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Go Green -- and Save Money
Tweet Share on Facebook April 21, 2009 Comment (3)Going green doesn't have to mean straining your budget. In honor of Earth Day, here are five steps you can take today to save energy -- and money.
Put your home on an energy diet. Make sure your home is properly insulated so you can use less heat and air conditioning. Closing doors to unused rooms, like a guest room, helps, too. Also, be sure to unplug appliances, turn off lights, and shut down computers at night. Even televisions can use up power when they're turned off, so either unplug them or use power strips that automatically shut the power off when they're not turned on. A lot of energy gets wasted on technology that we're not even using most of the time.
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Budgeting Babe: Don't Make Saving a Secret
Tweet Share on Facebook April 20, 2009 Comment (2)The Budgeting Babe recently posted some great spring saving tips for anyone trying to overhaul their finances before summer starts. My favorite is her tip to tell your friends what your money goals are, just like you would if you were trying to lose weight. Saying you want to save money can be embarrassing, especially if you're the only one trying to cut costs on that upcoming bachelorette party, but as long as it's all out in the open, it's easier to explain why you won't be spending $200 on Las Vegas show tickets.
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'Beer Wars' Falls Flat
Tweet Share on Facebook April 17, 2009 Comment (21)Today’s guest post comes from Amy Mittelman, author of Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer.
'Beer Wars Live' was a unique event, which I suppose was what Anat Baron, the director, intended. The film itself was slow moving and rather dated. The two main villains are Anheuser-Busch and the three-tier system of beer distribution. The protagonists were Sam Caligione, the very charismatic and appealing owner of Dogfish Head Brewery and Rhonda Kallman, co-creator of Sam Adams and current promoter of Moonshot Beer.
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How to Take Advantage of Falling Prices
Tweet Share on Facebook April 17, 2009 Comment (21)Yesterday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest Consumer Price Index figures, which show us how much cheaper -- or more expensive -- typical purchases have become. For the first time in 50 years, the index has declined over a 12-month period. While economists generally see such drops as bad news for the nation's economy, it's also partly good news for those of us who are trying to buy food, clothes, or cars.
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Nydia Velázquez Wants Simpler Tax Code
Tweet Share on Facebook April 16, 2009 Comment (2)Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, says the IRS should do more to help small businesses get on top of their taxes. She suggests educational sessions, flexibility in making payments, and quicker processing of refunds. Yesterday, she sent a letter to the IRS commissioner noting that, according to the Government Accountability Office, entrepreneurs can be stuck with filing 200 IRS forms each year. Simplifying this process could help keep more small businesses open, she says.
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Podcast: Why Customer Service Is So Bad
Tweet Share on Facebook April 16, 2009 Comment (4)For this week's Alpha Consumer Podcast, I interviewed Emily Yellin, author of Your Call Is (not that) Important to Us: Customer Service and What It Reveals About Our World and Our Lives. She explains why companies force us to spend so much time on hold, or otherwise frustrated, when their products and services give us problems. She also tells us what to do about it. (For more on Yellin, you can read my Q&A with her here.) The podcast also contains the Alpha Consumer Tip of the Week on the dangers of certain Facebook ads.
Why Customer Service Is So Bad
Subscribe to Personal Finance With Kimberly Palmer
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'Beer Wars' Speaks Up for Craft Brewers
Tweet Share on Facebook April 16, 2009 Comment (3)Today’s guest post comes from Amy Mittelman, author of Brewing Battles: A History of American Beer.
The movie Beer Wars, which explores the challenges of craft beer brewers (and drinkers) in the United States, launches tonight in 440 theaters around the country. I E-mailed with director Anat Baron about the film and what she hopes people get out of it. Excerpts:
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IRS Calling? Probably Just a Tax Scam
Tweet Share on Facebook April 15, 2009 Comment (1)If you get a phone call sometime in the next few months, and the caller says he's from the IRS, you might want to consider hanging up on him. It could be one of the many scams that the IRS is currently warning consumers about. Sandy Botkin, tax expert and author of Lower Your Taxes: Big Time!, says that taxpayers are receiving phone calls, emails, or letters that appear to be official, and often inform the taxpayer that the IRS owes him a tax refund. In order to get it, the taxpayer needs to provide his Social Security number, mother's maiden name, and other pieces of personal information. Of course, the caller isn't really from the IRS, and now he has stolen personal information that he can use to steal money. The real IRS will never ask for this kind of personal information over the phone, by letter, or in an email, Botkin says.
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On Tax Day, Get Free Food
Tweet Share on Facebook April 15, 2009 Comment (5)If you filed your taxes in time for today's deadline, now is the time to celebrate, and retailers want to help you do it. Here are a few of the stores that are giving away free food today; if you know of others, please share below.
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Mel Gibson: Will He Fight His Divorce Payout?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2009 Comment (13)Mel Gibson seems to have missed the lesson that John Cleese provided last month when Cleese managed to cut his payments to his ex-wife in half. People reports that the Gibson divorce may, in fact, be the most expensive in history. He has been married to his wife, Robyn Gibson, for 28 years, and their prenup specifies that she will receive half of everything. In Gibson's case, "everything" is about $1 billion.
