If you spend a lot of time online, you’re probably aware of phishing scams and know what to look out for. In other words, you’re not one of those ignorant types who clicks on links and starts entering personal information without hesitation. Writer and blogger Cory Doctorow is what you might call hyper-vigilant–he keeps unique passwords, uses a VPN when going online in public, and generally knows not to trust strangers. Still, he got phished a couple of weeks ago. [More]
tips
How To Fit 10 Days Worth Of Stuff In A Standard Carry-On
The NYT has a slideshow that demonstrates how a flight attendant packs enough stuff for a 10 day trip into her carry-on. Yeah! This is how you do it! Now if only Amazon would hire this lady. [More]
POLL: Which Services Do You Tip For?
As many Consumerist readers have pointed out over the years, you’re generally under no obligation to leave a tip for someone who provides you a service. That being said, most of us still do — and for a seemingly increasing number of services. That’s why we want to know about those situations in which you almost always leave a little extra. [More]
How To Live Out Of Your Car
A few days ago, someone posted on reddit that he was divorced, unemployed, and now living out of his car. This prompted someone who’d already had the experience to post a list of tips for the (hopefully temporarily) homeless, including safe/legal places to park, strategies for staying clean, and how to maintain social connections. How does he know all this stuff? He lived out of his truck for over a year and saved his money to pay off $17k in debt. [More]
Calculator Tells You Whether to Rent Or Buy
The New York Times has a soul-soothing calculator that lets you know whether you’d be better off renting or buying. [More]
What To Say To Your Cable Company To Get Them To Lower Your Bill
Readers have told us the best way to save money on your cable bill without the hassle of actually switching is to call them up and negotiate… but what should you actually say?
Pre-Game Warm-Up: [More]
How To Use Makeup Testers Without Giving Yourself A Disease
Elizabeth Brooks, a professor at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, has some advice for people trying out makeup when they’re out shopping. As most people know, makeup can harbor bacteria and viruses, and shared testers are the worst offenders: Brooks tested hundreds of makeup counter samples for a study and found 100% of it was contaminated with things like staph, strep, and E. coli. [More]
Tax Tips: What to Do If You're Late
It has finally arrived — April 15 — Tax Day.
Today is the deadline for filing your 2009 federal and state income tax returns. The envelopes must be postmarked by midnight tonight.
Tax Tips: IRA Contribution Deadline
Did you claim a deduction for an IRA contribution on your 2009 Form 1040? Or were you planning to make a non-deductible contribution to a traditional or Roth IRA for 2009 but haven’t done so yet? If the answer is yes, you better make sure your contribution is in the bank or in the mail. [More]
How To Find A Good Local Bank
So you’re tired of banking at one of the big, faceless national chains and want to keep your money local? You can try one of the recent sites devoted to the local bank movement, like anewwayforward.org or moveyourmoney.info, or you can follow this Kiplinger columnist’s lead and do it yourself with a little online research. [More]
Should You Tip The Owner Of A Restaurant If He Delivers Your Food?
Daniel recently had an interesting tipping dilemma. He ordered a smoked brisket from a locally owned barbecue place, and had it delivered. Unexpectedly, the restaurant owner himself showed up to deliver the brisket. So, he asks: should he have tipped the restaurant owner? [More]
How To Take Care Of Your Dishwasher, Washing Machine, And Oven
My friends broke the high-efficiency (H.E.) washing machine in their new apartment last year because they were using too much soap. Alina Tugend at the New York Times says it’s a common problem–one repairman told her that “most people use 10 to 15 times the amount of soap they need.” [More]
Making The Most Of Medical Expense Tax Deductions
Kiplinger has advice on on how to maximize your medical expense deductions at tax time. You can only deduct out-of-pocket expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, so you should try to bundle medical procedures in the same year if possible. [More]
How To Polish A Scratched iPhone
Replacing an iPhone is expensive, which is why this guy decided to buy a heavily used and damaged one and clean it up himself. You might find the screen replacement side too daunting, but the procedure for turning a dull, scratched case into a glossy smooth one is something pretty much anyone can do. [More]
It's National Consumer Protection Week!
The FTC has designated this week National Consumer Protection Week, so all scams will be put on hold and businesses won’t overcharge you until next Sunday. What, no? That’s now how it works? Ah… it looks like it’s more about consumer education, which is also a good thing since that will help consumers protect themselves year round. For adults, here’s a whole page of various scam prevention tips, fact sheets, and videos. If you’re an educator, you can enroll in the National Financial Capability Challenge and get an “educator toolkit” to help you teach students how to be smart consumers. There’s a section for businesses too, with information on how to protect customers’ personal info and deter ID theft. [More]