Websites For The Frugal?

fwc writes "Like most people, I like being able to get the most benefit out of my money. In pursuit of this, I use several websites which help stretch my dollar even more. For instance, I have found smarterliving.com which I consult for good travel-related deals. I also use slickdeals.net and fatwallet to make sure I don't miss those almost-too-good-to-be-true deals. When looking for the best price on a specific item, I usually consult Froogle, Pricewatch, and Shopper.com. I also use a collection of online stores which sell stuff dirt cheap, such as newegg, PC Surplus Online, and of course half.com. Recently, I was looking for some tools at Harbor Freight's Website and a friend suggested that I might want to also look at Homier's. I was pleasantly suprised to find that they have some prices which are even lower than at any other site which I have found. This makes me wonder what other sites are out there I haven't found yet which are in the same category." I know techbargains has "saved" me money on some things I might not otherwise have bought. Where have you been best led?

Comments

Re:Dear God man

[ejaw5]

it's not thriftiness, it's Money Optimization! The game is to maximize the amount of money still remaining in your wallet after each purchasing excercise.

The Motley Fool

[acshelp]

Stop spending your money and pay off debts and invest. Think of your (financial) future for once!

www.fool.com

Re:The Motley Fool

[nuggz]

Good site, I recommend it.
Basic advice is spend less then you make.
Don't get into too much debt.
Save a bit (even a little bit)

Clothes can be an investment

[GoClick]

Dressing well can REALLY help your career, a well dressed idiot will make more money in the long run than a poorly dressed average man. I consider my clothes, hair, smell and all of that to be an investment, it's a good way to get an edge in the compeditive IT industry, and it works VERY well.

Re:Clothes can be an investment

[Ubergrendle]

Why is this modded "FUNNY"? For all intents and purposes its true. Unforutnately, people *do* judge a book by its cover.

From my perspective, its like this -- if you dress well, EVEN IF YOU'RE A DEVELOPER, when meeting with your business partners or clients, it sends many signals. #1, you're professional; #2 you respect your client well enough that you wish to impress them; #3 you clients business is valuable to you and so you emulate their behaviour; and #4 if you respect yourself this much, it probably extends to other facets of your life (including your code).

In keeping with this subject, you should dress in a suit, but it doesn't have to be a *name brand* suit or designer fashions.

Re:Clothes can be an investment

[King_TJ]

Perhaps, but perhaps not. I'm more inclined to refrain from pre-judging a person based on their clothing choices. I'll agree that, all else being equal, odds are greater that the sloppy dresser in worn-out sneakers and holes in their jeans also lacks some basic social skills. But there's no direct correlation between the two. (EG. My I.Q., personality and/or skillset doesn't change when I dress nicely.)

Proper hygene and a personal choice to wear more "casual" clothing are two completely different issues. There's no excuse for not washing one's hair, taking a shower, and so forth. That's just laziness and a lack of self-respect, and as you said - indicates a person you can't really trust to take care of important matters in the workplace.

With clothing, there are so many reasons someone opts to dress a particular way. I've worn the shirt, tie and dress slacks before, when employers required it. My opinion is, it's just not very comfortable or practical. I remember working as a computer technician for a store that required it, and I actually got my tie caught in a CPU fan once! Even where I work now, doing on-site service, I was originally told I couldn't wear jeans to work. Initially, I obeyed the rules, wearing kackis/dress slacks instead, but I had enough of that after shreding up a couple pairs while crawling around on the floor, stringing network cables for people, and helping remove old monitors and re-arrange systems. I just started wearing jeans (but always new-looking, clean ones), coupled with nice shirts - and nobody so much as commented once on my breaking the dress code.

Is it always a deal?

[howlinmonkey]

One thing I have found about frugality - it can be penny wise and pound foolish.

If I spend 2 hours comparing deals, checking competitors, and surfing sites to track down $50 savings on a gadget, did I gain anything? I could have spent that 2 hours with my family, working on consulting gigs, and doing other household chores. It is called the opportunity cost of time in economics. It didn't cost $0.00 to track down that $50 - there was a cost.

I guess it depends on where you are in life. As a college student, I clipped coupons, and comparison shopped to get the best deal. Now with 2 jobs, and 3 kids, I think a few bucks here and there is worth a little more time with my family.

Re:Is it always a deal?

[cborg]

Yeah, but you've got plenty of time to post to /.

most slashdotters have the wrong idea

[CAIMLAS]

Most slashdotters seem to hold an incorrect meaning for the word "frugal" true (and indeed, so does the majority of society).

Frugality isn't so much about only buying the cheapest thing, it's about not buying things in the first place. It's using the wisdom to know what you do and do not really need. Buying 2 liter bottles of cola because 20 oz bottles are more expensive isn't frugal, that's economics. Frugality would be not buying the soda in the first place, because you don't need it and water is freely available (and better for you, to boot).