The advice on the high tech purchases is a bit vague, i.e. when is the "selling season"? Are they just meaning Christmas? Whatever system retailers use to determine when to start doing crazy sales, I am not familiar with it.

Selling season probably means - though you will get some good deals during xmas/thanksgiving sales, times such as after christmas retailers have a lot of inventory or older models that they want to get rid of, so will heavily discount during this time.

Booooo for posting links to stories hiding behind a log in form.

@Grungydan:

Actually, not just a login, but one that makes you pay to see the article. Heck, I just 'saved' about $40.

@Grungydan: Sorry about that. Just changed all the links to be reg-free.

"Buy used things, except maybe used tires."

If we all buy everything used who will be the first purchaser? Advice that depends on the folly of others doesn't sound like altruistic advice.

you posted this same article yesterday, just under a different heading.

I'd probably pass on used underwear too.

I've got a condo to sell in Michigan (Detroit metro area) and I love the idea of avoiding the 6% hit of an agent but I don't live in Michigan, it's a weak market and I've no experience buying or selling a home. How viable is the strategy presented given these hurdles? Am I better off just putting it in an agents hands?

@Ben: Cool, thanks!

"Postpone buying high-tech products...for as long as possible."

I totally agree with this one. I've waited until the "craze" was over to purchase my 360 premium and ended up paying $314 with no rebates!

I can personally vouch for the "Make your own coffee" advice, I went through the first 2 years of uni buying coffee from the campus coffee machines, it cost £0.65 a cup, and I usually had about 4-5 cups a day, every Mon-Fri for 10 weeks of each of the three terms, costing over £850, over $1500 (I think), this doesn't include food bought on campus (probably a £2 sandwich every couple of days etc), this year I got a £4 flask, and only spend about £3 a week on coffee. (And being a computer scientist I don't have to worry about the flask making me look like a geek ;-) in my field it's a good thing). I'm slowly learning things like this to cut down on stupid spending.

@Chris.Hampson: There is a hidden danger in the advice of "make your own coffee" - you run the risk of turning the pursuit of better coffee into a costly hobby. Be careful out there :-)

I say, if coffee is an important part of your life, find a realistic compromise. I would never settle for a cuppa from a regular $10 machine -- it's just not doing it for me. So I got myself a Nestle Nespresso machine -- actually, I got my mom to give it to me for Hannukah a couple of years ago. The pods are $.49 each, so my cost per cup is definitely lower than SBUX, but higher than a regular machine. BUT -- I start EVERY morning with a fabulous cup of cappuccino. And it gives me great joy.

"you run the risk of turning the pursuit of better coffee into a costly hobby."

SO true. That is why I try to avoid reading all the articles about how coffee tastes so much better if... if you grind your own beans with a nice burr grinder, if you only buy coffee in small batches, if you buy this nice pricey coffee maker, etc. I have learned to love the coffee I make and don't want to have escalating expectations.

The same can be said of wine, cars, etc. Learn to avoid escalating expectations and the long-term savings will be large. That doesn't mean get by with inferior tastes/products; just find the level that makes you happy and try not to allow it to escalate from there. You are already happy, right? What's to lose - except a lot of dosh...

.....Even if you do get into premium coffee, it will still be cheaper to make cappuccino at home than to get a crappy latte at Starbucks. For me, a 15 year old Black & Decker space-saver machine, New Orleans Blend Community Coffee, and half 'n' half are all I need for my coffee addiction!

.....Registration sites aren't a big deal. There's a bugmenot extension for Firefox that seems to pry open those sites with very minimal effort.

.....401-k's are absolutely the easiest way to save, because the money's gone before you get your hands on it, and your income tax bite is lower.

I would just like to say that in the "used things" article that the statement about buying the used video game for 20$ less than new price from Gamestop/Ebgames is wrong, they only discount used video games by 5$ and often the used copy is in deplorable condition after only a week of use. If your talking longer timeframes yes you can get that 60$ video game for 20$ but you have to be willing to wait. I just don't want everyone to think they can save 20$ per video game by going to an Ebgames or Gamestop store a week after release hoping for an ultra cheap used game that simply does not exist.

