Lifehacks to Save Time & Money
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- Best Car rental search engine:
Auto Slash – Uniquely combines a wide range of coupons with all major rental companies.
I often find drastic savings here compared to other sites. If you book further in advance, you can also track prices with their tracking tool, which will allow you to book a new rental if they drop in price and then you can cancel the old one. - Get Money Back on Your Broken Stuff
If you’re like me, you may have noticed that many products tend to fail soon after their warranty has expired. This is because companies tend to set their warranty coverage period at a place where they know they can minimize how many products they have to cover, while still keeping customers happy if they fail too soon. The good news is that most credit card companies tend to have an Extended Warranty plan which will add 1-2 years worth of coverage (for a combined total of 5) on any product you purchase with the card provided the manufacturer’s warranty is less than 5 years. Obviously if you broke something, it won’t be covered, but if you take care of your stuff you shouldn’t run into that too often. 🙂Submitting a claim through American Express, for example, takes approximately 5 minutes and no supporting documentation is required besides the date, vendor, and length of the warranty that has expired. Just like that, within 24 hours the full price of the product will be reimbursed. In my experience, no questions are asked or evidence required, though that may differ for products over $50.
American Express Extended Warranty
Visa Signature Extended Warranty
MasterCard Extended Warranty
The Comprehensive List
Get Money Back on Your Broken Stuff
If you're like me, you may have noticed that many products tend to fail soon after their warranty has expired. This is because companies tend to set their warranty coverage period at a place where they know they can minimize how many products they have to cover, while still keeping customers happy if they fail too soon. The good news is that most credit card companies tend to have an Extended Warranty plan which will add 1-2 years worth of coverage (for a combined total of 5) on any product you purchase with the card provided the manufacturer's warranty is less than 5 years. Obviously if you broke something, it won't be covered, but if you take care of your stuff you shouldn't run into that too often. 🙂
Submitting a claim through American Express, for example, takes approximately 5 minutes and no supporting documentation is required besides the date, vendor, and length of the warranty that has expired. Just like that, within 24 hours the full price of the product will be reimbursed. In my experience, no questions are asked or evidence required, though that may differ for products over $50.
American Express Extended Warranty
Visa Signature Extended Warranty
MasterCard Extended Warranty
Shop at places with unlimited return policies/Warranties
Inclusive even of accepting returns on used items: Costco, Eddie Bauer, Kohls, Trader Joe’s. Full list.
Return Protection - Get your money back for up to 90 days with this free perk on many credit cards. You may need to google your card to determine if it has this perk if it is a MasterCard.
AmericanExpress Return Protection - Claims Form
Visa Infinite Return Protection
MasterCard Shopping Protection
Amazon - If you have amazon prime and a package ever arrives late, email a complaint noting that you have amazon prime and expect deliveries within a certain timeframe. Ask them what they can do for you. They will almost always extend your prime membership for a month. Occasionally they will offer a refund.
If a product you purchase is unsatisfactory or has a flaw, mention it in a review. Occasionally vendors of sub-$50 products will refund you and often let you keep the product (Sometimes they require photo verification).
CamelCamelCamel - Track Amazon Price History to check if you’re getting the best deals and receive alerts.
Fast Food - For drive-through or takaway orders, if your food isn’t as ordered after you leave, call the number on the receipt and complain. If it was their fault, they will usually offer to replace the food item the next time you come by. If the bad order is still edible, you score!
Jamba Juice - ½ off 2 small smoothies of the same kind: Order a large smoothie and ask for them to put it into two smaller cups. They frequently blend more than will fill a large cup, and a large will usually completely fill two small cups for cheaper than ordering two smalls.
Camelbak offers a lifetime replacement warranty where they will replace a faulty/broken water bottle part without requiring you to send anything in.
Stores that price-match:
Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, Home Depot, JC Penny, Kohl's, Lowe's, Michaels, Office Depot, Office Max, Sears, Sports Authority, Staples, Staples, Target, Walmart.
For matching with amazon sellers, ensure that it is an authorized seller if you want the match to be honored.
Clothing - Consider heavily marked-down clothing of a different size with consideration for the fact that you can get some items tailored to fit and still come out with a deal.
