A fellow computer friend introduced me to a little web tool last week that I thought was pretty cool. It’s called Invisible Hand and it works as an add-on in my Firefox browser. It helps you save money when shopping online and that’s always cool.

When you have the add-on installed and you visit a website or webpage that is a product page for an item, the Invisible Hand kicks in and searches other websites behind the scenes and then lets you know if you could save money by purchasing the item on one of the other sites.
As you can …read more

It may be too early for many of you to begin thinking about garage sales — it’s still cold outside! But, on the other hand, you have probably considered the possibility in the spring, since the holiday season usually means an excess of stuff laying around the house. Kids’ toys, your old sports equipment, and any number of other objects are now littering the house, with nowhere to go. So you might put a bunch of things in a box in anticipation of the garage sale season.
If you decide to have a garage sale to raise a little cash — …read more

Over the past year or so, retail sales have taken a hit. The economic climate has consumers rethinking their spending habits, and looking for ways to save money and cut their budgets. As a result, the unnecessary spending that comes with retail has plunged. But it’s not all bad news. Online retail is providing a bit of good news. CNN Money reports on the bright spot that is online retail:
“Even in this tough economic climate, e-retail continues to be the bright spot in a dark environment,” said Larry Freed, chief executive of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based ForeSee.
“These are the biggest retailers …read more

How has the economy changed your holiday spending? Have you spent less money on Christmas gifts this year than you have in the past? Take our poll and let us know.

One of the most difficult things about holiday shopping is trying to figure out exactly the right thing to get everyone on your list. This can be especially heard if you are on a budget. I thought that this MasterCard commercial featuring Peyton Manning was great, since it resonates with the challenged gift-giver in all of us:
The good news, though, is that if you give thoughtful gifts, they don’t have to cost very much. Indeed, you can give inexpensive gifts, as long as you manage to make them more personal. This has its own set of challenges. However, an inexpensive …read more

This semester is drawing to a close, and that means that we will soon see another semester — and another round of buying textbooks. How well I remember those days! The good news is that we now have a number of options beyond buying new (and likely being gouged) from the bookstore. Here are some great places you can find used textbooks and save money next semester:

Student boards and online book swaps: Many university student centers offer helpful boards where you can find students looking to sell books, or to swap them. Some campuses even have online book exchange web …read more

It’s time to start your holiday shopping — if you haven’t already. While you might not be able to get a gift card for your significant other (unless it’s to a romantic restaurant or for a massage), you can get gift cards for the other people on your list. And if you are looking for a great deal on your gift card, a new site, Gift Card Granny, can help you find discount gift cards.
Discount gift cards usually have balances that aren’t being used available for less than the value of the card. Sometimes stores offer gift cards for less …read more

Imagine my utter shock and disbelief when I got an email from Apple which read “Now Open: Apple Online Store, Philippines“. Whoa?! It’s not April 1 so it must not be a joke. It wasn’t. Within minutes I was able to confirm that indeed our country has it’s very own online Apple store.
It was really a surprise that this is finally true. I figured an online store was still years away. The Philippine market has been growing steadily and Apple must have recognized that it might be time for an online Apple store.
It’s an exciting time. We’ll see if this …read more