Keep an eye out on those prices because waiting isn’t always saving you money.
How to get a hotel room cheaper than the best price online
Here’s my spending philosophy: If you can get something cheaper, it’s worth a little effort. Of course, I like tools that do the hard work for me. Tap or click for an online shopping helper to find discounts that work.
There are digital tricks that can make travel easier, safer and more affordable, too. Tap or click for five smart tech tips you should read before you hit the road this summer.
When saving on hotel rooms, the sites claiming the best possible deal aren’t always the way to go. Sometimes, you can do better on your own. My son recently used the tips below to get a hotel room for $80 less than the lowest price online.
Don’t book through a travel site
When you’re looking for a hotel, travel discount sites like Kayak, Expedia or Hotels.com are good places to start — but don’t book there. Once you find the lowest available price at the hotel you want to visit, call the hotel’s reservation desk.
Many hotels will meet or beat the best internet rate when you book directly with them. They’d much rather skip the commission to the travel site and book your stay directly. The hotel might even offer a free upgrade, like a nicer room or complimentary breakfast.
If you’re not having luck with the first person who answers, respectfully ask to speak to the manager.
Speaking of saving, I put together eight proven ways to lower your monthly internet, cable, and streaming bills. You’re welcome.
This is the best time to book a hotel room
If it’s feasible, wait until the day you need the hotel room to book it. The later in the day, the better. After 4 p.m., hotels know the odds of selling a room are slim, so you’re more likely to get a lower rate. On average, the same-day rate of a hotel room is 10% cheaper than booking in advance.
But this comes with a caveat. Don’t rely on this strategy if you’re traveling to a busy tourist city or a town where a large event is happening. You might be fortunate, but most people book rooms well in advance. In a pinch, sites like Hotel Tonight can help with last-minute bookings.
Watch your wallet: 5 silly ways you’re flushing money down the toilet
How to save images from a Word doc or PDF
When you want to send a document as is, a PDF is the way to go. Adobe created the Portable Document Format to allow you to share manuals, forms, resumes, contracts, scanned material, pages from a book, eBooks and more to any device without changing its look or ruining the format.
The award for “Best Font for Saving Printer Ink” goes to … Times New Roman! When it comes to ink, you’ll get almost 30% more pages printed with it over Arial. The smaller, the better; use a font size of 10 points or lower if you can read it.
How to get cheap flights with expert Clark Howard
Money-saving guru Clark Howard is here, sharing his top-secret strategies to land the cheapest flights imaginable — and trust me, the airlines do not want you knowing these tricks. We talk about clever booking hacks, algorithms, hidden deals, and the perfect time to strike.
🏎️ Ferrari’s future won’t include GPS: But it will include a $500,000 EV. The luxury automaker is ditching built-in nav systems because, uh, our phones are way better. And start saving now; its half-a-million-dollar electric model is launching next year.
Spruce up your kitchen with these 13 great products
Is your kitchen full of old, broken appliances, cracked cups and stained plates? Yep, it’s definitely time for a kitchen product makeover.
All it takes is a few matching sets, some space-saving items and this list of 13 outstanding products that promise to spruce up your kitchen.
Tech how-to: Save important texts on iPhone and Android
It’s hard to imagine everyday life without text messages. In fact, people send nearly 23 billion text messages each day worldwide. Of course, not all texts are good news. Tap or click here to see six scam text messages that are ripping people off.
💸 Duh, it works: A money-saving strategy is all over TikTok, promising to save you over $5,000 in less than four months. Take 100 envelopes and number them from 1 to 100. Each day, deposit an amount matching the envelope number. Envelope No. 1 gets $1, the one labeled “2” gets $2 and so on. Maybe next, someone will go viral talking about savings accounts! You know, where you put money away with interest.
Just plane awesome: Ever miss a connecting flight? Airlines are using AI to schedule planes to wait for late passengers, knowing everyone will still arrive on time. Those aboard? You’ll get real-time text messages about what’s happening. Plus, the AI pre-plans the most efficient routes, saving millions of gallons of fuel … and tons of pissed-off passengers.
Not just a rumor anymore: Apple is officially cooking up a foldable MacBook for 2027. This analyst says it’ll have a 20.3-inch screen and could change how we use laptops forever. As for pricing, well, it’s Apple, so start saving now.
Facebook's $1.6B efforts to "save journalism"
Here’s a headline I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at. Facebook is pouring a ton of dough into saving journalism — but I can’t help but wonder if this is just a well-dressed bribe.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Looking for extra cash? Don't get taken in by secret shopper scams
It’s always a good idea to have some extra cash in the bank. Whether you’re saving up for a family vacation or just want to have a little tucked away in case of an emergency, a part-time gig can help.
If you’re lucky, you might be able to find a work-from-home job and not even have to leave the house. Tap or click here to see the 20 best ways to make money online.
iPhones can easily be turned into a bodycam to record police
By now you have probably had enough time to get the hang of iOS 12. You have played around with some of its new features, enjoyed its faster speeds and, despite its flaws, probably think it’s a pretty good update.
But even if you have checked out the new features you could not afford to miss or have gotten the hang of some of the things you could never do prior to iOS 12, odds are good you haven’t seen all of what the new operating system allows.