Jc Penny - If you are in Jc Penny and see something on sale/clearance, scan its barcode with the Jc Penny app and apply the biggest online coupon in the app. Usually they are worth more than in store coupons. Then go to the counter and let the cashier know you have a challenge for them, and explain that you could order online now and pickup in a few hours, but request that they just apply the same coupon to save you an extra trip back later. They may have to ask their supervisor, but they totally have the ability to set merchandise to any price. I got a $300 suit for $100 this way.
Coupon/Rebate apps and services:=
Ebates - Get 5-30% cash back rebates by browsing to an online store of choice through Ebates.
Honey - Browser Add-on that automatically checks/compares prices and applies coupons.
Retailmenot - Lists coupons for all major stores. iOS app available.
ActiveJunky - Earn Cashback by using their site as a portal to purchase outdoor gear.
Buy Discounted Gift-cards:
Cardpool - How it works and other ideas: Review
Giftcardgranny
Best Credit Card % & Point maximization resources:
Thepointsguy
Nerdwallet
Reddit.com/r/churning/
Chase Ultimate Rewards points/redemption tip:You can also compare and transfer to Southwest airlines at a 1:1 ratio, or 1:1.5 ratio by booking over the phone with Chase. Sometimes a 1:1 transfer works better than booking through Chase since Southwest airline points are worth more. Only use if Southwest has a better/cheaper option, obviously. There are a few other partnered airlines you can do the same with too.
Internet/Cellphone providers - When they increase their rate, call and ask them to renew their promotion or request to speak to customer retention and explain that you can get a better deal at X company.
You want to be prepared to cancel if they can’t reduce the rate for the sake of transparency.
Electricity Companies [some states] - Instead of renewing from a reminder email or your account, see if you can select a rate before logging into your electric company’s website. Sometimes they’ll give you a better rate than your renewal rate because they think you’re a new customer, or because you just selected a lower rate.
Cheapest Professional Printing Solution - Usually cheaper than anywhere else for quality Flyers, Banners, Brochures, Postcards, Flags, Stickers, Calendars, and more. Link,
Yes, A shameless plug, but seriously, request a quote and see if I’m not cheaper for equivalent or better quality work than you would otherwise get. :-]
Auto Slash - Uniquely combines a wide range of coupons with all vendors.
I often find drastic savings here compared to other sites. If you book further in advance, you can also track prices with their tracking tool, which will allow you to book a new rental if they drop in price and then you can cancel the old one.
Hotel Best Rate Guarantees - Look up deals before booking directly through a hotel like Marriot. If Marriot is more pricey, book with them anyway and submit a request to match the deal from a 3rd party. They will beat the price by 25% if it is actually cheaper. See title link for others.
Note: Avoid Hyatt here as their “guarantee” only matches 3rd parties that provide all their exclusive perks (i.e. free room cancellation/rebooking), which amounts to not matching anyone.
Better Hotel Search Engine:
TravelPony - Requires an account, but I find it sometimes find better deals. I still tend to book directly with the hotel though and see if they can match or beat it if there is a price difference. Otherwise, stick with Priceline.
Best Flight search engines:
Kayak.com - Often has some of the best options with hacker fares.
Google ITA Matrix - One of the few engines that can search multiple airports on both ends simultaneously. A useful tool to compare with another site, whether kayak or google flights.
Momondo - One of the few engines that includes southwest and other airlines.
Hopper - Tracks flight prices and advises on when to buy. Average statistical ideal is 57 days in advance.
Also keep in mind that some airlines (i.e. Southwest) release new flights/seats on Tuesdays, resulting in a frequency of lower prices on Tuesdays.
Libby - Enter a library card number and you can “borrow” a digital version of any book available in your library sytem. Best of all, most books can be forwarded to kindle.
Hoopla - Similar to libby, but includes other media offered by your library. Libby is better for books though. I don’t really use this much personally, but it’s there.
Free Video Training
Lynda.com - Video training for all kinds of software, photography, etc. Google “Lynda.com” along with the name of your public library or browse your library’s digital resources page. If your library is set up with Lynda, they will have a link on their resources page where you can enter your library card number and pin to create a free account with Lynda.
Coursera - Literally hundreds of free classes from dozens of universities. Best Free Bible Software:
Logos - Excellent Bible software (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android) - free version.
- If you have your birthday included in your profile and promotional emails are turned on, look for $20 in credit on your birthday month.
- Also note that Faithlife books are also part of the same ecosystem and will show up in logos if purchased on your account (including any free books).
