At the Showroom, Don’t Forget the Deduction

As 2010 car models start creeping into showrooms and auto dealers lay on incentives in the hopes of beating the continued decline in car sales, buying a new car may start looking like an attractive option again.  And even with the end of the Cash for Clunkers program, the US government is still willing to [...]

Best Buy Makes Changes to Its Loyalty Program, and You May be Out

In July, we wrote about Best Buy’s Reward Zone loyalty program, showing how it fit into our strategies for double/triple dipping on points and bonuses when shopping.  As of the end of this week, however, the Reward Zone program may no longer be that great of a deal.
On October 31, 2009, Reward Zone rules will [...]

Being Healthy on a Budget

Organic fruits and vegetables are healthy, but also cost more.  However, you don’t have to buy everything organic.  Below are two lists to keep handy when shopping for produce so you can maximize your budget.
The Dirty Dozen: 12 Foods to Eat Organic

Peach
Apple
Bell Pepper
Celery
Nectarine
Strawberries
Cherries
Kale
Lettuce
Grapes
Carrot
Pear

Clean 15: Lowest in Pesticides

Onion
Avocado
Sweet Corn
Pineapple
Mango
Asparagus
Sweet Peas
Kiwi
Cabbage
Eggplant
Papaya
Watermelon
Broccoli
Tomato
Sweet Potato

Credit: Environmental Working Group

Protect Your Money by Checking Your Statements, my experience

To follow up on yesterday’s post, I thought I would add two recent experiences I had that confirm the importance of checking your credit card statements:
Restaurant Bills:  There is a restaurant I’ve been to twice – the latest one quite recently – and that after both times I went, I noticed that my credit card [...]

Tip of the Week: Do You Check Your Statements?

How often should you check your bank, credit card, and other account statements?  The answer is ‘at least once a month, before you pay the balance.’  It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while a charge might appear for a product or service that you never authorized.  Here are a few common errors:

Bank fees [...]

Give Your Credit Card “Junk Mail” a Chance

It goes without saying that, for security reasons, you should never throw away any regular mail you receive from your credit card company without opening it – you do not want PIN numbers or new credit cards on your name going straight to the dumpster where someone can find them.  But sometimes you might even [...]