Here’s a story that made us sad. Reader Mary’s mom went to Lowe’s to buy a mailbox, and was ignored until she finally got so frustrated that she gave up and just left, in tears. Don’t cry, Mary’s mom. We will not ignore you.
diy
Home Depot Begs You Not To Leave The Store Because Of Their Crappy Service
By 3.20.09
Reader Shawn submits this photo that he took at Home Depot. The sign begs you not to leave the store if you’ve experienced bad customer service…
Five Ways To Stretch Your Money
By 3.8.09
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…
Six D.I.Y. Tips For Cleaning Greenly And Cheaply
By 3.7.09
Harsh chemicals aren’t just bad for you and the environment, they’re bad for your wallet too. Cleaning most things, from clothes to your kitchen, can be done greenly and cheaply with these six nifty do-it-yourself cleaning recipes from Consumer Reports…
Your Digital Camera In A Travel Soap Case
By 2.22.09
A hard plastic travel soap case makes it a snap to keep your digital camera safe from getting bonked around. If your camera is small enough, an Altoids tin works too. Spotted this in the March issue of Real Simple (which I found a copy of left on the train, so I get +5 frugality points).
Four Ways To Save Money At A Sporting Event
By 2.21.09
Sporting events were once a nice way to kill the day with friends instead of the massively expensive once-a-year “treats” that they’re trying to become. Food and drinks are easily the biggest expenses you can control at any sporting event, and with a few tips from Frugal Dad, you can keep your day at the game as cheap as it was in grandpa’s time…
Oh No, People Can't Afford Stupid Crap This Valentine's Day
By 2.14.09
Yesterday I passed by a Godiva store in midtown Manhattan and saw that it was packed with frustrated looking men in suits lined up to the door. It reminded me of how manufactured this particular holiday is. After all, these men hadn’t all shown up at the same store, on the same day and for the exact same reason, spontaneously; it took years and years of conditioning. But is there room in the new Poor America for the sort of spendy nonsense that Valentine’s Day demands? The New York Times takes a look at how people are cutting costs, and ignoring mass-marketed fauxmance for cheaper and more personalized experiences.
50 Tricks To Save Big Around The House
By 2.3.09
This Old House has fifty tips for saving moolah around the home sweet home. Here’s one I like on appealing your property tax assessment:
Newly Frugal Cut Back On Outsourced Services
By 1.21.09
People are cutting back from outsourced services and opting to do things themselves, like cleaning the house, walking the dog, making their own coffee, cutting their hair, or packing their lunch. Those who do say it saves money and gives a feeling of self-reliance. What have you started doing yourself lately that you used to pay people to do?
Three Cheap Recipes For DIY Windshield De-Icers
By 1.17.09
Throwing vinegar or alcohol on your frozen windshield might be more efficient than hacking away with an ice scraper and cursing the snow, according to Wisebread. Inside, three easy do-it-yourself de-icing recipes that are sure to make those frigid mornings a little more bearable.
How To Read A Water Meter
By 1.13.09
To make sure you’re paying the right amount on your monthly water bill, you should know how to read your water meter and compare it to the amount your utility company thinks it should charge you. As several readers pointed out previously, in some cities you can even do your own meter reading and call in the number each month. “But how do I read my water meter?” Here’s how.
Save Money On Your Next Refurb Project, Shop At A Habitat ReStore
By 1.9.09
Did you know Habitat for Humanity operates retail outlets where they sell used and surplus building materials? Habitat ReStores are located in 47 U.S. states and 9 Canadian provinces.
Customer Service Not Working? Try GetSatisfaction
By 11.14.08
Here’s hoping for everyone’s sake that some Warbucks type buys up Consumerist, lavishes me with gifts, and allows this great blog to continue. But even so, it never hurts to know about other online services out there. GetSatisfaction.com is a kind of crowdsourced customer service forum where anyone can post about any product or company, and where companies are encouraged to join in. Since the content is grouped around those products and companies, it’s easy to drill down to relevant topics, or to find people who can help answer that customer service question you can’t seem to get resolved. Here’s a sample page on Comcast. That’s right, my first entry as a substitute Consumerist editor today and I’ve already mentioned Comcast.
Top 10 Geeky IKEA Hacks
By 10.20.08
Lifehacker has 10 neat IKEA hacks. That’s right, toss the manual and start making your own cool Scandinavian-infused furniture mods. In particular, I enjoy the tutorials on making an Allen wrench drill bit and embedding scrap bowls into your counter top. I remember reading one time on the IKEA hacker blog about how you could “make” a couch by binding together a series of the same chairs with plastic ties. That was pushing the bounds a bit, but most of these are straight-up useful, especially if you’re a nerd.
Comcast Loves You So Much They Keep Billing You… 4 Months After You Canceled
By 9.30.08 — Updated: 3.25.13
Oh Comcast, you romantic. You were so sorry to see Michal leave that you pretended he didn’t. We get it: he bikes, he blogs, he helps toddlers learn Polish. But after four months of him repeatedly asking you to stop billing him, when you still won’t stop it begins to look a little stalker-ish. Your computers can’t always be down.
Economics Professor Self-Publishes Textbook To Subvert Overpriced Publishing Industry
By 9.17.08
R. Preston McAfee, a Cal Tech economics professor, is annoyed at how overpriced textbooks are. “‘The person who pays for the book, the parent or the student, doesn’t choose it,’ he said. ‘There is this sort of creep. It’s always O.K. to add $5.'” To fight back, he’s foregone the potential six-figure advance traditional publishing would have granted, and published his textbook online for free.
Fellow Consumerist Tests Coffee Grounds Tips So You Don't Have To
By 8.26.08
We want to commend hhole for electing himself or herself guinea pig on this morning’s coffee grounds post. Apparently, hhole immediately started rubbing coffee grounds all over his or her body in order to see if it really would work as a facial scrub/hair shiner. (Of course, this only makes us want to come up with some imaginary “use” for, say, kitty litter or corn meal to see whether hhole takes the bait.) Read this intrepid commenter’s first person report below.
