Other tips include reducing your mileage and having a theft-deterrent device installed. You might also want to compare risk classifications for cars if you're shopping for a new one—your insurer should be able to provide you with a comparison chart.

"10 Things That You Can Do To Lower your Auto Insurance Premium" [Mint]
(Photo: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³)

Their reasoning is simple: if you have an easy way to constantly jot down notes on things like prices or items you want to buy, you'll have higher quality information to make purchasing decisions. Some uses from The Simple Dollar:

• Write down sale prices so you can research their true value.
• Do warehouse price club comparisons.
• Write down recipes or other food ideas.
• Make a simple price book that focuses on the staples. (Real price books require a near-obsessive level of dedication, so I like this idea best of all.)
• Record great gift ideas.
• Keep a master list of "preferred brands" and their average prices.

Lifehacker's Jason Fitzpatrick noted that recording gift ideas lets him come up with great gifts cheaply:

A perfect example of this in action: I was having dinner with a friend some months ago. When the wine was decanted, the particular funnel that the sommelier used caught my friend's eye-it was quite an interesting one. When we were leaving the restaurant I quickly scribbled a few notes about the style of the funnel. A little Google-fu later and I found that it wasn't a particularly pricey item, but it would be much appreciated by my friend and show that I notice things that matter to him.

The problem, of course, is determining which "easy way to constantly jot down notes" works for you. The Simple Dollar recommends a pocket-sized reporter's notebook, which you can buy at any drugstore for around $1. One of the readers over there suggests you avoid clutter in your notebook by keeping temporary items on a removable page:

I keep a loose page in my journal for the "To Do" and "Shopping" lists. I can move that page along the current page so it's easily found, and cleanly remove it when completed.

Lifehacker takes the hardcore (and expensive) Getting Things Done route by suggesting a "notetaker wallet" that carries cards.

Using your phone may be more convenient for some people, and it also gives you the flexibility of snapping photos. It can also be a lot slower to use if you don't have a good note-taking solution. Evernote is a good free option, and it's available for everything but the Android platform (although they're working on that, and in the meantime you can use their mobile site).

"14 Ways a Notebook in Your Pocket Can Save You Money" [The Simple Dollar via Lifehacker]
(Photo: theilr)

"8 Signs You Should Not Buy a House" may be a tough list to absorb if you've been turning a blind eye to immediate financial issues like credit card debt and savings accounts, but following this advice will put you in a much safer position for a new home. Once you've made sure it's the right time to buy, "8 Home Buying Blunders" has some tips that should help protect you from unanticipated problems at closing or after you've moved in.

"8 Signs You Should Not Buy a House" [Morningstar]
"8 Home Buying Blunders" [Morningstar]
(Photo: Smath.)

If you don't have a tire tread depth gauge on hand, you can use a quarter and/or a penny. Place a quarter upside down in the tread; if you see the top of Washington's head, it's time to go tire shopping. If you see the top of Lincoln's head when you use a penny, it's definitely time to replace the tire.

CR's actual tire ratings are for subscribers only, but anyone can watch the video, read through the moderated forums, or read the Tire Buying Guide for basic info.

Video: How to choose the best tires [Consumer Reports Blog: Cars]

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"Tire buying guide" [Consumer Reports]
Tires & tire-talk forums [Consumer Reports Forums]

I'm sure there are sommeliers both real and imagined among our readers who wish I would fall over in a tub of grapes like that poor YouTube lady, as punishment for my ignorance. But my point is, if you want a quality sparkling wine/champagne, don't dismiss "sparkling wine" wholesale and limit yourself only to champagne. You'll be turning yourself into a brand whore and falling under the Champagne Bureau's spell. It's also okay if you want to call it champagne no matter where it's from.

Here are two video clips of a wino wine expert providing an overview of sparkling wines and champagnes, and which houses make the best ones.

• Sparkling Wine vs. Champagne: Part 1
• Sparkling Wine vs. Champagne: Part 2

This article says the real thing to look for are the words "Traditional Method" on the label:

When choosing a bottle from any region other than Champagne, be sure to look for the words ‘Traditional Method' on the label. Among other techniques of making sparkling wine are the Transfer, Tank and Asti methods, none of which involve the care, time and precision of conventional process.

As a general rule of thumb, trade groups probably shouldn't send us self-serving press releases disguised as "consumer alerts."

(Photo: ori2uru)

If you've got photos of past costumes as proof that it can work, that's even better. To post an image, host it somewhere else first, then use this code in your comment:

<img src="the-url-to-your-hosted-image-goes-here"

(Note that you shouldn't use the closing HTML tag if you want the image to show up.)

"25 Frugal Halloween Costumes" [Moolanomy]
(Photo: Jayel Aheram)

"Site of the Week: Jeans and Accessories" [ShopSmart]
(Photo: rileyroxx)

"Slash Your Insurance Costs" [Kiplinger]

Webmonkey notes that data portability has become an increasingly salient problem as more and more people store their data with various online services. Unfortunately, no open standards have emerged yet, which is why Google decided to put together a team that could at least address its own services.

