Money Tips Network

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Avoiding certain degrees
2. Investing for the lazy
3. Will anyone have a job?
4. Getting organized
5. Glass jar banks
6. Last minute gift exchange ideas
7. Retirement advice
8. How to avoid holiday colds
9. Free or really cheap movies?

Have you set aside enough for your 2014 taxes? There’s still time to take action. Photo: Tax Credits

Holiday stress is boiling over, and the last thing you want to worry about are your taxes due next April.

But while enjoying a good year financially thanks to increased earnings and the stock market’s all-time highs is great news, it means your tax bill is going to increase as well.

Ideally, you’ve been working taxes into your overall financial strategy all year. But if you haven’t or need some last-minute ideas for tax havens, here are a few year-end tax-saving ideas for you and your business before the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31:

This article is by staff writer Honey Smith.

In recent posts exploring job searches and the cost of jobs in general, the subject of commute came up in a number of the comments. Readers pointed out that a commute makes a huge difference in whether a job is desirable or not because it has a significant impact on quality of life. I couldn’t agree more.

When Jake and I were looking to buy a house, I wanted to be within five miles of my work. As far as I’m concerned, my commute is part of my job, only I don’t get paid for it. Oh, the humanity! #firstworldproblems

Commuting is a significant factor for many. According to the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census, approximately 86 percent of Americans commute to work by car, truck, or van. How do you determine the cost of your commute? Here are some things to take into consideration:

1. The cost of driving your vehicle.

Groupon may have a reputation for being frivolous, but you can use it to save money on pricey essentials, too — such as eye exams and prescription glasses. Photo: Franklin Heijnen

It’s easy to dismiss Groupon as a service aimed at getting you to waste your hard-earned cash on frivolous splurges and bargains of questionable value. After all, some of the most popular Groupon deals are for things like buy-one-get-one-free restaurant meals, spa treatments, and vacation bundles. In other words, stuff you don’t need.

I am a big fan of using a combination of coupons and a grocery price-book to save money when buying groceries.  I am also a big fan of saving money in the kitchen, after those groceries have been purchased.  Here’s how to save money in the kitchen – and minimize those costly trips to the grocery store.

These tips work for our busy family of 5.  There are no professional organizers in this bunch!

In the refrigerator -

Keep things neat and tidy.  It’s easy to forget what you have if you can’t see it.

Prep fruits and vegetables.  We have kids – and kids like convenience foods.  Rather than see our fruits and vegetables spoil, we slice and peel them when we buy them, and the kids eat them up.

Use it up.  Waste not, want not.  When a bottle is almost empty, turn it over, let gravity help you out, and use it up.

One common question I hear from readers – and see on various personal finance message boards – goes something like this:

Over the past few weeks, some sort of financial calamity has occurred in my life. As a result, I only have $10 or $20 that needs to last me until the end of the month. I have nothing in my cupboards. How can I eat for a week or two on just these few dollars?

Lots of variations on this story pop up.

Some people fall into this situation because of a job loss. Others simply mismanage their money so poorly that they wind up unable to pay their bills. Still others wind up here because of a financial error of some kind – maybe they didn’t balance their checkbook right or something like that.

Some people might be stuck with only $5 or $10. Others might have $40 or $50.

Some people might be living single, while others have a family to feed. Honestly, it’s the stories with children that really get to me.

Link for teaser title: 

http://www.wisebread.com/bestdeals/today

Home Depot Overstock Sale: Up to 60% off, Men’s Apparel and Shoes at Nordstrom: Up to 65% off, Office Depot and...

If a house and a car are the two most important purchases in your life, a mattress makes a solid case as the third. (See also: How to Buy a Car Without Going Crazy)

Without the right knowledge, a mattress purchase can also become like the other two — very expensive.

If you live in a city and have a busy schedule, it is really easy to fall into a cycle of eating out almost every night.

This used to be me. I worked in a city, but I actually lived in a small town that was a good dozen miles away. In the evenings, many of my social events were in the city, so I would often find reasons to just stay in the city. That meant eating out for dinner between the end of work and the start of my social events. I’d get off work at four and intend to go to an event at six, so instead of driving almost half an hour to get home, making supper, eating it, spending maybe half an hour at home, and then driving back, I’d just go out to eat.