green living, smart spending
Synthetic or regular? Save money or get better performance? Save money or save the planet? Making an informed choice about oil changes just got easier, thanks to new research by AAA on the quality of engine oil. AAA found that synthetic oil outperformed conventional oil by an average of nearly 50 percent. That translates to
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If you think it takes time and effort to save money on the lowest airfare, you haven’t been looking for the best deal on a rental car. Here’s how to save money, and aggravation, on your next getaway wheels: There’s no way to avoid comparison shopping for the rental deal. Start by visiting a travel
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Some of my fondest childhood memories are the family road trips we took each summer. Yours, too. probably. While the cars and the roads have changed, the basics have not. With low gas prices, aid air travel expensive and frustrating, 2017 will see the return of the road trip. Here are timeless tips for making
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Scam alert: restaurant upselling. Ever wonder why your restaurant bill is so much more than you expected? It’s probably because restaurant employees are trained to lure you to ordering more, and higher priced menu items, than you planned. What used to be called “bait-and-switch” is now called upselling, and restaurants are not alone in the
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Everyday, it seems, we hear about hacking, identity theft or some other invasion of our digital privacy. Here’s how to protect your online life from cyber criminals on the road, because vacations are not the time to relax your personal safety, which includes taking internet security precautions. Before You Go Patch Up. Check all your
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Safety warning: De-icing chemicals used to clear roads of winter snow and ice cost US drivers some $3 Billion a year in repairs to brakes and paint damaged by the corrosive road salt and liquid chemicals. That’s an an average of $500 per vehicle, according to a new AAA survey. Rust corrosion to your brakes,
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If your US Passport is expiring in 2017, renew it now to save time and money. Ditto if you are getting a new US Passport. The busy season for applications starts soon, and the longer you wait, the longer it will take to get your new travel document. That delay could prevent you from entering
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Now that your home is getting smarter, with internet-connected heating and cooling, webcams to check on the baby and babysitter, lock or unlock your door remotely, it’s more important than ever to keep hackers out. These tips will help keep the digital version of breaking-and-entering from creating mayhem, even endangering the health and safety of
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Travelers can fight sex trafficking during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month (January) by taking a photo of your hotel or motel room and uploading it to a free anti-trafficking app. According to UNICEF, 5.5 million children worldwide are trafficked each year. Here’s how you can help lower that number: Photos uploaded with the
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Money matters. Nearly half of us give or get gift cards for the holidays, birthdays and other anniversaries. If you don’t like the store, restaurant or movie theater, you can sell that gift card for cash, and get anywhere from 65 to 95 cents on the dollar. Even losing up to 20 percent or more
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