“I buy a lot of used books from AbeBooks and Alibris. It’s wonderful when you want to find something obscure and there it is for $3.98. It’s the greatest book bazaar that ever existed.”
A handy passport-renewal tip
Ten Bizarre Theories on Saving and Spending
Poker teaches important lessons about saving and investing. Foreclosures are better than mortgage modification programs. Debit card overdraft fees are good for consumers. PMS is responsible for impulse purchases. There is no shortage of strange theories out there—and some of them are actually plausible.
No More Real Estate Agent Fees. No More Dry Cleaning Bills. No More Charges for Pest Exterminators.
Among a certain group of consumers, it’s becoming a DIY world. To save money, they’re reevaluating many of the services the rest of the world has grown accustomed to paying.
Smartphone Apps that Help You Avoid Bank Fees
One of the frustrations of modern life is that often, you must spend money simply to get your money. I speak of the $3 fee for using an ATM not affiliated with your bank. Now, there are apps for the iPhone and other smartphones to help you avoid ATM fees, as well as other charges, including the ever-annoying overdraft.
Will Just Any Old Car Do? Will No Car at All Do?
Back-to-back stories in the NY Times point out two interesting trends in the automobile market. First, brand loyalty is long gone. Second, for many consumers, the car itself is gone as well.
Lord Brian Griffiths of Fforestfach (and Goldman Sachs) says his paychecks make you rich
I get the feeling that Brian Griffiths’ words at a panel discussion in London Tuesday might go down in history as some kind of let-them-eat-cakish landmark. Said the economist, a former Margaret Thatcher adviser who was raised to the peerage in 1991 and has been helping make ends meet since then by toiling away as a vice chairman (read: …
Electronics and Toys: Cheap and Getting Cheaper
Flat-panel TVs, laptops, camcorders, GPS devices, and video-game consoles are all being sold at record-low prices. As we head into the heart of the holiday shopping season, Wal-Mart is planning on big price reductions on toys too.
It’s a Deal: Halloween Costumes Up to 75% Off at Toys R Us
Most of the Halloween costumes at Toys R Us are on sale already. Examples: A Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe Bumblebee outfit is $9.99 (originally $39.99), and a Lil’ Vampire costume is just $4.99 (originally $19.99). Free shipping on most items too.
Who won the Battle of New Orleans?
Andrew Sullivan’s rant today about Pat Buchanan’s white-people obsession reminded me of a passage I’d been meaning to post from Daniel Walker Howe’s What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. I met Howe at a book festival in Winston-Salem in September and was so entertained by him that I paid full cover price for …
Infosys tells us where the growth is
The head honchos of Bangalore-based IT consulting/outsourcing/software-development company Infosys were in New York today for an analyst meeting (security analysts, not psychoanalysts, I think), and afterwards they chatted with some representatives of the embattled fourth estate. Infosys recently reported its first quarterly revenue gain …
Cheap Alternatives to Pricey Kitchen Gadgets
That $150 panini press looks really cool. But guess what? A $15 George Foreman grill will do the job just as well.