Ever heard of Service shrinkflation?

"Service shrinkflation: why you’re getting less help for the same money."
From hotel housekeeping to loyalty points, here’s where the cuts are hiding.

Companies aren’t just shrinking products, they’re shrinking service too — less housekeeping, weaker rewards, and more chatbots for the same (or higher) price

Hotels, customer support, and loyalty programs are big offenders: fewer cleanings, harder-to-reach humans, and points that suddenly buy a lot less

Your move: check policies before you buy, screenshot “promises,” and don’t hesitate to ask for credits, bonus points, or to downgrade/cancel when service is cut.

Everyone’s been yelling about shrinkflation for the last few years. The cereal...
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What are some good Holiday Tipping Advice?

"CR's Holiday Tipping Cheat Sheet."
Not sure how much to give your dog walker, hairdresser, or mail carrier—or whether you should tip them at all? We've got you covered.

Americans are fed up with being asked to tip for an ever-increasing number of their daily purchases. When it comes to holiday tipping, though, many of us still feel more like George Bailey than Ebenezer Scrooge: In a 2024 Bankrate survey, 80 percent of Americans said they planned to give holiday tips to house cleaners and other service workers. 

Deciding who gets a year-end tip—and how much that should be—is rarely straightforward. It...
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Do you know about the Frugal Habits that work?

"I Have Saved So Much Money Doing This": 27 Frugal Habits That People Stick To Because They Actually Really Work.

Saving money these days is no easy task, so I'm always on the lookout for practical habits to try. Recently, frugal people on Reddit shared their most "underrated" money-saving habits, and it gave me a lot of food for thought. Here's what they had to say:

1. "I multiply supposedly 'low monthly costs' by 12. The yearly cost is often a wake-up call that I don’t need something."

2. "Our prepaid cellphone plan saves us $100 a month from what we were paying." Click here to read more.

Ever heard of Zombie Debt?

" Some debts aren’t worth paying back. Ever heard of ‘zombie debt’? "

 You have a responsibility to repay the money you borrow.
However, sometimes life interrupts — you unexpectedly get laid off or a medical crisis limits your ability to earn a living.
This disruption to your income makes it impossible to keep up with your debt payments. 

 Then the collection calls start. The chase for payments may start cordially, but eventually the threat of legal action accelerates. Here’s why.

Debt collectors have a limited number of years in which they can sue for repayment. After the time runs out, certain unpaid...
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Is it true that Personalized Pricing has spread across many industries?

"Personalized pricing has spread across many industries. Here’s how consumers can avoid it."

Recently, Delta Air Lines announced it would expand its use of artificial intelligence to provide individualized prices to customers. This move sparked concern among flyers and politicians. But Delta isn’t the only business interested in using AI this way. Personalized pricing has already spread across a range of industries, from finance to online gaming.

Customized pricing – where each customer receives a different price for the same product – is a holy grail for businesses because it boosts profits. With customized pricing, free-spending people pay more while the price-sensitive...
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