Does someone in your building or office consistently fail to follow proper elevator procedures? Do they not make the effort to hold the door even after they see you coming and make eye contact? Do they stink up the Zen space of the elevator with their cellphone chatter? [More]
how-to
ID Theft: Fix Some Fraudulent Accounts Before Correcting Legit Ones
By 5.25.11
One of the side effects of someone using your identity to open up a bunch of accounts and leaving you saddled with the bills is that your credit history gets trashed, which means you get victimized a second time over as your real creditors jack up your interest rates and take other adverse action. Your bank account could even get frozen, making you late on some bills. But before you go plead your case to get your credit restored with them, you’ll want to fix some of the fraudulent accounts first. [More]
Get Your Pet Ready To Fly
By 5.23.11
With the number of pet deaths on the rise, 39 last year vs 22 in 2009, pet safety while traveling is very important. Here are some tips on making sure your pet is ready to take the big trip in the sky with you: [More]
"Bump The Bonus" And Get More Airline Miles For Free
By 5.17.11
One way to build up frequent flyer miles quickly is to apply for several of the credit cards that give bonus miles for signing up. You buy stuff you were going to buy anyway and meet the minimum spend requirement, get the miles and move on. But then a while later you notice that the same credit card is offering even more miles for newer applicants. Curses! Instead of despairing, though, The Frugal Travel Guy Rick Ingersoll says you should call the credit card company and ask them to increase the bonus miles they gave you to the new level. [More]
Install Netflix On Nearly Any Android Device
By 5.16.11
A Netflix app finally came out last week for Android, but due to the complications of the plethora of devices running Android, it only came out for a few of them. Netflix says they’ll slowly but surely roll out the app to other devices, but if you don’t feel like waiting you can do a little cellphone hackery and get it on your phone now. [More]
Make Your Own Veggie Chips At Home
By 5.16.11
Veggie chips are a healthy and tasty alternative to potato crisps but they can be kinda pricey. Not to mention that the ones in the stores are often deep-fried and might not be any better for you than popping open a bag of regular potato chips. But if you make your own veggie chips at home you can have better control over the ingredients and preparation, save some money, and have fun doing it! Chow has got some great recipes for carrot chips, sweet potato crisps and even kale chips. Of course, for an even lower-cal version, it’s hard to beat flavored paper chips… [More]
Protect Yourself From A Moving Scam
By 5.16.11
The day has come for your big move. All your belongings are packed in the truck. Your heart is filled with hope for the new stage in your life, and you’re proud of yourself for getting such a low rate from the moves. But when you get to your new abode, problems arise. The movers are demanding several times what the agreed upon price was, otherwise they’re driving off with your stuff. You just got scammed. How could you have protected yourself from this situation? [More]
Debt Collector Evaporates At First Sign Of Resistance
By 5.16.11
Ryan shares with us his consumer kicking booty story of how he got a debt collector to run off with their tail between their legs. It sounded like an amazing deal. He got a letter from a debt collector telling him that they represented AT&T and would cut him a special break and settle for only $69.30 instead of $693.30. Wowzers! Problem was, he didn’t owe AT&T any money at all. [More]
The Best Flowchart For Proper Office Coffee-Maker Etiquette
By 5.13.11
Does someone in your office not know proper coffee-maker etiquette? This flowchart will guide them through the decision-making process they should go through upon encountering a coffee pot. Installing several of these in high-visibility areas should help reduce the number of times you walk into the break room only to encounter a stinking hunk of boiling black sludge. My favorite part is where it says “Do you drink coffee? -> No -> Walk away -> But I want to turn it off!” and it just keeps looping back to walk away… We mocked Comcast when we posted their internal policy regarding making coffee, but maybe they were actually pretty forward-thinking. [More]
How To Fight Clickjacking On Facebook
By 5.13.11
To help combat clickjacking, Facebook is adding a new feature that will spot scam-like behavior by pages on its site and ask you to confirm your “like” before automatically adding a story to your profile and your friends’ News Feeds.” So how do you as a user fight clickjacking on Facebook? It’s a really easy one-step process. When you see a post that says “to watch this kkkkrazy video, just copy and paste this URL into your browser,” — don’t do it. [More]
Find The Best Stuff On Etsy With A Site-Specific Google Search
By 5.11.11
With over 800,000 different sellers on Etsy, a major online shopping site for buying handcrafted items directly from the makers, it can sometimes be a chore to wade through the clutter to find what you’re looking for. But StylishHome points out that just by doing a Google search that only scans within Etsy itself, you can take advantage of Google’s ranking algorithm to find the best items. [More]
Beat High Airfares With The Old "Hidden City" Trick
By 5.9.11
Here’s a little secret to saving big on airfare, courtesy of the New York Times Magazine. When you fly into an airport that is mainly controlled by one airline, like Memphis, Newark, or Dallas, it can be pretty pricey. For instance, Des Moines to Dallas is $375. But if you booked it to LA with a stopover in Dallas, the price drops to $186. All you have to do is just not get on the connecting flight. This is the “hidden city” trick. [More]
Stop Junk Mail For Someone Who Is Dead
By 5.3.11
In this world where even dogs and toddlers can be pre-approved for credit cards, it’s important to register the names of loved ones who have passed on in order to get junk mail in their name to stop arriving. The Direct Marketer’s Association maintains a free “Deceased Do Not Contact List” that friends, family members and caregivers can used to stop the name of someone who has passed on from being passed around by junk mailers. [More]
6 Ways To Be A Savvier Traveler And Save
By 5.2.11
Q: I’m taking a vacation, room rates are ridiculous. Any way you can save me some money?
A: This is fun. You can start your own miniature bidding ware by calling up several hotel desk clerks and ask them for “the cheapest non-refundable rate.” Play them against each other. Using this method, you can save upwards of $20 off the online rate, even though they insist that that’s their cheapest available rate.
Find Your Stolen Camera By Searching Web For Uploaded Pictures From It
By 4.28.11
The descriptively named stolencamerafinder.com helps you track down your stolen fancy digital camera. Just drag and drop photos from your camera before it was stolen onto the box on the website. The site then scans scraped databases for the EXIF data embedded in the picture to locate other photos encoded with your same serial number. If there’s a hit, that person might have your camera. [More]
Switch To Old-School Safety Razors And Save $160 A Year
By 4.25.11
Like a drug dealer giving out free samples, Gillette has been getting men hooked on Fusion razors by handing out free Fusion razors. You go along and you think, mm, this is a pretty good shave, and eventually you need to buy replacement cartridges, and it turns out they cost $40! Reader Jim got sick of spending $250 a year on cartridges for a shave that wasn’t stellar so he decided to kick it like a grandpa and switch to old-school double-edged safety razors. Jim says the blades on these just cost pennies a piece and the shave is cleaner and closer. Here’s how he made the switch: [More]
Travel: Choosing The Best Credit Card
By 4.25.11
Like deciding whether to tap your Fountain of Youth or send in your Force of Nature in Magic: The Gathering, deciding which credit to play in the travel game depends on your situation and strategy. [More]
Take Preventive Measures To Avoid Zombie Billing
By 4.22.11
How can you prevent a zombie billing invasion after your satellite TV contract is up? Simple, explains reader catastrophegirl: give the company a credit card to put on file that expires before your contract is up. If they try to put the zombie charges on the card–well, they can’t. [More]
