A new survey asked American consumers how much they plan on spending this Halloween. I wonder about this kind of anticipatory survey. Do people really plan on spending a set amount for a holiday like Halloween? Do people answer honestly? Do people even know enough about themselves and the marketplace to have a chance at answering …
Budgeting
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 … Interior Decorator Nate Berkus
“I’ve never believed that living well was based on spending a lot of money. For me, high style has never been a question of snobbishness.”
Best Financial Decision Ever Made
According to a new survey, Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y all agree that the smartest financial move is … drum roll please …
Q&A: 100 Days, $100 for Food, and Lots and Lots of Coupons
This week, a blogger successfully completed a self-imposed challenge: For 100 days, he allotted himself a daily allowance of $1 for food. To fill in the gaps (and his belly), he used coupons—ones available to anybody in Sunday newspapers and the Internet—and he used them creatively, at one point using a coupon to buy tampons in order …
Has Your Bank Offered You “Courtesy Pay,” a “Buffer Zone,” or “Debit Card Advance” Services?
These carefully-phrased services sound quite nice, don’t they? But if you read the fine print carefully, you’ll discover that these programs are strategies for banks to collect fees on customers who are careless with their account balances.
Hey, Frequent Overdrafters! The Banks Want You!
You’re not supposed to spend money you don’t have. But this is what you’re doing when you buy something with a debit card and don’t have enough in your bank account to cover the tab—in other words, an overdraft. Since banks make money when their customers spend money they don’t have, the banks basically encourage customers to do …
Q&A with Trent Hamm, Author of ‘The Simple Dollar’
“The trick is to just make sure you’re not spending a lot of money on stuff you don’t use or appreciate very often.”
Q&A with Jeff Yeager, Author of ‘The Cheapskate Next Door’
Jeff Yeager made a name for himself as The Ultimate Cheapskate. Now, after traveling the country and talking to tons of fellow members of the “cheaphood,” he’s back with a new book that’s all about how cheapskates proudly do what they do and save more and spend less than typical consumers, how they couldn’t give a hoot about keeping up …
Want a Job? Want to Retire? Avoid these Strange, All-Too-Common Blunders
Neither getting a job in today’s economy, nor retiring after the portfolio-busting Great Recession, is an easy task. They’re both especially difficult to accomplish if you’ve made silly, shortsighted mistakes through the course of your quest. One quick tip: During a job interview, it’s probably not a good idea to answer your cell phone …