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Posted
Oct 01 2009, 05:03 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post is the last for Smart Spending at this site. But not to worry: We're moving to a new location at MSN Money. (If you just missed that link, click here to reach our new main page. It's at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/.)
Moving is a pain, but we think it's worth it. The new Smart Spending has added features -- the latest personal-finance videos, the newest hot deals from dealnews.com -- plus the money-saving and other personal-finance tips you've come to expect from us -- Miami blogger Teresa Mears, MSN Money Living With Less columnist Donna Freedman, and me.
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Posted
Sep 24 2009, 10:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We have decided not to dye our hair again, and all of our women friends have an opinion about it.
Strong opinions -- ranging from enthusiastic support to this comment from an older friend: "If you go gray, you will be a granola. Still interesting to me -- but invisible to others. Don't do it -- savor your youth!"
That comment nearly stopped us in our tracks, but we're going ahead with this. It's not just the expense -- we color at home once a month for about $8.50, but if you have it done professionally, it's $40, $75 or even more depending on where you live. It's also the time, the handling of harsh chemicals (get that stuff in your eyes and you can go blind), the damage to our hair -- and the suspicion that we're denying the realities of age in a way that's not healthy or helpful.
At some point, this charade has to stop (I'm nearly 55), so why not now? (Plus, it's not like losing a limb. If we don't like what we see, we can always dye it again.)
What's the best way to proceed?
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Posted
Sep 18 2009, 07:21 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
Here is one of the most frequently asked questions in all of personal finance: "How do I get out of debt?" At one level, eliminating debt is simply about following a few steps:
- Stop going into more debt.
- Spend less than you make.
- Pay off debt with the difference.
If you follow these steps, eventually you'll be debt-free. The problem is that following these steps isn't always so easy. And to make matters worse, there is a lot of "help" out there that can make matters worse. From debt-consolidation companies to books like Kevin Trudeau's "Debt Cures," which I wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy, there are a lot of promises being made that getting out of debt is easy. It's not.
In fact, tackling your debt may be one of the hardest things you'll ever do. You have to control your emotions, which can play a big part in how we make financial decisions. You have to educate yourself about everything from home loans to credit cards to credit scores. And you have to discipline yourself in the way you manage and spend money.
The fact is that controlling your spending and paying off your debt is not an easy thing to do. But the good news is that you can do it. If you want to be debt-free bad enough, you can make it happen.
To help you reach your goal of being debt-free, I've assembled a list of 23 tips and tools. If you know of others, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post.
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Posted
Sep 17 2009, 02:00 PM
by
Teresa Mears
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
With the recession taking a bite out of concert ticket sales, concert promoters have come up with all kinds of deals and discounts this year to lure us into the venues. For good music, we don't need too much luring, if we can afford the tickets. Live Nation has continued to offer promotions every Wednesday with discounts on concerts nationwide.
Now, Live Nation is offering a concert pass. The Live Nation Club Passport gives music lovers entry into every concert the rest of the year at participating venues for $49.99 -- if the show isn't sold out. That includes all fees except parking.
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Posted
Sep 17 2009, 06:00 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar.
One of my favorite ways to trim my spending is to find simple substitutes for my regular expenses. If I can trim a few bucks from the cost of household supplies and other routine purchases, over the long run that can add up to a lot of money with virtually no change in my life.
Here are 12 of my favorites (not including my "infamous" homemade laundry detergent).
Vinegar instead of fabric softener. Instead of buying expensive fabric softener, just use half a cup of white vinegar in the softener cup in your washing machine. It accomplishes the same effect as softener -- it makes your clothes really soft -- plus it breaks down the laundry detergent, making the clothes much better for people with sensitive skin or allergies. What about the smell? Once the clothes are dried, you smell nothing at all. You can buy four gallons of vinegar for $6, meaning the cost per load is about 5 cents, while a load's worth of Downy costs about 15 ccents. You save a dime per load and your clothes are less chemical-laden.
Bing: More uses for vinegar
Reusable containers instead of Ziplocs. Ziplocs -- especially the small ones -- usually wind up in the trash after one use. On the other hand, a reusable container can last for years. Because a typical Ziploc costs about 10 cents and you can get a reusable Rubbermaid container for about $1, you break even on the container after about 12 uses (the cost of washing the container in the dishwasher is estimated there) and everything thereafter is pure savings.
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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
Sep 14 2009, 02:35 PM
by
Teresa Mears
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
When I recently needed an antibiotic eye ointment that costs $50 for a five-day supply (with insurance), I started looking for a discount. There was no generic. I managed to find a CVS coupon for a $25 gift card with a new prescription, but it had expired last month. The cheaper alternatives listed on my insurance company's website contained an ingredient to which I'm allergic, and my doctor didn't have any samples.
I went looking on the Internet, but all I could find was a $25 gift card coupon from CVS for transferred prescriptions.
But I did find something else useful: rebates for prescription medications.
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Posted
Sep 09 2009, 08:08 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Paul Michael at partner blog Wise Bread.
When I was a young lad, eating out was something of a luxury for my family. Most of our meals, at least 95%, were prepared and eaten at home. This was the model for most people my age or older. But these days, society has migrated to eating outside the home way more often. The result is that we're spending a lot more on food than we used to. So, are there ways to chop the bill and eat out for less? You bet.
Share your soft drink. Most of the time, my wife and I find that one drink is adequate for both of us. But in this day and age of countless free refills, we will never run short of our soft drink anyway. It's not much, but a couple of bucks saved every time you order a drink at a restaurant or fast-food place really adds up. And that goes for the kids' drinks, too. My kids are quite happy to share a juice box or fountain drink. Oh, and before anyone cries for the poor fast-food joints or restaurant chains, it's worth noting that the average fountain drink costs the restaurant about 20 cents and they charge you about 10 times that for the beverage. So, I'm not losing any sleep over it; they're still making an insane profit from any drinks we order.
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Posted
Sep 04 2009, 01:00 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Wining and dining professors. Sales staff getaways at sexy locations. That's the life of a college textbook sales rep.
Who woulda thunk? That's part of the insider look at the textbook publishing business offered by David Weliver in a post at Money Under 30 called "Confessions of a textbook salesman." David used to be a textbook sales rep. "Students: I'm sorry," he said.
The cost of textbooks has become so ridiculously expensive that a national campaign has been launched at Make Textbooks Affordable, he said.
How do textbook publishers operate? David explains:
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Posted
Sep 04 2009, 06:39 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
What costs more per ounce than imported Russian caviar? At $22 per quarter-ounce, the cost of printer ink cartridges reminds us of why we got that inkjet printer for "free" when we bought our last computer.
Last month my wife took our kids to Staples to get school supplies. They called me while they were there to ask if we should get replacement printer cartridges for our HP OfficeJet 6310 printer. We then spent 10 minutes on the phone figuring out how many we needed, how many we could afford, and questioning why HP printer cartridges cost so much.
And every time we need to buy printer cartridges, I promise myself I'm going to look into lower-cost alternatives. Even if it means buying a new, more expensive printer, it's worth the investment if the ink refills don't cost an arm and a leg. The problem is that the ink cartridges run out of ink so fast, we're back to the store to buy more before I've figured out an alternative.
Well, I've finally done the research and found some lower-cost alternatives. The alternatives include: finding places to buy brand printer ink cartridges for less, using remanufactured ink cartridges, using printer ink refill kits, and buying printers that use less-expensive ink. None of these solutions will make printing "cheap," but they all can save a lot of money.
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