lifehacker

Don’t be too surprised that financial writers don’t follow all of their own advice

Dave Farquhar Saving money ,

Horror of horrors–a financial writer confessed to Lifehacker that he or she doesn’t track every penny of every expense. The hypocrisy!

Not really. There are two things you need to understand: The end goal, and how to get there. The end goal of every financial writer is to get people living within their means. The majority of their advice are ways to get to that goal. If they’re already at that goal, then they’ve outgrown some of their own advice.

So if they don’t follow all of their own advice, that could be a positive sign.

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Don’t build a drill press out of PVC pipe

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , , , ,

This past weekend, Lifehacker posted instructions for building a makeshift drill press out of PVC pipe. Although the finished contraption looks kind of cool, it’s not something you want to build yourself.

My drill press cost me $40. It’s far better and far safer, even though it’s still possible to injure yourself with it. But structurally it’s as sound as it gets, and acquiring it didn’t take me all weekend, either. Read more

How we learn

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized , , , ,

An article on Lifehacker this week explained a lot about how I initially became a computer professional. Its advice was to fly by the seat of your pants, try things without guidance or manuals, not be afraid to fail occasionally, and learn before you go to sleep.

So when I spent many nights in my late teens disassembling and reassembling obsolete IBM PC/XT clones to learn how they worked, I was unwittingly doing all of it right.

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How Shloosl can copy a key from just a photograph

Dave Farquhar security ,

Lifehacker caused a bit of a stir by posting a link to Shloosl, a service that will mail you a copy of your key in exchange for a pair of digital photos of it and $5. Then they claimed the key worked better than a hardware-store copy, which really set some commenters off.

Is it bad security? And how does it work? Read more

What you should know about your first credit card

Dave Farquhar Saving money ,

Lifehacker asked what a first-time credit card owner needs to know. As someone who first got a credit card at the age of 20 and is still reaping the benefits of using one correctly from the start, I have some advice to give on that.

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What I miss about the old days of computing

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing , , , , , , ,

Lifehacker asked this week what graybeards like me (mine gets longer every week) miss about the old days of computing.

I don’t think it’s any single thing. Read more

How to build Lifehacker’s retro coffee table on the cheap

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Saving money , , , , , ,

Lifehacker posted a nice weekend project this week, a retro coffee table, but the price tag seems steeper than it needs to be. If you’re craving some retro goodness but think $300 is a bit much to spend to play old video games, I have some ideas for you.

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Advice on building your own PC on the cheap

Dave Farquhar Hardware , , ,

Lifehacker published a guide yesterday on saving money on DIY PCs. I agree with most of it, and violently disagree with one very important part of it. Read more

Who are the 10 people you’d call if you were laid off tomorrow?

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized , ,

I found some good advice on Lifehacker today about building a professional network. Not just having 500 connections on Linkedin, but having a real professional network made up of people who help one another advance their careers.

I stumbled into this completely by accident. Read more

Two simple ways to increase your credit score

Dave Farquhar Saving money , , , ,
Two simple ways to increase your credit score

I have a friend who makes more money than me, has no debt except for a small mortgage, and his credit score is 150 points lower than mine. By becoming more like me, you can increase your credit score.

The key difference between us is that he puts a couple thousand into a checking account at the first of every month and pays for everything with a debit card. I do the same thing, but use a credit card, and pay the credit card off at the end of the month.

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