The end of the year is usually when you tip service providers, but if you’re on a reduced budget then you’re probably going to want to scale back this year. Here are some suggestions from etiquette experts contacted by Reuters.
budgets
Newly Frugal Behavior Is Permanent, Say Some Consumers
By 11.12.09
A new study says that 26% of US consumers “have no plans to return to their free-spending ways,” which probably doesn’t sound like good news to retailers. Even worse (for retailers), about a third say they’ve become less loyal.
Citibank To Charge Fees On Checking Accounts
By 11.9.09
If you’re a Citibank customer who has one of the bank’s two smaller checking account plans—the ones where the monthly fee is waived as long as you use direct deposit or their online bill payment—then maybe it’s time to consider taking your business elsewhere. Starting in February, anyone with an average balance of less than $1500 will be assessed a monthly $7.50 service fee, reports the New York Post.
Layaway Making A Comeback
By 11.9.09
Sears and Toys R Us are among retailers who have brought back layaway programs to help boost sales, reports Eve Mitchell at the San Jose Mercury News. Not all stores think it’s worth the effort, so you won’t find it at JCPenney, Target, or Walmart. However, if you want to use layaway at retailers that don’t offer it, there are now websites that can help.
What You Need To Know About Today's Unemployment Benefits Extension
By 11.6.09
If you’re still struggling to find a job in the current economy, you’ll be happy to know that this morning President Obama is expected to sign legislation to extend benefits for few more months. The New York Times has more info on how the extension will work, and who qualifies for it.
Quicken Online To Be Shut Down Next Year, Accounts Merged With Mint
By 11.4.09
When news broke back in September that Intuit, the company behind Quicken, was buying personal finance website Mint, everyone wondered how the two services would co-exist. The worst case scenario was that Mint would be absorbed somehow into Intuit’s in-house competitor, Quicken Online. Thankfully, it looks like the opposite will happen.
Need Affordable Housing? What About A Mobile Home?
By 10.28.09
Mobile homes have a less-than-stellar reputation, deservedly or not. I know my own mom always warned me against them by saying they were just tornado bait, which was enough to make me leery of even stepping foot inside a friend’s mobile home growing up. But if you’re not irrationally afraid of tornadoes, a mobile home might be a great housing option if you’re on a tight budget or looking to save money, writes Michigan Telephone.
Costco Will Expand Food Stamp Program Nationwide
By 10.28.09
It turns out more Costco customers use food stamps than CEO James D. Sinegal originally thought, because after a test run earlier this year the company has decided to roll out the program nationwide.
What Are Some Cheap Halloween Costume Ideas?
By 10.19.09
The personal finance blog Moolanomy posted a list of 25 cheap Halloween costumes, including ones that make no sense (see “Soup and crackers”) and ones that sound borderline dirty (see “Facebook wall”). The list made us realize that our readers probably have a lot of equally cheap, and equally-or-more creative, costume ideas of their own.
How To Ruin Your Jeans On The Cheap
By 10.16.09
If there’s one thing my grandmother and I agree on, aside from the fact that Marlena being possessed was a dumb storyline on Days of Our Lives, it’s that it makes no sense to pay top dollar for deliberately weakened/damaged denim. The ConsumerReports blog ShopSmart has found a website that offers tips on how to distress your jeans at home, like using a pumice stone to cut holes, or a cheese grater to create patterns.
Does Posting Calorie Counts On Menus Sway Consumers?
By 10.6.09
Starting last year, fast food restaurants in New York City were required to list the total calories of every item on the menu. The idea was to provide greater transparency for consumers so that they can make smarter choices. Has it worked? Professors at New York University and Yale have completed a study that shows that the labeling makes consumers think they’re being healthier, but in fact they’re ordering more total calories than before the law went into effect.
How To Reduce Your Insurance Premiums
By 9.28.09
Kiplinger has put together a list of ways to reduce costs for auto, home, and life insurance. For auto and homeowners insurance, boosting your deductible from $250 to $1000 can lower your premiums between 15-25%. If you haven’t looked at your life insurance policy in a while, don’t wait any longer to shop around—rates have “dropped significantly” over the past 15 years but are now on the rise. And when calculating homeowners insurance, don’t fall into the market value trap: make sure you’re covering the true cost of replacing only the home and what’s inside, not the value of the land.
Where To Find Great Personal Finance Writing Online
By 9.21.09
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.
Couple Attempts To Stretch Half A Year's Pay Into A Full Year
By 9.18.09
CNN profiles a young family living in a Chicago suburb who have decided to carry out an experiment in frugal living—they want to see if they can reduce their expenses enough to get by on about half of what they made before the wife and sole breadwinner was laid off earlier this summer.
Financial Advice For College Students
By 9.14.09
The San Jose Mercury News has compiled a list of financial tips for people just entering college. These are the sorts of things that will help you avoid racking up huge debts or wasting money you don’t have on fees and penalties—and of course they can apply to pretty much anyone, not just college students.
You May As Well Start Saving For Christmas Gifts Now
By 9.14.09
A money-saving-themed blog called, well, “Money Saving Blog,” chooses not to gripe about the Christmas Creep and instead roll with it, putting together a well-crafted and seemingly comprehensive guide on how to avoid being hosed by the holidays by budgeting for trips and gifts and scaling down expenses as necessary due to economic circumstances.
Just How Thrifty Are You?
By 8.31.09
The cognitive psychology blog Cognitive Daily has put up a quiz asking you to rate your thriftiness compared to that of your parents, your best friend, and your significant other. What will we learn from this quiz when it ends on September 3rd? That people like quizzes, obviously, as well as how many respondents insist on mashing up all the old soap into a “new” bar in the bath. (I do this, but because I think it’s fun, not thrifty.) Take the quiz here.
Check Your Financial Health In Two Minutes
By 8.26.09
Is there anything more entertaining than having a website assign a letter grade to your financial status? Yes, but whatever it is, it would likely involve spending money you don’t need to spend, at least not if you want to get a good grade. Unlike in-depth financial evaluation tools, Money’s “Your Financial Health” widget just asks for big picture numbers that you can probably enter without needing to open up your budget or spreadsheet app—so it only takes a couple of minutes for you to find out how worried or proud you should be.
