Consumerist
-
personal finance
Where To Find Great Personal Finance Writing Online
If you don't know about the Carnival of Personal Finance, it's a weekly round-up of interesting posts from the glut of personal finance blogs and websites that now litter the web. I discovered two of today's posts—the 23 debt-saving tips and the the alkaline-vs-rechargeables story—through the most recent Carnival. More » -
videos
Grocery Shopping Tips From The 1950s
Society may have come a long way since the 50s, but the grocery shopping tips remain the same. Inside, the wisdom that helped a generation of college-aged mothers conquer the scary supermarket. More » -
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 » -
how to
Save For College
Having a baby soon? Congrats! Now you can begin the 18-year process of saving for college (not to mention the even more costly option of paying for their upbringing.) Luckily for you, the New York Times has a simple formula that makes the saving process as painless as possible, requiring only small sacrifices (over a long period of time). They dub the approach "20-20-20" and it goes like this: More » -
shopping
Let Supermarkets Help You Save Money
Consumer Reports is gearing up to release their supermarket ratings, but the preliminary results show that supermarkets are trying to help consumers by extending sales and rewarding loyalty. Inside, six ways to save a few bucks next time you fill up your shopping cart. More » -
shopping
5 Big Retail Mark-Ups To Watch Out For
The Lansing State Journal has put together a list of 5 marked-up retail categories to be aware of when you're making purchasing decisions, most of which you hopefully already know. If you can't find wholesale sources or DIY replacements, then at least make sure you do a lot of comparison shopping to get the best deal. More » -
fees
20 Unnecessary Fees You Can Stop Paying Today
Via U.S. PIRG, we came across this AP article on the enormous fees that businesses are charging consumers. After noting how much Americans pay in unnecessary fees (e.g., $14.6 billion in credit card fees last year), the author lists twenty easily trimmed fees. Our favorites, inside. More » -
-
saving
Seven Things That Aren't Worth Your Money
Want an extra $1,000? The Wall Street Journal has a list of seven things that you can easily stop buying without making drastic changes to your lifestyle. More » -
frugality
If You Save Too Much — You Might Regret It Later!
We're always telling people to save their money — but that's just because we're overcompensating for a society that spends too much. It is possible to be too frugal and you risk regretting that you didn't have a little more fun while you had the chance. More » -
energy
Do Electricity Monitors Like The "Kill A Watt" Really Work?
If you're concerned about your electricity use you may have considered getting one of those energy monitoring devices like the "Kill a Watt" or the "Watts Up." But do they really work? More » -
saving
Five Ways To Stretch Your Money
We could all use a little extra spending cash in our pocket these days. Help wring a little more cash into your savings account with these five tips from Wisebread... More » -
poll
Your Piggy Bank Is Happy: Savings Rate At 14-Year High
Americans took their cost of living raises and stuck them in their piggy banks, says the Commerce Department, pushing the savings rate to a 14-year high. Not long ago we had a savings rate of 0.1% — now it has skyrocketed to 5%. More » -
Let's make a deal
Bartering Makes A Comeback
Capitalism isn't doing well these days leading the entrepreneurial among us to embrace bartering. Traffic to Craigslist's bartering section has more than doubled since last year as people to try to make use of skills that might not otherwise have much value. More » -
recession
Sharing Restaurant Dishes Is Becoming Slightly More Acceptable
Good news thrifty diners, you're not the only ones asking to share dishes at restaurants these days. Thanks to the recession, it's becoming acceptable for everyone to split their dishes, and restaurants aren't complaining. "Now all bets are off," said David Pogrebin, manager of the snazzy French restaurant Brasserie. "People are not ashamed of being frugal." More » -
parenting
Split A Sitter, Save A Bundle
Here's a good way to save a bundle on your bundle of joy - share a sitter with a neighbor. By dropping off her 15-month-old at a neighbor's place 4 days a week, Real Simple reader Maureen Dempsey says she saves ~$400 a month. The article doesn't specify it but I imagine babysitter watches both kids at the same time for a little bit more but not as much as hiring two separate sitters. Plus Maureen's kid also gets to interact with another kid at the same time. Surviving the recession is all about working together and splitting up costs. [via Real Simple] (Photo: Ordinary Guy) -
saving
Trouble Saving Money? Harness Robots!
Sometimes when people have trouble saving at least 10% of their income on a regular basis, it's because it hurts too much. After you pay the bills, set aside money for groceries, booze and guns, it seems you don't have enough left over to save with. So, what you can do is exploit "out of sight, out of mind," More » -
Need to save money on textbooks? Textbook Media offsets the cost of its digital copies by inserting ads at chapter breaks. BookSwim rents textbooks. Also see these old suggestions, and today's morning deal.
saving
New York, 8:14 PM
Mon Nov 23
20 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
tipline: 347-42C-ON95
Co-Managing Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Managing Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Associate Editor:
Phil Villarreal
Email
