Living on a Budget

  • 11 Essential Rules for Negotiating a Discount

    Coupons at the grocery store, weekly sales at the clothing store, and memberships at the discount store are all routes to the best deals. But there are no coupons for a new car or repairs to your home. The only…

  • Turning Happy Hour Into Dinner: A Cheapskate’s Guide

    Happy hour, once known as cocktail time, is that transition period between the end of work and the start of dinner. It used to be that you had to hang at a local bar for a happy hour deal —…

  • 8 Things ‘Girls’ Can Teach Fans About Frugality

    Like generations of young people before them, the cast of HBO’s Girls came to New York to make careers in the arts — writing, acting, music. In the meantime, Hannah Horvath and her cohort have been working entry-level jobs, often…

  • No More Bank Fees

    The New Year is an opportunity to start fresh, and for many folks that means getting your finances in order. Perhaps it’s time to wave goodbye to your bank in favor of one that doesn’t charge ridiculous fees and pays…

  • College Students: Get Your Finances Square Next Semester

    For many college students, winter break is a much anticipated time to relax after the hours spent bent over books and keyboards during finals. Whether the start of the next semester is keenly anticipated or dreaded, one common stressor is…

  • Beware of Baggage Fees When Booking Travel

    An updated report on Cheapism.com compares airline baggage fees at 12 U.S. carriers. This is vital information for holiday travelers because heavy gifts and bulky winter clothing can undermine all the hard work of tracking down the lowest airfare. Many…

  • Daily Deal Apps Roundup

    Whether shopping at home or looking for a place to grab lunch, everyone loves a bargain. That’s why daily deal apps are so popular. According to a report by BIA/Kelsey,…

  • Coffee Rewards Programs: Which Perks Your Interest?

    Coffee is a big and competitive business in the United States — Statistic Brain reports that consumers spend more than 18 billion dollars a year on specialty brews alone —…

  • Coupon Crazy: An Insider Explains It All

    “I started using coupons to save money. I kept using them because it turned out to be a fun and rewarding way to shop.” If you ever wondered what motivates…

  • Online Tutorials: Where Can You Find Free (and Accurate) Guides?

    When looking for a simple answer about how to do something, look no further than free online tutorials. Maybe you’re trying to assemble a piece of furniture, tie a tie,…

  • Can Readers Save by Switching to Digital?

    Print books may not be dead yet, but ebooks are undoubtedly the future. They’re space-saving, environmentally friendly, and often cheaper than their dead-tree counterparts. Ereaders and tablets are more affordable…

  • 10 Tips on Parenting Without Consumerism

    Does raising kids always have to be so hard on the wallet? Not necessarily, as I learned after moving to Japan with my husband and young children. Here’s a smorgasbord…

  • How a Dent or Scratch Can Get You a Discount on Amazon

    Have you ever walked into an outlet store and found a deal you couldn’t refuse? Perhaps it was deeply discounted cookware with an imperceptible scratch or a laptop bag that…

  • What to Buy in Bulk

    We’ve all been there – tempted to buy anything and everything in bulk. At the time it seems like a good idea to take advantage of lower per item costs…

  • Frugal Month Challenge Results: See How Much We Saved

    This February we invited readers to take the Frugal Month Challenge and commit to what some have called a “no-buy month.” My family of three embarked on this cheap challenge…

  • Jean Chatzky of ‘Money Matters’: Tips For Saving and Planning Ahead

    Jean Chatzky, financial editor of the “Today Show” and author of seven personal finance books, strives to help baby boomers become and stay solvent. On her new RLTV series, “Money…

  • Five Realistic Financial New Year’s Resolutions

    It’s 2013 and you’re probably thinking, “another year, another set of New Year’s resolutions I won’t keep.” But if bolstering your finances is one realm that could use some attention,…

  • Dumpster Diving and Freeganism Tips

    Midtown Manhattan may not be where you’d expect to see folks dumpster diving. But amidst high-end stores and Fortune 500 corporate headquarters, trash bags full of perfectly good food are…