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Posted
Oct 06 2008, 01:12 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
It took watching "Real Time with Bill Maher" for us to learn that U.S. automakers will get a rescue in the form of a $25 billion loan approved by the federal government last week. Although business writers were all over this, we, like a lot of other people, were distracted by all of the $700 billion bailout news. The much smaller but still massive automaker rescue, signed by President Bush on Sept. 30, will enable General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to borrow $25 billion at about half the going market rate -- "nice terms if you can get them," opined the Wall Street Journal. It won't have to be paid back for five years.
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Posted
Sep 30 2008, 12:53 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Frugal Babe" knows how to get the most from a car. Her 1991 Honda Civic has 214,000 miles and is still going strong. Her husband's 1990 Audi has 110,000 miles. If one of the vehicles dies, they'll become a one-car family. So when a reader complained that her parents are trying to force her a buy a brand new, "safer" car to replace a paid-off Subaru, Frugal Babe was ready with advice. Part of it came in the form of a question: How many people "on the interstate driving 80 mph, talking on the phone, 15 feet behind the car in front of them, bought their new car because of the safety features?" Or, allow us to paraphrase: Are you really making a frugal choice if you buy a huge vehicle for safety reasons and you figure that allows you to drive like a jerk?
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Posted
Sep 16 2008, 03:09 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of U.S. teenagers. So why shouldn't we talk about raising the legal driving age? "BeThisWay" at Are You Going To Be This Way The Rest Of The Time I Know You? tackled the question head-on in a post called "Captain Obvious reports: 16-year-olds maybe shouldn't be licensed." Her conclusion may surprise you.
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Posted
Sep 16 2008, 10:14 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
David G. Mitchell at Saving Advice is an expert telecommuter. A man ahead of his time, he's been doing it for eight years. So who better to explain how we can all convince our bosses to let us work at home. Some of his 16 arguments on behalf of telecommuting are obvious: If you're working at home, you avoid those little personality conflicts that can become major workplace distractions -- and those nasty office politics. Others are less so: You will actually get a lot more work done if you're doing it at home. Now, that's something that will get the boss's attention.
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Posted
Sep 09 2008, 12:10 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Las Vegas car dealer Dan Towbin got smart, as it were, and closed his Hummer dealership. Now he's going to sell Europe's ubiquitous and tiny Smart car. It's due to America's collective decision that smaller is better when it comes to vehicles. The super-sized Hummer is "yesterday's fashion statement ... sort of the automotive equivalent to Hula-Hoops," Sheldon Sandler, an investment banker who specializes in dealerships, told The Wall Street Journal's Deal Journal.
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Posted
Sep 05 2008, 04:17 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
There's an interesting debate going on at Prime Time Money about whether it's smarter to buy a new or used car. Right now, used seems to be winning. What do you think? Before you jump in, read the exchange between "PT" and contributor "J." It's instructional and highly amusing. PT also gives great tips to use whether you're buying a new or used car. Here's a serious part, with J arguing for a new car: PRO (J): Interest rate of 1.9%.
CON (PT): The rate may be low but your monthly payment is almost certainly going to be much higher. Not to mention off-the-lot depreciation. That's money you could be using for retirement savings or your kid's education.
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Posted
Sep 03 2008, 02:12 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Better gas mileage can be had from what used to be standard in cars -- the manual transmission, or stick shift. But how many drivers know how to use one these days?
It's a lost art, but a very efficient one. For its October issue, Consumer Reports bought two versions of seven different cars -- ranging from a $15,800 Scion to a $24,000 Mini Cooper -- and found a gain of 2 to 5 mpg with a standard versus automatic transmission in the same model.
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Posted
Aug 28 2008, 02:50 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The blogger who brought us a blow-by-blow description of how to make a month's worth of lunches in 25 minutes now tackles another great do-it-yourself project: how to change the oil in your vehicle. OK, the post about a 23-day supply of PBJ sandwiches was funny. Mike's oil-change post at Clever Dude is the real deal for those who want to cut spending by tackling routine chores they now outsource. After your initial purchase of equipment, he estimates how long it will take before you begin saving money.
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Posted
Aug 14 2008, 03:19 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We have great memories from our many travels across the country by bus: the image of the first working cowboy we'd ever seen as we crossed into New Mexico, a new card game we learned from fellow passengers as we pulled out of the Chicago terminal, our first visits to New Orleans and San Francisco. As Amy L. Fontinelle at Two Pennies Earned says, the bus is an affordable alternative to plane and train travel. The round-trip fare between New York City and Washington, D.C., is about $20 to $40 depending on which bus company you use.
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Posted
Jul 31 2008, 07:06 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Brainy Smurf" at Pants in a Can isn't unhappy to see car leasing apparently going the way of the dinosaur. In fact, he's practically gloating. After seeing an NBC News report on the Big Three automakers' moves to discourage or totally eliminate leasing, he wrote: "Only being able to drive something that you can actually afford? "How dare they!" he added, snarkily.
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