How to Haggle With the Car Dealer

Use these strategies to get the best price on a vehicle.

By Lisa Gerstner, From Kiplinger's Personal Finance, October 2014

Everyone knows you shouldn’t pay full sticker price for a new car, but few people savor the prospect of trying to whittle down the cost. What’s more, most buyers are likely outmatched in the haggling game by salespeople with years of daily experience thrusting and parrying around the showroom floor.

Cost-Cutting Tips From Around the Web

Advice from personal finance bloggers on easy ways to spend less so you can save more.

By Cameron Huddleston, August 27, 2014

I'll be joining some of my favorite personal finance bloggers and other experts this afternoon to offer advice on how to plan and set financial goals during an Experian #CreditChat. Here's how you can join the chat at 3 p.m. ET to hear our tips. If you have a goal of spending less so you can save more, I've rounded up several tips to help you cut costs.

7 Ways You May Be Wasting Money

You can easily cut these unnecessary expenses so you can keep more cash.

By Cameron Huddleston, August 27, 2014

Our list of "Ways You Waste Your Money" is one of the most popular features on Kiplinger.com, and we've just updated it for 2014 with seven more money-wasters. The list has struck a chord with readers because it doesn't shame consumers for bad habits -- but, instead, helps identify sneaky leaks that add up to big bucks. Check out below the newest unnecessary expenses we're calling to your attention, then see our slide show for the complete list of common ways people waste money.
Not adjusting the thermostat. Don’t waste money heating or cooling an empty house or apartment. When you leave for the day, lower – or raise, depending on the season – your thermostat by several degrees. You can save 5% to 15% (about $180 a year) by adjusting your thermostat 10 degrees to 15 degrees for eight hours, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. A programmable thermostat makes setting your home’s temperature easy.

How to Cut Your Textbook Costs in Half -- or More

Don’t fall into the trap of buying all your course materials new at the campus store.
By Kathryn Moody, August 21, 2014

With a little luck and a lot of digital savvy, today’s college students may not have to lug a single hard-copy textbook around campus. But their course materials can still carry a heavy price tag.
Let us show you how to beat rising textbook prices (last year the average textbook cost $72 new, up from $68 the year before) by licensing e-books, tapping open-source course materials, and buying or renting used textbooks. These trends and tactics are paying off, with the average student actually spending less in total for their books each year, down to $638 in 2013 from $662 the year before and $702 six years ago, according to the National Association of College Stores.

How Jeopardy Champion Julia Collins Will Spend Her Windfall

A recent champ of the TV quiz show plans to play it safe with her winnings.By Sandra BlockSee my bio, plus links to all my recent stories., From Kiplinger's Personal Finance, October 2014 Follow @sandyblock

Julia Collins of Wilmette, Ill., (pictured at left) won $428,100 in 20 consecutive games on

Jeopardy. The 31-year-old is the highest-earning woman in the game show’s 50-year history, with the second-longest winning streak. Her streak ended in June. Here's an edited transcript of Kiplinger's interview with Collins.

Best Money-Saving Tips From Top Personal Finance Bloggers

Each week I round up advice from some of my favorite personal finance bloggers to share with Kip Tips readers. This past weekend I had the chance to meet many of these bloggers in New Orleans during a financial media conference. So I used the opportunity to ask them in-person what is their single best tip for saving money. Here is the advice they offered:
Downgrade your technology, says Sandy Smith of Yes, I Am Cheap. She says that we get so hooked on technology that we fail to ask ourselves whether we really need to buy the latest and greatest gadgets. We often don’t bother to add up how much we’re spending on technology. Rather than buy a new iPhone 6, she’s sticking with the $50 phone she has with a pay-as-you-go plan.

Burger King Shareholders Can Dodge a Whopper of a Tax Bill

The latest in a string of U.S. companies buying foreign firms so they can skirt the IRS marries a burger-and-fries icon (Burger King) with coffee-and-donut icon (Tim Hortons). When the new firm reconstitutes itself in Ontario, U.S. corporate tax revenues will go on diet. Normally, these so-called inversions that cut corporate taxes can trigger a painful hike in individual income tax for shareholders.

Turning 50? Catch Up on Retirement Savings

You can start contributing more cash to your IRA, 401(k) and other retirement accounts once you reach the milestone.
By Sandra BlockSee September 18, 2014

Are you afraid you haven’t saved enough for retirement? If you’re 50 or older, the tax code gives you lots of incentives to make up for lost time.

