Another Washington Mutual insider has stepped forward with a slew of tips to help save your ass from overdraft fees, check deposit holds, and talking to Filipino bankers. Details, inside…
savings
7 Ways To Have A Gorgeous And Inexpensive Wedding
By 6.8.08
Blowing $100,000 on a wedding is still in season, and there’s no better way to show up your over-spending friends than by throwing a lavish affair without bankrupting your parents. Inside, seven tips to have a lovely and affordable wedding.
9 Ways To Save At The Movies
By 6.7.08
Summer means movies, but don’t get stuck paying $12 per ticket or $7 for a bag of popcorn. Instead, check out these nine ways to slash your movie budget without missing any summer blockbusters.
Get 5% (Or More) Off Anything Anything At Amazon
By 5.29.08
ProBargainHunter tells us how to snag 5-15% in extra savings on Amazon by tweaking the “Quick Picks” function.
By 5.12.08
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Are you managing your aging parents’ finances, or looking for a good financial advisor of your own? The AARP has just released a new booklet called “A Financial Professional’s Guide to Working With Older Clients” (PDF). [AARP]
Advice On How To Raise Financially Savvy Kids
By 4.25.08
CNN asks some money experts for tips on how to teach kids about personal finance. Laura Levine, the executive director of Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, says she uses a special piggy bank for her 3-year-old son—it has four chambers, “one for saving, one for spending, one for donating and one for investing,” and helps teach him that money is not just for “one thing.”
By 4.23.08
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Brita wants you to keep paying $6-$10 for their disposable water filters, but here’s a way to refill your own for $.50. [Instructables]
Save On Car Rentals By Renting After Busy Holidays
By 4.18.08
Our favorite travel troubleshooter blogger Chris Elliot interviewed a car rental salesperson to reveal six insider tips on how to get the most for your money. We like number 5, rent after a busy holiday.
5. Timing is everything. The largest expense incurred by a car rental company is depreciation. Basically, these companies are leasing all the cars in their fleet. They’re charged different rates for different types of cars. “It is very important for car rental companies to have as many cars on the road as possible, as any cars that are sitting are not making money, and are actually costing the company money in depreciation fees.” A customer who shows up after a busy holiday weekend can more or less name the price for a rental car. “They should be begging for you to take cars off their lot,” he adds.
To get a view on what goes on inside the (twisted) mind of some car rental salespeople, check out our “6 Confessions Of An Alamo Car Rental Agent.”
BillShrink Finds Your Optimal Cellphone Plan
By 4.18.08
BillShrink is a new site that analyzes your cellphone use and shows you the plan from all the carriers that will save you the most money. You can either manually enter your zip and how much you’re paying monthly, or the more security cavalier can get more detailed results by offering up their cellphone number and carrier site password. I tested it out and while some parts of the website had to be tried a few times to get them to work, overall it was a good ride. They told me I could save $205 a year by switching to Tmobile. I’ll think about it.
This Reusable Best Buy Coupon For 10% Off Does Not Expire
By 4.11.08
Save 10% on your visit to Best Buy by bringing along this printable, reusable coupon that doesn’t seem to expire. The coupon is accessible to the public, but it is meant to serve as a chintzy government house-warming gift from the Post Office to people who recently moved.
Are You Smarter Than A 12th Grader?
By 4.6.08
U.S. News & World Report posted an excellent six-question financial literacy quiz that most 12th graders can pass. Can you?
Bank Of America Refunds $325 In Overdraft Fees To Customer Who Was On Cruise
By 3.12.08
Don’t say we never printed anything nice about you, BoA. One of your customers just had an experience with you that—despite still having an overdraft fee of $20 to pay—has left her feeling pretty good about you.
Want To Use Amazon Prime? You'll Pay $50 More For This TomTom Unit
By 3.4.08
Steve was going to split the cost of a TomTom GPS Navigator unit with a friend so they could give it to his sister as a gift.
Americans Struggle With The Concept Of Spending Less Than They Earn
By 2.7.08
“We live in a small town, and everybody looks at your clothes and what you drive and where you have your hair done,” said Ms. Gamble, who earns about $2,600 a month as a grievance counselor at a local prison.
Dish Network Billing Is Totally Borked!
By 2.6.08
Kayla writes:
My Husband and I called Embarq for a bundle pack with dish network in April of 2007. We were told by Embarq that we would only be seeing one bill from them, that would include dish charges, and that it would be about $100 a month. We have paid our bill every month, and never had anything suspended. As a matter of fact, we had never had to make any inquiries about dish as it had been a wonderful experience until mid-January. One morning I was turning on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for my son and I had no service. So I called Embarq, who told me to call Dish, who had no record of our names or social security numbers, who told me to call Emarq again…
By 2.1.08
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Here’s a horrible idea: a 401(k) program with a debit card. That’s right, you can go to the ATM and make withdrawals from your 401(k) retirement savings plan. [TheStreet]
Study Says Shoppers "Save" Money On eBay
By 1.29.08
EBay doesn’t share data on bidders’ maximum bid amounts, so it’s always been difficult to quantify whether or not buyers are actually saving money, but a new study has attempted to put hard numbers behind the transactions. The study’s authors use data from bidders who used a specific sniping agent—by measuring what those bidders were willing to pay versus actual winning amounts, they’ve determined that the average winning bid comes in about 30% lower than the maximum amount the buyer was willing to spend.
