Another list of things your hard-working, unspoiled ancestors never would have dropped a dime on—and that you therefore can go without. Today, the Grandparents Rule, home edition.
Recession Porn? Guess I’m a Thrifty Larry Flynt
Fishermen have fish porn. Snowmobilers can’t get enough of sled porn. There’s food porn, ski porn, and plain old porn porn (no link provided—get your own, perv). And now that the newspaper of record has used the phrase, we officially have recession porn. So what’s the fascination with how the recession is impacting rich, poor, and …
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Adlai Stevenson
“There was a time when a fool and his money were soon parted, but now it happens to everybody.”
More Stuff Your Grandparents Would Never Pay For
Adding to our Grandparents Rule, a list of things that your forebears never paid for—and that therefore you really don’t need:
New column: The myth of the rational market
I’ve got an extended dance version of my column (three pages!) in the magazine this week. It’s basically an extreeeemely condensed version of my book, which coincidentally is also called The Myth of the Rational Market. The print version of the article is really wonderfully laid out, and while the online version can’t offer such beauty …
Q&A with Consumer Queen Melissa Garcia
Coupons are hot. No one knows this more than the Melissa Garcia, a.k.a the Consumer Queen, who runs the money-saving website of the same name. Garcia and her small staff of co-queen bloggers round up frugal tips, along with the week’s best coupons and deals at supermarkets, electronics stores, home furnishing outlets, and more. Garcia is …
Confessions of a Best Buy salesperson
Among the revelations in a CNET story are: Staffers have no expertise (or even basic knowledge) about the electronics they’re selling; accessories like HDMI cables are where they make their real money (like alcohol in restaurants, or soda and fries at fast food joints); and the Geek Squad is a total rip-off.
It’s a Deal: Extra 25 Percent Off, Free Shipping at Sierra Trading Post
Today only, you’ll get free shipping on footwear that’s an extra 25 percent off at Sierra Trading Post, where everything is already marked down 35 to 70 percent off the retail price.
Who is Screwed the Worst?
Very few workers feel safe nowadays. If they haven’t been laid off, they know they could be let go at any moment. Or perhaps they’ll have to accept mandatory furloughs, or their benefits will be slashed. Health benefits, vacation time, even free beer allotments (no joke) are being taken away. Retirements are being postponed. Recent grads …
Sympathy for Ken Lewis, Part 2
My colleague Stephen Gandel did the hard work of watching the Ken Lewis hearing today on TV, and e-mails this report:
The most important thing we learned from the Ken Lewis hearing today is that the Bank of America CEO has no idea what the definition of the word “threaten” is.
Lewis testified that he was considering backing out of his …
The Recession Will End in September
Then again, maybe it won’t, especially not if another major financial institution collapses. And if the economy does rebound, the recovery will be mild. USA Today sums up the clear-as-mud results of its economic outlook index, which factor in things like the stock market’s current bull market status. Another predictor says that home …
How much less will we spend?
Some economists, like David Rosenberg, think the answer is substantially less—and for years to come. For quite a while now, Rosenberg has been writing about how the American consumer is due for a serious deleveraging, which means less spending, and how this is the real conversation we should be having. Forget about trolling the stock …