If you were to get married again, what are some things that you would do differently to save a little money?
Would you elope instead of throwing a large reception? Would you do a destination wedding in order to cut down on the guest list? Would you use eVite or social media in order to make your invitations affordable?
Continue reading 13 MONEY-SAVING IDEAS TO CUT WEDDING COSTS
When was the last time you went to the dentist?
Do you go once or twice a year? Or have you avoided going to the dentist unless it’s absolutely necessary to pay a visit to have a cavity filled or a root canal?
Continue reading 35% OF AMERICANS WILL NOT GO TO THE DENTIST
How long has it been since you were in college?
Remember how awesome it was to just head out to the university cafeteria and eat everything you wanted, just because you could? Hey – it was like an unlimited Las Vegas buffet, but without the cover charge. Unlimited pizza. Unlimited ice cream. Unlimited single-patty burgers (double-patty burgers only allowed on your first trip through the grill line).
Yeah, there’s a reason it’s called the Freshman 15, and it has nothing to do with the free beer you’re sucking down on weekends, either.
Continue reading TODAY’S CHALLENGE: SURVIVE ON MINIMUM WAGE FOR ONE MONTH
Everyone loves a little bit of competition.
Keeping up with the Jones, for example, can drive one to excess consumption at the expense of your credit card payments.
But maybe you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. Maybe, you’re a lot more rich than you think you are.
They say that there are three things that one should expect to consider as The Most Important Expenses in your lifetime: a new car, a new home, and your first wedding.
(Kids, naturally, are also an expense over time — but that’s an expense that returns love and so much more, so Web Watch will leave that one out of this discussion.)
Remember when Web Watch told you about FOOD EXPIRATION DATES? All about how you can determine the shelf life of food?
And then we told you that it wasn’t just food that could expire, but that COSMETICS HAVE EXPIRATION DATES too?
Well, you at home aren’t the only people who pay attention to the SELL BY, BEST BY, or USE BY dates that you find on your local supermarket products.
It should come as no surprise that the supermarkets themselves do the exact same thing. And throwing out all that allegedly “expired” food costs each supermarket, on average, about $2,300.
Continue reading SUPERMARKETS THROW AWAY $2,300 WORTH OF FOOD EVERY DAY
You can’t deny that Apple’s iPod had a defining effect on the technology and music industries.
Web Watch had been using other MP3 players for years before Apple came to the portable music party, but it was Apple’s ease of getting the music through the iTunes Store that solidified Apple’s place in history.
But there is some music that isn’t available in the iTunes Store, or Amazon’s Music Store, or Google Play. And that can be frustrating to fans who are really looking to complete their collection of music from their favorite artists.
Lots of financial experts will tell you how important it is to have an emergency fund.
Heck, even Web Watch has told you about the plan to have $10,000 in savings before you turn 30. And while $10,000 in the bank today may not mean as much as what it did 10 or 20 years ago, if you’re able to pull this off then you’re still doing better than the vast majority of people you hang around with.
How many times have you decided to go to a restaurant, and instead of buying one of their (slightly) overpriced wines off their wine menu, you’ve brought a special bottle with you from home or from the liquor store down the street?
Web Watch likes to eat at one local favorite specifically because they don’t have a liquor license and encourage guests to bring a bottle of wine from home. They ask only $5 per bottle, perhaps to cover glass cleaning and the servers’ time in presenting the cork to us.
But considering that a $5 per bottle corkage fee is extremely reasonable in today’s restaurant world, we’re happy to pay that instead of other options that could be made.
Continue reading MAD ABOUT OUTRAGEOUS CORKAGE FEES? HERE’S ONE TO MAKE YOU ANGRIER
When was the last time you visited a laundromat?
Here’s a better question: if you have a washer and dryer at home, would you ever find yourself with a need to go to a laundromat ever again?
Web Watch would say, “yes, you can find reason to go to a laundromat even if you have a perfectly fine washer and dryer at home.”
Let us explain…
Continue reading 4 RULES OF THE LAUNDROMAT THAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW
Hattie Garlick has a plan.
For 2013, she decided on a unique New Year’s resolution, to try to raise her son Johnny as cost-free as possible for a year.
That’s right — she’s not going to spend any money for anything that’s specifically geared towards her 2-year-old son.
Continue reading TAKE THE LIVE FREE CHALLENGE FOR A YEAR: DON’T BUY YOUR KIDS ANYTHING
Have you ever wondered how you are doing compared to others in your immediate circle?
Don’t pretend that conversation doesn’t happen between you and your significant other: “do you think they have more credit card debt than we do?” after leaving a dinner party. “How do you think they can afford all that and we can’t?”
Well, we can answer these types of questions now, at least in Australia, where one bank has decided to post a billion credit card transaction records online for you to compare and contrast your own habits against others.
Continue reading HOW DO YOUR SHOPPING HABITS COMPARE TO OTHERS?
Ever look at your bank account statement (or ATM balance) and wonder where all your money went?
Look around your house, and all you see is generic stuff that you really could live without?
Contemplate why you bother with that $5 daily coffee break when the free coffee in the office really isn’t that bad?
A question for all the parents who read Web Watch: how much money do you pay your kids in an allowance?
One would think this would be a simply question to answer, but it’s really a bit more complicated than one would think.
Are you the type of parent who pays an allowance to their children, no matter what? Or do you only pay an allowance as payment for specific jobs being done around the house?
Continue reading HOW MUCH MONEY DO KIDS MAKE WITH ALLOWANCE?
Web Watch is a fan of supporting our local grocery stores and their prepared food sections.
Whether it be picking up a hot rotesserie chicken from Sam’s Club, Costco, or the local grocery store; a rack of ribs, freshly smoked; a dinner plate made to order right at the meat counter; or even the fish department steaming your purchase while you shop — grocery stores have discovered that providing ready-to-eat food is a great way to supplement their bottom line.
Why? Because Web Watch likes to eat, but doesn’t always have time to cook.
Sure, we know it’s more expensive to buy a chicken that’s already seasoned and heated for us over going through that process ourselves, but for now we’re okay with that.
To paraphrase Cookie Monster, “prepared, ready-to-eat foods are a sometimes meal”.
Continue reading COMPARING GROCERY STORE PREPARED FOODS TO HOMEMADE: WHICH IS BETTER?