Paul Michael's blog

The ultimate recycler - Utah man saves 70,000 beer cans

Wow, am I late to the news. But hey, it's a great frugal story or recycling, even if it is completely insane. [more]

How to live on $12,000 a year

In my first job out of college, I was on 12,000 English pounds per year. That was back in London in 1996, i was single, lived with two friends and only had rent and travel to pay for. And I still remember how tough that was. [more]

Open a beer bottle with a sheet of paper

A friend sent me this link, knowing full well I'll never, ever need it (I carry a bottle opener on my keyring in case of such emergencies). [more]

Make 5 cheap ‘greeting cards’ that blow Hallmark away.

Before I share with you my 5 great ways to make outstanding greeting cards, I'd like to rant about the four issues I have with store-bought greeting cards, like those produced by H

US Mint offers 2 for 1 on new $1 coins. Double your money!

Buy George! In an unprecedented marketing move by the US Mint, banks tomorrow will begin exchanging $1 bills for TWO of the new $1 coins, released only a few weeks ago. Got a $1 bill? Get $2 in coins back. Got 100 $1 bills? Get $200 in coins. [more]

a 3-course meal...from garbage.

Why buy groceries, when you can get your weekly shop for free? Many people do it, but there is a catch. Instead of going in to your supermarket through the front door, you have to go to a different department. The dumpster. [more]

Free 12-month supply of contact lens cases & coupons

Nice quick bargain for you all. A 12-month free supply kit containing contact lens cases, coupons, information and more. [more]

The AMAZON URL hack generator. Save big $$$.

In a previous post I mentioned url hacking. It's basically just a way to figure out how to get to the bargains more quickly, and involves finding the codes for the different departments on Amazon and matching them to a sale percentage. [more]

Beat the claw machine, save your sanity.

How many times have you passed one of these annoying things and thrown 50 cents away? I'm hugely guilty of it. I can't resist them. One time I got six out in a row, then I've gone years with no success. Is there a secret? Well, it seems there is. [more]

25GB of FREE online media storage.

Don't leave home without it! Seriously, this is a great resource for file sharing. I often have files that are at least 500MB, sometimes a 1GB. You can't email those, they usually get bounced. [more]

Save $115 to $150 on portable DVD players.

I was sat on my computer quietly doing a little url hacking (75% off at Amazon...I'll show you how in a future post) and I came across these deals purely by chance. [more]

Shoes that grow with your child. Parents everywhere rejoice!

My 2 and a half year old girl has my feet. By that I mean they're growing like she spends all day stood in fertilizer. So I had this GENIUS idea. What if shoes could grow as your child's feet grow? [more]

Drive across America for FREE.

  How would you like to see everything that America has to offer, with all your friends, and not pay one cent for it? Well, it's not as far-fetched as you may think. [more]

The GHETTO MAC - yours for $1.

Let me clarify something. I'm no huge fan of the Golden Arches. I'd much rather have a nice tray of sushi. But this is Wisebread and it's our job to cater to bargain-hunters everywhere. [more]

254 Uses for Vinegar. And Counting.

I began hearing whispers of the incredible versatility of vinegar. So I did some research. I was shocked!

Carnival Of Scams - Top 4 fairground cons

Go to the fairground, get taken for a ride. Yep, those sneaky Real Hustlers are at it again. This time they've been uncovering the basic tricks and cons performed by your friendly neighborhood fairground staff. [more]

Secret Lawn Tonic Recipe From Golf Course Groundskeeper

The lawn tonic recipe came from a former groundskeeper at a golf course. All you need are 5 common household ingredients and a 10-gallon hose-end sprayer.

20% drop in US CD sales shows the power of the music fan

I don't like buying albums, for one reason. Most of the time, they're a mixed bag. Some great tunes, some good tunes, some poor tunes. That's why I love ITunes. I can cherry-pick the songs I like and leave the rest behind. 99 cents a song? [more]

The $100 laptop...for sale to the public?

Fancy a brand new hand-cranked laptop for a few hundred bucks? Well, it may just happen. It seems plans are afoot to offer the $100 laptop for sale to the general public, and not just the poor children of the world. [more]