Cheapskate Wisdom from … Benjamin Franklin
“Beware of little expenses. A small leak can sink a great ship.”
Read on for ten more wise quotes from B.F.
Brad Tuttle
Brad Tuttle covers personal finance, travel and parenting, among other topics. He is a contributing editor for Budget Travel, where he was on staff for six years; he was a senior editor at the brilliant but now deceased parenting magazine Wondertime; and he is the author of two books, The Ellis Island Collection: Artifacts from the Immigrant Experience and How Newark Became Newark: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American City. His work has appeared in TIME, the New York Times, Newsweek, Newsday, American History and Endless Vacations, among other publications. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and three sons. Read more about Tuttle at bradrtuttle.com
Articles from Contributor
Debit Card Fees: Changed, But Still an Easy Way to Get Ripped Off
The banks say that being threatened with legislation had no impact on their decisions to make annoying debit card overdraft fees slightly less annoying. Instead, Bank of America and Chase say they are changing their fees just to help out their customers. How nice of them.
Q&A with “In Cheap We Trust” Author Lauren Weber
Lauren Weber’s father is cheap. Really cheap. He kept the thermostat at 50 degrees during the winter. When driving, he used hand signals to indicate he was turning to avoid burning out the headlight bulbs. He washed dishes in cold water to keep the hot water bill down. As a child, Lauren hated how cheap her father was. But she grew up …
Gen Y Consumers: Sophisticated, Confident, Materialistic, Demanding
The tech-savvy Generation Y shopper assumes quite a lot: Tons and tons of choices will be a few quick clicks away, the shipping will be free, there will be online customer ratings at their disposal, and so on. Exactly what, where, how, and why do these consumers buy, and how are retailers reacting to the way they shop? A new book offers insights.
How Many Times Can You Use a Razor Blade to Shave?
A true cheapskate disregards the term “disposable.” With a little effort—and a heap full of pig-headed, tight-wadded stubbornness—things like plastic utensils, paper cups, aluminum foil, and yes, razor blades, can be used again and again and again.
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Former Chairman of the American Medical Association
“You can do more for yourself than I can do for you.”
Q&A with Clothing Swap Founder Suzanne Agasi
In the last 15 years, Suzanne Agasi has bought a grand total of two pairs of jeans—and she loves jeans. Most of Agasi’s wardrobe comes free of charge from clothing swaps she’s helped organize as the founder of Clothing Swap.
Ten Credit Card Myths
The website FoolProof uses videos and straightforward messages to warn young people (and everyone else, really) about the hazards of debt, interest, bouncing checks, and more.
Read more about the website at this story, which includes the site’s top financial myths:
–I don’t have to worry about credit at my age.
–Bad credit can’t
…
Debit Card Overdraft Fees: Will the Rip-offs End Soon?
Because debit cards deduct money directly from the cardholder’s bank account, it’s not possible to pile up debt like you can with a credit card. But debit cards are not without risk: Overdraft fees, which card issuers assess when customers spend more than the balance in an account, routinely cost $35 a pop, in some cases adding up to …
Recession Indicators: Jobless Hikers Crowding the Appalachian Trail, Japanese Shopping at Wal-Mart
When you lose your job, why not take a hike? When your economy tanks, why not embrace the deals at Wal-Mart?
The Haggler’s Guide to Cheaper Health Care
A 53-year-old man who used to cover the health insurance industry as a journalist purposefully decides that health insurance isn’t worth the money, and so he goes without it. He negotiates with doctors, haggles over the costs of services, and asks for discounts because he’s paying in cash. Over the course of a year, he’ll save $6,000.
Kraft Mag & Outrage
Food & Family, a magazine put out by Kraft Foods that features Kraft products and is mailed to 10 million Kraft Food consumers, used to sent out for free. Not anymore. Subscribers are now being asked to fork over $14 a year for what many folks consider little more than a marketing tool to sell Kraft food.
