1. Many museums, zoos, and aquariums waive their admission fees one day a week or on certain dates throughout the year. Check their Web sites for details.
2. If you have high-speed Internet service, you can watch TV shows and movies for free on demand at hulu.com. Search thousands of current and past shows, movies, and other content.
3. Set up a free account at pandora.com. List several of your favorite songs or artists and a super-computer will create personalized "radio stations" based on the music you love the most.
4. You can often get free admission to classical music performances by attending a dress rehearsal. Check the Web site of your city's symphony orchestra or opera company for details.
5. Plan your trip during "shoulder season"-- between peak and off seasons. The weather is good, the crowds small, and the prices at least 30 percent lower.
Cancun: May, August, November
Caribbean: January, February
Honolulu: September to November
Las Vegas: January, October, November
London: March, April, September
Los Angeles: March, April, September to November
Miami: January, July, August
New York: September, October
Orlando: May to August
Paris: March, April, August to October
San Francisco: March, April, September, October
Seattle: March, April, November
Washington, D.C.: January, March, April, September to November
6. Add some veggies, herbs, and leftover meat to packaged ramen noodles and you've got a surprisingly sophisticated soup or fried noodle dish.
7.Comparison shopping sites such as nextag.com, bizrate.com and pricegrabber.com allow you to type in the brand and model name of products and see the price you'll pay at a variety of stores (including shipping and sales tax).
8. At ebates.com you can shop at hundreds of e-tailers and get cash back for every purchase. E-tailers pay ebates.com a fee for referring you to them, and credits you back a portion -- from 2 to 20 percent of your purchase amount.
9. Want to buy something online from J.Crew, Gap, or others? Type the brand name and "coupon" in Google and a host of Web sites (savings.com, retailmenot.com, dealtaker.com) will provide you with coupon codes.
10. call a beauty academy or cosmetology school in your area and volunteer to have your hair done by a trainee. A full head of highlights might set you back just $37; single-process color a mere $20.
11. Shelling out $70 a month for your iPhone service? Then download a few apps that push your finances back in the other direction.
RedLaser ($1.99): When shopping, aim the iPhone's camera at a product's bar code and find out what other retailers -- both local stores and Web sites -- are charging for the same product.
Tip Calculator (99 cents): Key in the price of your meal and the percentage you want to leave, and it'll give you the exact tip amount. Plus it can help split a bill if you're with a group.
RepairPal (free): Ever wonder whether your car mechanic is charging you a fair price? This app gives you ballpark repair costs for any post-1990 vehicle.
GasBuddy ($2.99): This app uses the phone's GPS to give you current prices at nearby gas stations, plus directions to get there, so you can fill up for less.
Mint.COM (free): Links to your banking, loan, credit card, and investment accounts to analyze your finances -- and warns about low balances and nearing credit limits.
Yowza (free): Searches out coupons for stores within 15 miles of your current location. No need to print the results -- the clerk can scan the bar code from your phone.
CardBank (99 cents): Store your preferred-shopper cards electronically so you don't have to carry them in your wallet or on your keychain. The clerk can scan your code right from the phone's screen.
They even show blog land some love at the very end of the article, nice perks when you make it to the top eh?wisebread.com: How to "live large on a small budget."
frugaldad.com: Sound advice for keeping your family away from debt and risk.
wealthpilgrim.com: Tips from a financial adviser who learned the hard way.
livingonadime.com: A mother and daughter teach lessons in frugality.
getrichslowly.com: Learn better money management from a regular guy.
thecentsiblelife.com: How one mother is getting her family out of debt.
5 comments:
Great apps, I have some of those on my Blackberry.
Peace, Love and Chocolate
Tiffany
I will check out some of the websites listed. I found a great financial article recently while waiting in the doctor's office. Should I admit, I tore it out of the magazine? *Hangs head in shame*
Redbone I don't have any of those, can't wait to download em!
haha young mogul, I tore out the subscription page and I felt bad lol. I figure either that or take the whole magazine !
That Pandora sounds interesting, I had never heard of that one.
Iphones are amazing. I am afraid if I ever bought one, I would never be productive at anything else again. That Redlaser app would pay for itself almost immediately.
Good stuff!
oh Pandora is GREAT!!! as far as the iphone well yes it is addictive so you are doing the right thing lol
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