Money Hacks


If you’re new here, you may want to learn what this site is about. I encourage you to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!My wife has always maintained a sizable savings account, but having extra cash is new to me. Until recently, I had always lived paycheck-to-paycheck, often treading close to a [...]

[read all of Use a Freedom Account to Prepare for the Unexpected]

On Saturday, I wrote about my transition from spender to saver. I mentioned that I’d recently peeked at the latest camera equipment. “I spent twenty minutes on Amazon, drooling over the Nikon D300,” I wrote. “I’m tempted — but not much. I’d rather save that $1,800 for the future.”
Reader Kristi Wachter left an astute comment:
$1800? [...]

[read all of Personal Currencies: New Ways to Look at Money]

I pulled out my camera gear last night. It’s been two years since I used it regularly. Before I started Get Rich Slowly, I seriously considered trying to become a professional photographer. But for a long time now, my camera stuff has been gathering dust in the corner of my office. I can’t even remember [...]

[read all of Making the Move from Spender to Saver]

Kris at Cheap Healthy Good recently wrote how 60 minutes a week can save hundreds of dollars on food.
This kind of stuff never occurred to me in my early ‘20s, and The Boyfriend and I are much better for it now. We eat like the dickens and haven’t had to sell any major organs to [...]

[read all of Save Money on Food with the Sixty Minute Plan]

This article is part of Financial Literacy Month.
Most Americans receive a daily flood of junk mail. Some savvy citizens take a stand against the torrent. My friend Pam gets great delight from calling the sender of every catalog she receives in order to be removed from their mailing lists. This works well, but there are [...]

[read all of How to Stop Junk Mail in Its Tracks]

Last week, Jason shared a guest post on how to negotiate to save money. Daylily Diva wrote to share her own experiences, which I’ve reproduced here with permission.
I love haggling — it’s second nature to me.  If I’m buying bagged mulch at the garden center and some sacks have small puncture holes,  I negotiate a [...]

[read all of How One Reader Uses Haggling to Save Big Bucks]

Yesterday Adam at Lifehacker unearthed a Bankrate article in which extreme savers share their secrets. While the tips profiled in this story aren’t as radical as some I’ve shared, they’re much more applicable to average people like you and me. Author Elaine Appleman Grant writes:
These days, as the cost of food and gas skyrockets, credit [...]

[read all of Secrets of the Extremely Thrifty]

This is a guest post from Jason, who is the author of World Fitness Network, a blog that will teach you how to lift weights, live strong, and change the way you look and feel.
Sometimes a few simple actions can save you money year after year. The negotiation process is definitely one of those times. [...]

[read all of Negotiate Once, Save Thousands Every Year]

Hidden around the web are lots of little personal finance gems. I stumble across new resources every day — I just don’t have time to share them all! I plan to start sharing more than I have been, however, beginning today with a publication from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Federation of [...]

[read all of 66 Ways to Save Money]

Ralph sent me e-mail last week describing a clever budget trick he picked up from a friend:

My wife and I had dinner last night with a couple of of young women we know. We talked a little about personal finance. One of the girls has an interesting idea on forced savings. She calls it “reverse [...]

[read all of Use “Reverse Credit” to Stick to Your Budget]

Next Page »