General Tips

New Postal Rates Are Coming, Should You Stockpile the Forever Stamp?

Posted 1 week 3 days ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, General Tips

The United States Postal Office will be raising their postal rates once again on May 12th, 2008. Is it time to stock up on the Forever stamp? Is this stamp that retains its value a good investment? Read on for some specific information on the rate hike and other facts about this special postal product.

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Have an Amusement Park & TV Free Summer (and if you can’t, find a way to make it cheaper)

Posted 1 week 5 days ago by Margaret Garcia-Couoh

Life Hacks, General Tips

Dreading an expensive summer with the kiddies? It doesn't have to be. And even if you have to make the obligatory trip to Disneyland or some other such money sucking theme park, there are ways to get around that provided you have loving and gullible friends.

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Budgeting in a time of inflation

Posted 2 weeks 2 days ago by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance, General Tips, Budgeting

Draft budget

My very first experience running a household was in 1980, just as the last big inflation was spiking up over 10%.  My carefully constructed budget was completely destroyed by prices that were rising by 1% every month.  Since then, I've given considerable thought to how to deal with just that situation.  Since history seems dangerously close to repeating itself, it's a timely topic.

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A Simple Guide to Series I Savings Bonds (I-Bonds)

Posted 2 weeks 2 days ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, General Tips, Taxes, Investment

After the recent interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve many of my bank and money market interest rates plummeted.  Now the best yield I have is on my Series I Savings Bonds issued by the United States Treasury.  These bonds are also known as I-Bonds and their yields fluctuate according to inflation.  Currently, the yield is 4.28% and that beats all of my other cash investments.  Here is some information on the interest rate on I-Bonds and the advantages of owning these bonds.

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The Same Actions Will Produce The Same Results (Ten Tenets for Arranging Your Rich: Part 2)

Posted 3 weeks 1 day ago by Kate Luther

Personal Finance, Career and Income, Life Hacks, General Tips, Lifestyle, Budgeting

Predictability - Image Courtesy of Stock Xchng

A while back I posted the first of what I promised would be "Ten Tenets to Arranging Your Rich". And wouldn't you know it, right after posting Tenet #1, things got a little crazy and life interfered with my blogging plans. Go figure :)In any event, I think we're back on track now and as promised, we've got nine more tenets to go. So, without further adieu, here's tenet #2: The same actions will produce the same results.

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Hungry? Have a drink.

Posted 3 weeks 3 days ago by Paul Michael

General Tips, Lifestyle, Health and Beauty, Food and Drink

Thirst

The chances are, you're dehydrated right now. In fact, over 75% of the American population is deyhdrated, and worse still, over 80% know they are. No big deal? Well, it is actually. Lack of hydration can lead to all kinds of problems, including obesity, fatigue and a much higher risk of certain cancers. So grab a glass or three of water and read on.

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Zen Spring Cleaning (and making a little cash off it too)

Posted 4 weeks 6 days ago by Margaret Garcia-Couoh

Life Hacks, General Tips, Making Extra Cash

The snow has melted. The kids are gone to grandma's. Sounds like the best (and most frugal) thing to do this April would be to stay home and clean, organize, and sell all that crap lurking in every corner of the house and garage. A few potential karmic trades might be lurking around the house too.

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Search Online for a Fix before You Toss that Broken Gadget

Posted 6 weeks 20 hours ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Technology, General Tips, DIY, Art and Leisure, Consumer Affairs

My husband and I often search online for fixes to our electronics problems because if a gadget is out of warranty it often costs quite a bit to get it fixed. When we find a solution that is not hard to implement we figure we might as well try it, and we have been able to fix many things including computers and handhelds. Read on for some tips on finding solutions online to your gadget problems.

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How to Sell Your Hair for Cash

Posted 6 weeks 3 days ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, General Tips, Making Extra Cash, Health and Beauty

I first read of selling hair in Les Miserables when Fantine sold her head of gold to clothe her daughter Corsette. The hair trade just seems like such an archaic idea, but actually high quality hairpieces are still made from real human hair and there is a huge market for sourcing natural hair. Here are some tips and information on how to sell your tresses for cash.

