Consumerist
literal consumption
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advice
Warning Signs That Your Mechanic Is Scamming You
Mint has a great article on how to protect yourself from getting ripped off by a mechanic. First and foremost, read your car's manual and learn what to ask for when you take it in. Just saying you need a tune up with a modern car flags you as an easy mark. More » -
downloads
Free Thanksgiving Tips Book Download
Here's a free Thanksgiving-themed PDF booklet from Money Management International, a non-profit that focuses on financial literacy. The booklet contains some guidelines on how to plan out the big event, how to save money on decor, and tips on shopping and saving money.
Free Thrifty Thanksgiving eBook (PDF) [Money Management International]
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how to
Gorge Like A Pro At All You Can Eat Buffets
Eating The Road has posted THE definitive guide to maximizing your all-you-can eat buffet experience. From types of buffets, to pre-game preparations, to inter-diner tactics, to post-game, everything you need to know about pigging your friggin' brains out like a pro is here. A sampling: More » -
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mortgages
When To Buy A Home And How To Avoid Screwing It Up
Are you hitting that stage in life where you're thinking of becoming a homeowner? Morningstar has published two home buying articles that together offer some good, concise advice to the prospective buyer, especially if you're a first-timer. More » -
how to
Build Your Own Extended Warranties
On his personal finance blog Consumerism Commentary, Flexo wisely advocates never falling for the extended warranty trap, instead setting aside the money you might have spent on the warranty and putting it into high-yield savings. The tactic lets you subsidize the cost of a replacement with interest, creating your own extended warranty. More » -
foreclosures
How To Buy A Foreclosed House (That You Might Actually Want To Live In)
Buying a foreclosed home may seem like a great deal, since the bank that's selling it would rather unload it at a loss than stay on as owner. But foreclosures come with a lot of risks — including vandalism by former owners or theives who strip vacant homes of just about anything that isn't bolted down — and even things that are (you know, like toilets). More » -
how to
Get Your Data Out Of Google
If you're like the average Google user, you've now got a lot of personal data—emails, addresses, calendars, documents, photos and videos, maybe even health records—in their system. This is fine with them, because the Google Hive Mind needs all of this data to eventually become self aware and enslave us. However, if you ever want to get that information out of Google, the company has created something they call the Data Liberation Front to make it easier for you. More » -
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personal finance
23 Tips On How To Pay Down Your Debt
If you're still floundering when it comes to paying off debt, here's a great starting place for you. The blog DoughRoller has listed 23 ways to get started on freeing yourself from debt, along with lots of links to tools and other articles or websites that can help.
"23 Powerful Tips and Tools to Eliminate Debt" [Dough Roller] (Photo: mskogly)
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how to
So You Want To Sue The Company That's Screwing You Over
Jon wants us to recommend a good lawyer to sue HP for screwing him over on laptop repairs. We do not offer legal advice like that. We do, however, believe strongly in the power of small claims court. More » -
how to
Video: Ditch Your Cell Phone Contract For Free
In this video, a blonde dame in glasses shows you how to escape your cellphone contract for free with several tried and true tips for defeating those $175 early termination fees. More » -
tips
How To Reverse A Debit Card Overcharge Quickly
If someday you have the bad luck to have one of your debit transactions entered incorrectly by a merchant, here's how to get things back to normal quickly. The important part is not to let the merchant "get back to you" at some later day. Instead, try to get your bank and the merchant on the line at the same time in order to get it rectified immediately.
"Disputing a debit card overcharge in a hurry" [Examiner] (Thanks to Mary!)
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fakes
How To Identify Astroturfers And Front Groups
Everyone likes to hate on spammers, but they're basically the houseflies of the Internet. Far more insidious and damaging are astroturfers and front groups—those corporate-funded, agenda-pushing people who don't disclose who they're really working for while they participate in online culture and the media. The Center for Media and Democracy has put together a list of tips to help you identify them from real grassroots movements, while Free Press has created a widget that reveals front groups for five large companies you frequently see on Consumerist. More » -
how to
Shut Out The Worst Ad Offenders With These Firefox Tricks
If advertisers and websites would play fair with their readers, we wouldn't need to apply various filters and blocks to them. But when you're trying to read an article and every sixth word is hotlinked with a pop-up ad, while the FavIcon in the browser window blinks at you like a traffic light, while loud video clips start auto-playing when the page loads—well, it's time to shut it all down. Lifehacker has put together a great list of all the ways to reclaim your sanity when you're online.
"Use Firefox to Fix the Web's Biggest Annoyances" [Lifehacker]
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how to
Find Out How Much Your Insurer Sucks
So you suspect your health/auto/home insurer is run by the devil, but you're not sure whether the alternative you're considering is any better. Kiplinger Finance has posted a helpful article on how to find the complaint ratio of an insurer via the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' website. Update: here's how to file your own complaint. More » -
technical support
Verizon And Nokia Announce "Constant Reboot" Feature
Ryan's new Nokia Intrigue 7205, which Verizon gave him, doesn't work with the Verizon network: "48 hours ago, the phone began cycling on and off continuously." He's not the only Intrigue owner experiencing this problem on Verizon, although Verizon is following that tired old "it couldn't possibly be our fault so let's make you jump through a dozen useless hoops" protocol. Sadly, a single Google search would give them the quick fix for Ryan and other Intrigue owners. More » -
diy
How To Cook A Meal In Your Hotel Room
We've never looked at a hotel's bathroom counter and thought, "I could probably roll out some dough right there." We've also never tried to use an iron for a hot plate, or shoved uncooked spinach into the coffee maker. But now that we've watched this proof of concept video from George Egg, we may consider going grocery shopping the next time we're stuck in a hotel with an overpriced room service menu. More » -
how to
Avoid Being Scammed By Shady Contractors
Never, never open your door to a contractor who randomly appears offering to fix some unseen problem. You would think it's common sense, but a California senior ended up paying a shady contractor $20,000 to perform $300 worth of work, and it took a sting operation to stop a Long Island contractor who was going door-to-door offering to plug nonexistent carbon monoxide leaks. So how can you protect yourself? Here are a few warning signs to beware.... More »
