Consumerist
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advice
Be Your Own Financial Regulator
Any sort of federal agency to protect consumers from abuse from the financial industry is months, or possibly years, away, notes Linda Stern of Reuters. That's why you shouldn't depend on such an agency to protect you in the meantime. In fact, you can take her advice and use it no matter what happens at the federal level. More » -
diy
Want To Learn How To Make It Yourself? Visit Homegrown Evolution
HomegrownEvolution.com is sort of a simplified Instructables for people interested in "mead making, beer brewing, bread baking, urban poultry raising, container planting, pirate gardening, foraging, pickling," and more, according to Cool Tools. We have a feeling "pirate gardening" isn't as fun as it sounds. More » -
insiders
More Insider Tips When Buying From Radioshack
There's clearly no love lost between D. and D's former employer, RadioShack. A little over a year ago, D. sent us some insider tips on what to watch out for when you shop at RS. Now here comes a follow-up, with more information on cell phone sales tricks, warranty pitches, and used merchandise. More » -
twitter
How To Use Twitter To Get A Company To Solve Your Problem
Here's a new trick for getting satisfaction from a reluctant company, using Twitter. We can call this one "tweet to power."
More »
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jobs
You're Never Too Old To Have A Summer Job
Inspired by our post on thirty- and forty-somethings trying to snag traditionally teenage jobs? If you've always wanted to be a lifeguard, bar back, or roller coaster operator, here are some tips for beating the other applicants and letting teenagers worry about the unemployment rate. (Photo: Atwater Village Newbie) -
how to
Tax-Saving Moves For 14 Big Life Events
Life is full of surprises and challenges. Luckily, there's a tax form for just about all of them. Via Kiplinger's, here's 14 major life events that allow for smart tax-saving moves, and how to make those moves. More » -
how to
Buy The Right Sunscreen And Avoid Sunburn
Buying the right sunscreen could mean the difference between a pleasant day at the beach and a nightmare of splotchy pain. Consumer Reports conducted a poll to see how you people use sunscreen, and even dunked a bunch of volunteers in a tub for forty minutes to see how different sunscreens held up. Inside, the sunscreens that earned Consumer Reports' praise, and a few tips for avoiding the dreaded summer sunburn. More » -
how-to
Make Jewelry From Your Discarded Credit Cards
Sure, you could cut up your credit and debit cards and throw them away once they're closed, expired, or the account number has been stolen in a massive data breach. Or, with a few simple tools, you could re-purpose them into lovely pieces of jewelry. More » -
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how to
Use Your Dishwasher Properly
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 » -
annoyances
Reader Asks, "Is It Impossible To Unsubscribe From Classmates.com?"
Yes.
Okay, we're being a little dramatic there, but Classmates.com is part of the cesspool of the Internet, a faux-legit site that uses any shady tactic it can to acquire and keep members, regardless of any genuine interest they may have in the service. We don't know if you can truly successfully unsubscribe from their junk emails because we're not sure they'd ever honor such a request, but here are two other options. More »
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how to
Make Your Own Playdough
Looking for a cheap way to entertain your kids or spice up a rainy day? Make your own playdough! The homemade stuff may not come in a shiny yellow play-doh container, but you probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboard already, and the concoction won't smell or contain yucky toxins. Hit the jump for the recipe... More » -
travel
Use Codeshares To Find Cheap Summer Flights Abroad
Before locking in your summer fare to Europe, see if you can't find a better deal by searching an airline's codeshare partners. Airlines use codeshares to sell seats on each other's planes so they can reach destinations they wouldn't otherwise serve. Since ticket prices constantly fluctuate, codeshare partners often quote different fares for the exact same flight. Inside, reader Christiana shares how she used codeshares to save almost $300 on a flight to England... More » -
spam
Create Your Own Opt-Out When A Company Ignores Your Requests
Mark started getting promotional emails from Hilton over a year ago, and he's tried all sorts of opt-out strategies:
More »
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how to
Freeze Your Food To Save Money, Time, And, Of Course, Food!
You're not getting the most out of your freezer, reports NYT. Have you tried freezing more food? It's a two-pronged process - 1) Take raw ingredients you have too much of: freeze them. 2) Take stuff you've cooked: and freeze it. Remember that a full freezer is more efficient, fight freezer burn by double and triple-wrapping food, and don't forget to label. Check the article for advice on strategies and tips for freezing various kinds of food.
Freeze That Thought [NYT] (Thanks to c-side!) (Photo: Triborough)
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iphone
Create A Phone Stand For Free With A Business Card
Some PR person just sent us a notice about a new wallet-sized iPhone stand, which reminded us that there's an easy and free alternative, and it most probably works for a lot of other (fairly thin) media devices as well. More » -
photos
Don't Change Oil For 30,000 Miles? Here's Your Engine Carnage
This sludge-filled massacre is what happens to your engine if you don't change the oil for 30,000 miles. The six photos depict abject carnage, a crime scene for cars. Good job, Enterprise-Rent-A-Car. Don't let this happen to you. Checking and changing your oil is a good weekend project, here's how to do it. [via Jalopnik]
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how to
Never Get A Chase Over-The-Limit Fee Again
Stop the presses! You know how most banks are glad to let you charge more than your credit limit and then charge you fees for the "courtesy?" CreditMattersBlog reports it turns out Chase will let you block these "over-the-limit" purchases. You just gotta call and ask for it, 1-800-432-3117. If you're a Chase credit card customer and sometimes find yourself going over your credit limit and incurring fees, putting an over-the-limit block on your account could be just the thing.
Over-The-Limit Block At Chase Could Save You Money [CreditMattersBlog] (Photo: gemteck1)
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success stories
Letter To T-Mobile Executives Results In Fees Waived, Charges Reversed
Chris was surprised to find that T-Mobile didn't cancel his account as promised a few months ago. What's worse, the note on his account that mentioned his cancellation request was missing, and nobody at customer service would help him. Chri works for a "very large consumer electronics company" that he won't name (we're pretty sure it's Apple) and thinks customer service is important, so he gave up on the CSR angle and instead came to our site to find contact info for T-Mobile executives. One EECB later, Chris is free from T-Mobile and the ETF they tried to apply. More »
how to
New York, 2:49 PM
Sun Jul 5
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