Wise Bread (Lynn Truong)

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

Lynn Truong — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:01 +0000

I was excited to read The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience, written by Businessweek.com columnist Carmine Gallo. I've been to a lot of conferences and sat through a lot of bad presentations. But on a few rare occasions I'd sit in on a spectacular one. It wasn't just informative, but engaging, inspiring, and entertaining. But that's about the extent I could go as far as breaking it down and deconstructing what makes a great presentation when it's my turn to come up with one.

I've always suspected that it's more of an innate talent, that's a part of one's personality, than something to learn. But that's not true. In his book, Carmine Gallo breaks down the specific techniques and provides a blueprint for an electrifying presentation, in the style of one of the most captivating communicators in the world -- Steve Jobs.

Here are some of the highlights of the book I found most insightful.

The Rule of Three

It is well established that we can hold only small amounts of information in short-term, or "active," memory.

Teachers, journalists, and speech writers often use the rule of three when it comes to laying down specific points. Group your narratives in threes to keep the audience engaged.

The Ten-Minute Rule

Your audience checks out after ten minutes. Not in eleven minutes, but ten.

Research shows that our brain starts to get bored and look for distractions after ten minutes. But that doesn't mean that you can't do a presentation that's longer than ten minutes. It just means that you need to provide intermission. That could be in the form of a brief Q&A session or a video clip, something that breaks up the lesson and gives the audience a break.

Less

Jobs's first four slides have a grand total of seven words, three numbers, one date, and no bullet points.

Presenters often try to cram their entire script into their slides. Perhaps they're afraid of forgetting, or they feel it's an added benefit for the audience to be able to read along (and take notes). But studies show that this actually splits their attention and makes the words less impactful. Instead, use the slides to offer a multisensory experience -- offer pictures, video, and animation in conjunction with your speech. This helps the audience learn and retain the information better.

Practice

Jobs rehearses for hours. To be more precise: many, many hours over many, many days.

When you see a presentation by Jobs, you think he has a natural talent for it. He's confident. He hits all the right marks. And it seems so easy. But the fact is, he puts in hours of grueling practice. It's obvious when presenters haven't done so. And it's easy to see why, when they've written their entire script into their presentation slides. The less words you put on your slides, the better you have to know your marks. So practice. Practice hard.

These are just some of the great tips in The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs.

Disclaimer: I received this book free to review and the post includes an Amazon affiliate link.

Permalink | 7 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Career and Income

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7 Ways to Get the Best Fall and Holiday Travel Deals

Lynn Truong — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:00:03 +0000

By Lynn Truong

This article shares tips from the 8th episode of Dealista, our new podcast that'll help you get more for less. Click play to listen, or subscribe via iTunes to take the episode with you!

Download episode mp3 | Check out show archive

Fall is typically one of the best times to travel — it sits between the heaviest seasons (summer and the holidays), and unlike Spring, there are no college/teenagers taking advantage of Spring Break. This year especially, traveling will be easier on the wallet, especially if you're going away for the holidays. Bing Travel recently reported that fares are down 22% over last year for Thanksgiving travel, and 17% for Christmas.

If you're planning to get away in the next few months, here are some tips to get the best travel deals.

1. Tuesday Markdowns

Search for fares on Tuesday mornings. That's when most airlines mark down their prices.

2. Rest on Sundays

It's best to avoid traveling on Sundays, when prices are usually the higest. FareCompare shares that the cheapest day of the week to fly is Wednesday, followed by Tuesday and Saturday. Also, the first flight out is typically the cheapest time to fly.

3. Be Flexible

Check the option to search for "flexible dates" to compare the cost of traveling on less busy days. The more flexibility you have, the more likely you'll be able to score a deal. For example, Thanksgiving travel is heaviest on Wednesday and the following Sunday. If you depart on Tuesday instead and return on Saturday or Monday, you'll see significant savings. Of course, you'll see the most savings traveling on Thanksgiving day or the day after, but it might defeat the purpose for most people.

Additionally, based on a three-year trend of Christmas travel prices, Bing Travel found that prices dropped during the first two weeks of October. Check out FareCompare's handy calendar that shows the best dates to travel during November and December.

4. Factor Fees

When choosing airfare don’t forget to consider additional airline costs for all sorts of things, like baggage, seat selection, food, and drinks. FareCompare has a great chart of various fees by airline that's regularly updated.

5. Be on Alert

There are plenty of tools that will do most of the work for you. Sign up for newsletters and Twitter updates so you don't miss a deal. Yapta will alert you if a travel deal hits your designated price point. Follow FareCompare on Twitter and get real-time tweets with cheap deals from your desired airport.

6. Bite the Bullet

The hardest decision is whether to buy or wait. It sucks when you see the price drop just days after you've made your purchase. However, there are two great sites to help take the guessing out of the process.

Bing Travel's price predictor can tell you whether fares have been rising or dropping and tell you to Wait or Buy. They also have a rate indicator for hotels, which looks at past rates for a specific hotel and compares them the current rates, and indicates whether it's a Deal, Average, or Not a Deal.

