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Minding
your spending became cool in 2009, as Americans lost
jobs, suffered freezes or cuts in pay, and were less
able to get credit.
Such
terms as "frugalista" entered the nation's
lexicon, while comparison shopping and cutting waste
became household habits.
Spending
Smart is fortunate to receive avid responses: comments,
compliments and criticisms. Of the hundreds of reader
e-mails and calls received this year, here are tips and
topics readers thought were especially interesting or
unusual.
TV
online: 2009 was the year many decided to go off the
pay-TV grid and get their television entertainment
online for free. Many full-length prime-time dramas and
comedies, as well as movies, are available online.
Hulu.com, Clicker.com, YouTube.com and major TV network
Web sites are destinations for free content. You also
can purchase shows a la carte from such vendors as
Apple's iTunes store or Amazon Video On Demand. And you
could stream movies from Netflix.com with a basic
subscription.
You also
can access content through special boxes hooked to your
TV or video game systems, such as PlayStation 3 or Xbox
360.
Life
insurance: Readers were interested to learn that they
could be paying a lot less for term life insurance or
getting more coverage for the same price. However, 2009
marked a turning point. For the first time in years,
life insurers started raising rates. So the window of
opportunity to "refinance" your life insurance
— buy a new policy and cancel the old one — was
closing, but slowly. So you can still get a much better
deal, especially if you got your policy more than five
years ago. And remember, term rates on the same policies
vary among insurers, so shop around using a broker or
such online sites as AccuQuote.com and NetQuote.com.
Mattresses:
We spent about one-third of 2009 in bed, so buying a
comfortable mattress is important. But advertised
specifications, descriptions and technologies don't
allow you to determine a superior mattress. So go to
three mattress stores or bedding sections of department
stores and recline on a variety of mattresses. Buy the
one in your price range that feels best.
Free
money: Search for unclaimed money at Missingmoney.com
and Unclaimed.org.
Sell or
rent out your tools or unused electronics. Helpful Web
sites include Zilok.com, iRent2u.com, Gazelle.com,
Buymytronics.com and MyBoneyard.com.
Getting
your employer 401(k) match and using a rewards credit
cards are also ways to get free money.
And if
you bought a holiday gift that has price protection, and
the price has since gone down, you might be able to get
a refund. Monitor purchases at Priceprotectr.com.
Also
popular was a column on free software. Best advice? Use
free antivirus programs, such as Avira AntiVir Antivirus
Personal (free-av.com) and AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition (free.avg.com).
And try the OpenOffice.org, instead of paying for
Microsoft Office
.
Wet
shaving: Who knew you could get a better shave and save
on razor blades by going old school, with a shaving
brush and double-edge razor? You might spend more to get
started, probably at online retailers, but you could
spend less in the long run because replacement blades
are relatively cheap. You'll spend less than
50 cents
each for the best blades you can buy, compared with
$2
or
$3
each for replacement cartridges for some pricey razors.
The go-to Web site is Badger & Blade,
badgerandblade.com.
Among
Spending Smart's favorite money-saving tips in 2009 were
combining loyalty-card bar codes at KeyRingThing.com,
buying car tires online at such sites as TireRack.com,
buying exercise bands instead of expensive fitness
equipment or gym memberships, and repairing worn shoes
at your local cobbler rather than throwing them out.
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