how to

How To Make Your Own Soda, Tidy A Room In Three Minutes, Cure A Hangover And Become A Movie Extra. Phew!

Posted March 23, 2009 - 12:30 by Paul Michael

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Life Hacks, Productivity, General Tips, Shopping, Food and Drink, DIY, Consumer Affairs

MacGyver

I’m a big fan of Howcast. Their website is a treasure trove of information, and you can also find their videos on popular sites like Metacafe and YouTube. Sometimes their advice is really useful, sometimes it’s just plain weird, but it’s always very entertaining. Howcast videos also end with a handy dandy fact; the icing on the cake so to speak.

full story 6 comments

How to bake sourdough bread (and save a buck on every loaf)

Posted March 13, 2009 - 10:40 by Philip Brewer

Food and Drink

Just-sliced loaf of fresh-baked bread

I doubt if the cost of yeast is really breaking your household budget. If you bake a lot you probably already buy yeast in bulk, so you're not paying the per-packet price anyway. And yet, baking sourdough bread (or rolls or pizza crust) is just so cool. My wife and I haven't bought yeast for years, but we bake bread all the time. And that's what this post is about--baking sourdough bread.

full story 17 comments

Dealing with Financial Drought: A Recovery Plan

Posted September 2, 2008 - 14:39 by Sarah Winfrey

Personal Finance

Cracked earth at his feet

You know how it goes. One minute, you have extra money sitting in the bank just waiting for you to play with it. The next, your car needs repaired, or the cat gets sick, or the roof falls in and there's no way you can afford the bills without dipping into savings. Not only has your "fun money" disappeared, but so has some of your emergency fund, general savings fund, or goal-oriented savings fund. And we all know what happens next: more catastrophe, more bills, more dipping in when you meant with all your will to save this month. What we do when the savings numbers are slipping backwards like this can determine how much we actually lose during the drought and how quickly we bounce back.

full story 12 comments

How to get a job--learn the secret from a bad movie

Posted March 8, 2008 - 05:41 by Philip Brewer

Career and Income

Rambo-ette

I've read a bunch of books on how to do a job search. They all talk about networking. They all talk about researching the company--knowing what they do and what they need done. They all talk about "creating" a job--presenting yourself as a solution to a problem. I read the books, but I didn't understand what they meant, until I saw this really bad movie.

full story 8 comments

Let things go

Posted February 5, 2008 - 12:54 by Philip Brewer

Health and Beauty, General Tips

Unfinished monument above Edinburgh

Two of the unhappiest people I ever knew lived in the apartment below mine when I lived for two years in Salt Lake City. They acted as on-site managers--collected rent checks in exchange for a break on their own rent. I didn't have any real visibility into their financial situation; they seemed to be getting by, but at a pretty low standard of living. Like many unhappy people, though, they had a well-worn story of woe. They told it to me the very first time we met.

full story 21 comments

Preparing for a recession

Posted December 28, 2007 - 09:14 by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

Going out of business sign

I don't know if a recession is coming. Nobody does. We may dodge the bullet for a while. On the other hand, the economy may already be in recession. You don't need to know the future, though, to make some wise moves.

full story 9 comments

Broken down? Turn your pencil into a flashlight.

Posted 2 years ago by Paul Michael

Filed Under: Cars and Transportation

pencil light

If there's one thing I know about travel, it's be prepared. But it's sometimes easier said than done. We all know we should carry emergency supplies in the trunk of the car, and one of those essentials is a flashlight. It can help you see the root of the problem under the hood or the beneath the car itself, and obviously it's invaluable at night. But if you don't have one, you can still see the light...if you have a pencil!

Continue reading "Broken down? Turn your pencil into a flashlight."

Permalink | 19 comments

Dead car battery? Give it a glass of red wine.

Posted 2 years ago by Paul Michael

Filed Under: Cars and Transportation

 

red wine

I love quick fixes for problems. Especially quick fixes that involve alcochol, and let me tell you that this one is pure genius.

If you've ever done something silly, like leave a dome light on all night, or you just happen to have a battery that's on its last legs, then you'll know the sinking feeling of a dead battery. You dashboard panel lights may not even come on, or you get that repetitive cranking that just won't turn over.

Continue reading "Dead car battery? Give it a glass of red wine."

Permalink | 19 comments

Have more to say? Join the discussions at Wise Bread's Finance and Frugality Forums.

Finance Blogs - Blog Top Sites