Yapta (which stands for Your Amazing Personal Travel Assistant) will notify you if the price for a flight you purchased drops. Most consumers don't know (or don't bother) to take advantage of the price guarantees most airlines offer. Contact the airline to get a refund for the price difference, or have Yapta handle the process with the airline on your behalf for a fee.

7. Get Free Upgrades

Nora recommends a great way to get free car rental, hotel and airline upgrades: Just ask.

Finally, check out our list of 40 travel websites that can save you a fortune. Get discounts and the insider scoop with these great resources.

Dealista

If you enjoyed these tips you can find more in our show's archive or subscribe via iTunes.

Dealista is a collaboration between Wise Bread and Quick and Dirty Tips, the producer of popular podcasts such as Grammar Girl, Money Girl, Winning Investor, and Mighty Mommy.

Check out more great tips from our sister shows:

Permalink | 5 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Art and Leisure

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Book Review: Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel

Lynn Truong — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:00:03 +0000

By Lynn Truong

We're giving away a copy of this book on our latest Dealista podcast. Listen to find out how to enter the drawing!

Every review I've read of this book agrees on one thing about Phil Villarreal's new book, Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel — he's hilarious. Seriously, his snarky wit will cause many laugh out loud moments — not something you want to be reading during a conference call or in a public bathroom. What we all might not agree on is which tip is okay (like, it's legal), and which tip is not (like, you'll get a smackdown), and which are pure genius (Show Me the Money, shown below).

You might scoff at the tips at first (like planning to have kids approximately 7 months after a close friend or relative, to get all the hand-me-downs), but then you'll find yourself having the "kids" talk with your spouse and you'll start thinking about your sister-in-law who is 4 months pregnant...

What Phil does is shatter the facade of decorum and say out loud (on writing) what most of us just don't have the guts to pull off. He doesn't hold anything back, revealing his most outrageous and creative tips on saving some dough. Not all his tips walk the fine line of ethics by the way. He shares important ones like cutting your hospital bill just by calling their billing department and asking for a discount for paying in full. True story: he knocked $1000 off a $4000 bill with that simple phone call. No super negotiation powers needed.

Phil also shares valuable tips like how to negotiate at a yard sale, where to find restaurants that have "Kids Eat Free" promotions, and provides an innovative tuna sandwich recipe that's delicious, cheap, and needs no fatty mayo.

But my absolutely favorite tip is #35. Show Me the Money.

Wait until you're seated at a table closing a car or house loan, at the point when the loan officer or seller is hunched on the other side of the table, completely sure he's long since closed you and is now just waiting for you to put pen to paper and make it official.

This is when you lay your pen on the table and declare that you need $20 or you'll back out. You'll probably get laughs, followed by jeers and accusations of insanity...One time I had a particularly disgruntled loan dude wad up his $20 and throw it at me as I was walking out on the deal. I thanked him, signed the paperwork, and drove off in my new car.

You can find more of Phil's work at The Consumerist, Arizona Daily Star, OK! Magazine or visit his blogs, Philm Guy and BeacuseIToldYouSo.

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Phil's book by listening to our latest Dealista episode!

Permalink | 8 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Frugal Living

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Dealista Tip: 50 Best Deals and Coupon Sites

Lynn Truong — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:00:02 +0000

By Lynn Truong

This article shares tips from the 6th episode of Dealista, our new podcast that'll help you get more for less. Click play to listen, or subscribe via iTunes to take the episode with you!

Download episode mp3 | Check out show archive

Frugal is in and couponing has become trendy. Coupon users are no longer scrooges but sages, wisely spending by saving. It's now a prerequisite to join the ranks of deal hounds and bargain hunters who have vowed to save the world by saving dollars.

Coupons themselves have had their own extreme makeover, moving up the technology ladder to help their users retire the scissors and cute coupon organizers. The digital age has drawn a whole new generation of couponers, and they're determined to turn the measured art of couponing to their instant gratification ways.

Before I get to the staggering list of great deals and coupon sites dedicated to serving savvy shoppers like you, here are a few tips on using them efficiently. The number of sites and services might seem overwhelming at first, but the best ones allow for total customization. Only choose to receive coupons from stores you select or products you specify.

If you haven't joined in on the action, there's no better time. Save now -- no clipping required.

Alerts

Are you a shoe fiend who can't bear the thought of missing out on a sale? Are you in the market for a laptop or a digital camera? Have your favorite sites notify you immediately when a deal matches your preferences. You can be as specific (Visioneer OneTouch 7400 Scanner) or general (shoes) as you'd like. Rather than having to constantly check these sites, you'll be notified immediately when something you are eyeing goes on sale.

