Consumerist

Posts Tagged “

budgets

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grocery

7 Ways To Save On Groceries Without Using Coupons

Are you a coupon clipper? No? Lots of people like saving money, but don't really buy the sort of products that have coupons, or don't have time to waste searching and clipping. These tips are for you. More »

Feature

11:27 AM on Fri Aug 1 2008
By Meg Marco
20,881 views, 81 comments

cookies

Smell Cookie, Spend Loosely

On a tight budget and using equal parts willpower and behavior self-modification? Stay away from the cookie places in the mall. The September 2008 issue of ShopSmart says studies show that even just catching a whiff of your favorite treat can increase your urge to splurge.

(Photo: oohmygeez)

9:57 PM on Tue Jul 29 2008
By Ben Popken
3,067 views, 30 comments

Latest by Kishi: Excellent. I think I'll bring in warm cookies when I go ask for a car loan. Maybe it'll more »

mint.com

Mint Adds Loans, Mortgages, CC APR Changes

Popular personal-finance management site has added some cool new features. You can now add your student and auto loans, monitoring balances and getting reminders when it's payment time. Over 1000 lenders were added. Mortgages are now supported, letting you set auto-reminders for when payments are due. The site also now tracks your credit card interest rate, sounding the klaxons when your rate goes up. This gives you a chance to negotiate a better rate (here's a sample script) or port your balance to a lower-rate card (here's how). More banks and other features have been added, with investment and home value support on the way, bringing it closer to the promise of being your free one-stop total web-based personal finance dashboard.

[Mint]

10:13 AM on Tue Jul 29 2008
By Ben Popken
2,684 views, 34 comments

Latest by alu: still no support for Citizen's Bank. there's users requesting access all over the forums and a petition. this has been an more »

telephones

Sorry Telcos, Landlines Are Now A Luxury Expense

Slate says that growth of wireless phone customers in America combined with a bad economy has helped initiate an historic shift in how we think about landlines—specifically, they're no longer considered an essential utility by a large portion of the population:

But in this first real slowdown of the wireless age, consumers seem to be saying that home-based telephones are expendable luxuries, like Starbucks lattes or Coach handbags. And it makes sense. Confronted with high inflation, soaring energy costs, and stagnant wages, millions of households are facing choices about which monthly bills to pay and which commitments to maintain. And if it comes down to one or the other, the mobile or the home-based land line, it's clear which is a necessity and which is an option.

More »

9:20 AM on Mon Jul 28 2008
By Chris Walters
5,732 views, 97 comments

Latest by elkapitann: I really don't like always being available. I'm only 32, but I act like a dinosaur in that regard. I more »

money

Get Rich By Saving Every $5 Bill

There's a woman who saves every $5 bill she gets, blogs Get Rich Slowly. She's been doing so for three years and has saved $12,000. More »

2:41 PM on Fri Jul 25 2008
By freemoneyfinance
14,590 views, 71 comments

self-help

Succeed Through Self-Undermining!

Our post on freezing your credit cards in a block of ice got me thinking. Anything that slows, stops, or impedes making transactions can be used as a technique for limiting your spending. Whatever it may be, cutting up your credit cards, locking up most of your money in an account it takes 3 days to transfer from, giving yourself an allowance, it will be a variation on a single principle: It's easier to put a hard limit on the future then to make the right decision in the impulsive moment. Installing some kind of an automatic hiccup can help break you out of your desire-driven action and give you the breathing room to step back and make the right choice. So if you have trouble with overspending (or overeating or any kind of bad habit) and your sheer willpower is sometimes lacking, aka, you're human, try brainstorming ways you can trip yourself up. The world is full of obstacles, it shouldn't be too hard to find one.

12:04 PM on Tue Jul 1 2008
By Ben Popken
8,332 views, 30 comments

Latest by VenomousKate: I refuse to let online shopping sites keep my credit card info on file. Yes, I have a card and, more »

impulse spending

Stop Spending By Freezing Your Credit Card In Ice

If you have trouble controlling the amount and frequency of your credit card purchases, try putting your credit card in a glass of water and putting it in the freezer. This makes it so every time you want to use your credit card, you'll have to wait for the credit card to melt. By the time the ice has thawed, your desire to impulsively purchase may have evaporated as well. I read about this in Predictably Irrational; Dan Ariely called it, "The Ice Glass Method." Apparently, it doesn't ruin the credit card, although it will if you try to microwave-defrost it. This method is probably only good for people who do their shopping sprees in-person. Online shopaholics would just look through the ice.