The name might be a bit of a joke, but the idea is not. The Data Liberation Front wants to make it easier for you to get your data out of Google services and take it wherever you please. In other words, Google wants you to use their services because you like them, not because you're trapped in them.

You might want to bookmark the DLF home page for future reference if you have Google accounts, because they list all of Google's services there with links to how to get your data out of each one of them. That's the "do no evil" good news; the bad news is not every Google product or service makes the process easy—which, to its credit, the DLF openly admits.

The organization also offers some really good advice that we should apply to any online service before signing up:

People usually don't look to see if they can get their data out of a product until they decide one day that they want to leave For this reason, we always encourage people to ask these three questions before starting to use a product that will store their data:

1. Can I get my data out at all?

2. How much is it going to cost to get my data out?

3. How much of my time is it going to take to get my data out?

The ideal answers to these questions are:

1. Yes.

2. Nothing more than I'm already paying.

3. As little as possible.

There shouldn't be an additional charge to export your data. Beyond that, if it takes you many hours to get your data out, it's almost as bad as not being able to get your data out at all.

"Data Liberation Front" [Google]
"Google's ‘Data Liberation Front' Aims to Make Your Data Portable" [Webmonkey]

"23 Powerful Tips and Tools to Eliminate Debt" [Dough Roller] (Photo: mskogly)

You should click through to read the detailed list, including some reasoning behind these tips, but here's a quick summary:

• "Start with the basics." Approach your first home purchase conservatively.
• "Consider your income."
• "Bow to unknowns." We're talking starting a family, or realizing in 5 years that you never wanted the career you're currently in and need to switch paths.
• "Map out expenses." A lot of home buyers are stunned by the annual cost of maintenance.
• "Buy best (or cheapest)." If you can't afford the ideal home, it's better to go cheap and save up rather than settle for a mediocre substitute that will drain your accounts while keeping you stuck in a home you don't like.
• "Stretch the house." The longer you live in one house, the longer you put off the expense of moving to a newer/bigger one.
• "The eight-hour rule." If you can't sleep at night due to worries about how to pay for the upcoming mortgage, you don't need that mortgage.

"7 New Rules for First-Time Home Buyers" [New York Times]
(Photo: PinkMoose)

Kubacki, the family breadwinner, was laid off July 1 from a job she loved — software project manager at Accenture, where she had worked for 15 years. At first, she was stunned. "I had this impression that someone had grabbed a big vacuum and sucked all the air out of the room. It was like I couldn't get my breath," she said.

Her husband, a former schoolteacher who is a stay-at-home dad and a woodworker, feared for the family's financial future.

"At first there is the panic, 'Oh my gosh, we are going to lose the house tomorrow and live in a cardboard box,' " Chris Kubacki recalled.

Yet his wife was determined to make her loss an opportunity to spend more time with the family while taking time to find another job she would love as much as the one she had just lost.

So the Kubackis are trying to make Karin's severance, unemployment checks and some extra cash Accenture provided to pay for an extension of her health insurance last a full year. They are determined to keep paying the mortgage on their home in Crystal Lake, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, and not dig into savings — all on an expected pre-tax income of $54,000, a little less than half of the family's normal earnings.

One thing they've learned that could apply to anyone trying to live on a budget is that if you reduce your luxuries to only one or two things, instead of the half dozen you probably enjoy now without even realizing it, they expand to take up the extra space. Karin, for example, now says bubble baths and Hershey candy bars are her two special treats: "If you have a lot of luxuries, then they become necessities. But if you only have a couple, boy are they terrific."

Other things to consider include making more use of your library system, finding free public and community events to participate in, and steering clear of restaurants.

The Kubackis have only been at this for a couple of months now, however. We wish them luck, and we hope CNN checks back in a year to see how those bubble baths held up.

"Battling recession with frugality, positive attitude" [CNN]
(Photo: blogdnd)

"Disputing a debit card overcharge in a hurry" [Examiner] (Thanks to Mary!)
(Photo: noraxx)

Hoping retailers secure their side of things is another matter, but that's why step 5 of this chart is "monitor your credit report."

"5 Easy Steps To Preventing Identity Theft" [Visual Economics]

Naturally, they suggest you closely track where your money goes, which is an easy thing to do in this era of free personal finance websites like Mint and Wesabe. But they also address the issue of understanding why you spend (or don't spend) money, so that you don't end up being a slave to your emotions or habits:

• Know yourself. Nathan Dungan literally wrote the textbook on personal finance and speaks at colleges nationwide. What does he think is most important for students to understand? Themselves. "Know your money temperament ... the lens through which you view and do money," he said. If having money makes you want to spend it, it's best to know that and figure out a way that works for you to keep that natural tendency in check.
  
