Where to find money-saving ideas on Reddit

2:00 PM ideas, moneysaving, Reddit, where No Comments

| By Michelle V. Rafter, MSN Money

What you don't know about this social network could hurt your wallet. The site has groups devoted to everything from frugal living to investing.

If you only know Reddit as a place to see silly cat photos, analyze your breakup or catch up on the news, you're missing out on a wealth of tips for getting deals and saving money.

The social media website might not be the first place you think of for scoring discounts or picking up advice from savvy investors. But tucked inside the service's conversation threads are dozens of forums devoted to those and other money saving and personal finance topics.

Acquired by Conde Nast in 2006 and run as a subsidiary of the publishing giant's Advance Publications division, Reddit says it has nearly 2.5 million registered users in more than 177 countries. That's a fraction of Facebook or Twitter's size, but devoted fans check in daily to ask questions, chat or post links to interesting things they've found online. A popular feature called "Ask Me Anything" has seen President Barack Obama, Bill Gates and other notables from politics, business, science, sports and entertainment stop in to answer user questions.

Reddit's most avid fans are Millennials, but other age groups are discovering it too. According to a Pew Internet report, Reddit is used by 6% of all U.S. adults who are online and 15% of men 18 to 29.

Reddit divides the material posted on the site into thousands of categories called "subreddits." Subreddits are identified by the letter "r/" before their names, so for example, the subreddit on coupons and couponing is called r/Coupons.

The r/Coupons group claims nearly 23,000 active members who swap discounts on a variety of merchandise and services. Recent posts linked to coupons for 25% off Timberland footwear, 20% off merchandise at Sports Authority, 9% off room reservations through Hotels.com, and a free 5 oz. Yogurtland frozen yogurt. Related subreddits include r/Frugal and r/LivingSocial.

Here are some other subreddits to help you out with saving money, frugal living and other personal finance topics:

r/EatCheapandHealthy: Members of this popular forum share tips for cheap eats, including low-cost recipes, suggestions for budget-friendly meals, and where to buy non-perishables in bulk. One user recently asked for help sticking to a $50 monthly food budget. (She got a lot of suggestions to stock up on beans and rice). Check the right-hand column of any subreddit page for a list of related topics.

r/PersonalFinance: Saving money isn't just about getting deals. It's also a way of life, one that frequenters of the r/PersonalFinance subreddit embrace. One recent poster celebrated paying off $40,000 in credit card and other debts after 14 months of penny pinching. "Thank you, r/personalfinance, for keeping me inspired every day!" he wrote in a victory message. Other users post requests for help figuring out 401k investment strategies, paying off student loans or dealing with deadbeat roommates. Related subreddits include r/Investing, r/Banking and r/Tax.

r/Thrifty: This discussion group bills itself as the overlap between saving money and saving the environment, offering tips for reducing, recycling and reusing. In a recent post, one Redditor shares a photo of a used metal bed frame bought on Craigslist and repainted to look new again. Others link to articles on raising backyard chickens or using a scythe instead of a power trimmer for yard work. Related subreddits include r/Anticonsumption and r/Recycling and r/Sustainability.

r/BuyItForLife: At any given time, it's possible to find 100 Reddit users hanging out on this forum for advice on products that are, according to its description, "practical, durable and quality made … to last." More than 89,500 people subscribe to r/BuyItForLife, which in recent days has hosted conversations about nail clippers, wallets, cordless vacuums, portable canopies, fish knives, bartending sets, backpacks, and lunch boxes. A similar subreddit is r/GoodValue.

r/Scams: Use this subreddit to find out whether the deals you find on Reddit or elsewhere are legit.

If you're a newcomer, it helps to familiarize yourself with basic Reddit rules before posting anything. All subreddits have moderators who spell out what's acceptable behavior and what types of posts or language could get you locked out of their digital turf; look for guidelines on the far right-hand side of subreddit pages. Fair warning: when it comes to subject matter and language, some subreddits are more freewheeling than others. Find out more about Reddit etiquette here: Reddiquette.

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The Super Bowl trophy: where Tiffany meets the NFL

9:30 AM meets, super, Tiffany, trophy, where No Comments

Brian A. Shactman , CNBC – 2 days

Outside of the NHL's Stanley Cup, the Vince Lombardi Trophy might be the most recognized trophy in all of sports.

