I’ve talked before about my loathe and disdain for certain companies but it seems like Best Buy tends to bring out the vitriol and hate from others too. After reading my friend Holly’s article on how ‘Best Buy Sucks’ I figured it was a good time to pile on. Even though I often see a […]
How to Get Free HD Local Channels and Cable TV
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, then you know about my life-long quest to pay less for pretty much anything and everything. Cable TV is one of those non-essential items that I always find myself struggling with. There are a litany of services out there that have come close to replacing cable tv […]
The Best Customer Service is Now on Twitter
Most kids dream about becoming a firefighter or an astronaut or maybe even a customer service representative when they’re young. Oh wait, that last one might be more of a nightmare. Let’s face it: a job as a CS rep isn’t exactly a high paying one and most of the reps I’ve talked to haven’t […]
How to Rent Kindle Library Books That Never Expire
I don’t read a ton of books these days but I do go through phases where I’ll read intensely for a few months and then take a break. I’ve always enjoyed reading and I feel like reading is the best preparation you can do for reading comprehension and standardized tests. Reading a lot has also […]
What’s the Best Day of the Week to Quit Your Job?
If you haven’t heard by now, I quit my job! My fiancee and I are moving and I did not want to make the hour plus commute so I gave my notice about a month ago. My last day was last Tuesday and so far being unemployed has been pretty awesome. Eventually I’m going to […]
Unexplored Benefits: Does Your Work Have a Corporate Travel Match Policy?
Right after I get done complaining about my employer, they go and surprise me again. My company was taken over by an even bigger company last year(top 50 in the world) and a lot of employees were worried about benefits being cut and reduced salaries. So far, none of that has happened, it’s been great. […]
AMEX Gold Personal and Business Gold Retention Offer
There aren’t a ton of credit card companies out there that I genuinely enjoy supporting, but Amex is definitely one of them. Their customer service is the best among credit card compines and they have always provided great benefits to their cardholders. I know they charge hefty merchant fees and higher annual fees than most […]
The Best Ways to Avoid Paying Taxes
Most articles around this time of year talk about what to do or not do with your tax refund. I’ve already talked about that, so instead I’m going to help you come up with ways to avoid paying taxes next year. I don’t mean stashing all your money in offshore savings account but we can […]
5 Ways to Save Money at Amusement Parks: Sea World San Diego
For some reason, the April showers haven’t quite hit San Diego like they normally do and the weather has been fantastic lately. Warm days and a nice breeze are why I love living in Socal and this past weekend I decided it would be a good time to take my sister(age 5) to Sea World. […]
Save Time and Money When Traveling Through Airports
Maybe I haven’t traveled in a while but when did airports become such a rip-off? Just this month, I’ve traveled over 7,000 miles on 3 round trips with another trip to Philadelphia scheduled for next week and everywhere I go I can’t believe how expensive things are. I probably sound like a grumpy old man […]
Get a Guaranteed 4% Return on $5,000 thru Sharebuilder
I’m on a quest for higher returns(similar to TFB’s double bond movement) and so far I’ve explored peer to peer lending, binary options & REIT’s to name just a few. There seems to be a ton of ways to earn above average returns but unfortunately, most of them also come with additional risk. I’m looking […]
Loading My Bluebird Card at Walmart
If you haven’t heard of Bluebird, it’s all the rage these days in the credit card churning-sphere. Bluebird is a service offered by American Express that allows you to load your card with debit, cash, checks or even direct deposit. Essentially, it’s an all in one card for those without a bank account or those […]
How I Spend My VSP Vision Care Insurance
I’ve been wearing glasses since the first grade and when I made the switch to contacts in middle school my bills skyrocketed. Luckily, I had my mom there to pay for all my appointments and lenses so I never knew just how expensive everything was. Now that I’ve been on my own for a few […]
What’s the Best Way to Get to the Airport in San Diego?
I don’t travel much for my day job, but I do for my part-time gig(coaching). This year we have trips planned to Vegas(x2), Philadelphia and Dallas along with a personal trip to New York. Even though most of my airfare will be free thanks to Southwest(plus my companion), I’m still looking for ways to maximize my savings […]
My New HSA Strategy – Rollovers and Trustee Transfers
Since my company was acquired by an even larger one last year, 2013 will be our first full year under the new administration. That means a whole lot of changes to our benefits and one of those will be to our HSA provider. Although the HDHP insurance portion will still be served by Aetna, our […]
Save $500 on a New iPhone 5 Through Walmart/Straight Talk
Ever since I graduated college, the one thing I’ve resisted doing on my own is signing up for my own cell phone plan. I’ve been on my mom’s family plan since freshman year of college and I intend to keep it that way. AT&T’s family plan lets you to add a line for $20 and […]
Breathe New Life Into Your PC or Mac Computer
For the past 5 years, all of my personal computer use has been on a 2009 Macbook Pro that I got as a graduation gift. I didn’t have to worry too much about the cost at the time since it was a gift and I got a small student discount. But recently, I started to […]
December Deals & Steals and a Blog Link Round-Up
I love December for a litany of reasons but my favorite part is all the deals that pop up throughout the month. During the year, I’m pretty good about not buying stuff I don’t need, but come December, it seems like I’m buying something every other day. Sometimes I don’t even know who I’m going […]
Why I Prefer to Make My Own Black Friday Deals
Thanksgiving has got to be one of my favorite holidays. Not only is it centered around giving thanks and spending time with family, but it’s a whole holiday that’s dedicated to food. I plan on spending it with my mom’s side of the family, my dad’s side and my girlfriend’s family, and for those people […]
Case Study: Build Credit for Someone by Adding Them as an Authorized User
When I first purchased my condo three years ago, I was not offered the lowest rate due to my insufficient credit history. Even though I always checked my credit score and it was in the high 700’s, the bank considered me a slight risk because my credit history was so limited(I was only 22). I […]