It’s official. Summer is offer and winter is coming. How do I know? Because I’ve had my first cold of the season. I find myself pretty resistant to the flu – I’ve had it just 3 times in the last 15 years – but I’ll get a cold 2-3 times per year. By now, I…
WD-40 Lessons on Life and Money
The weekend is a time of rest and relaxation, or so I’ve been told. Mine is usually filled with household chores and some sort of DIY activity. This past weekend, my big project was repairing my trusty tower fan that I’ve had for 8 years. It turns out a bearing is on its way out in the motor and it was rattling something fierce. So I spread out in the basement with the fan, a screwdriver, and my trusty can of WD-40.
Utility Price Hacking
A few weeks ago, Matt at Mom and Dad Money wrote about negotiating with utility companies. When it works, it’s a great way to save money. When it doesn’t, you have to try something a little more drastic. Then it is time to actually make a switch. Always threaten to switch when negotiating with a utility that doesn’t have a monopoly of service. But if they won’t budge, the only way to save money is to actually switch. And when you can’t get a lower rate with the new company in the future, switch back. I call this practice utility price hacking.
The Downside of Supermarket Fuel Points
My wife works at King Soopers. One of the fringe benefits for employees is 10% off of store brand. This alone would be enough to keep us shopping there instead of the other options in town such as Safeway, Albertsons, Walmart, Whole Foods, and a number of independent markets. Store brands can save a huge…