That much you probably already knew. What you probably didn't know: The prize for winning the Super Bowl is seven pounds of sterling silver, handcrafted by jewelry icon Tiffany.

Tiffany, a $4 billion company, has made every Lombardi Trophy dating back to 1967. As the story goes, the original design was sketched on a cocktail napkin in front of then-NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle.

Tiffany and the NFL might seem like an odd match, but it's not.

"The core mission of the company is to celebrate important moments in people's lives," said Tiffany executive Tom O'Rourke, who has overseen the company's trophy business for almost eight years. "I can't imagine a more important moment for an athlete than receiving the championship trophy on the field after a victory."

The silver itself has a street value of about $3,500. But, if you add in the high-end labor to make it (there is no glue! and its symbolism, the value is a little more difficult to assess.

"I would tell you that the trophy itself is priceless," O'Rourke said. "Whatever monetary value is assigned to the trophy doesn't accurately present the work the athletes have put into it."

The NFL is a customer and does pay for the trophy.

Sources tell CNBC that the Tiffany trophy business, which includes everything from Major League Baseball to PGA golf, is modestly profitable but probably with smaller margins that the rest of its jewelry business.

The NFL trophy is made in a workshop nestled into a distribution center in Parsippany, New Jersey.

"It's like the turn of the century with some of the machines and equipment used," O'Rourke noted.

As you might imagine, the size of the silver sheets is much larger than the average piece used for Tiffany jewelry. Actually, the only place the company has been able to procure sheets of high-grade silver big enough for the Vince Lombardi Trophy is in Italy.

After the silver arrives in New Jersey, the four-month process begins. Old-world terms like blacksmithing, spinning and chasing are following by the final polishes and engravings.

"It's made by local craftspeople that are employing crafts and skills from the 1800s," O'Rourke explained.

Then, the trophy goes to the Hall of Fame for display and returns for a touchup before journeying to the big game itself.

"It does come in a blue box," O'Rourke joked. "Actually, the reality is that the trophy will be in blue felt in a secure box — not a traditional Tiffany box."

After the game, the winning team enjoys the trophy for a while before returning it to Tiffany for a cleaning and a final engraving.

Sometimes, it's a little worse for wear.

"The biggest issue is always the champagne," O'Rourke said.

The biggest party offender? Reportedly, the New Orleans Saints after winning in 2010.

© 2013 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved

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Where is Starbucks? Ranking our favorite coffee

4:00 PM coffee, favorite, Ranking, Starbucks, where No Comments

In the most recently reported quarter, revenue at Green Mountain's parent company rose 37 percent to $885 million.By Douglas A. McIntyre, 24/7 Wall St.
Americans love their coffee. Three-quarters of adults drink coffee and 58 percent say they drink coffee daily, according to the National Coffee Association. Like other large consumer products in the U.S., a substantial number of brands vie for market share -- and for profit. And like other food and beverage products, each brand tries to distinguish itself for consumers based on taste, price, and in some cases, snob appeal.

Based on 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Rankings, 24/7 Wall St. identified the most popular coffee brands that people make themselves. The seven coffee companies with scores above the coffee product average measured by Harris did well based on familiarity, quality, purchase consideration and the ability to generate buzz.

Green Mountain coffee brand topped the list. Its parent company, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, is often viewed as a competitor to Starbucks, which did not make the list. In fact, the brands that are rated below average are probably better known than those rated above average. The losers include Chock Full O'Nuts, Nescafe, Newman's Own, Seattle's Best, and Starbucks.

Because Harris is not the only research firm that polls people on coffee preferences, we looked at other opinion studies, including one by Consumer Reports. Oddly enough, its preference ratings put Starbucks’ house blend as the highest rated brand. The differences in the results show how unpredictable research is when consumer preferences are considered.

Because of this, 24/7 also looked beyond subjective measures of preference. We looked at price, based on the assumption that many coffee drinkers consider value. We also examined annual revenue of each brand, as well as the number of bags sold last year. We discovered that the most favored brands are not inexpensive. Folgers Ground Coffee and Green Mountain, two of the most preferred brands, cost well over $7 per bag. Millstone and Eight O’Clock, while still popular, are less preferred, and each of these costs little more than $5 per bag

The relationship of price to quality perception should not come as a surprise. Starbucks has made a fortune selling expensive coffee at trendy stores. Its customers are not complaining that their $3 cup of coffee costs twice as much as it does at the neighborhood deli.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Rankings of coffee brands, which quantifies brand strength among consumers, to identify the most popular coffees. We included dollar sales, change in dollar sales from one year ago and unit sales of bagged ground coffee over the latest 52-week period in the United States provided by SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market research firm. The group’s data reflects sales at supermarkets, drugstores, gas/convenience stores and mass market retailers, but excludes Walmart club stores, and liquor stores.

