuff. At $2.72 a gallon for regular gas, that translates to a markup of 15%.

#8.) College textbooks: Since 1986, the cost of textbooks has increased at double the rate of inflation. Now, an average college student will shell out around $900 a year for textbooks.

#9.) “Free” credit reports: We’ve all seen those god-awful ads from FreeCreditReport.com. The only problem is their service isn’t actually free. It costs $14.99 a month, or $179 a year. (CNN Money)

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