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Tips for Finding Legitimate Work at Home Opportunities

Posted 7 weeks 13 hours ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Career and Income, Productivity, General Tips, Making Extra Cash, Career Building

When you search for work at home opportunities on the internet, oftentimes you will find sites pitching programs that could make you thousands of dollars a week.  Usually these programs are scams designed to take your money.  So how do you go about finding legitimate work at home jobs that pay you for your time?   Read on for some ideas and resources.

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90% off is not a deal if you don’t need it.

Posted 8 weeks 3 days ago by Paul Michael

Personal Finance, General Tips, Shopping, Consumer Affairs

Sale

I found myself in a strange battle of wills last week. My favorite store, Target, was having another one of those spectacular sales. Red tags featuring the 75% off, and the rare 90% off, sticker were scattered far and wide throughout the store. And try as I might, I could not find a reason to buy anything.

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Why is Gasoline So Cheap? A Cost Comparison of 40 Common Household Liquids

Posted 8 weeks 4 days ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, General Tips, Shopping, Health and Beauty, Food and Drink, Cars and Transportation

Do you know which is more expensive: one gallon of gasoline or one gallon of orange juice? How about one gallon of glue? Read on for a comparison of the price gasoline and other fluid substances we consume and see if you still think gas is expensive.

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Chinese Money Habits - How My Culture Influences My Attitudes Toward Money

Posted 9 weeks 1 day ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, General Tips, Shopping, Lifestyle, Real Estate and Housing

I moved to the United States when I was a child from Yangzhou, China. After sixteen years, I could easily pass as an American because I speak English without an accent, and I am well versed with the popular culture. However, if you ever examined my attitudes toward money you will see that I am undeniably Chinese. Here are some of the principles I grew up with.

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The stuff I try never to buy new

Posted 9 weeks 1 day ago by Paul Michael

Frugal Living, General Tips, Shopping, Green Living, Budgeting, Consumer Affairs

Sale

I don't like buying new. It's not that I consider myself to be some kind of Scrooge. I just have a hard time paying more for something than I need to, and often we take that extra hit when we pay for a brand new item. So, I buy second-hand things a lot of the time. Here's my guide to the main items you should always consider buying used.

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Tips for Increasing Your Financial Literacy

Posted 10 weeks 1 day ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, General Tips, Investment, Credit Cards

A recent CNN article titled "Americans are 'financially illiterate'" reports that a survey found that a large proportion of Americans they tested do not seem to understand their debt. I am not that surprised by the report because in American we really do not get very much financial education in schools. However, I think financial literacy is very important and here are some of the things I think anyone can do to gain financial knowledge.

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Designing your life

Posted 10 weeks 2 days ago by Philip Brewer

General Tips, Lifestyle

Spiderweb

Key decisions that you make-especially when you're young, but also later--have implications that ripple through the whole rest of your life. People treat these early decisions--decisions like whether to go to college and what degree to get--as if they were unchangeable. They put them in the back of their mind and look to the future. It's true that what's past is past, but there are good reasons to keep these decisions clearly in mind when you make future decisions. It's never too late to design your life.

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Five Ways to Squeeze Savings from Your Workplace

Posted 10 weeks 2 days ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Career and Income, General Tips, Lifestyle, Food and Drink

If you are a cube dweller like me you may be familiar with the usual benefits of a salary and paid days off, but there are many other ways you can benefit from your workplace. I am not talking about stealing pens or embezzling large sums of money. Read on for some of the practical and legal means I think you can use your work to squeeze just a little bit of extra savings for yourself.

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Passport Pictures for Under a Dollar

Posted 10 weeks 3 days ago by Nora Dunn

General Tips

passport

Use this technique to produce passport pictures, visa pictures, and any other required id photos, all for under a dollar.

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When Should You Say No to Those Who Want to Borrow Money from You?

Posted 10 weeks 4 days ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Career and Income, General Tips, Lifestyle

I think most of us have been asked to lend money to someone we know. No matter how close you are with the potential borrower, there are certain situations when you just have to say no. Here are some of the times I think you should absolutely keep your money for the sake of your relationship with the other person and the well being of both parties.

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More Free Television Online - Hulu.com - UPDATE: Invites Available for Wise Bread Readers!

Posted 10 weeks 6 days ago by Xin Lu

Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Technology, General Tips, Art and Leisure

Introducing Hulu.com, a joint effort of Fox and NBC that aims to be the one stop hub of all free and legal online television. Today I took it for a spin. Read on for my experience.

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