Saving money

10 worst ways to make extra money

Dave Farquhar Saving money , ,

Wise Bread gives the 10 worst ways to make extra money. The scary thing is, I’ve actually looked into most of these, and tried some. And they’re mostly right. Most of them are just a waste of time. Here’s what’s wrong with them, and the caveats with the ones that are halfway useful, for a limited time.
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Income inequality now equals debt inequality

Dave Farquhar Saving money

There aren’t a lot of surprises in this CNN/Money article about debt. On the surface, it shows that wealthy people borrow less money than non-wealthy people. I don’t think that’s news to many people. I also don’t think it’s news that wealthy people’s incomes are growing faster than non-wealthy people.

What I found very surprising, though, is that the non-wealthy used to borrow less money than the wealthy did.
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A preliminary review of the Inland warm white A19 LED bulb

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , , , , ,

Micro Center had the Inland warm white A19 LED bulbs on sale this week and had a hard time keeping them in stock. I snagged an 800 lumen (60W equivalent), non-dimmable bulb, which uses 10 watts, for $13. It’s not the state of the art in 10W LED bulbs, but the price is right and it has a 3-year warranty. Read more

When to upgrade to new LED bulbs

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , , , , ,

PC Magazine asks when it’s worth upgrading to the new Philips L Prize-winning LED bulb, lamenting its high price and long payback time. I can only say what I plan to do, based on my experience with high-efficiency bulbs. I was one of those guys paying $9 for CFL bulbs nearly a decade ago. Read more

Reducing allergies and saving money doing it

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , ,

I saw a slideshow on CNN this week about ways to reduce allergies at home. One of the options they suggested was using a filter with an MERV rating between 8 and 12.

This works, and doesn’t have to be expensive either, if you know where to shop. Read more

Is landlording profitable?

Dave Farquhar Landlording, Saving money , , , , ,

Is landlording profitable? The answer is yes. Where people disagree, I think, is on the timing, and perhaps to a lesser degree, on the strategy.

My wife read an article yesterday on real estate investing that made her mad. I’d link to it, but I can’t find it today–maybe it was pulled. But the premise was that you shouldn’t invest in real estate, because being a landlord isn’t a quick way to get rich.

I agree with the second part. But the first part doesn’t logically follow. In fact, I don’t care who you are, probably the best thing you can do for yourself is forget about trying to get rich quickly. I speak from experience. Read more

Review: First Alert PIR725 motion sensing socket

Dave Farquhar Saving money , ,

I bought a First Alert PIR725 motion sensing socket, which has the distinction of working with CFLs, as well as incandescent bulbs. The premise is simple. Screw it into a bulb socket, screw the bulb into the socket, and it turns the light on when it sees you, then after it senses there’s no one in the room, it waits four minutes and turns the light off.

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Splurge budgets keep you from overspending on impulse

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , ,

Wise Bread (via Lifehacker) recommends creating a “splurge budget” to keep yourself from overspending on impulse.

My family does this. It works. Read more

Feeling poor on $100,000 a year

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , , , , , , ,

Yahoo! Finance! has! a! first-person! story! about! struggling! on! six! figures!

Silliness aside, you might be surprised to hear I–an infamous stingy Scottish miser–am at least a little sympathetic. Read more

Control your debt, stay in school, stay employed and out of prison

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , , , , , ,

Some people are worried that student loans are the next debt time bomb that can potentially wreck the economy, and that fear of student-loan debt will make people less inclined to seek the education they need.

Two statistics should discourage that.
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