  
• Keep money out of reach to stay out of trouble. Each year, Solheim asks students about a bad financial experience. "I have quite a few that will say ... 'The first time I got my financial aid I just had a good time ... and then was stretched at the end to make ends meet,'" she said. If you're a student receiving a lump sum from the Bank of Mom and Dad or the financial aid office, figure out how much you'll need each month and put the rest in savings. That way you won't feel artificially flush when you see that big bank balance.

"Experts offer advice for college and beyond" [San Jose Mercury News]

"Use Firefox to Fix the Web's Biggest Annoyances" [Lifehacker]

I manage the textbook department of a locally-owned college bookstore, and there are a few things I noticed concerning a textbook article that I wanted to address. I'm writing this because I figure it is good information for people to think of before they buy books or start bashing bookstores (which I'm glad this article did not do).

First, a school textbook store is about the only store that is told what to stock by an outside party with no stock in the store's success (professors). Professors are the ones who tell us what to stock for their courses, and those professors are "courted", if you will, by textbook company reps. These reps are sleazy. The low level psychology class here at the university uses a textbook that comes with an online access code - for years students have said they don't use the code, so we ordered used copies of the book. The textbook representative found out, and told us that he is going to do a demonstration to all of the psychology students the first week of classes (all 800 - mostly impressionable freshmen) to show them why they NEED to have that access code. A difference of about $50 for the student. Textbook reps make it worth the professors' while.

Seriously, as sleazy as textbook representatives are - professors are to blame. Professors - or departments - are the final say, no matter how hard the text reps try to get their book used. Professors and departments make that choice to use the dumb bundles, packages, new editions, CDs, online codes, etc. If you have a problem switching to a new edition - ask the professor if you can use the old edition of the book. Often times the professor knows the difference (hopefully they do if they are changing editions!) and will be fine with it.

Second, watch for custom editions - many "custom" editions we have are the exact same textbook you find on Amazon, with a special ISBN to our store from the textbook company that is shrink-wrapped with a single piece of paper that says "CUSTOM FOR [University Name]." Literally, a single piece of paper can make a book "custom". Also, custom editions can have different covers than the normal editions, but be the same book, albeit with a chapter missing. Professors decide to use custom books because publishers will let them choose what chapters from a book they want, and take those chapters out and bundled the book together with a generic or special cover. 99% of the time the chapters is a custom edition that has been put together in this manner are the exact same chapters as in the regular textbook you can find on Amazon. It might take some investigating, but it can be worth it.

Third, many custom books are "loose leaf" or "binder ready". Many, many times these are not any different than the normal bound book you can buy used somewhere. Professors choose these books because they are either coaxed by "gifts" from textbook reps, or because they are dumb enough to think that the reps line of "this is much easier for the student to carry around, they can take only what they need!" is true. These custom loose leaf books will not be bought back by the bookstore at the end of the semester. Talk to the professor, and ask them if you can just use the normal bound book you can buy elsewhere.

Also, don't open bundles. I know this might be the only way to find out what is in them, but 99% of bookstores will not accept refunds for bundles. Textbook companies put in CDs, small supplements, and the worst, online access codes, into bundles which is opened or used cannot be sold or used again. Most textbook companies only accept 5%-20% returns from the store of custom books or bundles...book stores want to get rid of them and are not easily swayed on accepting them as a return. Just wait until you go to class to see if someone else has the bundle, or maybe the professor will have the books with them or more information on the syllabus.

One quick thing about selling back your books. If a book is adopted and a bookstore needs to meet their quota - most of the time you'll get 50% of what you spent - not a bad deal. BUT many times the reasons you get really bad prices is because the bookstores buy for wholesale companies (we get commission on what we sell them, not much, but we do). When professors request a book it is worth more. Often times you should be mad at the professor for not requesting their books on time rather than mad at the bookstore. If the store has no reason to buy your book, we'll buy for wholesalers, who buy very very low. The bookstore is a business that needs to make profit, and if we don't need your book (remember, professors tell us what to stock) you won't get much for it.

And finally - please don't be mad at bookstores. Publishers set the prices, and we mark them up so we can make a profit to pay employees, heat/cool the building, keep the lights on, feed our families, or pay tuition. Yes, Amazon offers new textbooks cheaper (they get a discount because they are so huge) and sellers on Amazon/Half.com sell cheap to get rid of their books. You can find great deals online, but don't always skip the bookstore. Often times - especially with very new books - the college bookstores will have cheaper prices, mainly because publishers are trying to sell as many of the books as possible and are able to give us the books for a better deal than normal.

Overall, S.'s advice is similar to advice on how to be a good consumer in nearly every other realm: do your research, ask the experts (your professors), and shop around. The college library even may have an older edition of your book available to borrow, or available on reserve to read in the library in delicious three-hour chunks. Just ask at the reference desk.

