I love sleight of hand tricks.
Occasionally, a coworker of mine named Fred will stop by my office and regale me with some truly amazing acts of prestidigitation.
I'm always left in awe every time he seemingly pulls a coin out of thin air -- or ...
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Be Careful, Priceline Users! Name a Wrong Price and You May Go To Jail
I bet you didn't know Priceline had a jail.
I didn't either until I got tossed into their web-based hoosegow for 24 hours. Heh.
What was my "crime" you ask?
This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but I recently made an offer on a rental car ...
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How to Avoid Paying a Mandatory Gratuity for Bad Service
It used to be that tipping was meant to reward and encourage your server for exemplary service. Unfortunately, with the advent of tipping pools, mandatory gratuities, paltry wages and general tip inflation, that's clearly the exception now rather ...
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The 5 Most Misleading Grocery Items Shoppers Waste Money On
If there's one thing I spend way too much time on in life, its the process of grocery shopping.
As someone who blogs about cash back credit cards all day long, it's probably predictable that I waste a bunch of time obsessing over which stores ...
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4 Smart Reasons Why College Isn’t for Everyone
Some things in life are painfully overrated.
Take camping, for instance. Or iPhones.
I've never understood the allure of luxury cars or the Baby Boomer generation's collective fascination with Bob Dylan either.
And although it pains me to say this ...
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100 Words On: Why Folgers Coffee Is More Expensive Than You Think
All things considered, most coffee drinkers realize that brewing their java at home is significantly more cost effective than buying it from Starbucks. However, those who use a typical automatic drip coffee maker may not be saving quite as much as ...
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How Fees Quickly Erode Your Savings Account Returns
Your savings are a long-term investment, and whether you have accounts for short term purchases to furnish your home, or fill your wardrobe -- or whether you have your emergency fund and bill payment funds saved in the same place -- you've worked ...
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8 Misleading Claims People Often Make To Close a Deal
The other day I came across an interesting article that suggested a healthy dose of skepticism was essential when you're watching television commercials that make claims for both prescription and non-prescription drugs. No, really. A study published ...
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18 Things You (Supposedly) Should Never Pay For. Ever.
Who doesn't love a free lunch? I know I've never turned one down.
If you believe everything you read on the Internet, then there are lots of products and services you should never pay for.
The problem is "never" is such a strong word, isn't it? So ...
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An Expert Explains How to Avoid Common Artwork Scams
Scams? Let me think about that. Scams? Wait for it ... Yup, the fine art market in America has scams. I should be asking, "next question?" but Len, in his supreme kindness, asked me to submit something about scams. Can anyone say "can of worms"? ...
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100 Words On: Why You Should Always Bet Against the Groundhog
Every year on Groundhog Day, folks eager to know whether there will be six more weeks of winter wait for Punxsutawney Phil to emerge from his burrow. Since 1887, the storied groundhog has failed to see his shadow -- thereby predicting an early ...
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6 Tips That Can Help You Avoid Pyramid Marketing Schemes
Pyramid schemes are in the news, with the recent lawsuit against LuLaRoe bringing fresh attention to the issue. If you're in the market for a side hustle or direct marketing opportunity, you need to be conscious of the difference between a legitimate ...
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How Your Employer Is Stealing From You
Does anybody remember the Allentown woman who was sentenced to 57 months in prison for stealing $1.6 million from her employer over the course of an entire decade? Believe it or not, many employees misguidedly feel it's really no big deal to raid the ...
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22 Signs Your College Degree Might Not Be Worth the Money
There's more than a grain of truth in the old joke that goes something like this:
The engineering graduate asks, "How will it work?"
The physics grad wants to know, "Why does it work?"
And the liberal arts graduate asks, "Do you want fries ...
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My Dumbest Money Mistakes (Part 2)
As I mentioned in Part 1, this story is not about everyday money leaks or niggling oversights we all make from time to time. It's about the type of money blunders that wake me up in the middle of the night and leave me covered in a cold ...
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My Dumbest Money Mistakes
Money mistakes; we've all made them.
Today I'm not going to talk about everyday money leaks or niggling oversights we all make from time to time, like leaving the lights on or buying a burger at a fast food joint and then forgetting to use the ...
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Real Estate Agents: Why They’re Not Worth It
I've sold one house in my lifetime -- way back in 1997 -- and I did that without a real estate agent. Yep ... For sale by owner (or FSBO).
It wasn't supposed to be that way.I actually started out with a realtor because I thought it would be crazy ...
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Looking for Inflation? It’s Hiding In Smaller Package Sizes.
Inflation? What inflation?
The fact is, for those who are willing to look close enough, we are actually being confronted by a serious bout of deflation, at least when it comes to the size of the containers sitting on our supermarket ...
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Why Private Schools Are a Financial Rip-Off
Most parents end up considering private education because they only want the best for their child. But today I'm going to show you why, from a purely financial perspective, private schools are not worth the price of admission.
Well, that is unless ...
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Why Coke Rewards Are For Suckers
I used to be absolutely mesmerized by VH1's Celebrity Rehab and its companion program, Sober House. I found both shows' real-life peek at celebrity addicts' half-hearted attempts at recovery absolutely, well ... addicting.
You can preach all you ...
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