The evolutionary cycle of gadgetry is fast enough now that you can score some great deals on last year’s products, which are perfectly fine for all but the most technologically literate (or obsessed) people in your life. A perfect example: the first generation Zune, which can be found for as low as $80, has a bigger screen than a non-Touch iPod, and a 30 gigabyte capacity. Yes, it’s also got lots of drawbacks. But that’s why it’s $80, and for the average consumer who just wants a decent mp3 and movie player, it does the job nicely.
saving money
Cutting Back On Features When Gadget Shopping
By 12.12.07
The next time you go shopping for a camera, cell phone, video recorder, or other gadget, you can save money by deciding what features you really need, and moving down the model line instead of up to the most feature-packed gizmo, writes SmartMoney. For example, “Only 31% of cellphone owners actually use their phone to take pictures, while only 15% browse the Internet, and less than 10% listen to music, download games or watch videos.”
Where To Get Help When Your Gadget Breaks Down
By 11.9.07
When your iPod, Zune, CueCat, HP printer, DVD player, or game console goes on the fritz, you no longer have to put it in that closet where you store all the stuff that doesn’t work but that you don’t think you should throw away. There’s now a whole world of self-help forums and repair advice websites online where you can trade tips with other owners of consumer electronics—weird things companies would never tell you, like using a piece of folded paper as a shim to get a failed hard drive working again in your iPod.
Get Cheap Plastic Surgery In Buenos Aires
By 10.31.07
Why not permanently alter your face? People on TV do it all the time. Besides, you’re a grown up, you can do whatever you want! If you’re in the market for a chin tuck, an eyebrow scoot, or a face-pulling-back thing—hey, we’re not the experts here—but you don’t have a lot of disposable vanity cash, then head down to Argentina, which is filled with “reputable doctors who are highly skilled due to a local rage for cosmetic surgery” and where common procedures can cost a third of what they cost in the U.S. Plus, you get airlines miles.
How To Have A Low-Budget Halloween
By 10.19.07
Are you too broke to go trick-or-treating this year? Good! More candy for the rest of us! But even though Halloween brings out the competitive sweet-tooth in us, we want to share Kiplinger’s tips on how to have a cheaper Halloween.Two of them—”get creative on costumes” and “follow a…
Budgeting Tip: Use What You Buy
By 10.12.07
A columnist at Get Rich Slowly describes how her family learned to focus on getting the most use out of the things they purchase, rather than using them once or twice and then moving on to the next new thing. While it sounds like an obvious tip, it can be a little harder to practice in real life—but, she writes, the results can be eye-opening.
WorldCat Turns You Into A Library Power User
By 10.4.07
We’ve written before about the money-saving goodness called your local public library, but a lot of readers may not know about a powerful online search tool, WorldCat, that lets you search the holdings of 57,000 libraries in over 100 countries. Even better: “Tell it what book you’re looking for and your zip code or city, and it will pinpoint the nearest library that has the book.”
How To Fill A 120-Day Prescription For 1/5th Of The Regular Price
By 9.26.07
Here’s a potential way to get certain drug prescriptions filled cheaply—as in, a several-month supply for less than $15—from our own Consumerist reader and commenter Hambriq. He posted it last week and we thought it was worth bringing to the foreground for more readers to see.
Get Moving Boxes On The Cheap With Box Exchange
By 9.19.07
We’re going to say something positive about U-Haul! No, not about the company (it has a rich history of complaints on our blog), but about the community trading service they’ve enabled on their “U-Haul Box Exchange” forum where people give away or sell their boxes after they’ve moved—although hopefully you won’t find an unpacked baby in any used boxes you get your hands on.
Buying a New Car? Check eBay Before Buying Optional Equipment From the Dealer
By 7.31.07
“They always get you on the floormats.” Pricing out a car online before visiting a dealership, and seeing the range of options available, is a no-brainer. But before you drop the coin on options like floormats, mudflaps, trunk nets, or whatever other easy-installation options strike your fancy, check eBay. Auto dealerships’ parts departments are actually selling the same items on eBay, at a discount to the marked-up rates they charge new-car buyers.
