SpendWize – Guide to Wiser Consumer Decisions

February 9, 2011

Shopping for the Best Home Heating Oil Deals

Filed under: On A Budget,savings — admin @ 12:21 am
Heating Oil Image courtesy U.S. Army Environmental Command

Heating Oil Image courtesy U.S. Army Environmental Command

Paying for heating your home can get very expensive! With snow, sleet and ice during the colder months of winter, this cost of heating becomes a sizable chunk of the family budget . There are many different options when it comes to heating your home. One of these options includes heating oil. Heating oil is a fuel type that is most commonly used in the U.S. and Canada for the home and business.

Many people are finding gas furnaces and water heaters more efficient and easier to maintain than ones working on heating oil, but if changing your furnace to natural gas or propane (LPG) is not an option, we’d like to offer some tips on keeping the cost of heating with oil in check.

Unfortunately, you cannot control outside factors that contribute to the high price of heating oil. This is because the cost depends upon the natural supply and demand for crude oil in addition to any natural disasters that are going on at the time. For this reason, you may find that you are paying too much for heating oil, more than ever before! There are, however, things you can do when shopping for home heating oil in order to pay the lowest price. These things include the following: (more…)

Last posts in the forums section

Forum: Household Consumer Forum

Last post: Re: a problem with electric meters?
The often-stated case for smart meters (for electricity) is that they allow for time-of-use billing. In other words, the cost of electricity changes during the course of a day, and smart meters all...(more…)

Forum: Frugal Lifestyle

Last post: cheapo mattress pad type thing for van?
I've got an old 1969 van that we pretty much use for camping trips. I'll take my son and head out to a state park. In the past, we had some padding in there, but I had to clean all that old stu...(more…)

January 31, 2011

Types of Bookkeeping Services: Cost vs. Functionality

Filed under: Accounting,savings — admin @ 11:12 am

Bookkeeping Ledger - Image copyright edinburghcityofprint

Bookkeeping Ledger - Image copyright edinburghcityofprint

There are three general ways that an individual can go about managing their bookkeeping. In each category there are numerous ways to go about each method, some of which will be discussed here. Additionally, each method has its own pros and cons, which will also be discussed. (more…)

January 19, 2011

“Overdraft Protection”. Protection, really?

Filed under: savings — admin @ 7:58 pm

So, where does good marketing end and deception begin? Or do we need yet another piece of regulation to prevent banks from harming their own customers, this time calling it “protection”?

There has been a constant barrage of letters from banks I use asking me to opt into this program since after Financial Reform Bill of 2010 they can no longer simply charge you a $35 overdraft fee when you accidentally spend $2 more than you have in your account on a cup of coffee. You now have to specifically allow your bank to rob you and the bank would prefer to call it “protection”. Well, “overdraft protection” sounds a whole lot better than “robbing authorization”, doesn’t it? Some of these ads (umm.. sorry, opt-in letters, that’s what they call them) are outright disgusting. Read further for examples (more…)

July 16, 2008

Credit crunch got you down? Read about savings 90 years ago.

Filed under: savings — admin @ 10:57 pm

Telephone Review January 1918 Title
I came across this 90 years old article and was immediately intrigued by the fact that the article about saving money is just as much relevant now as it was 90 years ago. When you read the piece, keep on the back of your mind: WWI was not over yet and a flue virus was just about to kill millions of people around the world. Compared to that a little tightening of credit circa 2008 seems like seem like child’s play. Just delay that purchase of a “passing fancy” like your grand grandfather did in 1918. Continue on to the piece of history … (more…)

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