Twitter

If you are a Twitter addict, you might as well put it to some extra good use. Major retailers as well as local restaurants are sending promotions, coupons, and deals exclusively to their Twitter followers. Many coupon and deals sites are also offering Twitter alerts. Your favorite frugal bloggers are sharing deals on Twitter, too. If that's too many for you to follow, use handy Twitter-specific aggregators like CheapTweet and CouponTweet. If you haven't had the chance to get in on Twitter yet, here's a handy Twitter guide.

Mobile

A recent article in the New York Times featured the rise of mobile coupons. No more forgetting to bring coupons with you. Get them sent directly to you, wherever you are. When you’re checking out, simply show your cell phone to the cashier and voila, your savings are ringed up. Sign up with services like Cellfire, MobiQpons, and Yowza, and if you have an iPhone, Coupon Sherpa is an app that handles coupons for popular retailers.

Site-to-Card

Sites like Shortcuts allow you to link coupons to your store savings card. For example, if you have a Vons card, select the coupons you want and it'll be added to your Vons card. When you're checking out, swipe your card and your coupons will apply!

Public Opinion

Not sure if a deal is great or just so-so? The best deals sites offer editor picks and allow users to vote and comment on deals. Use the power of social media to decide whether to jump on a sale or wait until a better one comes along.

50 Best Deals & Coupons Sites

Here they are. These sites will help you find the best bargains and coupons.

Wise Bread's Best Deals

The latest deals and coupons aggregated from the top sites around the Web. Plus the Top 10 deals of the day hand picked by Wise Bread. Subscribe to receive the daily deals roundup delivered to your email inbox.

Dealnews

My personal favorite deals site, the writers at dealnews do the very hard work of scouring the web every day for only the best deals on the hottest items. Every deal has been verified and the retailers are reputable (they ban any store with a history of poor customer service). Unlike many other deals sites, their site is easy to navigate and use, which is a godsend for any deal hound trying to get in and out quickly so they can catch the deal they want.

8coupons

Get up-to-the minute deals on your phone with free printable and text message coupons that you can redeem by just showing the cashier.

Baby Cheapskate

An essential destination for the busy parent and homemaker. The site has the best baby, kid and maternity bargains available, as well as the weekly circulars for grocery and drug stores. Another awesome feature is their Monthly Deal Forecast where they predict upcoming bargains, so you don't miss out by buying too early!

Bargainist

Deals are handpicked and updated several times a day, this popular site gets on all the "top lists" for good reason. They've also got a fantastic tips section that offers valuable bargain hunting advice.

Ben's Bargains

One of the longest running bargain sites around and still going strong, Ben has a loyal following because of his carefully selected deals, which includes advance notice of upcoming deals and exclusive offers (not to mention fantastic giveaways) for his readers. There are also special tracker tools that tracks down hot and hard to find items, so you don't have to run all over town yourself.

BradsDeals

One of the few non-tech oriented deals sites, this one covers an array of deals that tackles the shopping lists for everyone in the family. Brad's been interviewed by many news and talk shows, and is recognized as an expert bargain hunter. You can't go wrong following his picks.

Buxr

A fun and innovative site that gives deals hounds another thing to be excited about. Not only do users vote deals up or down, but they get money and prizes for doing what they do best--finding the best deals and telling others about it.

Cellfire

Get groceries, shopping, restaurants, and entertainment offers sent direct to your cell phone. With Cellfire, you never have to print, clip, or forget your coupons again.

Cheap Stingy Bargains

A top resource for Dell and HP coupons and an indispensable site for anyone considering a computer purchase. Of course there are coupons and deals for all sorts of products, too. The site is updated hourly, often posting more than a hundred deals and coupons a day.

CheapTweet

They scan and gather the best deals, coupons and sales people are tweeting about. Users can rate deals and the number of retweets contribute to whether a deal makes it to their Cheapest Tweets list.

Coupon Album

If you have a favorite store or don't like the idea of ordering from a place you've never heard of, stop by Coupon Album where the deals are listed by store. They've got coupons and deals for hundreds of the most popular stores.

CouponCabin

A popular coupon site that updates their directory three times a day to keep their coupons fresh. Their straightforward navigation allows you to find coupons based on features like most used, printable, and free samples.

Coupon Code

A clean and simple coupon site that offers discounts for over a thousand stores. You'll have no problems finding just the right discount for you.

Coupon Craze

At Coupon Craze you'll find internet shopping store coupons, online coupon codes, free shipping coupons and discount coupon code for store savings. Use their tools to find the best coupons and keep up to date on the latest codes.

Coupon Mom

A favorite site for the busy mom, Coupon Mom breaks up the offerings into easy to manage and digest sections. Find printable grocery deals by state, restaurant coupons, free offers and samples, and a daily roundup of the best coupons on the blog.

CouponMountain

Updated several times a day, the site offers exclusive online coupon codes, link based coupons, product discount news and sale announcements. Follow their blog for the most up to date announcements, and their forums for all kinds of hot deals, like travel, online auctions, rebates, and sweepstakes.

