A woman in California has spent the past two years (and a decent chunk of money) installing and testing out all sorts of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, money-saving improvements in her home. In the process, she’s discovered that some improvements are so simple and so cost-effective that it’s dumb not to make the change. Yet …
Investing
Friday List: 191 Good, Bad, and Ugly Money Tips
Good, as in karma from accepting hand-me-downs graciously. Bad, as in “money jerks” who don’t pitch in for their share of restaurant bills (tips included) or who are constantly hitting you up to contribute to fundraisers. And Ugly, as in regularly checking the obituaries—so that you can anticipate where you’re likely to be able to …
Take It From Me: Money Lessons from 7 Very Different People
There are financial lessons to be learned from a single mom on food stamps who finagles Caribbean vacations, an Oscar-winning actor who is too cheap to play golf at private clubs, and a man who tricked himself into saving money by pretending he was going to be a father.
Where Would You Rather Be a Consumer?
Here are your choices: A world with “a level playing field where the best products at the best prices win,” or in “the Wild West where companies use deception to pick off every consumer they can get in their sights.”
Recession-Era Words and Phrases: Are You a ‘Nevertiree’? Or Are You Among the ‘Accidentally Retired’?
The economic crisis has brought about a “new normal,” in which Americans are adjusting their expectations concerning work, investing, spending, and one’s “lifestyle.” The recession has also brought with it new words and phrases, like “new normal.”
‘Greed Is Good’ and the 80 Greatest Quotes About Money from ’80s Movies
This week, moviegoers are being reintroduced to Gordon Gekko, the (hated? beloved?) villain of Oliver Stone‘s 1987 film “Wall Street.” In the sequel, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” there are sure to be attempts at topping the brilliant, much-quoted lines of the original. In the trailer, Mr. Gekko (Michael Douglas) says, “Someone …
The Two-Day-a-Month Investment Road to Riches
Here’s an odd observation that I don’t advise you to act upon in any way: In 2010, you would have gotten an extraordinary return on your investment if you’d put money in the stock market only on the first two days of each month—and then pulled your money out every other day.
Cheapskate Wisdom from … a Summer Camp Teaching Kids About Finance
“Owing someone else is worse than being broke!”
College by the Numbers
What with high unemployment rates and soaring costs of higher education, there’s no shortage of skepticism about whether a college degree is truly worth the time and expense. Whether college is a good investment or not is a question that has come up again and again and again and again. Here are some important, often surprising figures to …
Why Frugal-Minded Savers Loathe Inflation
“Inflation helps debtors and spenders at the expense of creditors and savers.”
Saving by the Numbers
Here are 20 new resources that, among other things, will help consumers to save money or spend it wisely, to enable folks to get good customer service or to do good in the world even if they’re broke.
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Vanilla Ice
“O.K., now you can buy a foreclosed, or tax-lien or short-sale home for a lot less than you can build a home.”