saving

Do You Know People Who Throw Away Change Instead Of Saving It?
By Meg Marco on November 16, 2011 1:15 PM  
A (presumably) sarcastic comment on Vanguard's Facebook page about throwing away change instead of saving it has started something of a debate over on reddit. The question? Are there, in fact, people who really throw away their change rather than save it in a jar? Could this be true? Or is everyone being sarcastic and messing with us? More »

Block Cuts Electricity Use By 15% By Chalking Meter Readings On Street
By Ben Popken on April 15, 2011 5:00 PM  
Residents of one block in Brighton in the UK are tracking their electricity usage via a giant infographic graffitied onto the street. In the three weeks the project has been running, electricity use has dropped 15%. Amazing the great good a little bit of feedback can do! In America people would probably just compete to see how big they could make the electricity drain go. More »

Cut Your Hotel Bill By Starting A Bidding War
By Meg Marco on January 6, 2011 2:30 PM  
The New York Times has a round-up of money-saving travel hints for 2011 — and there are a few interesting ideas, like searching student travel agencies for trips with no age restrictions, and negotiating with the reservation agents at multiple hotels. More »

(zieak)

How Far Can You Get On $10?
By Chris Walters on April 19, 2010 5:17 PM  
Earlier this month, CNN asked readers to see how far they could stretch $10. A lot of people chose unusual purchases or silly things, but there were some good ideas for tightwads too. More »

Stay On Budget By Maintaining One Indulgence
By Chris Walters on February 18, 2010 6:22 PM  
Adam Baker at Get Rich Slowly suggests you'll be able to better stick to a budget if you pick one non-essential hobby or interest instead of cutting them all out. The key to figuring out whether or not it's something worth "wasting" money on is to identify any hidden benefits, and then to make sure there aren't hidden drawbacks. More »

Where To Find Great Personal Finance Writing Online
By Chris Walters on September 21, 2009 9:34 PM  

—>If you don't know about the Carnival of Personal Finance, it's a weekly round-up of interesting posts from the glut of personal finance blogs and websites that now litter the web. I discovered two of today's posts—the 23 debt-saving tips and the the alkaline-vs-rechargeables story—through the most recent Carnival.  More »

Grocery Shopping Tips From The 1950s
By Carey Alexander on July 25, 2009 6:00 PM  

—>Society may have come a long way since the 50s, but the grocery shopping tips remain the same. Inside, the wisdom that helped a generation of college-aged mothers conquer the scary supermarket.  More »

Use Your Dishwasher Properly
By Carey Alexander on May 24, 2009 10:00 PM  

—>Listen parents, we told you all those years that cleaning the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher was silly and duplicative, and now we have the Times telling us we were right! Ha! Pre-rinsing dishes is "actually triple bad" according a "senior dishwasher design engineer," because dishwasher detergent exists to attack food, and when it doesn't find any, it instead attacks your glasses. It also wastes electricity and water. And that's not the only mistake most people make. Inside, the Times' tips for keeping your dishwasher happy...  More »

Save For College
By Ben Popken on April 16, 2009 5:15 PM  

—>Having a baby soon? Congrats! Now you can begin the 18-year process of saving for college (not to mention the even more costly option of paying for their upbringing.) Luckily for you, the New York Times has a simple formula that makes the saving process as painless as possible, requiring only small sacrifices (over a long period of time). They dub the approach "20-20-20" and it goes like this:  More »

Let Supermarkets Help You Save Money
By Carey Alexander on April 12, 2009 6:00 PM  

—>Consumer Reports is gearing up to release their supermarket ratings, but the preliminary results show that supermarkets are trying to help consumers by extending sales and rewarding loyalty. Inside, six ways to save a few bucks next time you fill up your shopping cart.  More »

5 Big Retail Mark-Ups To Watch Out For
By Chris Walters on April 7, 2009 12:48 AM  

—>The Lansing State Journal has put together a list of 5 marked-up retail categories to be aware of when you're making purchasing decisions, most of which you hopefully already know. If you can't find wholesale sources or DIY replacements, then at least make sure you do a lot of comparison shopping to get the best deal.  More »

20 Unnecessary Fees You Can Stop Paying Today
By Alex Chasick on April 2, 2009 7:10 PM  

—>Via U.S. PIRG, we came across this AP article on the enormous fees that businesses are charging consumers. After noting how much Americans pay in unnecessary fees (e.g., $14.6 billion in credit card fees last year), the author lists twenty easily trimmed fees. Our favorites, inside.  More »

The website freeshipping.org has launched a new blog named "Go Frugal," aimed at helping consumers find ways to save money. [Go FrugalMore »

Seven Things That Aren't Worth Your Money
By Carey Alexander on March 29, 2009 4:00 PM  

—>Want an extra $1,000? The Wall Street Journal has a list of seven things that you can easily stop buying without making drastic changes to your lifestyle.  More »

If You Save Too Much — You Might Regret It Later!
By Meg Marco on March 24, 2009 3:51 PM  

—>We're always telling people to save their money — but that's just because we're overcompensating for a society that spends too much. It is possible to be too frugal and you risk regretting that you didn't have a little more fun while you had the chance.  More »

Do Electricity Monitors Like The "Kill A Watt" Really Work?
By Meg Marco on March 18, 2009 4:32 PM  

—>If you're concerned about your electricity use you may have considered getting one of those energy monitoring devices like the "Kill a Watt" or the "Watts Up." But do they really work?  More »

Five Ways To Stretch Your Money
By Carey Alexander on March 8, 2009 3:22 PM  

—>We could all use a little extra spending cash in our pocket these days. Help wring a little more cash into your savings account with these five tips from Wisebread...  More »

Your Piggy Bank Is Happy: Savings Rate At 14-Year High
By Meg Marco on March 2, 2009 3:59 PM  

—>Americans took their cost of living raises and stuck them in their piggy banks, says the Commerce Department, pushing the savings rate to a 14-year high. Not long ago we had a savings rate of 0.1% — now it has skyrocketed to 5%.  More »

Bartering Makes A Comeback
By Carey Alexander on March 1, 2009 7:44 PM  

—>Capitalism isn't doing well these days leading the entrepreneurial among us to embrace bartering. Traffic to Craigslist's bartering section has more than doubled since last year as people to try to make use of skills that might not otherwise have much value.  More »

Sharing Restaurant Dishes Is Becoming Slightly More Acceptable
By Carey Alexander on February 28, 2009 8:04 PM  

—>Good news thrifty diners, you're not the only ones asking to share dishes at restaurants these days. Thanks to the recession, it's becoming acceptable for everyone to split their dishes, and restaurants aren't complaining. "Now all bets are off," said David Pogrebin, manager of the snazzy French restaurant Brasserie. "People are not ashamed of being frugal."  More »

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