Remember, your professor has spent nearly a decade (or more!) in college and will probably be sympathetic to your frugal plight.

RELATED:
Textbooks Publishers Using "Packets" To Fight Used Book Market
Students Can Use Internet To Rent Textbooks Rather Than Buy Them
Cheap Textbooks And Other Discounts For College Students
Harvard Bookstore: "We Own ISBN Numbers"
Busting the College Textbook Monopoly
Man To Run NYC Marathon Carrying Textbooks To Protest High Cost Of College Texts
Save On Textbooks By Borrowing Them From The School Library...
Getting Jacked When Selling Textbooks Back

(Photo: tillwe)

I bought my wife a Dell Inspiron notebook with XP Pro (she only uses XP, can't stand Vista) and recently on a Facebook visit her computer got infected with a virus. After several attempts at cleaning it up, I was still noticing problems so I decided to reload the OS.

The laptop actually came with Vista (some Pro-like version) and XP, and I'm supposed to be able to switch between them at will - reloading of course, but the point is the notebook came with a license for BOTH OS's.

So I pop in the CD while Windows is still running, and was about to reboot, but auto-run kicks in and asks me if I want to reload Windows. Sure, that's what I wanted to do. So I go through the process, and it gets to the screen where you have to enter your product key - and lo and behold, I have no MS COA. Not on the box, not on the CD sleeve, not with any of the materials that came with the notebook. So I call up Dell.

I speak to "AJ" who goes through the motions of having me look at the CD sleeve, bottom of the notebook, etc and then says "You shouldn't have to enter the product key, if I started the reload procedure correctly. Then he asks, "Did you run it from the running version of Windows, or boot and 'F12' with the disk in the drive?" Hmm, I ran it the first way.

Now here's where it gets interesting. AJ tells me that he can walk me through the proper way to do it, but he says that I've called into the paid software support queue and that I will need to buy an incident in order to get the solution. We go back and forth a bit about why I should pay for a problem when it's the missing COA that's the root, but I know it's futile if I've called into the wrong queue, so I'm preparing to hang up and call a different support number.

Meanwhile, I think back to what he said earlier - which way did you start the rebuild process? Oh, right - reboot and F12. While he's got me on hold to find me the free support line, I try it - and Bingo! No COA required. The rebuild takes off while I'm still on hold. Eventually I hung up.

I guess on one hand, I'm happy - "RJ" "AJ" gave me a solution, although he mentioned almost accidentally and then wanted to charge me for it. Only because I was paying attention did I save having to "pay" for a solution, which consisted of "reboot your computer with the disk in the drive, and hit F12 to boot from it, and you wont' need to enter your license."

And THAT'S the part that they wanted to charge me for.

Sean writes:

I was recently trying to sell an Apple gift card on CraigsList and received a bite from a "buyer" who claimed they wanted the card but wanted me to take a screen shot of the balance from myapplegiftcard.com.

Having been scammed before on gift card BS, I was very wary esp since I didn't want to scratch off the pin for someone who may or may not buy the card. Especially since the woman didn't want to give out any info and pulled the old "you seem sketchy since you won't do this" card to try to put me on the defensive.

I left it alone and relisted my card and got another email from her with the same hey we want it but please take a screen shot, problem this time she screwed up and put mybestbuygiftcard.com. Now I knew something was wrong.

I actually had a gift card from apple that had like $.50 or something on it so I went back to the myapplegiftcard.com site and put it in. Of course it says "this service is not available right now" and tells you to call the number. Pretty much validating spoof status.

On the mybestbuygiftcard.com site they actually just take the full Best Buy balance inquiry page and copy it. I called both Best Buy and Apple and told them of the sites and got the whole "Oh we will look into this."

I just wanted to get the word out ASAP.

Scam sites:
myapplegiftcard.com
mybestbuygiftcard.com

UPDATE: Another reader, Richard, sent in the following tip on how to find even more of these sites:

Try this search on Google using "my*giftcard.com". Way too many suspicious sites pop up.

(Photo: ARTS)

It emails related postings that you are looking for on an hourly basis. It can even text the postings (although I don't use texting). I've managed excellent deals getting video games that I wanted. I also have job postings (for me keyword "tutor") constantly emailed to me as I'm looking for a part-time job as well.

Note, however, that the "privacy policy" page is blank as of August 18th 2009, so be aware of that if you decide to register.

UPDATE: Our reader sumocat figured out that you can do the same thing that we suggest in #1 below without needing to install the Card Caller app at all. See this comment below for how to do it.

1. Set up Card Caller to dial using GV

This free app is designed to let you manage calling cards, what with their long access numbers and PINs and button pushing requirements. That means it also work with Google Voice—you simply set up a "card" that dials your GV number, include your PIN if you've got one (see here for PIN details if this sounds new to you), and customize the dialing pauses. Making a call this way is slooowwwww, but because it's an app it pulls in your contact list to make things slightly easier.