- Additional coupons and freebies are released frequently. To avoid missing out, join this mailing list: Logos Freebies
Privacy Star App (iOS) - Shows caller info below Caller ID and/or blocks them entirely depending on settings.
Hiya (iOS) - Similar to Privacy Star
Caller number lookup - Mileage may vary.
Sue Telemarketers:
1. Add your number to the do-not-call registry
2. Learn how to track and sue them: Article 1, Article 2, Article 3, Article 4
My USPS - Automatic notifications whenever someone sends you mail or a package.
Also allows you to specify how/where it gets delivered before it arrives.
Provides daily previews of incoming physical mail to an email address if desired.
My Fedex - Like My USPS, but no daily previews. Per-package notifications instead.
Podcasts, Faster
Overcast (iOS) - Download and play podcasts from any RSS feed at a customizable speed with any long pauses intelligently shortened. The pause shortening feature seems unique to this app, and really allows one to push the speed to a higher limit than you would otherwise be able to still comprehend. I use this for podcasts and sermons all the time.
Stream MP3's from dropbox to RSS for apps like overcast:
JustCast - Limited to 3 files per subfolder/feed on the free plan.
Zapier - I haven’t really tried this one, but looks promising.
Read Without Reading
Step 1: Everything can be Audible for free:Enable (iOS) System-wide Text to Speech for any app/text (Great for listening to Kindle and Logos books):
- Open Settings
- General>Accessibility>Speech>
- Enable Speak Selection
- Enable Speak Screen
- Make sure "highlight content" is off.
- Under "voices">English> I recommend selecting an (enhanced) version of an English speaking voice as they sound a lot better than the default option. I recommend the enhanced version of the Australian Karen voice, as this one tends to not pause as long as the American voices between sentences.
- Open your app of choice
- Use two fingers to drag down from off the top of the screen as if you are pulling down notification center to bring up speech widget and start.
Android: I don't have an Android device, but it seems as though there is a similar way to do this explained here.
Brightness Toggle (iOS)
Triple Press Home Button to Change Brightness:
- General Settings>Accessibility>Zoom>
- Set Zoom Region to “Full Screen Zoom”
- Set Zoom Filter to “Low Light”
- Set Maximum Zoom Level to 1.2x
- Enable Zoom and double-tap three fingers and drag to zoom out until no zoom is presently in effect.
- General Settings>Accessibility>Accessibility Shortcut>
- Check the “Zoom” option.
- From now on, every time you triple-tap the home button, it will toggle your screen brightness brighter or dimmer.
Paste raw text without retaining any formatting:
Cmd+Option+Shift+V (Mac)
Ctrl+Shift+V (Windows)
Avoid Waiting on Hold
FastCustomer (iOS) - You select what company you want to call, and they call you after the app has navigated the phone menu and waited on hold for you.
GetHuman.com - Similar to FastCustomer, but tells you how to navigate the tree if there isn’t an automated option.
Misc. Automations:
IFTTT (If This Then That) (iOS, Web) Â - Thousands of custom multi-platform automation recipes.
- Automatically backup contacts to google drive: Recipe
- Rain tomorrow notification: Recipe
- Log work hours to spreadsheet based on location: Recipe
Shortcuts (iOS): Reddit Shortcuts Channel
ZoteroBib - Easy free bibliography generator
Zotero - Citation collector and organizer. Automatically inserts accurate footnotes and bibliographies into your word processor. Requires some setup, but it is well worth it if you write a lot. The reason I like it over other competitors is because you can add a book by ISBN, plus it's just faster to use than the other options I've tested.
BetterTouchTool (Mac) - Set customizable gestures and taps on mac touchpads. Huge time-saver.
Everlance (iOS) - Mileage tracking for tax reporting: If relevant, contact customer support and let them know you are non-profit for a free premium account.
Dropzone 3 (Mac) - Effortlessly move and copy files on your mac.
ODrive - Mount cloud drives locally for instant syncing without using hard drive space. Offers just about everything you should need for free.
Lastpass (Multiplatform) - Password Manager, time-saving autofill function, or hold CMD+Down arrow to trigger it in browsers.
Doodle (Web) - Simplify meeting scheduling and polls.
Sli.do (Web) - Live Q&A and Polls for your Meetings & Events
Telegram - Better than WhatsApp, 2x audio/video conversation playback.
Poll Everywhere - