Savings site Smartypig’s banking partner BBVA Compass Bank is giving away up to $150 in bonus money if you open a new account with them. Of course, there are a few caveats to make sure you’re using the account and not just doing it for the money, like: [More]
saving money
Matrix Lets You Find Cheap Airfare, Plus Advanced Routing Codes, Minus Ad Clutter
By 8.11.10
One thing that always has mildly irked me about searching for airfare is all the ads. Do you want to look complete the same search through one of our partner sites? Do you want to add on a hotel? Yadda yadda, just gimmie da plane! Da plane! Well now you can strip away all that gimcrack and tomfoolery and go directly to Matrix, the software that powers sites like Orbitz, Kayak, FareCompare, and Hotwire. [More]
It's Never Too Late To Haggle, Even At Target
By 8.9.10
Kyle just emailed us a recap of his successful haggling adventure at Target this past weekend. If you’re afraid to try haggling at a big chain store, check out his story for an example of how to make it pleasant for all parties involved; the goal is to approach it as a negotiation where everyone wins, not as a zero-sum competition. [More]
Rotten Economy Might Mean Big Savings On Airfare This Fall, If You Can Afford To Travel
By 8.2.10
Travel guru Christopher Elliott thinks that airfare prices could drop significantly this fall, thanks to a double-dip recession and general economic misery. So far prices for car rentals and cruise packages are going up, but Elliott says he’s hearing from travelers and travel companies about “dramatic, unexpected bargains” and “rates … on par with last year’s record-low prices” when it comes to flights. [More]
Tips For Saving Money On Textbooks
By 8.2.10
The second half of summer is “complain about textbook prices” season, and last week the New York Times put together a special section on the topic and asked experts to weigh in. Too many of the contributors just provide an overview of the situation but no solutions; a publishing industry representative actually defends textbook prices as trivial compared to other educational costs. Fortunately Anya Kamenetz, who writes for Fast Company, suggests Flat World Knowledge. And to be fair, the guy who defended textbooks prices suggests CourseSmart for ebook rentals. The Times also asked students, professors and parents to weigh in with advice. [More]
Coupon Use At Record High
By 7.22.10
According to a new report from coupon marketing company NCH, the volume of coupons redeemed rose about 8% from a year ago, and marked the seventh consecutive quarter of growth. The report also indicates that manufacturers are increasing the value of coupons but moving up the expiration dates. [More]
United Overloads Plane, Kicks Off Passengers Who Paid The Least For Their Tickets
By 7.19.10
Last week, a United Airlines flight from Burlington to Washington, D.C. was deemed too heavy to fly, so the company had to decide who to boot off. In a moment of what was almost certainly accidental honesty, they targeted the 20 least profitable customers. We know this was their criteria because they announced it to the rest of the passengers, so those who remained were able to rest easy knowing that all the cheapskates, budget travelers and poor people were gone. [More]
Force A Reality Check With This "Real Cost" Credit Card Tool
By 7.19.10
The next time you want to splurge on some big ticket item, you might want to head over to The Real Damage first to see what it’s going to actually cost you in the long run. The free online tool looks at your current balances and interest rates, as well as your monthly payments, and then approximates how much extra you’ll pay in interest on your new purchase before you’re totally debt free. [More]
Save By Starting Your Shopping Trip From The Back Of Store
By 7.12.10
If you want to find the best deals and sale items, it’s wise to head directly to the back of the store and work your way up to the front. [More]
Get 30% Off Borders.com
By 7.12.10
Thanks to their site being down for maintenance, you can get 30% off at Borders.com until midnight PST tonight, 7/12/10. [More]
27 Of The Sickest Things You've Done To Save Money
By 7.6.10
We asked Consumerist readers to share the sickest, grossest, and sketchiest things they’ve ever done to save money. Over 250 comments poured in and most of them had to do with things that people have reduced themselves to eating at one point in the past.
This was one of the most entertaining comments threads I’ve read here in a while and it was hard but I have whittled them down to the 27 sickest: [More]
Starbucks Morning Receipt Gets You Afternoon Iced Grande For $2
By 7.1.10
Starbucks Treat Receipt deal is back, which means that if you bring in a receipt from before 2pm you can get any any iced grande drink after 2pm for $2. [More]
Pay Less Rent
By 6.24.10
In life, everything is negotiable, including your rent. Many renters might tremble at confronting the dark landlord ogre, but with a little research, some tips on negotiating, and a little moxie, you can stand a fighting chance at trimming your monthly rent check: [More]
Up-To-The-Minute Coupon Codes For Hot Sales
By 6.23.10
The deal aficionados on the FatWallet message boards have various discussion threads devoted to providing the most current coupons for a slew of stores. Rather then dig for them, here’s a master list of their official store coupons and clearance threads. Members routinely get rid of dead coupons and post new ones, so this is definitely one to bookmark: [More]
Book On Tuesdays, Fly On Wednesdays
By 6.23.10
Looking to save money on airfare for that fun summer getaway? The best time to buy an airline ticket is Tuesday around 3pm, and the best time to fly is a Wednesday. Why? [More]
Billshrink: iPhone 4 Is Best Value Among Latest Smartphones, If You Watch Data Usage
By 6.23.10
BillShrink compared the new iPhone 4 to the Droid Incredible, the Evo 4G, and the Nexus One to see which one is the cheapest in total cost of ownership, and the results were somewhat surprising given the iPhone’s reputation as a money gobbler. If you opt for the cheapest data plan AT&T offers, the TCO for the iPhone 4 is the only one of the four devices that comes in under the $2,000 mark. But beware! That “cheapest data plan” conditional is a pretty tricky one. [More]
Save On Cellphone Bills When Traveling To Mexico And Canada
By 6.22.10
Rather than futz with local SIM cards or Skype, a NYT reporter found that when going south of the border, you can just temporarily switch your coverage plan to a “Nationwide plus Mexico” plan. It’s only about $30 more, so, compared to the $.99 per minute you would otherwise pay, it’s worth it if you make more than a half-hour of phonecalls to the states. [More]
Kill The Cable Bill, Keep The Shows
By 6.21.10
Bryan over at Consumerism Commentary says he “felt a little dirty paying a monthly bill and watching advertisements at the same time.” So he canceled his cable TV and put together a Mac Mini-based system to watch “99%” of all the shows he and his wife liked, online, for free. This is video describing how he did. Like with all good nerdy projects, it begins with a spreadsheet. [More]
