Recent comments

  • 10 Fun Ways to Leave Your Job   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Special warning: please don't burn bridges no matter how much you hate your company or co-workers. You never know where you may find yourself 5-10 years later. It's good to have some of those relationships intact.

    I've had several friends leave and come back years later in a much higher position. If the y burned bridges, this would not have been possible.

  • The 5 Best Back-to-School Laptops   12 years 51 weeks ago

    No Linux love? Windows 8 is a steaming pile of you know what...

    I'd go with the last one (Asus Zenbook). I've purchased a lot of Asus products before and have had good luck with them.

  • Best Money Tips: Things to Do to Get a Raise at Work   12 years 51 weeks ago

    The raise article is a pretty good one.

    Also, the best way to go to college for free is to really work hard in middle school and high school to get good grades. The article focuses too much on hunting for scholarships IMHO.

  • How to Slow Down Your Fast-Paced Life   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Another good tip is to take time to exercise. You can stay/get healthy, reduce stress, and give you mind some time to sort things out that are bothering you.

  • ReFi Shy? How to Determine If Now Is the Time to Refinance   12 years 51 weeks ago

    It looks like with QE tapering beginning soon and interest rates already up almost 1% over the past couple of months, many folks may miss the boat if they haven't refinanced already.

  • A Better Way to Rank America's Colleges   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Cool way to screen the colleges. It would be great if someone could make a college screener that would let you apply all these filters real-time to find the best college for you by state and the amount of loans you're willing to take on...

  • Food Safety Reminder: Rinsing the Bird Is Bad for Your Health   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Misleading headline alert!

    I think it should read: rinsing the bird is really just absurd.

  • 15 Alternative Uses for Nail Polish   12 years 51 weeks ago

    As to #9 (and #10)... Most (if not all) nail polishes are toxic. They are designed to be applied to the external surface of the fingernail (and toenail) through which absorption into the bloodstream is hindered. Even if one chooses to use a 3 free (or even 5 free) polish, the affects of applying polish to an open wound havenot been studied. Do yourself a favor and rinse the wound with warm, soapy water and apply an adhesive bandage. If you believe that you have been in contact with infectious bacteria or if you have any other questions or concerns contact your physician, local health department or urgent care facility.

  • 18 Awesome, Practically Free Upcycled Craft Projects   12 years 51 weeks ago

    I am into making pom pom adorned hats. To get the pom pom yarn, and yes, even the hat yarn, I have been known to tear apart hats and sweaters.

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Shop Back-to-School Sales?   12 years 51 weeks ago

    I don't really shop sales as I tend to do a lot electronically or have extra supplies on hand.

  • 30 Signs That You Were Raised by Frugal Parents   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Use a tiny lipstick brush or equivalent to use the lipstick inside tube when you get to the end of the case/stick - must be 1/3 of the lipstick still inside the ruddy tube. I could almost say yes to all 30 quirks. I'm proud to be cheap "frugal"!! laughing all the way to the bank.

  • Is hunting/fishing a good way to feed your family?   12 years 51 weeks ago

    If you are skilled enough at hunting you can live off of it. There is a video from the vice channel on youtube of a guy and his wife that live on the tip of alaska and they survive there alone and are the only two people there on land that is the size of south carolina. They trap, use guns, and fish to live. As the man makes the point in this video... hunting and trapping has been the main way of life throughout the majority of human history. We are primarily predators and farming was really not our way of life until the romans. I don't understand society today. We have so many resources and free education, yet we are the dumbest human beings of all generations when it comes to survival. People in louisiana still live off the land and maintain off the grid lifestyles.

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Shop Back-to-School Sales?   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Yes! As a homeschooling mom I am in heaven with all the GREAT deals out there. I buy UP TO 80% off jump drives, laundry baskets, sheets, to give (as going away to college gifts) for my son's friends. I buy a large bag full of crayons, colored paper, dry erase board materials art supply, etc... for our Sunday school classes. Notebooks, pens, etc for our own home are all dirt cheap! I check out E-bay and on-line sites for their "Deal of the day" and snatch a bargain or two.
    I load up on tax free day on new socks, underware. Clothes we get through out the year at yard sales & thrift stores and "swaps with friends"
    For the cost of buying the needed items for our own "school" at retail, we are able to donate & share our finds with a multitude of others! This is a Win-Win for all of usand make everyone happy.

  • Save Money by "Hypermiling" Your Air Conditioning   12 years 51 weeks ago

    These are really great ideas for saving more! One idea that I always forget is changing the air filter monthly, it saves money and is much cleaner/safer too.

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Shop Back-to-School Sales?   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Yes, I shop the school sales. I bought 2inch binders for a penny. After school started I needed one more. I sent my husband to the office supply store And he paid $9! If I paid full price for school supplies for my 4 children, the cost would total hundreds of dollars, and we could not afford that.

