With the new year upon us, I found myself in desperate need of a new desk calendar. At the time, I wasn't looking forward to venturing onto the busy streets and adding to the post-Christmas hustle and bustle, but it turns out that the Honeybee needed ...
Continue reading Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Guess How Much These Calendars Cost
Poll: The 5 Biggest Money Regrets of 2015 — and How to Conquer Them
I'm confident that this time last year, scrawled on your list of New Year resolutions, was a sentence relevant to at least one of these four phrases:
'save money'
'stop spending'
'get out of debt'
'stick to a budget'
According to a ...
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How I Was Bitten by the Expiring Reward Points Scam
Life is full of hassles. Some are really big, like losing a job. Others are more of an annoyance, like changing your place of residence.
Then there are the really irritating ones that make you scratch your head and throw your hands up in complete ...
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Social Security and My $152,000 Challenge to Uncle Sam
I've been a proud, full-time, member of the American workforce since 1988.
Since then, I've earned approximately $2.4 million in base salary -- excluding bonuses, stock option cash-outs, and other income streams. It also excludes the money I ...
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Donate? Humbug! 8 Reasons Why My Favorite Charity Is Me
Every year, especially around the holidays, I get hit up by solicitors asking me to donate to charity. The requests come from every direction. When people aren't knocking on my door with their hat in hand, then the requests come by mail and on the ...
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Why Bottle Redemption Fees Belong In Your Local Landfill
Seattle's recent controversial decision to fine residents who put too much food in their garbage bins got me thinking about a recycling law in California that I believe needs to be repealed: the bottle redemption law.
Frankly, I consider it to be ...
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What a $184 Cheese Sandwich Can Teach Us About Hype & Value
Last week, Britain's Daily Mail reported that celebrity chef Martin Blunos created a very unique sandwich with a menu price of $184.61.
According to Blunos, who happens to be a Michelin-starred chef, "We Brits are known to love our cheese ...
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Your Big Fat Expensive Wedding: Stupid Is As Stupid Does
According to the New York Daily News, Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky spent roughly $3.3 million in 2010 on their marriage celebration.
Talk about a big fat expensive wedding.
The good news is, more than three years after saying "I do," the ...
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How Cheaper Gasoline Ultimately Costs You More
You know, there used to be a guy named Ripley who made a fortune explaining why things aren't always what they seem. For example, a banana tree is not a really a tree at all, but a massive herb that can grow as tall as a four story building.
If ...
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The Trouble with Buying Movie Tickets Over the Internet
We all come across things in life that are wildly popular, even though it makes little sense to us.
Take "Duck Dynasty" -- going into its fourth season, it's one of the hottest shows on cable television.
I recently watched a couple of episodes ...
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Yet Another Reason Why I Hate Buying Tickets from Ticketmaster
Most of you know I've had a hate/hate relationship with Ticketmaster for a long time now.
After all, this is the company that wrote the book on ridiculous consumer fees that, many people argue, only serve to exploit their hapless customers; it's a ...
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How I Stupidly Got Ripped Off by Not Getting Multiple Estimates
Whether we realize it or not, we manage financial risk whenever we take the time to get multiple price estimates from competing contractors. Those who do often get rewarded for their efforts.
As for those who don't, well ... they often end up ...
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9 ‘Oops’ Moments That I Ultimately Paid For (One Way or Another)
Last week I needed to venture into my attic to check on some rat traps, so I grabbed my flashlight to help me navigate my way through the rafters. As luck would have it, the flashlight wasn't working; the last person who used it forgot to turn the ...
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15 Reasons Why Waterbeds Are For Suckers
Sometimes people buy things that they eventually end up regretting. I know I've got a long list.
I've already explained why corner lots and whirlpool tubs are for suckers.
Today, I've got two words for anybody out there who is currently ...
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Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Guess My Rental Car Bill.
It seems like every time I go to Hawaii, I always learn a valuable financial lesson.
I already shared how, during my recent summer vacation there, I was reminded of why folks should always be on their toes when shopping, as illustrated by two ...
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What Does ‘Flare’ Taste Like? When Swanky Marketing Goes Too Far.
Last week my boss and I were sitting in a conference room when he spied a pack of gum that someone had left on the table.
"Hey, Len! You want some gum?"
"Well, that depends," I said. "What flavor is it?"
"Five."
"Five? What the heck does ...
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If It Feels Good Do It: Maybe Strategic Defaults Aren’t So Bad After All
I bought my first home in 1990 at the top of the Southern California real estate market and promptly found myself with an "underwater" mortgage. And although I owed more than the home was worth over the next seven long years, I never walked away from ...
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How My Great Dane and I Got Cheated By a Fake Charity
Well, I've been moonlighting again for American Express's cleverly titled Currency blog. I know. But this Christmas the Honeybee decided to ask for the first seven seasons of Grey's Anatomy. No, not on Blue-ray DVD -- she wants the whole cast to ...
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Ticketmaster’s New Blog (And Why I Hate Them Even More Now.)
I recently bought tickets to see Maroon 5 for one of their upcoming shows in Los Angeles. Let me tell you, I love Maroon 5 almost as much as I love my dog - which puts them pretty far up my totem pole of most-cherished entities.
Of course, like ...
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Scary Stories: Fellow Bloggers Share Their Tales of Buyer’s Remorse
According to Wikipedia, buyer's remorse is "an emotional condition whereby a person feels remorse or regret after a purchase." It often refers to higher-priced items that are difficult or impossible to return, thereby making the buyer feel like, we ...
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