Coupons

A super user friendly site for the most current grocery coupons. You can enter your zip code for area specific deals, then select the coupons you want, and print them out. It's a great alternative to going through the Sunday paper and clipping your own.

Coupon Sherpa

This handy app provides hundreds of in-store coupons for many merchants right to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

CouponTweet

They scour the world's most popular social networks for special discounts and get special, hard-to-find deals from their partners and friends.

DealCatcher

A top site that offers a full staff of editors to ensure the quality of the deals, along with a large forums community that contributes shopping advice and reviews. Their Sunday Ads section allows you to look at discounts from over two hundred stores. Stop buying the Sunday paper just for the ads.

Dealigg

A terrific community site which features the best deals found by regular shoppers like you. No editors. No filters. If you like getting unbiased and timely bargain information provided by like-minded deal hunters like yourself, this is the site for you.

Dealighted

Aggregates deal discussions among the most popular and largest communities. You no longer have to visit several forums to find the best deal -- Dealighted does all that work for you. You won't find anything but the very best and most current deals featured.

Dealio

Members vote for the best coupons and sales and never miss a deal again with their Comparison Shopping Toolbar. Get instant price comparisons and related coupons and deals without leaving the store site to scour the multitude of deals sites to confirm the bargain.

Deal Locker

The clean and simple site makes searching for coupons a breeze. They have an amazing tool called the Amazon Discount Finder which searches for items currently at 10%-99% off. You'll also find great free sample coupons in the Coupon Blog.

Dealplumber

Dealplumber's mission is to make it easy, hassle free and fast for anyone to find the best bargain, discount, deal, coupon and promo code. Deals and coupons are handpicked and shared by other users (monitored by dealplumber volunteers for quality) to save big on everything they shop online.

Deals

With a slogan like because paying retail is a crime, you can be sure that they take their deals seriously. A vibrant community votes for the hottest deals and their Quick Submit Tool makes submitting deals just one click away.

Deal Seeking Mom

Get real deals for real moms. Tara handpicks the best deals for moms and their families.

Deals2buy

A clean and simple deals site (quite a rare thing to come by) that packs a punch without the clutter. If you are looking for a site with great deals but that won't overwhelm you with hundreds of deals and links at once, Deals2buy is the place to go.

Deals of America

Presenting only handpicked bargains from the most reputable American retailers, the staff is committed to providing every resource to help shoppers save money. They understand the uncertain credibility of many unknown online retailers, so they try to search bargains from big online retailers or stores with nationwide presence, so shoppers can feel safe and secure with their purchases.

DealsPlus

A site that uses the power of social media to determine the best deals to feature. Members submit and vote for the best deals. You can be sure that only deals with member consensus show up on the homepage. Along with coupons, store specials, and freebies, you'll also find the Sunday circulars from any store that has one -- an extremely useful feature to prepare for seasonal sales like Black Friday.

DealTaker

A deals site that doesn't just focus on tech bargains. Find discounts for clothes, toys, jewelry, and more. Their simple design makes the forums easy to navigate -- no small favor for the rookie deals hound.

Ebates

A site that gives you money back for shopping. Most coupon and deals sites make money through commission. Ebates does too, but they like to pass some of that back to you, the actual shopper. What better bargain can you get than that?

eCoupons

One of the largest online coupon websites listing more than five thousand stores and tens of thousands of active coupons and deals. Members can earn cash back when making purchases with participating partner stores.

Entertainment Book

Buy a book of coupons for your area for less than 20 bucks, and get coupons for restaurants, movie theaters, and shopping. You can get exclusive discounts on stuff you buy every week like movie rentals, pet supplies, books, office supplies, lunch, clothes, and a lot more. I get an Entertainment Book every year and make my money back in the first two months.

FatWallet

A robust forums community of dedicated bargain hunters. In addition to hot deals and coupons, FatWallet offers a variety of tools for reviews, price comparisons, and instant alerts. Their greatest unique feature is their cash back rewards program for shopping with hundreds of partner stores. Get money back for cashing in on a huge deal? It doesn't get any better than that.

FreeShipping

One of the few drawbacks of online shopping, and the bane of a bargain hunter's existence, is to have a great deal spoiled by a shipping charge. FreeShipping saves the day by providing free shipping codes for over 800 vendors on the Internet.

GottaDeal

A very well rounded site offering deals for a variety of items (as opposed to mainly tech focused as is the case with many deals sites). Their annual coverage of Black Friday deals is truly spectacular and an essential destination for any bargain shopper.

MyGroceryDeals

An extensive site that provides a comprehensive listing of the grocery deals in your area. The filter settings in your profile allow you to specify things like food allergies, preferred stores, and dietary considerations, so you'll get a customized list of only the most relevant items for you and your family.

MySavings

An online community bringing together consumers to share money saving tips and offers. The site provides a comprehensive directory of freebies, coupons, and other discounts and deals.

