Here’s my Question of the Day, presented to you as part of the juggernaut that is JLP’s Question of the Day Marathon: What’s the best deal that you’ve ever gotten in a store? Here’s my best deal: My wife was looking for a trackball a couple of years ago because her arm was bothering her … Read more
We own a 1997 Oldsmobile Achieva with about 157k miles. It was my wife’s car before we got married, then it became my commuter car. She bought it used in 1999. Our other one is a 1997 Chrysler Town and Country that we bought in 2003 with over 90k miles; now it has over 145k … Read more
I guess I’ve read one too many news articles about the effects that reduced “consumer spending” are having on the economy. “Consumers are having trouble finding the mojo to keep spending.” “The Chinese consumers aren’t spending enough; they have a savings glut.” “Consumers were spending in droves this past month.” Blah blah blah … We’re … Read more
In some circles I’m probably really out of touch — a whole new class of Joneses to keep up with. A friend at work forwarded me a link to the recently announced 103″ Plasma TV from Panasonic. It’s set to come to the States this December, for a cool $71,000. (It will sell in Japan … Read more
I was checking out at Costco with a purchase of about $100. Right before I leave, a line manager comes over to chat with me. LM: “Have you heard of our Executive Membership, John?” MBH: “Huh?” LM: “Well, you’ve spent $3,200 with us since you began your membership with us last August.” MBH: “OK … … Read more
MyMoneyBlog had a post recently on getting some cheap financial magazines. His source, MagazinePriceSearch.com, is pretty good, and sometimes rivals the deals you can get on eBay. Well, it’s possible sometimes to do even better! MagazinePriceSearch does very well by keeping up to date on the best deals and coupons on about two dozen different … Read more
This post at SBC really hits the mark. His view on Wal-Mart’s advertising campaign for the self-checkout line — “Fast! Easy! Fun!” — is accurate. I’ve done it only a few times (not at Wal-Mart, but at other stores like Home Depot and Giant), and self-checkout is a pain in the spleen. It isn’t fast. … Read more
The March 2006 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine has a feature called “Good Looks for Less.” They outfit a number of rooms with various accoutrements, divided into “save” and “splurge” columns. The “save” columns contained the thrifty options: $10 for a can of stain to update a kitchen island $13 for a can … Read more