A still-struggling, still-uncertain economy has increased the chances that you can’t help dreaming about the recession, your workspace is shrinking, your roommate could be a millionaire (on paper anyway), and you’re so sick of neighborhood potholes you’re considering filling them in yourself.
Taxes
Report: Wireless Bill Taxes Are Double Retail Sales Taxes
Federal, state, and local taxes and fees now account for 16.3% of the average wireless customer’s bill. In four states, wireless taxes are north of 20%. And what’s the most taxed state of all? That dubious achievement goes to Nebraska, where wireless users are taxed to the tune of 23.7%.
Signs Your Town’s Government Workers Are Ripping You Off
For example: e-mails exchanged by workers on the town payroll explaining how contracts are crafted “carefully so we do not draw attention to our pay,” and that “We will all get fat together.”
119 Money Tips: How to Avoid Investment Scams, Fake Consumer Reviews, Supermarket Rip-offs, Horribly Lame Valentine’s Gifts, and More
Also: the best-ever personal finance books, and tips for saving on everything from weddings to the latest gadgets.
125 Tips for Saving Money, Shopping Smarter, Finding Jobs, and Just Getting Through a Bad Day
This week’s tip roundup includes things you must do (find a checking account that doesn’t charge fees), products that come with less “product” than they used to (like Häagen-Dazs), and coupons you probably don’t use but should.
81 End-of-Year Money Tips
As 2010 comes to a close, keep some money in your pocket when bellying up to the bar or the fast food counter, considering luxury “status” purchases, shopping the post-Christmas sales, and planning your kid’s birthday party.
7 Totally Dope, Awesomely Dorky Economics and Personal Finance Rap Videos
Plenty of rappers talk about money. But the lyricists in these videos really rap about money—not pimpin’ or drug deals, but international currency policy, bank bailouts, taxes, tithing, and other aspects of the gangsta economist lifestyle. They also make videos that feature Christians dancing like MC Hammer and the New Kids on the …
To DIY or Not to DIY?
Go ahead and install a laminate floor. But complicated electrical work, pest extermination, and tree removal? It’s probably best to suck it up, hire a pro, and not do any damage to your home, or to the people living in it.
Why You Must Own a Hickory Handle Hammer, and 123 Other Money-Saving Insights
Favorite dirt-cheap meals! Why you must quit being an idiot! Tastiest low-budget beers! Lessons learned from spiking your hair into a mohawk! And more.
State Govts Catch on to Saving Strategies Every Consumer Knows About
Did you know that shopping around can save you money? Or that it is unwise to spend money you don’t have? Apparently, state governments are just catching on to these and other innovative saving strategies.
The Something-for-Everyone List of Money-Saving Lists
Desperate Economic Times Call for … Desperately Crazy Measures?
Facing foreclosure, one man bulldozed his entire home, while another thought the best means of catching up with the mortgage payments was to set his car on fire. Here’s a roundup of people who have been pushed to the brink by awful financial situations—and who also may have had a few screws loose long before the economy tanked.