We just saw a piece on CNN about how to choose a doctor in which they suggested that people make a bunch of appointments for “a hangnail” and shop around.
advice
7 Lies You'll Hear From Salesmen At Electronics Stores
By 2.13.08
Future Shop is a Canadian consumer electronics retail chain. Charlie used to work there, and has now passed along the 7 most common lies he heard salesmen use on unsuspecting customers. Whether you have a Future Shop in your area or not, you’ll find these lies familiar.
By 2.12.08
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Kiplinger says that it’s a “buyer’s market” for automobiles, and invites you to check out their 2008 buyer’s guide.
5 Car Lease Myths
By 2.4.08
Mark Solheim over on Kiplinger thinks leasing cars has a bad rap, and that more people should be doing it. “If you know what you’re looking for and negotiate smart—and get over the five myths below—leasing can be a good deal.”
Pick Up Some Haggling Tips At HowToHaggle.com
By 2.4.08
HowToHaggle.com is a short, easy-to-skim website devoted exclusively to the concept of haggling. It’s not the world’s most extensive resource, but the tips page lists 15 very good things to keep in mind the next time you want to score a better deal on a product.
Have A Best Buy Card? Check Your Local Store Before Using It Online
By 1.31.08
Matt writes in with a tip if you’re unlucky enough to have a Best Buy credit card and plan on using it any time soon: check whether the brick and mortar store near you has any special promotions running first. If so, buy the item from their store instead of online or you’ll be bound by Best Buy’s 90 days same-as-cash terms regardless of whether or not the store is offering a better deal.
Low Income? You May Qualify For Tax Saver's Credit
By 1.30.08
If you’re single and earned less than 26,000 last year, or married and together made less than $52,000, then you can qualify for a tax credit of up to $1000 if you contributed to a retirement savings account during the year. To get the maximum credit, you’ll need to have socked away $2,000 and earned less than $15,500 as a single tax filer ($31,000 if married). And yes, this is a credit, not a deduction (something this writer has confused in the past), so it can make a significant difference on your final tax bill.
Answers To NYC Renters' Questions
By 1.30.08
How do you get your landlord to require the upstairs neighbors to put down carpets? A lawyer who “has practiced in the landlord-tenant arena for more than two decades” has been answering these sorts of questions on the New York Times’ “City Room” blog. The advice he gives, while helpful and specific, is mostly based on what we imagine are NYC-specific problems and cites New York statutes, but it still might be helpful for renters elsewhere with similar problems.
30 Free Ebooks On Personal Finance
By 1.28.08
Mint has gathered 30 of what they consider the best free personal finance ebooks around, grouped into categories like “Basics,” “Saving & Investing,” and “Security & Privacy.”
How To Buy A New Mattress
By 1.18.08
Elizabeth Mayhew of the Today Show gives a primer on mattress shopping, including the basics on types of mattresses, cost differences, what to look for, and when to replace your old one. “If you are a couple, shop together and if possible bring your pillows with you. Make sure you lie on a mattress for at least 10 minutes in your normal sleep position. Cuddle on it, and engage in light foreplay through your street clothes.” Okay, we made up that last sentence.
Create A Virtual Piggy Bank For "Spare Change" From Debit Card Transactions
By 1.16.08
Consumerism Commentary wants you to “put your savings in hyperdrive.” Funny, we thought that’s what we already did, which is why our savings raced light years away from our bank account. But Flexo, in his series of posts this week on how to save, uses a more grounded definition of “hyperdrive” and offers suggestions like opening a high yield savings account, saving your spare change (or the contemporary equivalent of spare change if you pay with a debit card), and automating your savings. Yes, these are simple suggestions, but that’s what makes them easy to remember and easy to implement.
By 1.15.08
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Don’t use an f-bomb in the memo section of your check when you pay for a parking ticket, at least not in Doylsetown, Pennsylvania—the man who did was charged with with disorderly conduct for the “obscene” word, but the charges were dropped after he wrote a formal apology to the offended…
2 More Stupid Financial Mistakes Sasha Made In 2007
By 1.11.08
Here they are, the final two mistakes in Sasha’s top-five screw-ups over at Consumerism Commentary. Mistake #4, “Failing to Balance Rental Property Income with Deductible Expenses,” is a bit specialized, although it contains a good lesson that can be applied to other situations. It’s the final entry, however, that applies to pretty much everyone (we’ve suffered from it ourselves in the past): “Failing to Remain Competitive Within My Field.”
12 Signs Of A Mystery Shopping Scam
By 1.10.08
Common sense will go a long way in protecting you from scammers masquerading as mystery shopping companies, but here’s a list of warning signs just in case you’re feeling especially gullible the next time you come across a mystery shopper ad and think, as you stare across the cubicles at all the assface jerks you work with, “This might be my ticket out of here.”
How To Talk To Your Teen About Investing
By 1.9.08
In the list of most popular regrets, the “if only my parents had taught me that” one usually ranks pretty high, which is why we’re glad to have found this post titled “How to talk to your teenager about personal finance.”
The Downside To Alternate Payment Systems
By 1.8.08
If you use services like Bill Me Later, eBillme, or Pay Payl’s Pay Later—payment options designed to let you pay online without using a credit card—you should be aware of the risks as well as benefits that come with them, writes SmartMoney. The most important thing to consider: as far as FICO is concerned, you’re applying for a line of credit (with the potential for high interest rates) when you pay with one of these systems, and your credit score may drop accordingly.
3 Stupid Financial Mistakes Sasha Made In 2007
By 1.8.08
Sasha over at Consumerism Commentary is actually working on a list of five stupid mistakes from last year, but she’s uploading them one at a time and we’re getting tired of waiting. We’ll post a quicklink or something to the remaining two in a few days. Anyway, here are mistakes one through three, another person’s financial self-flogging in public for your edification, or grim enjoyment.
What To Look For In A Pillow Protector
By 12.29.07
Do you spend the nights fighting allergies and biting your pillow in agony? Wait, that sentence didn’t come out right. Anyway, the vice president of a custom-printing pillow company tells Newsday what he looks for in a good pillow cover.
