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Does Shopping at Costco Save Money?
Tweet Share on Facebook August 30, 2011 Comment (8)While I'm out on vacation this week, we're re-posting some of our favorite stories from the past. This story was originally posted on Dec. 28, 2007.
If you find yourself drawn to membership-based stores such as Sam's Club or Costco, which charge customers a fee for the ability to shop there, because you believe they save you money, you are not alone. But you also may be wrong, at least some of the time.
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How to Get Financially Ready for a Hurricane
Tweet Share on Facebook August 26, 2011 Comment (2)Hurricane Irene is now bearing down on the East Coast, which only just experienced a significant earthquake earlier in the week. Preparations include securing windows, clearing debris out of gutters, and stocking up on food and flashlights, but residents might also want to consider getting financially prepared for the potential disaster, too. A hurricane can cause major property damage, force quick evacuations, and otherwise put a strain on bank accounts.
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Former Cop Finds Side-Gig Success
Tweet Share on Facebook August 25, 2011 Comment (1)As a captain in the New York Police Department, Joe Cain noticed that many of his fellow officers held side jobs to supplement their income. He also knew that “cops only trust other cops,” and would much prefer to hire a handyman or contractor who also carried a badge. So he launched sidegig.com, a website that connects cops and firefighters with second jobs to people who want to hire them. Today, more than a decade after he started it, thousands of people across the country use the site.
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Which E-Reader has the Best Customer Service?
Tweet Share on Facebook August 23, 2011 Comment (39)After the screen on my husband’s Kindle suddenly froze, he went in search of customer service on Amazon.com. As anyone who has gone on a similar quest can attest, it is not easy to find. The Kindle Support page simply told him to check his warranty, which had expired the previous week. His only option, it seemed, was to buy a new one.
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Do Single People Need Life Insurance?
Tweet Share on Facebook August 17, 2011 Comment (6)If you’re married with children, then you probably know you should have life insurance to protect your dependents in the event of your death. But do single people without those same dependents also need to insure themselves? According to USAA Life Insurance, the number of single people buying life insurance has increased 10 percent compared to a year earlier. The biggest growth was among twenty-somethings, which experienced a 24 percent increase in life insurance purchases.
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How One Travel Blogger Funds Her Adventures
Tweet Share on Facebook August 15, 2011 Comment (3)How would you like to start a blog, watch it balloon in popularity, and then leave your job to return to school, using the blog’s income as a financial cushion? It sounds like every blogger’s fantasy, but Amanda Williams, a 24-year-old journalist based in Ohio, found a way to make it work. Her blog, A Dangerous Business, documents her traveling adventures from China to New Zealand. She recently left her job to travel across the country before she returns to school this fall to study hospitality and tourism. We spoke with Williams about how she turned her hobby into a money maker. Excerpts:
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How One Mom Survived Her Husband’s Job Loss
Tweet Share on Facebook August 10, 2011 CommentWhen blogger Kylie Ofiu’s husband was laid off earlier this summer, she quickly came up with a plan to earn more money: She would sell more of her things online, which she had already started doing. She would continue to focus building an audience for her blog and related book on saving money. And she would find a short-term position at a salon. Through the help of friends and family, she also found some free food to cushion the family budget.
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Getting Perspective on the Stock Market
Tweet Share on Facebook August 9, 2011 Comment (4)Yesterday was a terrible day for anyone with money in the stock market. The Dow dropped 5.6 percent, the biggest fall since December 2008. So we decided to revisit the height of that recent financial crisis for a little perspective. Alpha Consumer posted these tips for “staying up when stocks go down” in October 2008:
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The Perfect, $5 Family Dinner
Tweet Share on Facebook August 3, 2011 Comment (5)After realizing that our grocery bill almost doubled once we became a family of three, my husband and I have been trying to think of ways we can avoid spending a small fortune on food each month. Part of the problem is that our toddler often prefers her own food, separate from what we’re eating, which makes it hard to save money by simply making larger quantities.
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Did Divorce Cause Our Real Estate Obsession?
Tweet Share on Facebook August 2, 2011 Comment (1)Our love of real estate is so strong that an entire cable channel (HGTV) is devoted to it. Blogs and websites on the subject flourish. Even relatively affordable home furnishing stores like Ikea emphasize the importance of style; at least one blog (ikeahackers.net) is devoted to making the most of Ikea products alone. The strength of our obsession is obvious, but what drives it?