RetailMeNot

A leading comsumer destination for online coupons, discounts, and promotional codes for merchandise, travel and services, committed to helping consumers enjoy a hassle-free shopping experience. Members rank coupons based on their reliability. Tools, widgets, and a Firefox extension are available for quick and easy access to your coupons. Their people-powered price comparison engine, Beat My Price (beatmyprice.com), allows you to enter the deal you've found to see whether it truly is the best available.

Savings

At Savings.com, members and coupon hunters find the best coupons on the net and then the Savings.com community decides which coupons are the best coupons. Their simple search engine and category list makes it quick and easy to find exactly what you're looking for. Savings.com aims to be the first and last place you look to find the best available coupons for whatever it is you're looking for.

Shop It To Me

Rather than scour through all the deals on the web, create your own wish list of items and wait for a bargain to appear. Select your size, brand, and other preferences, and you'll get notified if there's a relevant sale. It's like having your own personal shopper!

Shortcuts

An easier way to lower your grocery bill. Just add coupon savings directly to your grocery store loyalty card.

SlickDeals

A popular, if not the most popular, deals site around today. The homepage displays only the hottest deals, but the true action happens in their forums (forums.slickdeals.net), where the community reigns. You won't be wading through an ocean of not-so-slick deals because the community takes care of those for you. You can always get the inside scoop on the most current deals. In addition, their shopping tools, feeds and alerts ensure that you won't miss a single sale.

Spoofee

A fun, quirky site that features a wide range of deals across different categories. Deals are ranked by the community and you can follow the wild antics of the owner in the blog section.

Techbargains

An essential stop for any technology purchase, they not only provide deals, coupons, and the latest bargain news, they have a variety of helpful shopping tools. Their search engine include eBay sales, a useful feature. Read their Hot Tip articles for important shopping advice. Review their recommended products database for items you should consider buying. Get rebate and vendor information for no fuss execution.

Valpak

Everyone is familiar with the thick Valpak envelope of coupons that arrive in the mail. Now you can get instant access to all coupons currently available for your area. This is hands down the best place to get coupons for local services like dry cleaning, auto repair, and restaurants.

Yowza

Get mobile coupons and exclusive offers from over 10,000 merchants nationwide.

Zavers

Save a coupon to your account and access via your mobile phone. Have coupon codes texted to you when you save a coupon.

Dealista

If you enjoyed these tips you can find more in our show's archive or subscribe via iTunes.

Dealista is a collaboration between Wise Bread and Quick and Dirty Tips, the producer of popular podcasts such as Grammar Girl, Money Girl, Winning Investor, and Mighty Mommy.

Check out more great tips from our sister shows:

Permalink | 11 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Budgeting

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Museum Day September 26, 2009: Free Admission This Saturday only!!

Lynn Truong — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:20:44 +0000

By Lynn Truong

This Saturday, September 26, hundreds of museums and cultural venues are participating in Museum Day. Enjoy free general admission for ONE DAY ONLY (except for museums that are closed on Saturdays, the admission card works for Sunday, September 27).

Just go to Museum Day, download and fill out the admission card, find a venue that's participating, and present the Museum Day admission card to receive free general admission!

The restrictions are as follows:

One time use on September 26, 2009 unless otherwise specified
Card must be presented for free general admission
Admission Card will be collected upon entry
General admission only
Does not include entry to special exhibits or IMAX screenings
Admission Card is good for general admission for you plus one guest
One Admission Card per household
Not for use with any other offer
No rain checks
Some participating museums may already have a free admission policy year round and are participating in the "spirit" of the day

Get your family and friends together and go out this weekend to enjoy all the culture you can handle!

Permalink | 3 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Freebies

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Beyond Budgeting: Pocketsmith Helps You Forecast

Lynn Truong — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:01:49 +0000

By Lynn Truong

note: PocketSmith is giving 5 Wise Bread readers a yearly Premium account. Read on for details.

There are many financial tools and services that help you track your spending and stick to your budgets. But I'm one of those fortunate ones with very few expenses and have learned over the years how to curb my appetite for spending. So I never found use for tools like Mint and Wesabe. I also never liked the idea of entering sensitive financial information for yet another company to keep safe.

In comes PocketSmith, and I can honestly say that when I looked at this product, I thought to myself This is exactly what I want.

While it does track your spending (and you can upload your exported financial accounts), it focuses on forecasting. That means it tells you how much money you should have in 6 months. It also tells you when you will reach your savings goals. For example, you want to know when you'll be able to afford that month-long trip to Europe? PocketSmith will tell you exactly when you'll have the money for it.

The goals feature is a powerful motivator. If you can see how your spending affects your saving goals -- immediately -- you can weigh whether or not it's worth pushing your goals further for whatever it is you want to spend on now. And many times you'll find that your goals are closer than you thought. For example, you might find that if you stopped eating out, you'll have enough for that DSLR after just 2 months. Whereas if you keep spending on eating out the way you currently do, you'd need to wait 4 months before being able to afford it.

It also has easy integration with Google Calendar, iCal, CalDav, and Outlook.

