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Posted
Sep 24 2009, 02:00 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Americans are crazy for coupons again -- clipping at rates not seen in years, and the attraction is not just the 30 cents off the canned corn, The New York Times reports. It's a psychological boost, a feeling that we're proactive and therefore better than those who pay full price.
As the Times puts it, "Because it takes more work to acquire them, the people who do so feel they have outsmarted other shoppers." It's kind of like that "delicious feeling of self-denial" inherent in frugality that our pal Frank Curmudgeon likes to write about at Bad Money Advice. We're saving money and feeling good in a way that's kind of creepy.
Our collective renewed love of the coupon is also good timing. Food prices have fallen by 2.5% since an ugly high point last November, with the biggest single decline between July and August.
Here are some interesting coupon factoids from the Times and other locations:
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Posted
Sep 21 2009, 01:13 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The jack-o'-lantern outlook in New England and parts of the Midwest looks a fright. A combination of wet and cold ruined a bunch of the pumpkin crop, and what's left in some fields is taking its own sweet time to ripen.
Not to worry, Halloween fans. The crop in most of the country's pumpkin patch looks fine, The Associated Press reports.
What's aggravating people is a shortage of canned pumpkin on store shelves.
"Holy smokes. Our stores have big empty shelves where the canned pumpkin should be. What's going on?" "CarolynF" wrote at lowcarbfriends.com.
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Posted
Sep 17 2009, 05:14 PM
by
Teresa Mears
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Is it time to tax sugary drinks?
Another group is saying yes. In a paper published in the Sept. 16 issues of the Journal of the American Medical Association, a group of public health experts is advocating a tax of one cent per ounce on sugary beverages, The New York Times reported. The tax would apply to soft drinks, energy drinks, sports beverages and many juices and iced teas -- but not sugar-free drinks.
According to this group's research, a beverage tax would lower consumption of soda and other sweet drinks, leading to a small weight loss and better health for many Americans.
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Posted
Sep 16 2009, 05:15 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Alex Wayne at partner blog Wise Bread.
Looking for more money-saving ideas during these tough economic times? Dig that food dehydrator out of storage. This is a frugal living tip that almost everyone can act on. Just by reducing or eliminating food waste, you can save quite a bit of money.
Don't have a dehydrator? These days, you can buy a brand new one for less than the cost of a PlayStation game. Or, visit the flea market or yard sales around the neighborhood. Still can't find one? Try Craigslist. Don't have any money for another kitchen appliance? Alton Brown will show you how to make one.
Bing: Choosing a food dehydrator
Here are nine ways a dehydrator can help you stretch your budget:
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Posted
Aug 10 2009, 11:43 AM
by
Teresa Mears
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Everybody knows that one way to save money on groceries is to eat less meat. In these lean times, lots of people have been rediscovering beans and rice, staple foods of many traditional cuisines.
Now there's an international movement for a Meatless Monday. While the motivations are environment and health, eating less meat is still a good way to save money.
And, of course, being healthier saves money, too.
Our mother loved telling the story about the time she sent for some free recipes from a woman's magazine, which offered to match the recipes to the food budget. The magazine wrote back that they didn't have any recipes for a budget that low and asked if she had considered food stamps. Mom was a good shopper, but she also benefitted from the fact that four of her six children wouldn't eat meat. And everybody went meatless on Friday as part of the traditional Catholic observance. Those Friday night pancake dinners were really cheap.
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Posted
Jun 19 2009, 09:08 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Want to save a bunch on groceries? Make this the official "Clean Out the Cupboards and Freezer Month." Smart Spending message board reader "mdwilson" does it each June and it pays off big-time.
Not only does she save at least a couple of hundred bucks, she gets rid of the mystery meat.
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Posted
Jun 12 2009, 09:59 AM
by
Joan Melcher
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
If you’ve gotten sticker shock when you’ve contemplated buying organic food products, help is on the way. Stonyfield Farm is offering coupons on many popular organic products in a venture similar to the Kraft Foods promotion that had the Web buzzing last month
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Posted
May 28 2009, 08:13 AM
by
Catherine Holahan
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
 The family dog is the latest casualty of rising foreclosures.
As more families are forced to sell their homes, an increasing number of pets are being left behind in shelters or, worse, empty houses. Though it is difficult to put an exact figure on the number of abandoned pets, shelters across the country say they are seeing double-digit percentage increases in the number of animals left in their care. The Humane Society estimates that more than 3 million animals will be euthanized this year.
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Posted
May 11 2009, 11:46 AM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We just printed out 13 coupons and we’re not even the coupon-clipping type. The $50 Kraft Delicious Summer Savings deal was too tempting to pass up. A few bloggers have posted about it, including Deal Seeking Mom, where readers pointed to several coupon-pairing possibilities.
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Posted
May 05 2009, 02:46 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Now that gardening is all the rage, some bloggers are wondering how many people will follow through once they get the seeds in the ground.
After all, those little plants need help. This takes work.
Suppose you do take this up. How can you tell whether your garden will end up saving you money or whether it's bound to disappoint? Blogger "pfadvice" shed some light on that question in a post at Saving Advice by comparing the methods of her neighbor, who's new to gardening, and her own. She's an old hand.
The neighbor's first mistake: buying a rototiller for a small garden patch.
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