These are America’s favorite coffees:

7. Caribou

Parent company: Caribou Coffee Company 1-year bags sold: 2,134,128 1-year sales: $16,793,690 Price per bag: $7.87
Owned by the publicly traded Minneapolis-based Caribou Coffee Company, the brand comes in at seventh in the Harris poll. Founded in 1992, Caribou is the second most expensive coffee on this list at $7.87 a bag. The brand also has the second-lowest annual dollar sales of any coffee brand on the list at less than $17 million. In its most recently reported quarter, Caribou’s parent company sales were $80.5 million for all its brands, up 11 percent from the same quarter in the prior year. In its coffee blend reviews, Consumer Reports gave Caribou’s “daybreak morning” blend especially poor reviews.

6. Maxwell House

Parent company: Kraft Foods, Inc. 1-year bags sold: 73,285,570 1-year sales: $467,080,600 Price per bag: $6.37
A Kraft Foods product, Maxwell House’s 52-week sales through April 15 was in excess of $467 million, making it the second best-selling ground coffee in the U.S. Despite strong sales, Maxwell House has performed poorly in coffee blend ratings issued by Consumer Reports, as none of the four blends (decaffeinated, breakfast, original roast medium, and master blend mild) was given a “good” rating. However, at $6.37 a bag, Maxwell House’s brand value is likely bolstered by a middling price in conjunction with customer familiarity with both the brand and its parent company.

5. Eight O’Clock

Parent company: Tata Global Beverages 1-year bags sold: 13,519,080 1-year sales: $74,800,170 Price per bag: $5.53
First sold in 1859 by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (now A&P), the Eight O’Clock brand’s longevity is unmatched by any other ground coffee on this list. The brand has been sold under the present trademark since 1919. In the 1920s through the 1950s, the company claims it was the most popular ground coffee brand in the U.S. Since then, however, its popularity has declined. Since 2006, the brand has been owned by Tata Global Beverages and, as of 2010, was still the best-selling whole bean coffee, according to the company.

4. Millstone

Parent company: J.M. Smucker Company 1-year bags sold: 3,469,959 1-year sales: $18,187,170 Price per bag: $5.24
Millstone was started in 1981 by Phil Johnson, who sold arabica coffee beans to shops in the Seattle area. The brand offers a large variety of roasts, from espressos to French roasts and appeals to customers through organic and fair trade offerings. The brand has performed poorly in the last year, with dollar sales down 10.94 percent and bag sales down 19.69 percent. The brand’s average price per bag has risen 52 cents in this same time span.

3. Dunkin’ Donuts

Parent company: J.M. Smucker Company 1-year bags sold: 21,499,550 1-year sales: $190,710,400 Price per bag: $8.87
Well known for its restaurants, which offer breakfast, baked goods and coffee, the Dunkin’ Donuts brand is owned by the Dunkin’ Brands Group. Dunkin’ Donuts, which has 6,772 franchised restaurants in 35 states, has licensed J.M. Smucker to sell its ground coffee throughout the U.S. Dunkin’ is the most expensive coffee on this list. Its offerings have been given mixed reviews by Consumer Reports -- its dark roast is well reviewed and its decaffeinated blend is poorly reviewed. In the last year, dollar sales have increased 11.03 percent as the average price per bag has risen by 83 cents.

2. Folgers

Parent company: J.M. Smucker Company 1-year bags sold: 114,784,800 1-year sales: $852,350,800 Price per bag: $7.43
The best-selling ground coffee brand, Folgers sold over 114 million bags of coffee in the past year. The sales don’t include the “Gourmet Selections” and “Coffee Singles” products, which account for an additional $18.6 million and $19 million in sales, respectively. The brand’s offerings received mixed reviews from Consumer Reports, with its house blend receiving a “good” rating and its breakfast, classic and decaf blends receiving “fair” ratings. Though the brand was founded in 1850, it has been part of the J.M. Smucker Company only since November, 2008.

