Also: What your trash says about how efforts (or failures) to save money.
4 things you shouldn’t be cheap about. Yes, even cheapskates know there are times when it’s wise to spend money. Among the suggestions here when it’s unwise to cheap out is when buying:
Professional Clothing
If you wear a suit every single day, then getting a nicer, more expensive suit will be worth the money because higher quality suits last longer. The materials are likely to breathe more. The weaves will be tighter and less like to get snags. I liken this comparison to CFL vs. incandescent light bulbs. CLFs cost more but will save you money if you use them often. Nicer suits will often be more comfortable, which is a nice qualitative difference.
5 most financially dangerous haters (and how to stand up to them). “Haters,” in this situation, are folks who try to undermine your efforts to save money, like:
The “You Have to Live a Little” Hater
This hater erroneously equates those who are financially disciplined with those who are miserably miserly. Her house is bursting at the seams with stuff she’s never used and can’t afford. Any impulse purchase can be justified with the simple justification, “you have to enjoy your money.”
5 steps to breaking up with your cable company. You’d think only one step would be necessary: Call and cancel. But to do it right—without paying fees, and without regrets—you should take a close look at your contract, think hard about how much TV you really watch, and be prepared for the onslaught of sales tactics employed to talk you out of canceling. Then, after you do the deed, there may be a final step, in which you must deal with cable reps who call and try to talk you into signing up again:
RIIIIIIIIIIING. They’re back! It was like a scene from the movie Poltergeist. Every time my phone rang it was either my bad former boyfriend (Mr. Cable Guy) calling or one of his wingmen haunting me. To make matters worse, I fielded calls from several cable companies that week.
7 DIY projects that’ll make your place stand out. The easiest of all is to simply paint a room:
Painting order is important: Tackle ceiling, then trim, then walls. Let ceiling and trim dry for at least six hours before painting walls.
9 ways to talk yourself out of a traffic ticket. Don’t be above pulling the “I gotta pee!” card:
She was within a mile of her Fredericksburg, Va., house when Victoria Bors felt the urgent call of nature. Preoccupied with getting home quickly, it took a minute to notice the cop’s lights flashing in her rearview mirror.
“By the time the officer peered into my window, I was desperately trying to keep from squirming in my seat,” she says. That’s when Bors’ 14-year-old daughter called out from the back, “She has to go to the bathroom!”
10 ways to make your home green. One of the simpler, more straightforward, and cost-effective suggestions is:
Replace Shower Head
Replace your existing showerhead with a 2.5 gallon per minute head – it uses less water and will save you around $145 per year in energy costs, according to the Department of Energy.
10 things that shouldn’t be in your trash. That is, that shouldn’t be in your trash if you’re trying to stop wasting money and save some of it instead. Stuff like:
Single-serve product wrappers: Those prepackaged snacks are convenient but expensive. Packs of cheese cubes, 100-calorie packs, small packages of chips, and single-serve fruit bowls are all more expensive than if you buy the bigger size and parcel it out yourself.
10 money lessons from music lyrics. Here’s one you probably know and love by the Barenaked Ladies (haven’t you always wanted a monkey?):
If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to walk to the store
If I had a million dollars
We’d take a limousine cause it costs more
12 tips to reduce your cell phone bill. Down toward the bottom of this infographic revealing that you’re (probably) paying too much for your wireless bill, there are tips such as:
Consider Prepaid Plans
Paying for the service in advance sometimes gets you more for your money, and you can be sure you’ll never incur any overage charges. With this option, you pay only for the minutes you need.
18 ways to get tax-free income. Not sure if this really counts as “income,” but it’s less money out of your pocket—and that’s sorta the same thing:
Take the bus
You can pull up to $230 a month out of your paycheck, pretax, to cover mass transit, vanpooling and commuter parking.
53 savings tips. In honor of America Saves Week, here’s a list of basic savings tips. And OK, some are like duh (avoid bouncing checks, shop around for gas, borrow books rather than purchase them), but often, it’s the most obvious and commonsense advice that people ignore. For example:
Don’t pay for space you don’t need. Americans have relatively large houses and apartments. Think about more efficiently using space so you can purchase or rent less square footage.
Live relatively near your workplace. While this isn’t always possible, driving 5,000 miles less a year can lower transportation costs by more than $1,000.