Hot Today

Wise Bread articles that are hot today.

Free Shopping at Walgreens

If you could find a way to shop at Walgreens for free, and sometimes to even get paid to shop there, would you?

Wage slave, debt slave

This article has its roots in an article I wrote some time ago that used the terms wage slave and debt peonage—terms that some people objected to. Those making free choices aren't

Life Without a Microwave

Life without a microwave might seem prehistoric, but it's easy. Learn how you can depend less on nuking your food and avoid another cumbersome kitchen appliance.

IKEA Survival Guide

IKEA is a great place to buy furniture with style that doesn't cost a ton of money. But the store is notorious for sucking away hours of your time and patience. Here are five ha

UTMA/UGMA Custodial Accounts

Over the years, Uniform Transfers to Minors and Uniform Gifts to Minors custodial accounts (also known as UGMA and UTMA accounts) have become less popular than college savings opti

Voluntary simplicity as hedonism

When people talk about voluntary simplicity (or living a frugal lifestyle under any of its many names), they often do so in terms of deprivation. The descriptions are all about doing without stuff. To me, that's completely wrong. [more]

Tactics of the rich

There are things the rich do that working class and middle class folks don't. Some of them--living off the return on capital rather than wages or salary--are only available to the

Food Hacks: Recipes

Stop spending money on pre-packaged foods you can whip up at home! These stables are so simple — we promise.

35 Mouth Watering Lentil Recipes

The humble, affordable lentil is delicious and full of protein. You're sure to find something tasty in this collection of 35 easy to prepare lentil recipes.

Gas Is High Enough….

Watching my local newscast a few nights ago, I was disturbed by the assumption that the anchor made regarding rising gas prices and consumer reaction.

Federal Student Loans

Depending on the type of help you need with paying for college, knowing the differences between government financial aid programs can make a big difference in finding a loan that r

Peak Debt and Income

When stimulating the economy, is it better to invest in the rich or the poor? Learn whether supply- or demand-side techniques are best.

Honda Hybrids

Honda is hoping to make it’s hybrid car more accessible to mainstream consumers, which is good news for the environment but may be bad news for Detroit.

Pom - Wonderful?

The health benefits of pomegranates are something like folk wisdom outside of the Western world, and like green tea, are only starting to seep into the American consumer's consciousness. [more]

Plan for expensive fuel

Does your budget include a contingency for fuel to get much more expensive? Because it ought to. I learned about the need for contingencies early. [more]

Avoid Bank Fees

How do you avoid bank fees? Read the stuff from your bank and understand what services are free and what services aren't.

The Great Whitening Hype

The home teeth whitening market is expected to grow 30% in the next decade. While this isn’t surprising in itself, I am shocked at the number o

Gifts For Grads

Around springtime last year, as my niece’s university graduation date loomed, I picked out (but waited to buy) what I thought would be an ideal gift: a watch with her alma mater’s

Organizers for a Dollar

Organizers for cell phones and ipods are going for under a dollar at Pacific Designs. But hurry - the sale is only on for a few more days!

Join the rentier class

You don't hear much about the rentier class any more. Perhaps that's because we all expect to be members by retirement age. Perhaps it's because even the very wealthy