Having launched to the public just a few months ago, it's already getting noteworthy buzz. It was also named one of the top ten startups of 2008 in New Zealand.

I am looking forward to more features added to this service (and current financial tools will no doubt try to add some of their innovative features as well).

They have 3 pricing plans (though the first two is sufficient for most). Additionally, they're giving five Wise Bread readers a yearly Premium PocketSmith account worth USD $60 each.

To enter, leave a comment on what your saving goals are. Drawing closes on 9/10.

And go ahead and sign up for the free account first. If you win, they can upgrade your account.

This drawing has closed. The winners will be contacted shortly.

Permalink | 76 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Personal Finance, Budgeting

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How to Buy a Digital Camera

Lynn Truong — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:09:10 +0000

By Lynn Truong

As much as I appreciate a great photo, having a digital SLR in my hands is useless. My husband has the Pentax K10D, along with several lenses. It's heavy (although this model is heavier than others because of its weather-resistant feature), and no matter how many times he explains the settings, I can't figure out how to adjust them to the current environment. But the camera produces some damn good photos.

That being said, my husband is trying to get me to try out some of the newer DSLRs with excellent automatic settings. Seems like the over saturation of point-and-shoot cameras have caused manufacturers to open up new markets -- namely, the point-and-shoot graduate. The heavy hitters like Canon and Nikon are developing DSLRs that are smarter and can sense and adjust to the environment very well.

At any price point, there are any number of camera options. Whether you're in the market for a DSLR or compact point-and-shoot, it's not about getting the best features (there are too many). Get a camera that best fits your lifestyle and preferences.

Here are some tips to help narrow down your options. And once you get one, make sure to check out all the different ways to use a digital camera!

Size matters.

How often do you envision carrying this camera around? My point-and-shoot is in my purse, all the time. If we only had the DSLR, I wouldn't be taking any photos at all. The last thing I want to do is lug that thing around. Even though there are DLSRs that aren't as heavy, they're still bulky. If it becomes inconvenient (it doesn't fit in your purse or pocket), you might opt to leave it at home, which means less opportunity for impromptu and more casual photos.

Megapixels don't matter.

Okay, what I mean is, megapixels aren't as important as most people think. Many base their buying decisions solely on the megapixel count, but it's not the feature most can take advantage of.

There are point-and-shoot cameras offering 10 megapixels, but for most users, it's no different than a 5 megapixel camera. Megapixels are only important if you want to produce large prints (very large). 5 megapixels is enough for a print up to 11 x 14. If you aren't going to make prints larger than that, the extra megapixels don't offer any benefits.

Photo files are large.

The more megapixels, the larger the file size. Do you want to buy larger capacity memory cards to accommodate more photos? Do you need a larger hard drive to store and archive your photos? Do you know how to resize the photos so you can email them to friends and family?

If you end up with a camera that you liked for non-megapixel reasons, you can set the camera to take pictures at a lower megapixel, so you can save space on storage.

There's learning curve.

Digital SLRs are great because you can make very specific adjustments to get a good shot in any setting. If the lighting is bad or low, there's a setting to make it work. If you're trying to catch an action shot, no problem. But how much manual control do you really need? How many of the manual settings will you actually change? Even a lot of the higher end point-and-shoot cameras come packed with special settings and options.

Cameras with a lot of manual controls will allow you versatility and flexibility in getting the shot you want, in any environment. While that all sounds great in theory, in practice, few take advantage of all the controls. Decide how much you're willing to put into learning to use the special features and controls before choosing a camera that has a lot of them.

Choose your quality level.

How much does quality matter to you? Do you have an eye for it, or do average photos suit your purposes fine? DSLRs will produce images at much higher quality. But that's not to say that point-and-shoot cameras don't deliver excellent shots. They do, and they're improving every day. But the DSLRs will deliver even better shots. Will you notice and appreciate that quality difference? Because you'd be paying a lot more for it.

Also, is your desire for creating really nice photos enough to carry a DSLR around with you? Or is creating pretty good shots with a small, convenient camera enough for you?

Ignore the digital zoom.

Digital cameras often have two types of zooms: optical zoom and digital zoom. Ignore the digital zoom.

The optical zoom is what allows you to adjust the lens to take a closer shot. The digital zoom only enlarges the pixels. The image quality goes down dramatically when you use digital zoom.

If you like to zoom, choose a camera with a large optical zoom capability. But keep in mind that zooming makes the image more sensitive to motion. Keeping a steady hand (or having a tripod and/or image stabilization feature) is more important.

Additionally, having more megapixels means you can crop sections of your photo without losing any quality, negating any use for digital zoom at all.

Decide on a battery.

If you use your camera for infrequent shots, battery life and type of battery probably doesn't matter much to you. Even when a camera is low on battery, you can often still get several shots in before it dies completely. But if you like to take photos throughout the day at events, you should pay attention to the battery options.

