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Posted
Oct 06 2008, 06:45 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We've already seen "the incredible shrinking Doritos bag." Now, The Detroit News reports, the price of those handy vending machine snacks is on the rise -- in some places up to 15 cents per item. Blame the cost of ingredients (including that mainstay of bad nutrition -- high-fructose corn syrup), plastic packaging and energy -- and flat demand as job layoffs cut into the vending machine companies' customer base. As for the people who still go to work every day, they're getting the message that it's a lot cheaper and can be less fattening to bring snacks from home.
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Posted
Sep 29 2008, 02:04 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Krispy Kreme's business plan has been one we just can't understand. How could a company that sells hot, irresistibly mouth-watering doughnuts have declining sales? But it does, and now the company is hoping to heat up business by serving ice cream. Ice cream? We have to wonder, if delectable glazed -- did we mention hot? -- doughnuts aren't enough to get customers in the door, is another high-calorie indulgence you can find in lots of other stores going to help?
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Posted
Sep 02 2008, 11:14 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Consider this argument: If you hire someone to clean your home, iron your clothes or do your laundry, you're probably being lazy. You may argue that you're saving money because, after all, doesn't time equal money? Not always, says blogger Dorian Wales at The Personal Financier. "I believe many of us overvalue our spare time," he writes. " ... The main motivator behind outsourcing chores is probably laziness."
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Posted
Aug 20 2008, 09:24 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
When a Smart Spending message board reader posting as "jestjack" gave his daughter $10 for fast food, he expected to get back a bunch of change. He didn't. It cost his daughter more than $7 to get chicken strips, fries and a drink. In a thread called "Where have I been?" Jestjack remembered filling up his 1973 Chevy for $7. "I feel like I'm Rip Van Winkle," he lamented. "Anybody else going through sticker shock like this?"
Yep. In high school, I was able to get a cheeseburger and fries for less than a buck. Nowadays, I could easily spend $7 on the "extra value" menu. Or I could spend that money at Barriga Llena ("full belly"), a tiny restaurant that specializes in meaty Mexican sandwiches called tortas. I'd be supporting a small local business, and I might even practice my Spanish if I could be certain they'd hold their guffaws until I left the restaurant.
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Posted
Aug 06 2008, 06:00 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
How do we know there's such a thing as too much frugality in the kitchen? Because Marge Simpson once said to her daughter: "Lisa, I made you some homemade Pepsi for the dance; it's a little thick but the price is right." That's from the excellent post "Cutting calories and saving d'oh: 25 lessons 'The Simpsons' taught me about cheap, healthy eating" at Cheap Healthy Good. The author, Kris, is the most entertaining food-and-frugality blogger out there, but we think she's outdone herself with this one.
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Posted
Aug 05 2008, 03:23 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Just how much caffeine does a person need in one day? Plenty, or so suggests Starbucks, which today rolled out a new nationwide promotion to entice morning customers back for a same-day afternoon fix. It's just the latest in a series of short-term discounts and freebies designed to get repeat traffic into Starbucks' shrinking number of stores. This one was available for a test drive in several locations around the country before its unveiling today at every store.
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Posted
Aug 05 2008, 08:48 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Joseph S. Enoch at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com. Nearly all kids meals at national restaurant chains exceed the recommended number of calories for a child's meal, according to a report by a consumer advocacy organization. "When you take a kid out to a restaurant, virtually every meal aimed at kids is above their suggested caloric intake," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the not-for-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest. A report from CSPI said 93% of 1,474 kids meal combos at 13 chains exceed the limit of 430 calories that experts recommend for 4- to 8-year-olds for one meal. Topping the list were two items from Chili's kids menu that each offered just over 1,000 calories, while many others contained 700 or more.
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Posted
Jul 18 2008, 01:09 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Mike at Clever Dude recently faced one of those "does this make me look cheap?" moments. He and Stacie were part of a group of 11 honoring a departing colleague with dinner. Mike and Stacie split a veggie main course after everyone shared appetizers, and they drank water. Others had meat dishes and drinks. When it was time to pay, the others decided the bill should be split evenly, which would cost Mike and Stacie a lot more than the price of their actual meals. What do you do when you're faced with that situation?
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Posted
Jul 15 2008, 11:02 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We like the new blogger who posts at Sallie's Niece. She "went to school thanks to my Aunt Sallie Mae," her site says. "Now watch me struggle to pay and pay." She owes $72,735 to Sallie Mae, and that's not including a nearly equal amount in private loans. Sometimes it is a struggle. She has done battle with the "Evil Overdraft Monster" and payday loans. Her latest nemesis -- now vanquished after two years -- was the gyros truck outside her workplace. "At five days a week for three months each year, I am just now realizing that I spent $900, a whole emergency fund's worth of George Washingtons, on very thinly cut lamb rolled in pita bread with some tomatoes and onions!" Our foodie heart goes out to you, Sallie's Niece.
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Posted
Jul 14 2008, 07:14 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We love questions like this one asked by Nickel at FiveCentNickel: "What is your biggest financial vice?" You just never know what people are going to say. Readers name pretty common splurges, like lunches out, and then someone comes out with a zinger. For instance, after Nickel and others estimated they spend $1,000 to $2,000 more a year than they'd like on eating out, they heard from reader "TSModie." "Is a couple of thousand dollars a year really affecting your finances? If so, you need to start making more money," said TSModie, who lost $20,000 on gambling last year.
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