•Be aware that the card issuer has a great deal of leeway. They reserve the right to change the terms of your card, including the APR (annual percentage rate), at any time, for any reason–with as little as 15 days notice. So check your monthly statement carefully.
tips
10 Ways To Avoid Credit Card Pitfalls
By 1.25.07
Your Old Plumbing Can Help Pay For Your New Plumbing
By 1.24.07
- There are great alternatives to copper when it comes to re-piping your home, so there’s no real need to pay any premiums there. But why not take advantage with the old copper pipe you’re going to replace?
Passport Madness!
By 1.24.07
Way back in December we told you about the new passport requirements and encouraged you to get yourself a passport before the deadline of…yesterday. Now the passport scramble is on, especially for business travelers who need to expedite their passports. According to the NYT, it can be “difficult, if not impossible, to get an appointment in a timely fashion.”
Free Financial Check-Up
By 1.24.07
- For the fifth time, we are joining with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) to sponsor Kiplinger’s Jump-Start Your Retirement Plan Days. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday, January 16, and Friday, January 26, NAPFA members across the U.S. will be standing by to take your calls and answer your questions.
Don’t Get Screwed On Valentine’s Day: Flowers
By 1.23.07
Valentines Day price gouging makes us frown, so we’re putting together some tips to help you save money… while not seeming cheap. Ok, you might seem a little cheap, but savvy consumerism can be sexy. Ready? First up: Flowers.
What to Do With A Vehicle At The End of A Lease
By 1.22.07
A reader wrote into Bankrate and asked what he should do with his truck now that the lease was up. Should he buy it for the residual price, or simply lease a new truck?
Use Your DirecTV Remote To Power XBOX 360
By 1.22.07
Step 2) Press 991, then press 2. Now, press Power.
10 Ways To Build A Down Payment
By 1.19.07
If the one thing standing between you and your dream home is a down payment, Bankrate has some suggestions that may help you come up with one:
Everything You Wanted To Know About Canceling Verizon But Were Afraid To Ask
By 1.19.07
Hey there. It’s us, your friendly Consumer blog. We know you’d like to cancel your Verizon contract, but it can be a little intimidating… particularly because Verizon doesn’t want to honor the terms of your contract, and you may be afraid of them. That’s sad, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Come with us now as we take a journey to month-to-month bliss. Remember, a contract goes two-ways, regardless of what some companies may think.
How To: Upgrade to Windows Vista
By 1.18.07
Let’s face it, you must want those semi-transparent windows or whatever, because they keep showing them to us. Look, look, “special windows!” Ok, awesome. But how do you get Vista onto your Windows XP machine? Can you even upgrade? Will your computer even run it?
Get Refunds with Price Protectr
By 1.17.07
Lifehacker points the way to Price Protectr, a website that “monitors popular online stores for price drops on items you’ve purchased, then notifies you if the price drops at any time during that store’s price protection period.”
Protect Your Rebate Check: Get Your Rebate Receipts Notarized
By 1.16.07
If you really want to protect your ass in case the rebate company arbitrarily decides your rebate claim is expired, get your receipt notarized. Writes Tian:
6 Dinners You Can Make In One Pot
By 1.16.07
Real Simple has 6 dinners that you can make in one pot, and they look mighty tasty. Making one-pot dinners is awesome. At this very moment we are making Italian Beef in our kitchen, which is another thing you can make in one pot. We will not give you that recipe, however, because it is our secret recipe. —MEGHANN MARCO
Have A Spice Trading Party
By 1.15.07
- First, get friends to commit and submit a list of spices they want. Then, have one or two people go to the store and purchase all of the spices on your friends’ list. They should also buy a bunch of the smallest Gladware (or similar cheap tupperware) containers you can find and some labels. Then get everyone together to divide up the spices and pay their fair share.
This is a great idea. The days of being hit on the head with a huge sack of bay leaves are over. —MEGHANN MARCO
Save Money By Exfoliating With Baking Soda
By 1.12.07
Let us know how that works out. —MEGHANN MARCO
Cheap Greenhouse: Grow Plants From Seed
By 1.12.07
Remember when you did crap like this in first grade? Wasn’t that fun? Yes, it was. Recapture your lost youth by growing some plants from seed on a sunny windowsill. With this greenhouse from Instructables, you can:
New Year’s Resolutions for Your Computer
By 1.9.07
And lo, the back-up drive we ordered from Office Depot did arrive on time. And there was rejoicing. And there was reading of the website “Lifehacker.” And then there was further rejoicing, for Lifehacker had posted 7 New Years Resolutions for the PC. And they were good.—MEGHANN MARCO