1. Green Mountain

Parent company: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters 1-year bags sold: 1,844,802 1-year sales: $14,422,080 Price per bag: $7.82
Founded in Waitsfield, Vermont in 1981, Green Mountain has been manufactured in Waterbury, Vermont, since shortly thereafter. Its parent company, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is better-known for its Keurig brands, which account for much of the revenue at the parent company. In the most recently reported quarter, revenue at Green Mountain’s parent company rose 37 percent to $885 million. Despite a relatively high price per bag of $7.82, Green Mountain’s 52 week sales are less than $15 million. This makes Green Mountain the smallest brand by sales of all brands studied by Harris. The single Green Mountain blend reviewed by Consumer Reports, its signature Nantucket blend medium roast, received the third-highest rating.

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Countries where the rich, poor gap is greatest

8:05 AM countries, greatest, where No Comments

Among all countries studied, Mexico has the lowest amount of public social expenditure as a percentage of GDP.

By Michael B. Sauter and Charles B. Stockdale, 24/7 Wall St.

The widening gap between the rich and poor is not just an American problem. According to a new study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, income inequality in most economically developed countries is the worst it has been in nearly 25 years. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the OECD’s report and identified the 10 countries with the worst income inequality.

“In OECD countries today, the average income of the richest ten percent of the population is about nine times that of the poorest 10 percent,” the study reports. And in many of these countries, income inequality is increasing as more and more wealth is concentrated in the hands of the rich.

In some countries the gap is even more pronounced. The income of the bottom 10 percent of earners has actually declined while the income of the top 10 percent has increased. In Israel, Turkey and the United States, the average income of the top 10 percent is 14 to one compared to the bottom 10 percent. In Mexico and Chile, it is an astounding 27-to-one.

24/7 Wall St.: Countries where people live longest (and the link to healthcare)

In many of the countries with the greatest levels of income inequality, there is also very limited public social expenditure. Seven of the 10 countries on this list spend below the OECD average — as a percentage of GDP — on social benefits.  For example, the share of unemployed who receive benefits in both Chile and Turkey are less than half the OECD average. Mexico has no unemployment insurance at all.

The 10 countries on this list are ranked by their levels of income inequality using the Gini coefficient, where zero represents perfectly equal distribution and one represents maximum inequality. Also included are the change in income inequality from the mid-1980s, employment rates and the change in income for the rich and poor. While inequality has worsened in most countries, the situation has improved in some. Even in these countries, however, inequality remains at historically high levels.

1. Chile

 Gini coefficient: 0.494 Change in income inequality: n/a Employment rate: 59.3 percent (4th lowest) Change in income of the rich: +1.2 percent per year Change in income of the poor: +2.4 percent per year

Chile is one of the few countries where the income of the poor increased at a higher annual rate than the income of the wealthy, 2.4 percent to 1.2 percent. Nevertheless, the South American nation has the worst income inequality among the 27 OECD nations examined. Chile has a particularly high rate of self-employed individuals, primarily because of its large farming class. The income ratio of the top 10 percent to the bottom 10 percent is 27-to-one.

24/7 Wall St.: Happiest countries in the world

2. Mexico

 Gini coefficient: 0.476 Change in income inequality: +5.1 percent Employment rate: 60.4 percent (8th lowest) Change in income of the rich: +1.7 percent per year Change in income of the poor: +0.8 percent per year

Mexico has one of the highest rates of income inequality. Among all OECD countries, Mexico has the lowest amount of public social expenditure as a percentage of GDP. It also has the lowest unemployment benefit recipient rates. Finally, the country has the lowest minimum wages as a percentage of average wages.

3. Turkey

 Gini coefficient: 0.409 Change in income inequality: -5.8 percent Employment rate: 46.3 percent (the lowest) Change in income of the rich: +0.1 percent per year Change in income of the poor: +0.8 percent per year

Turkey was one of the few OECD countries to experience a narrowing of the gap between rich and poor, with income inequality improving 5.8 percent between 1985 and 2008. However, it still has the third-highest income inequality among the countries in this study. Part of Turkey’s problem is a relatively low number of government programs to aid the poorest citizens. The average government social expenditure among OECD nations is close to twenty percent of GDP, while it spends just above ten percent  — the third-lowest percentage. The wealthiest ten percent of Turkey’s residents make 14 times more, on average, than the poorest ten percent.

 

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