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Len Penzo dot Com

The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

Holiday Gift Ideas Under $40

By Mikey Rox

holiday gifts under $40

I've already presented a list of holiday gifts for under $25. If your budget is a little bigger, but you're still at odds with your decisiveness on what to get some people on your holiday gift list, then consider this collection of even more ideal ...

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2 Comments November 18, 2025

18 Black Friday Facts You Probably Wish You Never Knew

By Len Penzo

What's not to love about Friday? I mean, really... if Saturday didn't exist, Friday would be the best day of the week, bar none. Let's face it, on any given Friday, it's hard to find anyone in a bad mood; especially after lunch time. My only ...

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21 Comments November 17, 2025

Outrageous Pizza Delivery Fees Are Here to Stay (and It’s Your Fault)

By Len Penzo

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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184 Comments November 10, 2025

How to Buy and Sell Precious Metals Legally in the United States

By Sabado Domingo

sell precious metals

Owning gold, silver, and other precious metals is one of the oldest ways Americans have protected their wealth. But in today’s world, if you want to buy and sell precious metals like gold and silver, there are laws and rules that you need to ...

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October 31, 2025

Don’t Be a Wimp! Here Are 22 Things You Should Always Haggle For

By Len Penzo

Last weekend I was at a barbecue with a buddy who shared with me a good-news bad-news story from several years ago regarding a deal he got from DIRECTV for the extremely popular NFL Sunday Ticket service that allowed him to watch every out-of-market ...

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October 27, 2025

Be Careful, Priceline Users! Name a Wrong Price and You May Go To Jail

By Len Penzo

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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October 20, 2025

What is the ‘Pink Tax’?

By Anum Yoon

Ladies: Watch out for the Pink Tax. What is the pink tax? You probably won't see any news about it in the papers, as it's nothing Congress has passed or proposed. If you're a woman, though, chances are you've experienced it or maybe even noticed it ...

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October 7, 2025

Dirty Harry Teaches Us a Lesson on Opportunity Cost

By Len Penzo

I was in heaven last week. That's because one of my favorite movie channels ran all five Dirty Harry movies in succession. In Dirty Harry, during that famous bank robbery scene where Inspector Harry Callahan ends up spouting off his "Do ya feel ...

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October 6, 2025

My 17th Annual Cost Survey of 10 Popular Brown Bag Sandwiches

By Len Penzo

If you're like most people, it's been hard not to notice the increase in your monthly grocery bill over the past four years. After a huge run-up in prices for everything from gasoline to food - and despite the latest consumer price index showing that ...

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August 4, 2025

Is Coinstar’s Conversion Fee Worth the Price?

By Len Penzo

I think grocery store self-check stands are both a blessing and a curse. When multiple shoppers, loaded up with enough groceries to, say, sustain a family of four through a nuclear winter are queued up in front of a human cashier, self-check ...

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July 21, 2025

Are Extended Warranties Worth It? 4 Questions to Ask Before Buying

By Len Penzo

As many guys will tell you, after countless cookouts and parties we tend to get attached to our barbecue grills the same way we get attached to our dogs. Let's face it, a good barbecue grill, like a good dog, is something to be revered, which is ...

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July 14, 2025

14 Things You Shouldn’t Buy When Traveling

By Anum Yoon

Travel is often fun, but almost always expensive. That's especially true if your trip is for an extended amount of time. The good news is you may be surprised how far your vacation money can go by avoiding certain things travelers often buy. Here are ...

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July 8, 2025

Is It Okay to Eat Food Past Its Expiration Date?

By Len Penzo

This weekend, I was pouring a little half-and-half into my cup of coffee (not Folgers) when I saw something extremely disturbing: The creamer was 34 days beyond its expiration date. Yes, 34 days. Of course, the first thought that immediately ...

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June 30, 2025

The 5 Most Misleading Grocery Products Shoppers Waste Money On

By Mike Dolen

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 personal finance all day long, it's probably predictable that I waste a bunch of time obsessing over which stores qualify for ...

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June 23, 2025

The 10 Best Things I Ever Bought

By Len Penzo

The other day my son Matthew was extolling the virtues of the laptop computer that he recently bought with his own money. "This is the best thing I ever bought, Dad!" I just nodded my head and smiled.  The truth is, if I took a moment to ...

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June 9, 2025

Wedding Planning 101: Here’s How to Ensure You’ll Pay Too Much

By Mikey Rox

For most people, getting married is one of the happiest milestones of their life -- until they get the bill. Then again, that's to be expected if you fail to master Wedding Planning 101. Last year, the average cost of a US wedding was a whopping ...

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June 3, 2025

Looking for Inflation? It’s Hiding In Smaller Package Sizes

By Len Penzo

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 shelves. Sadly, ...

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May 12, 2025

Why Should You Buy Mushroom Chocolate From Reliable Vendors?

By Enero Febrero

When it comes to buying mushroom chocolate, the vendor you choose plays a crucial role in ensuring a quality experience. With so many options available, it’s important to trust a reliable vendor who prioritizes quality, consistency, and transparency. ...

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May 1, 2025

Finding Affordable Car Insurance: What It Took to Get a Quote 25 Years Ago

By Tex Freitag

Auto insurance can be expensive. Of course, everyone wants affordable car insurance. But if you don't take the time to find a better deal on your car insurance premiums, you're likely to pay even more than you're currently paying. Car insurance ...

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April 30, 2025

How Smart Menu Planning Can Reduce Your Annual Grocery Bill by $1000

By Len Penzo

If you google the term "world's toughest question" you'll come across a panoply of potential candidates: What is the meaning of life? What is the secret of happiness? How can I get rich quickly? Why does the line you're in always move ...

Continue reading How Smart Menu Planning Can Reduce Your Annual Grocery Bill by $1000

April 28, 2025

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