In an earlier post we described research showing that people get more long-lasting satisfaction from money spent on experiences than money spent on material goods. If you read that post and took it to heart — humor us — an …
Smart Spending
Why Giving Your Kids an Allowance May Not Teach Them Anything
Parents have been paying their kids an allowance since the Industrial Revolution on the theory that it will help kids better understand budgets and spending choices as adults. Now a prominent academic says it’s all been a waste of time
Buying a New Car? Let a Website Handle the Haggling
The new car purchase is easily one of the most painful and confusing of all shopping experiences. Most business relationships are built on trust, yet there’s good reason to distrust nearly everything seen or heard at a car dealership, from complex financing terms, to claims that a certain figure is their “absolute best price,” to the …
United Airlines Will Turn Your Unwanted Gift Cards Into Miles
Still don’t know what to do with all those gift cards you got for the holidays? United Airlines will now take them off your hands in exchange for frequent flyer miles. But considering how often frequent flyer miles expire …
The Best City in the U.S. for a Cheap Date
If you’re single and lonely this Valentine’s Day, you may want to head up north, maybe to Ann Arbor, Mich., because according to a study by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, the city’s combination of unmarried households, …
Chicken Wings Are Hot, and Chicken-Wing Prices Are Hotter
Wingmen and wing nuts everywhere: the days of cheap chicken wings may be ending. After a year when chicken-wing prices were surprisingly mild, wings are especially hot in demand now, and prices are expected to remain at or near …
Survey: Costco Given Retail Crown for Best Shopping Experience
American consumers don’t just like buying in bulk—they like the shopping experience at one bulk-buying warehouse store a lot more compared to other retailers. Based on the results of a new survey, Costco has been named the …
Best Cars for the Least Money Are Made by … Kia?
In a study evaluating the total costs of owning a car—including initial price, as well as likely fuel expenditures and expected maintenance and depreciation—Kia has been crowned as the overall lowest-projected-cost champ.
Valentine’s Day 2012 Spending, By the Numbers
According to one estimate, 60% of all Valentine’s spending occurs in the five days leading up to and including the holiday. That means we’re in the prime Valentine’s spending period right now. Here are some more factoids related …
A Deal Just For You: Niche Sites With Deals for Moms, Dudes, Jews, Dog Lovers, the Military & More
All along, skeptics said that the enormous success of daily deals couldn’t be sustained in the long run. And indeed, in recent months, the industry appears to have suffered some setbacks. Roughly one-third of all deal sites …
Beans vs. Single-Serve Cup: Just How Much More Does K-Cup Coffee Cost?
We all know how much coffee costs at Starbucks—too much. But it’s hard to get a handle on exactly how much coffee made at home costs, and how the price of a cup from freshly-ground beans compares to a cup from a single-serve …
Disloyal Customers: Most Consumers Switched Service Providers in 2011
If you stayed the course last year and never switched banks, wireless companies, pay TV services, or any other providers, then you’re in the minority. And if you actually feel “very loyal” to your providers, then you’re part of …