This guy has put together a step-by-step tutorial on how to set up Card Caller on your iDevice.

(Thanks to Fidel!)

2. Create speed-dial bookmarks for your contacts

The smart and funny photographer David Friedman at Ironic Sans—a blog you should already be following just for its entertainment factor—figured out a way to go through your contacts list and generate a series of bookmarks, one for each phone number, that you can store in a subdirectory in your iPhone's Safari bookmarks. One of his readers one-upped him with a Python script that makes it even easier, provided you know how to use a Python script. (Don't worry, the script comes with instructions and is quite easy for newbies to use as long as you're on a Mac.)

"The Google Voice Speed Dial Bookmarklet Generator" [Ironic Sans]

3. Just visit the mobile version of the site on your phone

(Photo: leoncillo)

On the bright side, if you're looking for work try to remember that there are people out there who do say stuff like this, so if you can learn from this list you'll already be one step ahead of them.

"43 Things Actually Said in Job Interviews" [AOL Jobs]

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(Photo: Oskars)

We've covered executive email carpet bombs (EECBs) plenty of times before, and we try to publish unlisted numbers to helpful offices when we get them. We've also talked a lot about how the chargeback is your friend. But EECBs and chargebacks are both pretty severe actions, and we figured there had to be some middle-ground you could try first, so we asked an AT&T representative what you should try if the CSR keeps refusing to help you.

We'll admit, this isn't some silver bullet that will solve your problems. However, it does provide you with a couple of "official" routes to try when the front line of customer service fails.

Our reps are trained that escalation is part of the process, and they are explicitly instructed to escalate every time it's requested.

Each time you call, make note of the rep's name and the time and date you call. If you ask to be connected to a supervisor and you are not connected, hang up and call back in, THEN IMMEDIATELY ask to speak to a supervisor. We want to know when our protocol isn't followed, and we want to resolve your issue.

Alternately, customers can log into their AT&T On-line Wireless Account and click on "Contact Us." Then there is a box titled "Customer Service" where you can select "Click Here to Email Us." After answering some questions via the drop-down box, you can then describe the issue and request contact from a manager. [emphasis ours]

(Photo: ッ Zach Hoeken ッ)

But who believes crazy old newspapers anymore? Here's a Daily Show clip of Nobel Prize winning Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Steven Chu. (The NYT told us about it). Around the 6:25 mark, he says when you're re-roofing, make it white:

"White Roofs Catch on as Energy Cost Cutters" [New York Times]
(Photo: Christopher Dick)

"Best month to buy a car? Google Trends says November-ish" [Engine Industries]

"2009 Consumer Action Handbook" [ConsumerAction]

First of all, don't believe the old fogeys who pour haterade all over ebooks whenever Amazon does something stupid with the Kindle. Yes, Amazon just flipped a giant, cloud-computed middle finger at its customers, and wiped away any sense of trust that the company either knows what it's doing or respects the privacy of customers—but that doesn't mean ebooks are a bad idea. The ability to carry a virtual library of titles in a single book-sized device (or on a phone or netbook) carries all sorts of benefits that traditional print does not.

The Kindle, however, is proving to be a rotten deal for customers. Not only do you lose the right of first sale, but it turns out even the idea that your license gives you the promised "permanent" access is false. Last week's Orwell stunt by Amazon is almost certainly not the last time the company will swoop in and manipulate your content, regardless of any promises it churns out in an attempt at damage control.

Here, then, is the best and easiest way to get non-Amazon, public domain ebooks on your Kindle:

Feedbooks: the open source alternative to the Amazon Kindle Store

If you don't already use Feedbooks, you're denying yourself access to what amounts to the free, open-source version of the Amazon Kindle store. On the down side, it won't have the Twilight books; but on the plus side, it won't have those Twilight books. To participate, go to Feedbooks (feedbooks.com/help/kindle) and download the Kindle-formatted catalogue. You do this directly on the device via the built-in browser or you can download it to your PC and copy it over via USB cable.

Now you're ready to "shop" for free, legal copies of ebooks. Make sure your wireless is turned on, then open the catalog like you would any ebook and browse through the available titles. When you find something you want, select it; you'll be taken to a download page on the device's built-in browser, and if you accept the download, the book will automatically be loaded onto your Kindle. See? It's just like using the Amazon store, only free!

A lot of public domain works are also available on the Amazon Store, some even offered by Amazon for free. But when you download from Feedbooks you get a copy that will always be yours. When you download those books from Amazon you're just purchasing a license that can (obviously) be revoked without warning. We recommend you use Feedbooks.

If you can't find it on Feedbooks, try Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org). Any file offered in MOBI or Plain Text is a perfect format for the Kindle; other formats—HTML, for example—will require conversion first (see below). Unfortunately, unlike Feedbooks you'll have to download the files first to your PC and then copy them over to the Kindle via USB cable.

