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Posted
Aug 12 2009, 06:20 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Some customers were likely breathless as they pushed the "add to cart" button at Best Buy's Web site. The big draw? A Samsung 52-inch HDTV that appeared on the chain's Web site for the unbelievably low sale price of $9.99.
Best Buy corrected the error hours later and announced that any orders processed at that price would not be honored. (You can find screen shots of the ad and an order placed by Augustine Fou at his go-Digital Blog.) But what's truly amazing about all this is that so many people are ticked off.
Bing: Best HDTVs
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Posted
Feb 06 2009, 11:23 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from PT at Prime Time Money.
I've written a lot lately about getting rid of debts and reducing expenses. I thought it was time I address the flip side of your finances: making more money. Thanks to suggestions by my Twitter followers, readers and other bloggers, I've been able to put together a solid list of 52 ways to make extra money. Most, if not all, can be done even with a full-time job.
I obviously haven't tried all of these methods, but when possible I've tried to link to an example of the opportunity actually making money. You should be able to find something here that fits you and your skills.
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Posted
Feb 23 2009, 05:27 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.
I've had several requests lately to update my two-year quest to find cheap alternatives to cable television.
In March of 2007, Kris and I were paying $65.82 for a deluxe digital cable package that we rarely used. I wrote at that time that "$65.82 a month isn't a fortune, but it's a lot of money to pay for something that doesn't get used. If we were big TV watchers, maybe the cost could be justified. But we aren't. And it can't."
To save money, we cut our cable to just the basic channels, which reduced our bill to $11.30 a month. We also began to use the iTunes Music Store to subscribe to the shows that we wanted to watch. And over the past year, I've become a fan of Hulu, an online service that allows users to watch many past and current shows for free.
Here's an overview of the tools we use, and how much money we've managed to save.
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Posted
Sep 18 2007, 12:25 PM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Something for nothing? Sign me up!
Sign up a whole bunch of us, apparently. Readers of the Smart Spending message board recently revealed the best ways to troll the Internet for freebies. Seems their mailboxes spill like busted piñatas with toys, gift cards, sample toiletries, OTC meds, T-shirts, magazines – and even cold, hard cash.
And then there are those freebie endorphins.
"I just like the idea of getting stuff for free," said Karen, a Pacific Northwest reader, who got "a nice Adidas tote bag" from My Coke Rewards.
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Posted
Jun 30 2009, 01:48 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The concert promoter that organized the 50 sold-out "This is It" London performances that Michael Jackson will never give is offering disappointed fans a choice: A refund of the $125 or so they paid -- or the actual ticket, which the promoter says was designed by Jackson himself as a keepsake.
"Since he loved his fans in life, it is incumbent upon us to treat them with the same reverence and respect after his death," Randy Phillips, president and CEO of AEG Live, said in a statement. In fact, AEG suggested in an article in TheWrap that thousands of people are clamoring for the tickets.
Other fans are more than skeptical.
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Posted
Jul 10 2009, 02:28 PM
by
Catherine Holahan
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
 Look up Astro Turf on Amazon and you'll find plenty of books dedicated to the name-brand synthetic grass. But the word has a new meaning for the e-commerce giant and other sites that accept online customer reviews.
Astro turf, or more appropriately the verb "astroturfing," is slang for posting fake reviews. It's a form of what public relations folks like to call "guerilla marketing."
To define it more clearly, astro turf is fake grass-roots support generated by paid marketers who post rave reviews online. The thinking behind astroturfing is that unsuspecting consumers are more likely to buy a product if a fellow customer -- or someone who at least appears to be a customer -- has something nice to say.
The problem with astroturfing -- other than the questionable ethics behind it -- is that consumers have gotten wise to the practice. No longer do they blindly trust a positive review from a seemingly satisfied customer.
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Posted
Feb 12 2009, 06:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Greg Go at partner blog Wise Bread.
These 10 Web sites help you save or make money in innovative ways, yet they are relatively unknown. We learned of these guys while doing research for the Wise Bread book coming out in May. (You've got your copy preordered, right?) Enjoy the list, and share with your friends. Don't forget to chime in with more money-saving sites in the comments.
Zilok. Weird name but incredibly cool concept, Zilok is basically eBay for rentals. You can rent your stuff out or rent someone else's stuff for a day. For owners, get more out of your purchases -- just a few rentals could pay for the item. For renters, you can save money by renting, instead of buying, seldom-used items. Stuff like canoes, laptops, cameras, cars, books, baby strollers, and everything in between is available for rent from someone near you.
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Posted
May 02 2008, 09:00 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
About six weeks ago I wrote an essay about why getting rid of some of the clutter in your life could help you save money. Yesterday I read an Associated Press article about people who are emptying closets and attics just to keep the wolf from the door.
Online auctions are bristling with family heirlooms, home electronics and designer duds. Craigslist ads are getting increasingly frantic, like the one in which a teen begged on behalf of her unemployed mom for people to "please buy anything you can to help out." One cash-strapped Wisconsin woman put her diamond engagement ring up for grabs.
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Posted
Oct 19 2007, 03:19 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The Internet provides numerous ways to get free books (usually for the cost of shipping), but the most unusual is BookCrossing . We learned about this site in an invaluable post by The Bargainist about online book exchanges. BookCrossing members leave books "in the wild" in hopes that other avid readers will pick them up and, hopefully, notify the site. A worldwide map gives updates on their "catch" and "release." You can find out about books "in the wild" in your town. (For instance, 44 books are ready to be picked up in Forsyth, Mont. Twenty-three books were set free in Glasgow, Ky., in the last three days.) The Bargainist also describes how to use BookMooch , Paperback Swap , Readers United and other free or cheap online book sources.
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Posted
Nov 05 2007, 06:00 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly . There is more to personal finance than raw numbers. If everyone based personal-finance decisions solely on the math, we wouldn't need personal-finance books (or personal-finance blogs, for that matter). We'd all be rich. In reality, our money decisions are influenced by psychology, emotion and, especially, personal values. For every financial transaction, we weigh a variety of personal values to arrive at a choice that makes sense in the context of our world view. For example, it's important to me to support local businesses. I believe that buying local products from local merchants fosters community by enriching my neighbors. Buying locally often costs more, but it's a financial price I'm willing to pay. I do not avoid Wal-Mart and other chain stores completely. Nor do I shun all national brands. But whenever possible, I support local businesses over megacorporations. Often the choice is easy. Oregon is rich in local fruits
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