Some cameras have their own rechargeable battery while others use standard AA batteries. Read reviews on battery life and decide whether you'd prefer to carry spare AA batteries around, or you're confident you'll be able to charge up your camera before you need it (and have it last the whole time you're using it).

Many, many features.

The list above is just the tip of the ice berg. When it comes to digital cameras, features abound. Make sure you pay attention to the features that really affect you, and ignore the ones that you know you won't use, no matter how cool they seem.

For example, many cameras offer video capture. But how often will you want to record video? And keep in mind that it'll never replace your camcorder (not yet, anyway), as it only records a few minutes at a time. It also takes up a lot of space on your memory card.

One very cool feature that I'd love to see in my next camera (but would not pay extra for), is face detection and other "smart camera" functions. For example, some cameras will automatically take a photo when it detects a smile. Perfect for capturing baby shots when a smile could come too quick to react to.

Still not cool enough? Sony is launching their Party-Shot accessory. What does it do? Put the camera on this dock that pans 360 degrees and tilts 24 degrees and it automatically takes photos.

Direct link to Sony Party-Shot promo video

Permalink | 13 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Shopping

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10 Unhealthiest Restaurants

Lynn Truong — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:35:31 +0000

By Lynn Truong

Eat This, Not That! analyzed and graded 66 different chain restaurants, and came up with a list of America's Unhealthiest Restaurants. It goes to show how easy it is to underestimate the amount of calories in a seemingly simple meal. Consider your portion sizes (you'll live longer, too) and the types of ingredients before accepting a plate at face value.

Here are the restaurants that topped the charts with calories and fat content per serving. [America's Unhealthiest Restaurants, (Yahoo! Health/Men's Health)]

Denny's

Their Double Cheeseburger is one of the worst in the country with 116 grams of fat and made it to the list of worst bugers in America.

Chili's

From burgers to baby back ribs, Chili's serves up some of the saltiest and fattiest fare. Also on the list of worst bugers in America, their Smokehouse Bacon Triple Cheese Big Mouth Burger has 3,810 mg of sodium and 122 grams of fat.

Baskin-Robbins

Their Heath Shake was named the Worst Drink on the Planet. It's got 2310 calories and 108 grams of fat. Enough said.

Carl's Jr.

Instead of paring down and offering healthier choices, Carl's Jr. pushes on with their bigger is better motto when developing new burgers. Their Double Guacamole Bacon Burger has over 1,000 calories and 74 grams of fat (27 of it is saturated fat).

Dairy Queen

Combines the two evils with greasy, heavy foods followed by heavy ice cream concoctions. Eaters can easily spend their entire day's calories in one sitting here.

Ruby Tuesday

Their appetizers hover at around 1,000 calories each, and even their veggie and turkey burgers have more than 850 calories!

Chevy's

Their massive portions push many of their meals over 1,000 calories. Consistently high in fat and sodium, it's no wonder there is no nutritional information to be found

Romano's Macaroni Grill

Their Seared Sea Scallops Salad made it on the Worst Salads list with over 1,300 calories and 2,860 mg of sodium, and is considered an Italian grease spot when it comes to their appetizers.

On the border

Owned by the same parent company of Chili's and Romano's Macacroni Grill (both here on this list). Their appetizers have 120 grams of fat and salads have a full day's worth of sodium. Even their taco entrees have 960 calories (tacos only, rice and beans not included in that calculation).

Baja Fresh

Their Shrimp Burrito Dos Manos Enchilada-Style contains over 5,100 mg sodium -- more than two days' worth!

Permalink | 56 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Food and Drink

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Alternative Wedding Ideas for Big Savings

Lynn Truong — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:00:04 +0000

By Lynn Truong

I got married in May and I couldn't have been happier with how the day went. At first, there were things I really wanted (or thought I really wanted, based on what I knew weddings were supposed to be like) that would have cost us much more money. But we decided on some frugal alternatives that ended up making the day better than I could have imagined. Yes, those other things would have been nice, too, but considering neither of us are made of money, the alternatives made me just as happy and made the day just as perfect, without spending the fortune. Here's how we saved loads of money by opting for alternatives over tradition.

The Ring

Those who know me already know why I didn't get a diamond engagement ring. I did research eco jewelry and synthetic diamonds, but decided I really didn't want an engagement ring at all.

The Dress

At the first store I walked into, I tried on a dress I thought I loved. It was a bit above my price range and the lady was a little pushy, so I decided to browse another store. I ended up taking the floor sample of another dress, one I really loved, and because it was the floor sample (50% off), it met my budget! Don't get sucked into buying a dress that's more than you can afford. Just because it's your wedding dress doesn't mean it's a free pass to overspend. You still have to pay for it, and once the day is over, you'll wonder why it was so important for you to get that dress. Take your time and look around. Be open to used wedding dresses or floor samples, as well as renting. Don't bother looking at dresses beyond your price range -- sooner or later you'll find a dress that you'll absolutely love. There is a "perfect" dress at any price range.

