Use Typos To Find Deals On eBay
An easy trick to keep juicy eBay deals to yourself is to search for common typing mistakes, Kiplinger’s reports [via Consumerist].
Try misspelling the search term. While everyone else bids on the Duncan Phyfe table, you could have the “Duncan Fife” table — same antique, wrong spelling — all to yourself.
A pretty free, sweet, and effective trick for the next time you are shopping online. With the number of misspellings on Craig’s List I’m sure if you search for the correct spelling you’ll be all alone 
International Text Messaging
Next time you need to make a short international call, consider using a text message instead. If you make a 10-second phone call, a lot of cell phone companies will charge you for the full minute. If you’re making the call while overseas the rates will be even higher as you will be paying roaming charges as well. When I was in Canada, I made several extremely short phone calls and for each call I was charged over $0.80 which is the international rate for a full minute while roaming. I didn’t know that Cingular’s international text message rates were significantly cheaper than making a call. Skypeout is also a good money-saving alternative if you don’t want to get destroyed on international calling and text message rates.
Don’t Let Debt Collectors Harass You
Debt collection agencies make their money by aggressively trying to collect a debt on another company’s behalf. They do this by constantly sending you letters and bothering you with phone calls at work and at home. About a year ago I was contacted several times by letter and phone by a debt collection agency trying to collect a debt on behalf of Sprint. I have never signed up for nor received any sort of service from Sprint so this was news to me. Apparently someone with the same first and last name as me had Sprint at one point so they decided to assign the debt to me. It was a big hassle to clear up the issue but I finally cleared my name after several phone calls and 2 letters, the final of which I scared them off by threatening legal action. You should know your rights when dealing with these shady debt collectors. There are several things debt collectors are not allowed to do. It would have been helpful to me if I had known this information beforehand as it would have strengthened my case knowing my full rights.
Healthy & Organic On $7 A Day
It sounds almost impossible but apparently it’s not if you switch to a mostly non-meat diet. If you’re not a huge fan of meat to begin with then this might be the right path for you as you’ll be saving money and eating healthy. Nutritionist Lynn Smith suggests vegetables and rice as an option for breakfast:
“They are balancing, they make your brain work better, they alkalize your system, they help with stress. And they have a natural sweetness.” Smith starts with vitamin- and mineral-packed organic broccoli at $2.99 per pound, or approximately 60 cents a serving.
Organic beans and grains are also suggested as healthy part of this diet. So if you want to become healthy and save money by changing your eating habits, you might want to give this diet a try. At the very least you can purge your body of the toxins and chemicals found in processed groceries.
How To Get Out Of A Long-Term Lease
Breaking a lease agreement can end up costing you a lot of money. It is almost always in the contract and most landlords ask that you sign a 1-year agreement. Msn real estate suggests a variety of ways you can get out of your lease, including negotiating an early release clause:
Most early-release clauses state that in case of early departure, the tenant owes one or two months of extra rent or will be responsible for payments until a new tenant is found, whichever happens first. The tenant’s security deposit may also be forfeited, if allowed by the state. This may sound painful, but keep in mind that we’re talking about breaking a legally binding contract, and try to be humble.
Dealighted Scours The Web For The Best Price
The online service, Dealighted is a search engine designed to go through some of the most popular deal sites to find you the best price. Dealighted goes through popular forums including Slickdeals, Fatwallet, Gottadeal to ensure that you don’t pay much, even on budget web sites.
Dealighted [via Lifehacker] is free and another way to get your LCSB on using the Internets.
Use Different Maps To Calculate Business Trip Mileage
foXnoMad writes:
The next time you hit the road on business, make sure to calculate your millage using multiple online map services. For business road trips you are reimbursed for the number of miles driven, not gas bought. Differences in online map services means a variation of an average of 2 miles.
Save Green By Being Green: CO2 Saver By Snap
The Snap CO2 Saver is a small free application that automatically adjusts the energy settings on your computer. The CO2 Saver makes your machine runs more efficiently and use less electricity.
CO2 Saver also displays how many tons of CO2 you individually have saved, as well as the total for all CO2 saver users. CO2 Saver is available for download on Windows machines only and does not contain any added spyware or advertisements.
Less CO2 is generated by the lower power consumption and you do your part for Ma Nature and your pocketbook at the same time.
Close Bedroom Doors To Insulate Your Home
Most homes don’t have smart thermostats and only keep the temperature at a single location. Since they are usually located on the main floor in the middle of the house the temperature varies from the top floor to the basement.
The average temperature can be maintained easier - and you can give your AC and wallet a break - by closing the doors to bedrooms, bathrooms, and storage spaces located on the east and west of your home.
Doing so traps that warm air coming from the sun towards the exterior and away from your thermostat. Keeping the door open to a bedroom during the day when you are at work causes warm air to bleed out. The average temperature will rise, alerting the AC it’s time to crank on again.
Keep in mind to also turn your thermostat up (or down) by 2 degrees Fahrenheit when you can, close your curtains, and follow the DOE’s advice on home energy efficiency to cut down on you electricity bill (and help the environment)!
Make Your Own CD’s
Stop paying $15 to buy a whole cd when you really only like 3 songs on the album. Try and find those songs for free online or pay $0.99 to buy individual songs from one of many music websites like iTunes. If you bought 6 whole albums on their own, you could pay up to $90. For $18, you can buy the best 3 songs off 6 albums and have a great 18-song mix cd. Plus, nothing really gets the party going like a good hip hop mix cd!