Retirement Plans for Self-Employed Workers

I started doing freelance work a few months ago and am wondering if I can contribute to a self-employed retirement account. If so, can I contribute to a Roth IRA at the same time?
Yes to both questions. You can stash money in a retirement-savings plan if you have income from self-employment, even if you have a full-time job, too.
The two best retirement-savings options for most self-employed workers are a solo 401(k) and a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP). You can make tax-deductible contributions to either plan, and the money grows tax-deferred until retirement (you usually have to pay a 10% penalty for withdrawals before age 59½). You may be able to contribute more to the solo 401(k), but it may be easier for you to find a SEP administrator.

5 Ways to Save on Video Games

Use these strategies to cut your spending on digital entertainment.

By Neal M. Sweeney, September 11, 2014





For console (Xbox, Playstation, Wii) and mobile (smart phones, tablets) gamers and their parents who empty their wallets to support them, it’s clear who’s really winning: The video game industry itself, which raked in more than $21 billion of consumers’ money in 2013. But smart shoppers can save big by practicing a little patience and comparing offers on new and used games. Consider these five strategies to cut your household spending on games

The Best Loans to Pay Down First

Focus on wiping out credit-card and consumer debt first.

I’ve just started graduate school, and my grandmother plans to give me money to help with my expenses. Should I use the money to pay down my undergraduate student loans or put it toward my car loan? I’m paying 5.9% on the car loan and have about $11,000 left on my undergraduate loans, at 6.3%. --D.M., Philadelphia

How to Haggle for Practically Anything

Use these strategies to lower prices you never dreamed were negotiable.

Thinkstock

In many parts of the world, engaging in back-and-forth negotiations over the price of peaches with a sidewalk vendor or a bracelet at the jewelry counter is standard practice. But in the U.S., some of us break into a sweat even when bargaining is de rigueur -- say, haggling over the price of a car at the dealership or a dining-room set on Craigslist. At a department store or supermarket, negotiating probably doesn’t cross your mind.

2 Surprising Bargain Stocks for Value Investors

Ouch! I was prepared for some volatility when I invested in a skin-care company that relies on direct selling. But I really didn’t expect to get skinned alive so soon after I bought the stock. For those of us who consider ourselves value investors, however, suffering through what we hope are temporary setbacks is just part of the game.
Perhaps I should back up and explain. In mid July, I bought 148 shares of Nu Skin Enterprises (symbol NUS), which sells skin creams and other anti-aging products. At $67.80, the stock had already been cut in half since the start of the year and was selling at 11 times projected year-ahead earnings. The shares looked cheap. Unfortunately, they got much cheaper, falling to as low as $43.50 after Nu Skin reported disappointing second-quarter results. The stock closed at $48 on August 7.
Nu Skin, based in Provo, Utah, uses multilevel marketing to move its products. Like Herbalife (HLF), which uses a nearly identical business model, Nu Skin has suffered through and survived numerous investigations into its sales practices.

How Car Theft Affects Your Insurance Rates

What types of vehicles are stolen the most? If I own a car on the list, will it affect my insurance rates?
The National Insurance Crime Bureau just came out with its “Hot Wheels” list of most-stolen cars in 2013. Honda Accords topped the list (with nearly 54,000 stolen in the U.S.), followed by the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Silverado pickup, Ford F-series pickup and Toyota Camry. Many of those cars are older models from the late 1990s and early 2000s, manufactured before new developments in anti-theft devices. The most-stolen car from the 2013 model year was the Nissan Altima (810 thefts), followed by the Ford Fusion, Ford F-series pickup and Toyota Corolla.

10 Fall Travel Destinations That Are on Sale

Budget-conscious travelers know that fall is a great time to get a deal on flights and accommodations. That’s because September, October and early November are slow months for the travel industry. It’s the lull between the peak summer vacation season and the winter holidays.
In addition to lower prices, you’ll also face fewer crowds at many U.S. and overseas destinations in the fall. So if you’re planning a getaway, here are ten places to consider. Fares on flights and hotel rates in these locales will be much lower this fall than during peak travel seasons, according to data from CheapAir.com and Hotwire.com.

The Advantage Of Cheap Online Shopping sites

Everyone will applaud your sense of humor and enjoy your fashionable style. Cheap Online Shopping sites is where We promote online charity auctions by donating a collection percentage of our net proceeds to deserving local and national charities. Nowadays, a lot of people prefer to buy online for cosmetic products simply because this way they find the best deals of cosmetic products for the internet plus they can save great deal of time. if you need to buy the very best and yet save on plenty of money, you need to make use of such online stores because they have the most affordable prices possible and you'll save on your allowance, read more than everything you thought you might in your fixed and limited budget. Nowadays, designer and stylish shoes are a lot in demand.