The Shoes

I know someone who spent thousands on a pair of Manolo Blahniks to wear on her wedding day. Even if you have a dress that doesn't cover your feet, it'll still be overshadowed by your hair, makeup, and dress. Unless you're loaded and have the money to burn, it's not worth spending a fortune just for the shoes. If you're willing to spend that much on shoes, go ahead and get a pair that you'd wear down the streets of New York City, a la Carrie Bradshaw. For your wedding, a cheap pair of strappy sandals (I did flip flops), would truly make little difference.

The Registry

It was a no brainer for us to not register for gifts. Cash is what most Chinese guests like to give (we're practical like that), and for any friends who asked, we confirmed that we weren't registered anywhere and asked for cash gifts if they felt inclined to give something. Cash means we don't get anything we don't really need. Saves us the hassle of having to return anything.

The Ceremony

We skipped the "walk down the aisle" production. That saved several thousand for space rental and decorations. Instead, we took a weekend trip to San Francisco and got married at their beautiful City Hall. On the wedding day, we went to Caltech to shoot pretty photos. Skipping the ceremony also means I didn't need bridesmaids, and all the costs associated with it (and my friends didn't have to "work" at my wedding either!).

The Centerpieces and Favors

We skipped the fancy centerpieces. Flowers and vases are expensive -- even if you try to DIY. I bought 20 baskets from downtown for $2 each, and filled it up with candy and cookies for the guests to snack on while waiting for the food. We also skipped the favors. We decided guests don't really want or need to bring something back with them that has our name and wedding date on it. Instead, we placed note cards with markers and stickers for guests to write us a note, so we can have keepsakes from each of the guests.

The Entertainment

We skipped the DJ, and asked two of our friends to be MC's to faciliate a game that involved audience participation. Traditionally, the guests request a bride and groom kiss by tapping their chopsticks against their plates (it makes quite a racket). We made it into a kissing raffle -- everytime the guests started tapping on the plates, we picked a couple's name out of a bowl and that couple had to go up on stage and kiss. Then we would imitate them. It lasted throughout the evening and everyone was entertained.

The Banquet

There's no beating the price for a Chinese wedding banquet, and the food is delicious. They provide the seat covers, free. They provide a sound system and microphones, free. They provide a screen (for slide shows), free. There is no corkage fee (we brought Two-Buck Chucks from Trader Joe's). There is no cake cutting fee. It's not necessary to put up a lot of decorations because it's a restaurant -- it's already decorated (unlike most banquet halls in hotels). Our menu: 10 course meal plus dessert.

The Honeymoon

We skipped the honeymoon. We both like to travel and know that we'll plan a trip for the two of us when it's a good time (and a good deal). Granted, we dated for 8 years before getting married, so we don't necessarily need that time away.

The most important thing to remember is to not make the wedding bigger than the marriage. I'm very proud that my wedding didn't cost a fortune, yet I thought it was a perfect day. There's nothing I was left wanting for, nothing I felt I sacrificed.

For more wedding saving tips, check out Sarah's 55 wedding planning tips and Myscha's classy wedding ideas.

Permalink | 24 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Frugal Living

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EcoUsable Ech2o Stainless Steel Filtered Water Bottle GIVEAWAY!

Lynn Truong — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:51:46 +0000

By Lynn Truong

I feel the same way about plastic water bottles as Andrea (read her Bottled Water, Bottled Hype series), and many others who feel that it's disturbing that over 60 million plastic water bottles go into landfills every day. Even more disturbing are images like this one, showing the The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

It's a stew of trash floating in the Pacific that's twice the size of Texas, floating between California and Hawaii.

The impact of our actions is clear and striking. We can each do our small part in relieving the problem.

EcoUsable is here to help with that! They've created the Ech2o, the world's first stainless steel filtered water bottle. Um..it's a stainless steel water bottle...with a filter inside it!! Get great-tasting, filtered water, anytime, anywhere! Drink from tap water, streams, rivers, lakes, and pools -- everything but salt water.

The filter not only reduces unpleasant taste, odor, chlorine, sand, and sediment, but also toxic chemicals, detergents, pesticides, and other harmful industrial and agricultural wastes. The 25 oz. bottles remove pollutants for up to 100 gallons, which lasts the average person about a year. Each bottle uses 304 food grade stainless steel that is non-leaching, BPA-free, reusable and lightweight!

Save money. Save the planet. It's that simple.

To get you started, EcoUsable sent us three Ech2o filtered water bottles to give away to our Wise Bread readers. To enter, leave a comment about ways to reduce your plastic use. Drawing ends on July 20. Only open to U.S. residents aged 18 and over, void where prohibited. Only one entry per person will be counted.

This drawing has ended. Congrats to: Sarah, Beceky, and John Meche

Don't forget. Even if you aren't one of the lucky winners, all Wise Bread readers can also get 10% off.

Permalink | 440 comments | Lynn Truong's blog | Channel: Green Living

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