(As a bonus, you can read books from these sites on pretty much any device, including mobile phones and netbooks.)

Converting incompatible formats to Kindle-friendly formats

What if you have digital copies of books that you want to read on the Kindle, but they won't display in their current format? Try installing Calibre (calibre.kovidgoyal.net) or Stanza (www.lexcycle.com) on your PC/Mac. Calibre is the golden child right now, but I've also had success with conversions using the desktop version of Stanza in the past. You should know, however, that Amazon now owns Stanza—so if you're looking to go Amazon-free stick with Calibre, which remains independent as of July 2009.

Futureproofing your purchases

"But what about the books I bought from Amazon?" you ask. "How do I make sure Amazon doesn't remove any in the future?" Technically, you can't. You don't have the rights to protect yourself under Amazon's licensing agreement, congratulations.

Speaking practically, though, you've got two options. The first is an illegal hack to remove DRM. The second option is this:

1. Every time you buy a book from Amazon, download it to your PC and save it as a backup copy. You're allowed to do this. You should also be backing up the text file on your device that stores all of your notes and highlights, just in case.

Now if Amazon removes a title in the future, you still have a backup copy. You should always do this with anything stored in the cloud anyway. You can't seriously believe that cloud storage is a secure, permanent solution for your backup needs—it isn't, and it will come back to haunt you if you don't protect yourself with your own backups in multiple locations.

2. Keep your Kindle's wireless connection turned off unless you need it.

This will somewhat reduce your participation in Amazon's cloud storage system, and increase the odds that should Amazon do something stupid in the future, you'll have some advance warning from other users' tweets and posts if not from Amazon itself.

Remember, though, that thanks to Amazon's DRM implementation, any backup copy will only work on that single Kindle device. When you stop using that particular device, you lose access to that file too if it's no longer stored on Amazon's servers. Your only route at that point will be to resort to something illegal, or to start over and buy a new license.

Is it really likely that Amazon is going to go all 1984 on other books in your Kindle library? No, but that doesn't mean you can't look beyond Amazon for your ebook fix. Over the past few months, Amazon has shown an increasing inability or unwillingness to have a transparent, fair licensing agreement for the ebooks it sells licenses to. If you've already invested money in a Kindle and want to make good use of the device, these are some ideas for how to look beyond Amazon when building your digital library.

RELATED
"Amazon Deletes Your Books, Has Always Been At War With Eastasia"
(Photo: EricaJoy)

10. Smile! Just like your mother always said, positivity is contagious.
9. Don't Hog The Overhead Compartment: Your jacket doesn't belong in the overhead compartment, and you don't want to be the guy with the seat in the back stealing the overhead up front.
8. Keep The Aisle Clear: Nobody likes obstacle courses. Keep your things out of the aisle or you will get hit with a galley cart.
7. Keep The Demands Reasonable: Not all flight attendants can help you lift your bags. If you're told no, don't roll your eyes.
6. Listen To The Safety Briefing: Yeah, we've all ignored the briefings, and apparently it really annoys the flight attendants. Pay attention for just a minute and they'll love you forever.
5. Take Your Headphones Off When Ordering: It reduces confusion and it's not like you would talk to anyone else while wearing headphones.
4. Be Nice: Don't tell flight attendants how to do their job. They'll help if they can, but if they can't, an attitude solves nothing.
3. Appreciate What's Left Of The Food: Well, well, well, look who feels bad for making fun of airline food all those years. Now it's gone and you're still complaining? The flight attendants aren't hiding hot meals in the back. If you're that upset, write a letter.
2. Deal With Dirty Diapers Yourself: Do not hand these to your flight attendant, ever. Lavatories have baby changing stations. Use them.
1. No Touching! Do we really have to tell you not to poke your flight attendant? Apparently!

For extra-decent service, offer candy to your flight attendants. They won't forget you.

The 10 Most Annoying Passengers, As Told by a Flight Attendant [Lemon Drop] (Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabiolund/ / CC BY 2.0)

He writes:

So, on Monday my wife and I decided to go out to Longhorn Steakhouse to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary. Today I log into my bank account to make sure my paycheck went through when I see a charge at Longhorn Steakhouse for 47.13, which was higher than my bill was even after the tip I'd left. I did some quick math and determined that they over charged me by 4 dollars.

But it gets worse.

While steaming over that little pricing error I noticed two lines above that that I'm being charged 38.38, which as I'm staring at my receipt from the night is the actual charge minus the tip...

I was wondering what the protocol was for getting your money back out of a restaurant that appears to have double billed you... I've got the receipt, and placed it in my wallet for safe keeping, but I'm wondering what the easiest way to dispute the second charge is going to be, will they have records, or should I print out my bank statement and bring it with me?

