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advice
Mass Effect 2 Shopkeeper Makes Fun Of People Who Buy Expensive Cables
Mass Effect 2 is an awesome game that you should buy immediately. In addition, it also offers solid electronics buying advice in the form of an alien shopkeeper. More »
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8 Ways To Make Sure Your Complaint Letter Will Be Ignored
(*_Abhi_*)
You're mad, you're annoyed, or you've been ripped off. So you decide to take action, and open up your word processor or e-mail client to write a complaint letter. But that doesn't mean you actually want anyone to take you seriously, or to help you. Follow these tips to make sure your complaint goes nowhere near anyone in power. More »
Six e-Readers Compared
If you're thinking of buying a digital reader in the next six months and you're wondering what device to get, here's a handy chart that compares six of the most highly publicized models side by side. As you might guess, bigger screens and more flexibility with file formats means higher prices. Also, the iPad is sort of a misfit here as it's the only device that's not a dedicated ebook reader. More »
Why Aren't You Haggling Yet?
Michael S. Rosenwald saved $15 on a pair of shoes at Macy's, $3 on a steak at Giant, $6 on a DVD set at Best Buy, and $100 off his next Verizon bill (plus a 10% discount on future bills) during one week spent haggling. In this Washington Post article, he describes how it felt to switch from the habit of paying full retail to looking at a price tag as a "suggestion," in the words of one expert he met with. The executives Rosenwald spoke with repeatedly said that bargaining is not standard practice, but that didn't stop employees and managers from making deals in order to close the sale. More »
Free "How To Be Invisible" Download In Exchange For Your Email Address
J.J. Luna, a former security consultant turned author, released a guide ten years ago that showed readers how get rid of paper and digital trails. The subject matter is probably a little too paranoid for most of our readers, but it overlaps with issues we talk about all the time here, like identity theft and online security. He's just released a revised version, so he's giving away the 2000 edition in PDF format for free. Well, in exchange for your email address. More »
Protect Yourself From Unexpected Fees At Medical Clinics
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An anonymous reader wrote to us to ask what he should do about unexpected bills from a medical clinic. He chose the clinic precisely because he can't afford hospital bills in the hundreds of dollars, and was led to believe that there'd be no out-of-pocket cost. It turns out there was. More »
Don't Let An Unknown Caller Talk You Into Downloading Software
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In the wide world of scams, this combination of a phone call and computer malware is sort of a novel twist. Jay likes to string phone scammers along to waste their time, so he managed to get quite a few details about how this particular scam works. If you've got naive family members with access to computers, either take away their computers or tell them never to download software from a stranger on the phone. More »
How To Make Sure You Get Paid What You're Worth
(Photo: Alex France)
Wired has put together a Wiki called a "Get Paid What You're Worth" that lists seven strategies to help you maximize your salary. To start off, use a salary calculator or report to get a ballpark estimate of the going rate in your area, and remember that you have to learn to negotiate if you want to make more money. More »
Don't Call The Police To Complain About The Prostitute You Tried To Hire
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A man in New Hampshire called the police earlier this week to report a theft of services complaint. Unfortunately for him, the services happened to be sexual, which meant he was also basically turning himself in for soliciting prostitution. Both he and the alleged prostitute were arrested. More »
Experts Answer Credit Questions From Average Americans
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Henry Unger at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has put together a multi-part series of questions and answers from readers. The detailed answers are provided by Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta, and the questions--which I've listed below--cover a broad spectrum of personal finance issues, including credit cards, mortgages, and credit reports. More »
Tips For Making Brownbagging More Interesting
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Here's my tip: change the definition of "brownbagging" to something dirty. But if that's not going to catch on, and you want to continue to think of it as "bringing my lunch to school/work," then here are a couple of tips from Wise Bread on how to avoid lunchtime boredom. More »
Here's A Possible Way To Avoid Citibank's New Account Fees
(Photo: Mike McCaffrey)
Next month, Citibank will implement its new $7.50 fee on what were formerly free checking and savings accounts. The only way to avoid the fee is to keep a total of $1500 minimum in your linked accounts. John wrote in to tell us that when he went to his branch and asked about the new fee, they found a way to get around it. It may not work for anyone else, but it's worth sharing. More »
Don't Buy This Stuff In 2010
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A SmartMoney story on Yahoo Finance declares 10 products as officially "out" for 2010. More »
Hungry McDonald's Customer Throws Mop Water At Cashiers
A bucket of dirty mop water is nobody's friend, which is exactly why you shouldn't leave it out where customers can reach it. Because eventually someone will get angry over an order and feel a need to throw something, and oh look, mop water. More »
Do Not Punch Out A Drive Thru Window Because There Are No McNuggets
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Here is a suggestion from the experts here at Consumerist. Do not punch out the drive thru window of your local McDonald's because they are unable to provide you with McNuggets. More »
83 Ways To Be Smarter With Money While You're Still Young
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Hank from Own the Dollar has put together a common-sense guide of 83 money moves to make while you're in your 20s. More »
Learn What Candy To Eat With This Flowchart
The blog Eating The Road continues to churn out amazingly helpful flowcharts to guide you with pretty much everything you can put in your belly. The latest is the Candy Edition, and you probably won't be surprised to see where candy corn and circus peanuts end up.Others we've missed since we last checked in: the Beer Edition and the Freezer Aisle Edition. More »
Terrible Ideas For Secret Santa Gifts
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I know, you're on a tight budget this year, and office Secret Santa exchanges are tedious and awkward. But please don't fill a hot dog bun with cat food and then top it off with ketchup, then wrap that up in gift wrap and call it your gift. Because someone already did that. Someone at a Sunday School. MainStreet.com has a list of 13 of the worst Secret Santa gift ideas if you want to know what else has already been attempted. More »
Another Example Of How To Go Cable-Free
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We've posted before about how to break your cable habit without giving up on TV altogether--it's possible, but can't happen without some work on your end. This week, the New York Times' Nick Bilton explained how he and his wife have combined their existing devices with a few new ones to create a content stream that enables them to watch what they want without cable. More »
How To Make Sure Your Next Plastic Surgery Is Safe
(Photo: ramsey everydaypants)
If you're dumb, you forget that plastic surgery is surgery with an extra word in front of it, a doctor tells CNN in their article on getting nip/tucked safely. As with any surgery, there's no real way to make it completely safe, but here are five tips from their article that you should follow to improve your odds. In fact, they're probably good tips for any kind of surgical procedure. More »
