Ten Cheap Dates
Besides the diamond industry, who says romance has to cost a bundle? A cheap date can be a great date.
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
The Battle for Angus Burger Supremacy Is On. Let the Special Sauce Fly!
Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants are officially throwing down the gauntlet in an Angus burger faceoff with McDonald’s. And the two McDonald’s challengers are putting their money where their wide-open mouths are: Starting next month, any customer saying they prefer McDonald’s Angus offering can receive a refund on the Hardee’s or …
Going Green Just Got More Cost-Effective
Some people will adopt environmentally friendly practices because they want to do their part to save the earth. Others—many others—will hop on board once it’s demonstrated that doing so will save them money.
One-Cent Sales: Now Penny-Pinchers Have Places to Spend Those Pennies
See a penny, pick it up. All day long, you’ll be lucky enough to buy something with it at Staples. Or CVS or OfficeMax. These are among the stores hosting attention-grabbing penny sales—just 1¢ for things like highlighters, paper folders, batteries, spiral notebooks, and crayons—in the hopes of stirring up business in what is …
Paying Thousands to Get Your Kid into an Elite Private School, or to Get Yourself a Job
There’s been a fundamental shift in how people are spending money; unnecessary expenditures on things like pricey, high-end children’s clothing are out of favor. What may be replacing those “treats” are mini-splurges, on things like donuts, fast food, and a night out at the movies. That’s not to say all hefty expenses—ones that seem …
With Newspapers, It’s Not Entirely a Free-for-All
Nearly all newspapers are suffering because of the abundance of free content online; in this regard, the newspaper biz has a remarkable resemblance to the porn industry. But two newspapers are demonstrating how to succeed without giving content away. And these two papers couldn’t be more different in terms of business models and what …
When Will God Fix the Economy?
Even though God may occasionally punish the self-interested followers of capitalism, the Divine One can still make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. Huh? Throughout the recession, various religious leaders have voiced their opinions about what God does and doesn’t do, and how believers should respond to the crisis at hand. To no …
How to Eat on a Dollar a Day
The next post in the continuing frugal gastronomy series features a pair of schoolteacher-writers who gave themselves the toughest of all restrictions: All their food had to cost no more than $1 per day per person. Amazingly, if they invited guests over to eat, the guests’ food had to be covered by the $1 allotment. You’d have to really …
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Groucho Marx
“Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy.”
Bidding on Something You’ll Probably Never Win-and Paying for the Privilege
There seem to be endless new ways of acquiring goods. Instead of heading into a store and plunking down cash, consumers are buying online, or bartering via sites like Swaptree, or joining clubs that share cars or other goods rather than purchase them outright. They are also bidding for goods in online auctions—and many consumers are so …
What Do Porn and Newspapers Have in Common?
I mean besides the comparable level of respect the public has for workers in both industries? Both the porn and the newspaper biz are experiencing hard times for similar reasons—and the recession isn’t to blame.
Is Renting Smarter Than Buying a Home?
For as long as I can remember, the assumption has always been: It is better to own than to rent a home. But for quite some time now, what that meant to a lot of people was that it was better to speculate than to play it safe.