If your playing the latest video games and want to save money your best bet would be to either join a rental service, even 19.99 a month for a couple big name titles would be a lot cheaper than paying 60$ per title and then trading them in a week later at Gamestop only to get less 30$ back per game! Rental services are great and are ideal for those with short attention spans and who go through video games quickly or those who just want to play and are not video game collectors.

Another option is to join a trading forum, there are many out there, so I cannot recommend any one in particular. Think of it this way, there are millions of gamers in your situation, just paid 60$ or the latest game, already finished it and ready for something else, well why not trade it with someone for a game of equal value instead of letting gamestop make the profit off the fact that you already finished the game. Chances are you can find someone who wants to trade the game you are just finished with, for a game of similar value that they have just finished.

Sell your used game on ebay, if you can be bothered used video games on ebay fetch almost as much as a new one, so that 60$ game that was played a couple times by an adult and still doesn't have any scratches will fetch almost the same price, especially if its a title that is in demand and highly sought after. prices before you sell though, if its a game that has little interest you may be losing significant money to ebay, best to try a trading forum instead, you will likely find someone who wants your game.

It goes both ways, if you are looking to buy a rather obscure game that does not have a huge audience, you might want to check ebay, if the game doesn't have a huge demand you should be able to find someone selling their used copy for significantly less than retail. Don't pay 60$ for a low-demand title at the retail store when you can get it for 30$ on ebay.

This tip required a pretty hefty buy-in, but saves around $100/mo.

If you have a HDTV, try the over-the-air broadcast of digital signals before signing up for cable/satellite. I get all three PBS channels, plus the networks, plus the local. Most at 1080i.

Not sending a check to Comcast every month is an undiluted pleasure. Besides which, they offer lower rez signals than what's available for free over the air.

Netflix is an option to catch up on the premium cable shows, and there might be (cough cough) other options available to pick up shows that you download to your computer. So I've read. Someplace.

So what is the best time of year to buy a laptop for a college student? When is new technolgy introduced for computers? enquiring minds want to know

@spoonyfork:

Rich people will always buy new. For the rest of us, used is a good deal, except for condoms and tires.

@Chicago7:

You know what to do with 365 used condoms? Mold them into a tire and call it a Goodyear...

@snazz: Oops. Darn it when those writers do what I suggest they do.

I just did the real estate agent tip-- got mine to agree to 5% and it was surprisingly easy.

Disagree on the bundling one though-- since I only need the most basic of phone service, I've never been able to find a lower total monthly price through bundling. All the bundles seem to include a crap load of phone features that I don't need since I'm 99% using my cell phone. I don't need caller id, VM, mega long distance, etc on my home phone and all the bundles seem to go that way.

Right now I'm getting Verizon basic home phone for about $15, DSL for $20, and then DirecTV with Tivo for about $55/month. Total cost = $90.

anyone know if there's an equivalent to a 401-K in the UK?

all these advice articles say definitely make use of 401-K's but they don't exist outside of the US.

is it something like an ISA?

wasn't there a post on consumerist about the cost of losing weight? What if it turns out that the financial gains of losing weight still don't balance out the losses?

I bought an espresso maker for $50 on sale, a grinder for $10 and a bag of premium beans. It is not the super fancy gear but it does a decent job and has probably saved me enough money to buy a used car. Knowing how to pull shots and steam milk is not that hard and a cool cooking skill to have.

The link about real estate agents is great. The ex-CEO of Century 21 said on national television that 85% of real estate agents shouldn't be in the business. It is my opinion that NO real estate agent has your interests at heart. They are only worried about the commission. I feel that the biggest rip-off is the buyer's agent. Do you really think that he/she is going to cut his/her pay (commission)to the bone to save you money. I know a real estate agent that says she is a listing agent only. She won't show houses; not even her own listings. That is really because she doesn't want to leave her kids with someone during the day. She makes listing appointments in the evening when her husband is home to watch the kids. Unless I was desperate to sell my home, I would first try the many free helps in the WEB-Craig's List, Forsalebyowner.com (small fee), Trilia.com, etc.

dont have kids. save a fortune. save your mind from turning into silly putty. better vacations. your friends will loan you their kids, sometimes even pay you to take them for days on end. you can give them back when they become loosers...