Uber has been gaining in popularity in the corporate travel realm for a few months now, but according to one analysis, it’s now the No. 1 option for business travelers, overtaking taxis and topping rental cars. [More]
expenses
Frontier Airlines Loses Passenger’s Hockey Sticks Not Once, But Twice In Two Weeks
By 10.7.15
When putting your belongings in the hands of an airline, you’re taking the risk that those items might not make it to your desired destination – just ask Alaska Airlines’ CEO. Still, what are the chances that the same airline would lose your gear not once, but twice? [More]
Tesla Reportedly Loses More Than $4,000 On Each Car It Sells
By 8.10.15
The base price for a new Tesla Model S with all-wheel-drive will run you about $70,000. While that price tag isn’t for the faint of heart, its doesn’t quite represent how much the electric vehicle maker is putting into its products, as a new report shows the company is losing more than $4,000 on each car it sells. [More]
Fed Survey Finds Most Consumers Are Happy With Their Finances, Despite Lack Of Retirement Savings
By 5.27.15
As the economy continues to bounce back from the Great Recession, consumers have adopted a more optimistic outlook when it comes to their finances despite the fact that a third of the country has no savings put away for the future, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve. [More]
Expenses That Mortgage Calculators Don't Tell You About
By 4.3.12
When you’re shopping for houses, you can get giddy when you plug your numbers into a mortgage calculator and discover your dream home has a surprisingly low monthly payment. It’s lying to you. Mortgage payments are only part of the myriad costs home ownership heaps upon you. [More]
Tips For Saving Money On Textbooks
By 8.2.10
The second half of summer is “complain about textbook prices” season, and last week the New York Times put together a special section on the topic and asked experts to weigh in. Too many of the contributors just provide an overview of the situation but no solutions; a publishing industry representative actually defends textbook prices as trivial compared to other educational costs. Fortunately Anya Kamenetz, who writes for Fast Company, suggests Flat World Knowledge. And to be fair, the guy who defended textbooks prices suggests CourseSmart for ebook rentals. The Times also asked students, professors and parents to weigh in with advice. [More]
Are Pay-Per-View Hotel Movies Pointless In 2010?
By 5.12.10
LodgeNet provides pay-per-view movie services to hotels, and the company’s latest financial filing shows nearly a 10% drop in revenue in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same period a year ago. (And that’s after a 19% drop in revenue from 2008 to 2009.) Travelers seem to be wising up to the high prices of hotel pay-per-view and are resorting to other ways to stay entertained. Now if only our laptops and smartphones could contain a mini-bar compartment. [More]
Nine Things That Are Overpriced
By 2.4.10
CNN Money has put together a slideshow (ugh) of nine of “America’s biggest rip-offs,” and I think we’ve covered all of them at one point or another on Consumerist. [More]
San Francisco Weddings Are Expensive, Milwaukee Ones Are Cheap
By 1.12.10
Weddings in San Francisco run an average of $45,284, while ceremonies in Milwaukee cost only $14,687, according to a terrifying infographic on BridePop. [More]
Expect Airlines To Keep Hiking Ticket Prices As Holidays Approach
By 10.16.09
This year it’s a seller’s market when it comes to buying airline tickets, reports the New York Times, so if you must travel via plane, buy early and try to be as flexible as possible.
Want To Raise A Kid? You'll Need $300k
By 8.6.09
The new government estimates are out on child rearing, and now “a middle-income family can expect to spend $291,570 including inflation to raise a child born in 2008 to adulthood” (not including childbirth or college), reports Reuters. In today’s dollars, it works out to between $11,000 and $13,000 annually. If you’re planning on having a family in the future, here’s another incentive to get your financial house in order first—take control of your debts and spending, learn how to budget, and start saving. You’re going to need it, unless you can score a reality show on basic cable.
Consumers Get $32 Billion More Than They Bargained For With Broadband, Says Study
By 7.16.09
Silly you — did you think you were overpaying for broadband access? Well, a study has gone and proven you wrong.
ConEd Hikes Rates, But Consumers Could Still See Lower Bills
By 5.2.09
ConEd has just what you need in the middle of recession: a rate hike! Monthly bills are set to rise between $6-$8 as the energy monster tries to recoup a half a billion dollars to cover the cost of higher property taxes and the usual infrastructure maintenance that utilities never budget for in advance. The perennial optimists at the New York Post still somehow think you’ll still end up with a lower bill…
By 5.1.09
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It looks like greeting cards are another thing we’re cutting back on lately; American Greetings has announced that sales fell 14 percent in the last quarter. [Associated Press]
Cancel Cable Without Losing Your Favorite Shows
By 2.21.09
Cable is one of the first things you should cut to keep expenses down, but that doesn’t mean you should ditch your favorite shows. J.D. over at Get Rich Slowly cut his cable bill from $65.82 to $11.30 without missing a single harrowing plot twist. Here’s how he did it…
Track Expenses Easily With Xpenser
By 12.10.08
Looking for a “fire and forget” way to track your expenses and receipts? Check out Xpenser. You can submit data from any device or even phone them in, and Xpenser takes care of putting it all together. Plus it’s free. [Xpenser]
Who Is $4 Gas Hurting? Starbucks!
By 6.19.08
A survey by Kelley Blue Book says that new car shoppers are giving up Starbucks to help offset the cost of $4 gas. Sorry, big green mermaid lady! The KBB study results reveal that 28 percent of new-car shoppers have stopped going to Starbucks or other coffee houses entirely, and 21 percent indicate they are going less often due to skyrocketing gas prices.
By 6.12.08
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US News & World Report’s Alpha Consumer Blog offers a quiz to help you determine the answer to the following ever-puzzling question: Can you afford to have a baby? [Alpha Consumer]
