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Posted
Mar 29 2008, 12:38 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
If you track the blogosphere, it seems that the popularity of the humble dollar store is soaring, and that these stores aren't as humble as they used to be. Imagine this: The extremely picky "Mrs. Badger" at Lipstick is my Crack has even switched from body wash to bar soap because she found soaps she loves at the dollar store. "Yeah! It's not all Irish Spring and Lifebuoy up in there anymore, y'all! And it's not all no-name generic soaps made out of battery acid and bacon grease (I just made that up; don't e-mail me) anymore, either," she writes. In fact, the august New York Times, which caters to a crowd that can hardly be called frugal, featured writer Henry Alford's experiment to incorporate items from 99-cent stores into his cooking, culminating with a dinner featuring only such fare. It sounded delicious. But not everyone is thrilled with the food and other common dollar store products.
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Posted
Jul 30 2009, 09:30 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jon Hood at partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.
Many modern-day baseball stadiums prohibit smoking, but cancer danger apparently still lurks around the corner: An anti-meat consumer group alleges in a class-action that hot dogs pose serious health risks and need to carry warning labels.
The lawsuit was filed in Essex County, N.J., by The Cancer Project on behalf of three New Jersey residents. Among the named defendants are Nathan's Famous; Kraft Foods, which manufactures Oscar Mayer wieners; Sara Lee; ConAgra, which makes Hebrew National franks; and Marathon, manufacturer of Sabrett, "the frankfurter New Yorker's [sic] relish."
The plaintiffs envision a warning label similar to the one on cigarette packages. The wording would look something like: "Warning: Consuming hot dogs and other processed meats increases the risk of cancer."
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Posted
Nov 26 2007, 09:37 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Yesterday I bought a pound of Starbucks coffee for just 99 cents. You, too, can get super-cheap brew, either for gift-giving or for your own frugal morning buzz. All you need is some empty inkjet print cartridges and proximity to a Staples or Office Max. Both businesses give $3 in store credit for each ink cartridge; certain brands are not accepted, so check each company's rules. The stores where I live let me use up to three credits, or $9 worth, per transaction. Both sell a number of holiday gift items: hoity-toity chocolates, fancy cookies, and specialty coffees, teas and flavored cocoas. Over the weekend I shopped for art supplies for a community gift program. At Staples, I noticed the coffee cost $9.99. I handed over three cartridges and a buck, and walked out with a penny in change and a pound of java. Had I been at Office Max, the brew would have been from another hometown brand, Seattle's Best Coffee . Jitter bells This is a frugalist's dream: nearly free gifts, or nearly free morning
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Posted
Apr 23 2008, 05:45 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Shades of World War II: Two warehouse-type retail chains in the United States are rationing rice as anxious customers stock up because of a worldwide shortage. It's the most startling sign that the world food crisis is making itself felt in the United States. But, despite rising food prices here, we've still got it good compared with some developing countries, where food shortages and price hikes have sparked deadly riots.
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Posted
Sep 21 2009, 04:14 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jon Hood at partner site ConsumerAffairs.com.
Dannon has settled a consumer class-action lawsuit alleging that ads for certain brands of its yogurt overstate their claimed health benefits. The settlement will shell out $35 million to affected consumers.
The suit alleged that ads for both Activia and DanActive yogurt exaggerated their beneficial effects on human health. The ads promote the yogurt as improving digestion and have become well known for their goofiness; a recent Activia iteration features actress Jamie Lee Curtis, seated on a couch, noting that "our busy lives sometimes force us to eat the wrong things at the wrong times," and promoting Activia as the solution to "digestive issues."
A voiceover in the ad claims that Activia is "clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system in two weeks" if eaten every day.
The ads credit Bifidus Regularis, a Dannon-created name for bacteria found in mammals' large intestines, with Activia's positive effects on digestion.
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Posted
Sep 03 2008, 06:02 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Carrie Kirby at partner blog Wise Bread. I used to consider myself a frugal shopper, without following the cardinal rule of setting and sticking to a grocery budget. Inspired by Wise Bread and other personal-finance blogs, a few months ago I finally took the plunge and set an $80-a-week budget. I know that some people manage to spend as little as half that to feed a family of four (the two kids are little enough that they don't eat much), but for us $80 has been a challenge.
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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
Mar 16 2009, 01:50 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Is Sam's Club cheaper than Costco? Ashley at Wide Open Wallet wanted to know, so she did a price comparison of 33 items.
The result? The items, in total, would have cost $399.47 at Sam's Club and $406.41 at Costco. About a dozen of the items were cheaper or the same price at Costco. Otherwise, Sam's Club ruled. She also notes that Sam's Club has a cheaper membership fee and a clearance section. (Her Costco does not.)
Regardless, she still prefers Costco. Here's why:
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Posted
Oct 09 2007, 08:52 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
I had a $1 steak for lunch, but it was no one-buck chuck. It was certified Angus beef sirloin, with no hormones or antibiotics, and “minimally processed,” according to the label. In addition, this steer apparently ate only vegetarians: The label also said “100 percent vegetarian diet.”
How’d it get to be a dollar? First it went on sale, then it got old.
Meat department managers keep a constant vigil against meat that’s close to its sell-by date. They need to sell that flesh pronto, so they discount it deeply.
That’s how people like me end up with steaks whose original per-pound cost was one and a half times the federal minimum wage. That same shopping trip netted me a two-pack of sirloins that initially cost $8.99 a pound; I paid $4.07 total. Another pair of steaks cost just $1.24 and $1.52.
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Posted
Mar 19 2009, 05:00 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Erin's annual budget for food, health and beauty items, and cleaning supplies for a family of four and two dogs is $800. That food category includes occasional dining out.
We read about her budget and blog, Jane4girls $800 Annual Budget, at Frugal Dad, and wondered, how can she do that? It seemed almost beyond belief. She has three daughters -- ages 18, 11 and 10.
We now know some of her secrets -- coupons matched with sales, stockpiling, gardening, ExtraCare bucks, Swag Bucks, and the list goes on -- and they are doable. She also earns gift cards or gets them through special promotions; she never buys them "as that would defeat the purpose," she says. That's a gift card strategy that even Liz Pulliam Weston could like.
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