Would I be out of line to request my tip be removed so the waiter does not get a tip? Afterall, the tips themselves are to show an appreciation of the value of their work, if the waiter billed me twice then he doesn't deserve a tip as he's forced me to enter their location and argue finances on my own time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks.

We think the advice at punny.org is good, and it suggests three steps in this order:

Punny.org also suggests working in a checksum when you tip, so that you'll be able to quickly spot altered totals when reviewing your account later. The problem with that, of course, is it requires basic math while you're figuring out your tip, and sometimes (too many drinks, dinnermates talking to you) that can be hard to pull off accurately. Thankfully technology can help—we found a link to at least one paid iPhone app that will do this for you, but better still (as in, free) is this web-based app called TippyTops that was made for the iPhone but should also work on other smartphones with a decent web browser.

One final note: it's possible that the first tip-free charge is a hold placed on the card to pre-authorize it, and it hasn't dropped off your statement yet. You should review that option with your bank when you call them. That doesn't explain the doubled tip, however.

Update: James sent us the above email two days ago, and in the meantime he'd already called the restaurant (he thinks like many of our readers do, apparently, and gave them the benefit of the doubt). He also describes some of the waiter's bad behavior, which we think justifies the lower tip.

Here's his follow-up:

Just as a brief update to it, I called the restaurant, asked for a managed, complained about the charge and they began looking it up. apparently they had just recently upgraded their credit card transaction system. But more importantly the manager informed me that this particular employee had used my card on someone elses bill, realized what he'd done, reversed the charge, and then billed me properly.

The error here is that the employee did not inform me of his mistake, as such when I went to look at my bank statement a couple days later I noticed the two charges. The manager proceeded to explain to me that the charge should drop off his receipt within a day or so.

And indeed it did, the following morning it was gone.

The manager asked for my address so he could mail me something to make up for the error, having worked retail before I politely declined the offer as I knew it would've most likely been a gift card. I informed him that my intention was to highlight the poor service that the waiter gave us and that had he at the very least informed us of his error then I would've been less agitated.

I also took the time to explain to the manager that the waiter himself mostly chatted away with two other employees (women, one in a green shirt vs. the usual white, so I'm guessing a manager) and "shoulder checked" us to see if we needed anything, only asking when he was walking by to check on something or wait on someone else, then returning to the two employees to chat some more as they ate. I informed him that so long as the employee was "re-educated in the proper use of a credit card transaction device" that I would be satisfied, and he assured me that he would.

Total time: 20 minutes

Items required: Last night's receipt (For receipt number), dollar value of both charges for look up ($38.38 and $47.13) and credit card used for the transaction.

Did not require even setting foot into the store. Also want to note that even if they'dve had to do a charge back, a trip to the store would not have been required.

Thanks for posting the story, enjoy the update.

"Fight Thieving Restaurant Servers With Checksum Tips" [Punny Money]
TippyTops Tip Calculator
(Photo: rick)

1. Get what you need out of your television service. For some of you, having cable beyond a basic package is a waste of money.

2. Skip Pay Per View, always. The cost of Pay Per View is enough to make me cry.

3. Check out video rental services. Consider Netflix or Blockbuster online. For those who don't watch television frequently and are very busy, this option could even replace your cable costs.

4. Make going to the movies more affordable. Skip the snack bar, skip the more expensive, night time movies and look out for coupons to the theater and check their website: your theater may offer cheaper prices for tickets purchased online.

5. Check out other resources. Check out your local library and organize a movie night with friends!

It's a decent list, though they could have mentioned all the free stuff offered on the web — Hulu.com, ESPN360 (for certain "partner networks"), and television networks hosting downloads/web viewing of their own shows.

What else did they miss? Any other suggestions for cutting back on media expenses without leaving yourself high and dry for entertainment?

Save Money on Cable Television and TV Services [The Digerati Life]

— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: msmail)

"Do you get a deal at the dollar stores?" [Blogging for Change]

Received my new Kindle today, same day I heard about their price drop to $299. Obviously I wanted to see if I could get some cash back. Did their customer callback and got a call as soon as I hit OK. CSR said the shipping cutoff for a partial refund was July 8th and that they'd be crediting me $60 in 2-3 days.

We called Amazon to see whether this rebate was automatic or if you have to request it. Our CSR seemed a little confused by the question but confirmed you'd have to call in with your order number or email associated with the account to have them authorize the rebate.

"Contact Us by Phone" [Amazon]
(Photo: richardmasoner)

"How to Understand Food Expiration Dates at the Grocery Store" [YouTube via Minyanville]

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"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Expiration Dates*" [Minyanville]

"10 things gas stations won't tell you" [MSN Money] (Thanks to Chester!) (Photo: °Florian)

My suitcase had been opened, my jewelry bag unzipped, and my fine jewelry (gold, diamonds, sapphires) had been hand picked out of the jewelry bag and the inexpensive jewelry (plastic, glass, metal) left strewn across my belongings inside my suitcase.