Sometimes creating self-imposed barriers can be just what we need to curb bad habits. The same person inside us who has the willpower to put the credit card in the freezer is different from the person inside us who doesn't have the willpower to resist picking up the plastic and hitting the shops.

(Photo: Getty)

9:45 AM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Ben Popken
8,942 views, 58 comments

Latest by St.Jimmy: @humphrmi: Actually, glass is a superfluid, basically an extremely thick liquid. But you are right, if you rapidly heat it more »

videos

The Envelope System: The Spreadsheet-Free Way To Manage Your Cash

Want to get some kind of money plan in place but spreadsheets cause hives to burst all over your face? Then you might like The Envelope System, and No Credit Needed's video explaining how it works. Basically, you cash your entire paycheck each pay period and then put every dollar in a series of envelopes in different categories, with set limits for each category. Once you've spent the envelope for that category, no more spending in that category. Change goes into a piggy bank. Excess left over at the end of the pay period goes into savings or to paying off more debt. As a very "analog" "lo-fi" "old-school" method of budgeting, the envelope system is hard to beat. More »

2:34 PM on Tue Jun 10 2008
By Ben Popken
5,966 views, 33 comments

Latest by n/a: Dave Ramsey's website charged me $30 for a tiny naugahyde/leatherette "envelope holder", and a half-dozen undersize envelopes. If I'd wanted the more »

This blogger will save $350 a year with his decision to stop drinking soda. [No Credit Needed]

24 comments

Consumers are responding to higher priced goods buy buying more private label items, says a Citibank analyst. The increase in market share is small—private labels occupy less than 12%—but significant enough to note for investors. Are you buying more private labels at the grocery store? [Reuters]

20 comments

"Maybe a whole generation will wake up and realize that collecting points on your Discover card doesn't make you rich." - Dave Ramsey. [TIME]

27 comments

ask the consumerists

This Is What I'm Spending Less On

I decided recently that I'm spending too much money and decided to cut back on some discretionary items. Here are a few things I reduced, or changes I've made in my spending habits: More »

5:42 PM on Thu May 22 2008
By Ben Popken
16,906 views, 112 comments

personal finance

How To Say No To Charities

Trent at The Simple Dollar blog has a post about how to say no, especially to charitable requests. One of his readers describes the problem: More »

12:35 PM on Mon May 19 2008
By Chris Walters
12,793 views, 68 comments

diy

Make Your Own Groceries

Food's getting too expensive, leaving us with two choices: lose our lead on per capita obesity, or find new ways to save money. We're not the type of nation to give up a first place position on anything, so that leaves us with saving money, and one way to do this is to make your own stuff. We know, it's crazy! Apparently early settlers somehow created their own Cheetos and Frappuccinos, but we're not going to get that primitive. Instead, here's a quick rundown of some interesting Do It Yourself tutorials we found that might give you some ideas on how to cut costs the next time you go grocery shopping. More »

1:06 PM on Fri May 16 2008
By Chris Walters
14,291 views, 71 comments

Latest by Mr. Gunn: @jmuskratt: Beat me to it! more »

your money

12 Ways To Save Money Without Scrimping

Some economists think we're starting to pull out of our not-recession. For those of us who believe them and want to save without putting too firm a dent in our wallets, consider these twelve tips endorsed by the Wall Street Journal. More »

12:25 PM on Sun May 4 2008
By Carey
15,162 views, 40 comments

Latest by n/a: I think this is actually pretty good advice from the WSJ, because it addresses the mental side of budgeting. more »

Going broke on $100,000: A sample budget showing how easy it is for a family making six figures and with 2 kids to get sucked into deficit spending. [Dr. Housing Bubble]

48 comments

money

10 Ways To Save Real Money

The champagne is dry and crusty, and all the hundred-dollar bills used to light cigars have crumbled into ash. It's time to tighten our belts and get real about spending less and saving more. Here's 10 ways to save some serious cash... More »

Feature

10:34 AM on Fri Apr 25 2008
By Ben Popken
39,934 views, 70 comments

Latest by n/a: I tried the cable thing on Saturday morning. I pointed out to Comcast that DirectTV was offering me a more »

personal finance

Advice On How To Raise Financially Savvy Kids

CNN asks some money experts for tips on how to teach kids about personal finance. Laura Levine, the executive director of Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, says she uses a special piggy bank for her 3-year-old son—it has four chambers, "one for saving, one for spending, one for donating and one for investing," and helps teach him that money is not just for "one thing." More »

11:56 PM on Thu Apr 24 2008
By Chris Walters
2,844 views, 29 comments

Latest by n/a: I know how NOT to educate your kids about finances... yesterday I spoke to a woman who was angry with my more »

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