  • 10 Fun Ways to Leave Your Job   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Really great post! I saw a guy on my twitter feed do this the other week. He was leaving to set up a cake making business so he baked a cake that he iced his resignation letter onto!

  • Scheduling Time Versus Scheduling Tasks   12 years 51 weeks ago

    I swear by my google calendar. I think lists of next actions without a reasonable plan for how they can get done is just plain stressful. I prefer to block out time on my calendar, including overlapping appointments that make sense (e.g., like laundry and groceries because I go shopping nearby while my clothes are in the dryer). It's great to have a list of things to get done, but it makes more sense to just add those things directly to your calendar when you know you can actually get them done and just do it!

  • How to Take Advantage of Free Extended Warranty From Your Credit Card Issuer   12 years 51 weeks ago

    From my experience submitting 4 Extended Warranty benefit claims over 2 years, AMEX is excellent. Their process is simple (everything can be done online) and in some cases I received a credit to my account in just a few days. I've tried to submit a claim with Chase Freedom and their process was much more difficult. For more details see my own post on this topic.

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Shop Back-to-School Sales?   12 years 51 weeks ago

    I do shop back to school sales. I have a thing for school and office supplies. I like to collect pens and notebooks for various writing tasks. This year, however, my husband is currently out of work, so I have managed to stop myself from doing more than window shopping them. And it has been hard, considering the prices! I bought a composition notebook for 50 cents.

  • How to Avoid (and Treat) Cold Sores   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Holy cow some people are rude! I think I'm getting my first cold sore... yay me... and my partner gave me a bunch of lysine tabs. She swears by them, and I have to say that it seems to work for her... her cold sores tend to last only a couple days. Anyway, personally I agree with you, if lysine was a miracle cure then drug companies would have synthesized a replicant by now.

  • The Top 5 Strength Training Apps   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Thanks for the catch. We've updated the article.

  • The mystery shopping scam that could cost you a fortune.   12 years 51 weeks ago

    Paul I am a long time Mystery Shopper with more than 12 years of experience. I am a Telephone Mystery Shopper; conducting shops for Call Centers, Banks, Medicare, Insurance, many other types of retail. I am Silver and Gold Certified through the Mystery Shoppers Providers Association. They offer two levels of certification, Silver and Gold.

    You are correct; Certification is not needed to become a Mystery Shopper. With that said, there are many advantages to being certified. Certified Mystery Shoppers are seen as more reliable Shoppers. There are many new Shoppers who think this is an easy get wealthy or get stuff free industry. Often times they sign up and then fail to conduct the shop, fall short following the Shop Guidelines and/or fail to submit the report.

    Certification demonstrates to Schedulers that you are reliable and take the industry seriously. Oftentimes, I am called on to reshop locations which have not been done correctly. I may be offered opportunities first or offered additional pay or bonus pay because of my Certifications.

    I am able to negotiate with Schedulers too. They know that they can depend on me and may offer me a circuit of shop locations. I am often called on to conduct shops that do not show up on the company’s website. I often and called on to do those shops.

    The Industry has changed a lot in a few short years. Shoppers no longer send in faxed or complete hand written reports as was done when I first started as a Shopper. The Internet is certainly changing the way Shoppers are recruited and Social Networks are having a huge impact on the way Shops are completed and reported. Certified Video Shopping is becoming a mainstay in the way some sectors within Mystery Shopping conduct business.

    As the Social Networks, Internet and other technologies continue to expand and effect how we communicate, the Mystery Shopping Industry will continue to evolve. No, Certification is not currently required to be a Mystery Shopper, but it certainly helps to make the serious Shoppers more competitive.

  • Ask the Readers: Do You Shop Back-to-School Sales?   12 years 51 weeks ago

    I love back to school sales, but shop for daily living for the year!

  • The mystery shopping scam that could cost you a fortune.   12 years 51 weeks ago

    I have been a Mystery Shopper for a long time and I am certified as a Gold Shopper through the MSPA. I hate to scream but...ANYONE WHO SENDS YOU A CHECK TO CASH for anything before you shop IS A SCAM. I specialize in telephone Mystery Shopping and spend my days calling companies to evaluate activities done on the telephone. This includes evaluating Mortgage Loan Officers, Senior Admissions Services, Insurance Agents and Bank Call Centers. This is hard work. The calls pay from $4 to $50 per call depending on the complexity of the shop. After the call, I have to submit a report on my experience between 12-24 hours. I make from $200 - $400 each month. For me this supplements my limited income each month. I do not have any outlay for the shops that I do. Companies pay for this service anywhere from 30 to 45 days. I will never get rich Mystery Shopping but it will help to pay a bill or two each month.

  • The 5 Best Back-to-School Laptops   12 years 51 weeks ago

    get up to speed on Apple - macbook's come with thunderbolt and you have to get an adapter to use ethernet. But it can be done. So wifi is *NOT* the only option.