Search results for Joan Melcher
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Posted
Feb 09 2009, 03:08 PM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
With Denny's recent free breakfast and Starbucks' plans to offer its own version of breakfast value meals, it's no surprise that some McDonald's restaurants are upping the ante -- free coffee for the whole month of February.
But it gets complicated. There's much discussion online as to where to find this free morning jolt. You won't find it at every McDonald's; we called one in our town and they knew nothing about it.
But it's clear some people are getting in on the deal.
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Posted
Feb 11 2009, 12:33 PM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
As if consumers haven’t been alienated enough lately, now a spat involving the nation’s credit-rating bureaus is creating more confusion. And some financial pundits are saying that consumers are the ones who will lose out.
Currently consumers can buy their three FICO credit scores (at myFICO.com) from Fair Isaac, the company that calculates credit scores based on data provided by each of the three major credit bureaus. FICO scores are the ones most lenders use to decide if you should get a loan. (You can get a free credit report every year from each of the bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- by going to AnnualCreditReport.com.)
Now Experian has gone rogue and as of Saturday will no longer allow Fair Isaac to sell the FICO score based on Experian data to the public, and Experian can’t distribute those scores to the public itself. “But,” The New York Times reports, “Experian itself will continue to sell FICO scores based on its data to lenders, so some banks may make credit decisions, at least in part, on a score that consumers can no longer see.”
Adding to the confusion, Experian is all over television and the Net promising free credit scores.
We went to Experian’s site -- freecreditreport.com -- and took the bait.
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Posted
Feb 12 2009, 12:01 PM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Watching the news, we have to wonder why high-level financial wonks and politicians tapped for Cabinet positions have so much trouble getting their taxes straight. We won’t have that problem because we’ve learned how to have our tax preparation done -- for free online. And it gets better -- it’s through the Internal Revenue Service Free File program. Get ‘em where they live, we always say.
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Posted
Feb 18 2009, 10:35 AM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
It’s funny how recessions can realign the financial world -- of eating out. Those of us who haven’t seen the inside of a restaurant in months may be missing out on something big.
Denny’s gave away breakfasts a few weeks ago; McDonald’s is giving out free coffee; Starbucks is going Happy Meals and now another major chain is offering buy-one, get-one-free coupons in a promotion that allows customers to tap into the deal at every visit.
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Posted
Feb 19 2009, 11:29 AM
by
Joan Melcher
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Are you waiting for Fido to pick up the phone and make that call to the vet?
None of us wants to see our furry friends fall through the cracks during hard times. So it’s nice to see that a major player in the nation’s health care industry is willing to help. Bayer HealthCare’s Animal Health Division is offering $20 vouchers for a preventive veterinary care visit.
But you might need to do a trick and jump through a few hoops to get one of these high-end coupons.
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Posted
Feb 20 2009, 09:19 AM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The recession has left more than a few of us with time on our hands. What better time to hone old skills and learn new ones -- like a new language.
Many free language-learning resources are at our fingertips, as Bekah at Motherhood Moment explained in a guest post at Northern Cheapskate.
For instance, did you know that one well-known and generally respected language-learning method may be available free at your public library?
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Posted
Feb 23 2009, 12:48 PM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We’ve been covering the food wars of fast-food chains, restaurants and coffee shops -- free deals and bargains galore designed to hold on to that elusive market share.
And they just keep coming. This Tuesday (Feb. 24) you can get both breakfast and lunch for free if you have the time and inclination to track the deals.
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Posted
Feb 24 2009, 01:26 PM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The restaurant deals just keep coming. Today’s offers include free sandwiches at two outlets and a buy-one-get-one-free deal for breakfast or lunch.
But consumers should always read the small print on these offers. For instance, do you want to enroll a friend in an online community just to get your pal a free sub?
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Posted
Feb 26 2009, 11:01 AM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The merging of great deals with online marketing is a trend we’ve been noticing lately. Now they’ve really gotten our attention: free movies.
We’d seen the Redbox DVD movie-rental dispenser outside our grocery store for a while and had been tempted to use it, but never did. Then we found a Wise Bread post by Paul Michael, who chirped: “Why pay between $4 and $5 for a DVD movie rental? Why pay anything for a DVD rental ever again?”
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Posted
Feb 27 2009, 01:23 PM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Savings at fast-food outlets and restaurants are everywhere in the news, including here. But why stop with free deals and buy-one-get-one-frees?
Why not choose the restaurant of your choice and look for the best deal you can get?
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