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.
saving money
@Couponbot Serves You Coupons Via Twitter
By 11.12.09
Shoppers are getting online coupon code crazy, with searches for promo codes up 55% from last year. But why waste your time Googling when you could be watching thewebsiteisdown.com and an armada of Twitter agents are searching for coupons on your behalf?
How to Get the Best Deal on a New Car
By 11.12.09
For those of you looking to take advantage of this year’s tax deductions for buying a new car, Smart Money has a few tips to save you even more money. They list five suggestions for getting the best deal on a new car as follows:
Take More Notes, Save Money
By 11.2.09
Yesterday I grabbed a notebook app for my smartphone and spent a couple of hours organizing the various content folders—ideas for Consumerist, gift lists for Christmas, things to look up later on a computer—so that I could capture information more efficiently. Wait, why s ths n Cnsmrst? Because The Simple Dollar argues that by keeping a notebook and using it all the time (Lifehacker calls it “ubiquitous capture”), you can end up saving money.
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.
Cook Your Own Delicious Food At Home, On A Budget
By 10.25.09
Do you want to save money by making your own meals at home, but aren’t sure where to start? Let the blog Budget Bytes help you. It contains not only frugal but delicious recipes (including vegetarian ones) broken down by total cost and cost per serving, but a guide to stocking your pantry when you first live on your own or learn to cook.
Sparkling Wine Is Just As Good As Champagne (When It's Well Made)
By 10.21.09
The Champagne Bureau, a trade organization representing “the grape growers and houses of Champagne, France,” just sent us a nonsensical press release warning consumers to be on the lookout for imposter champagne. WATCH OUT! You’re pouring sparkling wine into your mouth, you jerk! The thing is, the only real reason “champagne” is unique is because wine houses in that region of France managed to get laws passed to prevent anyone else from using the word on their own sparkling wines. They’re all sparkling wines; how they’re made is what determines quality.
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.
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.
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.
7 Tips to Save on Apartment Living
By 10.14.09
If you’re looking for a way to get a good deal on renting an apartment, personal finance blog Wise Bread has some suggestions. Recently, they offered seven tips for saving on apartment living which, surprisingly, didn’t focus completely on costs (there are quality of life issues to consider, of course.) Here are their ideas:
Save Ink Or Toner By Changing Your Font
By 10.8.09
Sure, you can save ink and paper by changing around your printer settings, but to truly commit to saving ink or toner, try changing your font.
Shop At A Dollar Store, Gamble On Quality
By 10.8.09
Marlene Alexander will buy pretty much anything, at least once, from her local dollar store. Then depending on how well it holds up, she might write about it to warn others. She’s put together a list of some of the biggest dollar store failures she’s encountered over the past year.
Consumers Pay Down Credit Card Debt For 11th Straight Month
By 10.8.09
The Federal Reserve has released data on consumer debt for August, and for the 11th month in a row we’ve paid down credit card debt and increased savings. Take that, rate-hiking credit card companies!
University Launches Free Financial Education Website
By 10.7.09
We love free, and we love attempts to make people savvier about personal finance, so we really like this new personal finance website from the University of Idaho. It’s got all the basics covered, and there are things like checklists and downloadable worksheets so you can practice what they’re preaching. Some of the information is geared specifically to Idaho residents, but for the most part this is useful content that anyone can take advantage of.
How to Get the Best Deal on Cable or Satellite TV
By 10.7.09
Comcast. DirecTV. Dish Network. Oh, we love to hate them, don’t we? But without these (and others), where would we get the mind-numbing entertainment that has America hypnotized? But of course we don’t want to pay a lot to be comatose, so that’s why Bible Money Matters’ suggestions on how to get the best deal when signing up for cable or satellite TV are so valuable.
Consumers: Adopting Greener Behaviors Or Just Cheap?
By 10.3.09
This month, Consumer Reports is publishing the results of a survey of American adults asking about their adoption of “green” behaviors. Interesting, right? However, we can’t help but wonder whether some of these behaviors are more about saving money than saving the planet.
