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Posted
Jun 08 2008, 05:56 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We've been to a Star Trek convention (or two) and had the self-restraint to limit our spending to a Bajoran earring (which broke the next day). Nick at Punny Money is apparently on the road to becoming a convention habitué (geek), and shares his tips for attending without breaking the budget. "Here's how we're saving tons of money at this and other similar sci-fi/fantasy/anime/whatever conventions while Joe Nerdboy is devoting all $6.25 an hour of his job at the video-rental store to coming here," Nick wrote in an early morning post from Balticon 42.
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Posted
May 18 2009, 05:48 PM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
If you’re hungry for bison or an entrée of “made-from-scratch comfort food,” you won’t want to miss this deal. Ted Turner’s namesake restaurant chain, which touts a corporate belief in having “a big appetite for doing things right,” is offering two $10 gift certificates
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Posted
May 20 2009, 09:04 AM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Kraft is at it again. The food giant recently treated consumers to a load of summer coupons that have thrilled bloggers. Now it’s offering a free coupon for Oscar Mayer jumbo beef franks. But there’s a quick turnaround on this one. The offer started at 9 EDT this morning and expires at 11:59 tonight.
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Posted
Jun 24 2009, 02:03 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
When we had our hardwood floors refinished, our floor guy finished the job by cleaning with a Swiffer Sweeper, a product he heartily endorsed.
Yes, it's great -- until you have to spring for new cloths. A box of the wet pads can cost about $11.50.
Knowing we're exposing ourself to potential ridicule from Frank Curmudgeon at Bad Money Advice, who has poked fun at this and similar pursuits in a weekly post called "Frugal Friday," we've researched cheap alternatives to the very efficient but costly Swiffer cloths.
Readers of ThriftyFun came up with these suggestions:
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Posted
Feb 29 2008, 08:02 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. Look at these 12 little hacks and think about how simple they are. Switch your savings account from your local bank to ING Direct. That's the bank I switched to about a year and a half ago in order to get a higher interest rate (then more than 4%). They made the whole thing easy as pie -- it took about five minutes -- and I've never had anything but stellar customer service. Drink one less coffee a week. Let's say you stop at Starbucks -- or your preferred coffeehouse -- three times a week. Just trim it back to two. That's it. Call one credit card company and ask for a rate reduction. Just flip over your card and call that number on the back. Ask to speak to a supervisor if the first human you get won't reduce your rate.
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Posted
Mar 24 2009, 12:33 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We hadn't thought about lagniappe for a while, until Chance at Room Farm posted about it.
It's defined as "a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase; broadly: something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure."
For instance, Chance said, it's the extra donut in a baker's dozen. We recall the extra king crab legs our regular fish seller threw on the pile we had ordered for a Christmas gathering in Anchorage -- after he'd already weighed it and rang up the price.
It seems that every day holds some lagniappe for Chance, a clever and thrifty sort whose homemade dry laundry detergent costs less than a penny a load (compared with 30 cents a load for liquid Tide) and who grows oyster mushrooms on empty toilet paper rolls (we kid you not).
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Posted
Apr 20 2009, 04:55 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.
When I wrote about homesteading magazines in February, several people praised Countryside as the best of the bunch. Intrigued, I subscribed. I've received my first issue and I have to say, I'm impressed.
Countryside isn't for everyone. It's very much geared toward those interested in getting "back to the land." When I read the magazine, I couldn't help but think of my father. He loved this sort of thing. But even though I live in suburbia, there was still plenty of interest for me, as well.
Every month, Countryside features an enormous section of reader feedback. People write in to tell their stories and to share tips and tricks about living in the country. It's like a great blog conversation in print. This month, a letter from Khaiti Kahleck of Wisconsin introduced me to the concept of swaplucks:
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Posted
Apr 16 2009, 11:37 AM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The money-saving blogosphere is abuzz with the news of a week of double-coupon savings at Kmart. There’s even talk of triple-coupon deals.
To read some of the blogs, you’d suspect this is akin to floodgates of bailout money being opened to consumers across the country.
In reality, these are only coupons, but there are big savings to be had if you are near a participating store.
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Posted
Jul 27 2009, 06:03 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.
Previously in my semi-regular Extreme Personal Finance series, I've highlighted:
Recently, my friend Castle sent me the story of a man who makes these other folks look like spendthrifts.
The man without money
Writing for Details magazine, Christopher Ketcham profiles Daniel Suelo, the man who lives without money. From the article:
Nine years ago, in the autumn of 2000, Suelo decided to stop using money. He just quit it, like a bad drug habit. His dwelling, hidden high in a canyon lined with waterfalls, is an hour by foot from the desert town of Moab, Utah, where people who know him are of two minds: He's either a latter-day prophet or an irredeemable hobo.
Suelo lives in a small cave. Much like those in the freegan movement, he generally consumes wasted food from restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Suelo supplements his diet by foraging for plants, mushrooms -- and fresh road kill.
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Posted
Feb 17 2009, 04:13 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.
In 2004, my wife and I bought a 100-year-old farmhouse. We'd been living in a 1976 ranch-style home that was virtually maintenance-free. We knew that our new house was quirky, and that it needed some remodeling, but we didn't quite understand the extent to which maintenance would dominate our lives.
Every summer, we've had a major project. Or two. This year is no different.
In previous years we've remodeled the bathroom, replaced the electrical system, hung new drywall, and more. This year our focus is on the home's exterior. While we've been improving the inside, the outside has begun to fall into disrepair. It's not an eyesore yet, but it could become one.
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