http://www.cheaplinks.net Money-saving advice and technology tips from a cheapskate Sun, 11 May 2008 19:19:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It should be an embarrassment to the TV industry that so few folks fully understand what HD television is, how to get it, or why they should care. Do I need a new TV? Do I have HD already and not know it? Or do I mistakenly think I'm already ... http://www.cheaplinks.net/articles/31.php I recently read about person-to-person lending site Prosper and was immediately fascinated with the idea. We'd already experienced the similar but non-profit microloan site Kiva.org, but Prosper has a different angle. They solicit requests for loans from average folks -- many of whom are overwhelmed by credit card debt -- ... http://www.cheaplinks.net/articles/30.php I planned to write about the many "free" credit report scams, but MSNBC did it for me. The short version: Don't ever pay for credit reports. You're legally entitled to a free report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies once per year, but that doesn't stop the ... http://www.cheaplinks.net/articles/15.php I fall in love again with grocery delivery every time the truck pulls up in front of our house. Yet when I recommend it to friends they seem frightened of the idea -- having decided in advance that it's some sort of overpriced luxury for people rich enough to have ... http://www.cheaplinks.net/articles/14.php My 3-year-old Samsung cell phone was starting to show its age by way of a barely functional volume button, so I decided it was time to upgrade. Sprint has been my provider for about five years and I'm grandfathered into a discontinued $30 plan that gets sweetened every year or ... http://www.cheaplinks.net/articles/12.php You wouldn't know it by visiting the home page of any tax filing site like TurboTax or H&R Block, but there's a government-endorsed program that coerces these companies to provide completely free tax preparation and filing to many low- and mid-income folks. The TurboTax version is called Tax Freedom, but ... http://www.cheaplinks.net/articles/11.php I'm a big fan of those Coinstar coin-counting machines you find in most grocery stores, but it always seemed like a raw deal having to give them nearly 9% of my money just to count it. Maybe I was a bit lazy giving up that big a cut when I ... http://www.cheaplinks.net/articles/10.php Chat rooms and email mailing lists are fine for some types of group conversations, but if you really need to get a group of geographically diverse folks together for a chat nothing beats an old-school conference call -- especially when some members of the group are technologically challenged. My own ... http://www.cheaplinks.net/articles/9.php There are lots of companies that bend over backwards and offer lots of sweet deals to get you as a customer, but not everyone realizes these same companies are often willing to sweeten the deal to keep you around, too: Cell Phones - Once a year or so call your ... http://www.cheaplinks.net/articles/8.php Most folks I know grudgingly accept that printer cartridges are ridiculously expensive, which is part of the reason printers are often ridiculously cheap. It doesn't have to be that way, though. Next time you're printer shopping, hit eBay and search for that exact printer model. Odds are if it's ... http://www.cheaplinks.net/articles/7.php