Here are some tips on energy costs this winter. We wrote about it in 2008: http://cheapiosity.blogspot.com/2008/09/energy-savingcheap-tricks.html.
So we thought it was time for an update:
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2010/01/heating-oil-natural-gas-prices-rise-how-to-save-on-energy-costs-this-winter.html
The New York Times has a pertinent article on travel tips for the New Year.
We urge you to take a look:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/travel/10pracsave.html?ref=technology
You made a New Years Resolution to lose weight or stay fit. Good for you.
You need to go to a gym to accomplish your goal. Not so good for you.
Did you know that the average gym membership can run $700 or more? Yikes! Don't these people know that there's a recession?
Here are some tips to cut your membership by 50% or more:
1. Most gyms offer a 1 or 2 week free trial before you sign up. Take advantage of these offers with all the gyms in your area. This way you'll know if the facility is right for you and you can compare prices and maybe negotiate by pitting on against the other. Worse case scenario, you'll get several weeks of free gym usage.
2. As we mentioned above - negotiate. Ask about new membership sales and promotions. There are lots of discounts in the beginning of the year, so take advantage of them. Also, check the internet for prices. Look for newspaper ads and don't forget the local free papers too.
3. Check with HR. Many companies offer gym discounts available through their Human Resources Departments. Some even offer incentives to stay fit. (This is for those of you with jobs.)
4. Check with your landlord if there is a fitness center in your building. (This is for those of you in apartments.) Very often there is an additional charge for its use. If so, try to get those fees included in your rent. If there are a lot of apartment vacancies, insist on free gym use; after all, they don't want you to leave.
5. Check your insurance. Very often, Insurance Companies will offer gym promotions for their insured, and it never hurts to ask.
6. Check your other memberships. Costco, AAA, AARP, Credit Unions, etc. may offer discounts for their members.
7. Pay month to month. If you're not sure if you're going to stick with your fitness regimen, go for month to month payments before you sign a long term contract. According to research, most members visit a gym less than 50 times a year. If you become one of those people, take a long hard look to see if a gym membership makes sense for you.
What the hell is AFFINITY FRAUD? We don't have enough to worry about....there's more?
Remember Bernie Madoff, King of the Ponzi Scheme, in the slammer for scamming many wealthy people out of billions of dollars? Well, he perpetrted a type of Affinity Fraud. Affinity Fraud occurs when investment scams are targeted at specific groups of people. Targeted groups usually include the elderly, the religious or professionals. Unfortunately, the very people who do the scamming can sometimes be the ones that people trust the most. One way to protect yourself is to understand what affinity fraud is and how to avoid it.
We urge you to read the following article and learn more:
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/09/avoiding-affinity-fraud.asp?viewed=1
The Better Business Bureau has come out with a list of the biggest scams and ripoffs of last year.
Please take note and don't become a victim:
http://www.bbb.org/us/article/bbb-lists-top-10-scams-and-rip-offs-of-2009-14436
If you ever leave the grocery store with a slight sense of bewilderment at what you've just bought, you are not alone.
Despite the utilitarian look of most grocers' shelves, careful science goes into deciding how to display the thousands of items each store carries and how to make them appeal to consumers.
Marketers tug shoppers toward items they did not intend to buy (thus the bewilderment) with package design, shelf placement, tie-ins and temporary price cuts.
Here's what to watch for next time you head out for groceries.
1. End of the aisle: Marketers pay grocers dearly to put their wares on the prominent shelves at the end of each aisle because products there can sell 30 percent more than those on other shelves, even when the item is cheaper elsewhere in the store. Shoppers see so-called end-caps more easily and sometimes mistakenly assume they hold hidden deals or clearance items.
2. Eye-level, eyes open: Grocers and marketers know shoppers look straight ahead or, at most, from side to side, as they shop. So products on shelves at eye level often cost more than their lower-shelf siblings (or even items slightly higher).
3. More can be less: One in four times a smaller version of a product was cheaper per ounce or pound or serving or other "unit." So check the unit price instead of assuming that bigger means cheaper.
4. D-I-Y carrot sticks: Cut-up fruits, vegetables and cheese cater to shoppers who want to pry open a plastic bag instead of hunching over a cutting board, but that convenience can be pricey.
5. Don't pick their number: Be wary of suggestions from marketers, especially the buy-five-for-$5 type. You usually don't have to buy all five to get the promotional price, but people often do, either because they think they have to or because they feel like they'll save more.
6. That one last thing: The items in the display by the cash register are always marked up, whether they're toothbrushes, bandages, candy or toys. Avoid them.
7. Remember the tried-and-true: Buy store brands, which can be even more economical than shopping at warehouse clubs.
Bottom Line: MAKE A LIST AND STICK TO IT!!!!!
Blogging Fusion Blog Directory