Delta doesn't take responsibility for the theft, because as they note in their rejection letter to her claim,

The tariff rules and the ticket contract covering your travel exclude responsibility for jewelry, cash, camera equipment, electronic equipment, or computer equipment contained in checked or unchecked baggage.

In other words, you're on your own when it comes to securing your valuables during air travel.

Our theft victim didn't specify in her letter, but we hope she also filed a police report as soon as she noticed the missing jewelry. In fact, here's some advice for traveling with jewelry.

• Don't.
• Always carry it with you in a carry-on bag or on your person. Never pack it in checked luggage. Even the most high-security airport can't prevent a determined thief from rifling through luggage.
• If you have a lot of expensive pieces, consider making sure your homeowner's insurance covers them while traveling. Or just get standalone jewelry insurance.
• Make sure you have appraisals or insurance evaluations.
• Photocopy the jewelry you're bringing with you, and leave a copy at home and pack a copy on your carry-on bag. This will help you quickly spot missing pieces.

The above list was compiled from tips from:
"Safety Tips When Traveling With Jewelry" [Gem Find]
"Four Tips for Traveling with Jewelry" [The Black Dress Traveler]
"Traveling with Jewelry" [Home Jewelry Business Success Tips]
(Photo: evixir)

Here are her tips on how to "be your own regulator":

• Take advantage of existing government advice from sites like www.ftc.gov/credit, the FDIC's consumer alerts page, and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors calculators and tools.
   
  
• "Read everything, the junkier it looks, the better." We've all trained ourselves to skim or throw out anything that looks like junk mail. During the next few years especially, as less forthright banks and lenders try to sneak fee increases or changes to their terms past customers, you should constantly watch for anything that might be a notice in disguise.
   
  
• "Keep cushions everywhere." At first we thought she meant decorate your home like this guy we knew when we first moved up here to NYC—he had so many pillows around his apartment it looked like the inside of Jeannie's bottle on "I Dream of Jeannie". It turns out, that's not what she means at all:
  

  Even with money tight, try to keep a little extra in all of your accounts; it keeps the bankers from pouncing. Keep an extra $100 in your checking account and forget about it; you're less likely to bang into punitive overdraft fees when you use your debit card. Use less than the full borrowing power of your credit card; you'll avoid over-limit fees. Pay your bills a day or two early, to avoid late fee traps. Consider all of this a form of self-insurance.

• Apply for new credit cards using snail mail and letters, not online or over the phone. Stipulate exactly the terms under which you want the card, so that you cover any details that they might be leaving out that will bite you in the ass later.
   
  
• Complain. (Hey, have you heard of something called an EECB?)
   
  
• "Learn to like vanilla." Her point here is that old-fashioned products have "fewer nooks and crannies... where fees and other traps can hide."

"Personal Finance: Don't wait for Congress, be your own regulator" [Reuters]

RELATED
www.ftc.gov/credit
Consumer Alerts [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]
Consumer Info [Federal Reserve Board of Governors]
(Photo: Consumerist)

"All The Ways Your Laziness Is Costing You" [Forbes] (Photo: RobotSkirts)

Her relative, a recent widower, started off by sending checks for $30 or less for fake lotteries and sweepstakes. Eventually he fell for a $4k check fraud scam, and then later sold his car and wired that money to another scammer.

For months, family members wrestled with what to do. When confronted, our relative would acknowledge he had been ripped off and promise it would end — but then he would succumb again, a pattern experts say is common.

The debate ended this spring when our relative, unable to cash out his life-insurance policy, was conned into selling his car and wiring $4,000 to Costa Rica. In May, with his three children and a stepson present, he acknowledged to a judge that he had been financially scammed. The judge granted guardianship to two of his children, taking away his right to manage his own affairs.

The family went to lunch with him, then dismantled his cellphone and redirected his mail to another state. A few hours later, he demanded his phone back. He wanted to call some "friends" who had some money waiting for him.

One thing that becomes clear from her relative's behavior, as well as from this New Yorker profile on a psychotherapist who fell for scams repeatedly, is that regardless of mental capacity, some people seem far more likely to fall for the same cons over and over no matter how rationally you explain the techniques to them. The WSJ has a sidebar that provides some tips on how to help protect these high-risk people, including:

• Provide a printed script to use with telemarketers and leave it by the phone;
• re-route all mail to a post office box and go through it with the recipient;
• change the victim's phone number;
• find other activities to fill up the victim's time so s/he doesn't feel as compelled to engage with friendly scammers (they'll spend countless hours grooming the mark to think of them as friends).

They also point out that AARP has a toll-free number you can call— 1-800-646-2283 —to report fraudulent activity, as well as a special website called AARP Fraudfighters.

"A Family's Fight to Save an Elder From Scammers" [WSJ] (Thanks to Joanne!)
(Photo: m4rpk)