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Posted
Sep 22 2008, 03:33 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
A story about a mother bargaining with her small daughter prompted "R" at Retired at 47 to think of purchases in a new way. It goes something like this: If you have a choice between buying $300 slacks or a pair for $50 (or even less), think about whether the more expensive slacks are six times better. Or, as she says, "Is the price ratio worth it?"
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Posted
Aug 01 2008, 03:24 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Kay Bell at Don't Mess With Taxes has the skinny on an event we're unfamiliar with (we live Montana, where every day is a sales tax holiday): Many states are waiving sales tax on purchases of school supplies, computers and clothing this weekend or later this month. Often, the holiday applies to local sales tax as well. The celebration doesn't stop there. During the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, South Carolina is waiving sales tax when people buy handguns, shotguns and rifles. And another round of tax-free days is coming up for energy-efficient appliances and other products in a few states.
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Posted
Jun 14 2008, 08:22 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Here's a concept we can wrap our mind around: A Bankrate article talks about 12 "new necessities" of modern living that are actually "entitlements" we can do without. The article quotes psychotherapist Olivia Mellan by way of explanation: A lot of us in wealthy, overspending America are either born or raised with a tremendous sense of entitlement. We say to ourselves,"I work hard or, I work at a job I hate -- at least I should be able to have a Starbucks coffee every day or eat out for lunch." But of course, those are not needs, they're wants. They're pleasures.
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Posted
May 22 2008, 10:12 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Ron at The Wisdom Journal has recently written some in-depth posts about weighty topics, like often-overlooked disability insurance and the oft-ignored benefits of higher gas prices. So we were caught off guard by his equally thorough post (including photos) about how to iron a shirt. "Yikes! Did he say ironing?" Ron writes, anticipating readers' reaction. But when taking shirts to the cleaners costs more than $3 each, you can save $65 or more a month by doing it yourself.
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Posted
Apr 22 2008, 03:18 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
An article at MSN Money about things you should buy only when they're new prompted Mrs. Nespy at Mrs. Nespy's World to come up with her own top 10 list. Among her items: child car seats, helmets, mattresses, children's shoes, makeup, hot tubs and many car parts. She also offers an action plan if you really can't afford to buy these things new.
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Posted
Mar 03 2008, 12:29 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Pregnant ladies, don't rush out and buy a bunch of new stuff for the bundle of joy. "They don't need expensive little outfits -- babies can't read the tag to know whether the outfit came from Gymboree or whether it was purchased at babyGap," writes Tiffany at Nature Moms Blog. Hand-me-down clothes and other baby items are easier on the budget and the environment, she says. Other ways to save money: Clip coupons and look for coupon codes in new-mother magazine classifieds and at Web sites, make your own cloth diapers, and ***-feed your newborn. If you can't, choose glass or nontoxic plastic bottles.
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Posted
Feb 25 2008, 07:23 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Count on Lynnae at Being Frugal to assemble a comprehensive list of money-saving tips for the home and garden. Her "75 frugal hacks for your home" includes lots of great information on home maintenance and improvement, including a number we hadn't heard before and definitely need to incorporate into our routine. "The cost of living is going up, and oftentimes salaries aren't going up to meet those costs," she writes. "In response to the money crunch, ordinary people like you and me need to cut costs to make ends meet." Dirty miniblinds? Put an old sock on your hand, dampen it with rubbing alcohol and then run your hand along the blinds. Lime deposits clogging up the showerhead? Tie a plastic bag filled with vinegar around it for an hour "and you should be good to go," Lynnae says.
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Posted
Feb 25 2008, 11:08 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Did you know that you can recycle old appliances, computers and other "technotrash," and even used tennis shoes? Co-op America Quarterly offers a list of 21 things that can be recycled or reused, instead of ending up in the nation's landfills. For instance, Nike's Reuse-a-Shoe program grinds up old sneakers and incorporates the "Nike Grind" into playing surfaces like basketball courts. One World Running makes donated shoes available to athletes in Third World countries. Recycline makes toothbrushes and razors from plastic yogurt containers and then recycles those products once again to manufacture plastic lumber.
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Posted
Feb 20 2008, 05:24 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Shana at Smart Easy Money knows it can be tiresome -- even patronizing -- to say something like "If I knew at your age what I know now." But Shana, at the ripe old age of 37, manages to explain 10 financial lessons she wishes she'd known in her 20s with humor and good grace. Lesson One: "Save early and often." Shana regrets that she didn't contribute to a 401(k) until she was 29, and then put in only 4%. She adds: "Well, I did have a 401(k) for about 15 minutes when I was 23, but I'd only contributed about $20. By the time I paid the fees for cashing it out (when I left the job), it was only about $3."
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Posted
Feb 14 2008, 07:06 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Lazy Man debuted a new occasional series on celebrity finances by examining the spending habits of Sarah Michelle Gellar. She's the former star of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a show Lazy Man says he watched obsessively. He gleaned details about the actress he refers to simply as "Sarah" from a profile in Self magazine. "I've watched enough 'Buffy' to pretend I'm on a first-name basis with her," Lazy Man explains. Lazy Man is quite impressed with Sarah's frugality, he says in his post at Lazy Man and Money. When "Buffy" first aired, she bought a Chrysler LeBaron, not a Porsche. She now uses a bicycle to get around New York City.
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