You are viewing an archive of articles by Smithee. Smithee formerly lived primarily on credit cards and the good will of his friends. He is a newbie to personal finance but quickly learning from his past mistakes. You can follow him on Twitter, where his user name is @SmitheeConsumer.

Smithee

Is Netflix Streaming a Good Deal?

by Smithee

My wife and I use Netflix‘s streaming service as one of the pillars that holds up our cable-free entertainment setup. It was also the main reason I started subscribing to a XBox Live Gold membership, though that comes with some other benefits which I always forget about until the moment I notice them. The XBox ... Continue reading this article…

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Smithee Debt Update, Mid-April 2010

by Smithee

Happy Friday. It’s been just about a month since my last debt update, and I’m feeling relatively successful at it. I’m still on track to get rid of it by July, having eradicated $1,267.39 in the last four weeks. Aside from the satisfaction of persistence, there’s actual good news: as of yesterday, my employer has ... Continue reading this article…

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Everlasting Fun Ball: a Toy for Dogs

by Smithee

As you might know, I live alongside three ridiculous dogs. We take turns being in charge, but most of the time I end up feeling like their servant with titles like “Emergency Backup Food Giver” or “Guy With the Food That Smells Better Than Mine.” The eldest of our three dogs has a friendly relationship ... Continue reading this article…

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The White House’s Tax Filing Tips

by Smithee

In the past 14 months, we’ve covered many of the ways the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act might affect your household finances, including home buyer tax credits and energy efficiency tax credits. If you still haven’t yet found the time to file your taxes, or if you’re the sort of person who makes it a ... Continue reading this article…

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Shaving: Neither Electric Nor Expensive

by Smithee

I have trouble shaving, and it seemed to be getting worse with age. It seemed that no matter what I did, I’d end up with a red bumpy neck and hairy spots I had missed. In the last eighteen years, I’ve tried every normal razor and electric razor I could find, and none of them ... Continue reading this article…

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HDMI Cables Are Cheap

by Smithee

On Tuesday, I asked our readers to answer a few questions about their household TV situation, and I found that 49 percent of respondents don’t use a DVR. I was surprised to learn that, but it says more about me than you guys: I’ve let myself get sucked inside an on-demand, time-shifting echo chamber of bleeding-edge ... Continue reading this article…

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He’s teasing you; nobody has two television sets.

by Smithee

That’s a line from one of my favorites movies, Back to the Future, during the scene where Marty McFly almost has dinner with his mother and grandparents. If there ever was a commentary on consumerism, this is near the top of my list: Lorraine Baines: Our first television. Dad just picked it up today. Do ... Continue reading this article…

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Twilight: New Moon: The LOL Edition

by Smithee

I’ve written before about how “alternate commentaries” can make old movies seem new again, mostly as a way of saving money vs. buying more DVDs. In that article I made a few recommendations from Rifftrax, among them the teen “vampire” “love” story “Twilight”. (Without resorting to any more snark, I’ll just say that there’s a ... Continue reading this article…

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Manpacks

by Smithee

I’m a big fan of automation. Not having to think about mundane things on a regular basis is always attractive, since I want to be able to focus on things that are important as often as possible. Enter Manpacks, a service that automatically sends male underwear every three months, which they figure is just often ... Continue reading this article…

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The New Health Insurance Law and Your Money

by Smithee

Aside from some procedural maneuvering in the Senate, the health insurance reform bill that Congress has been working on for the last year, now falling under the Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872) and the Senate health bill, will soon be signed into law. How is the new law going to affect your personal finances? ... Continue reading this article…

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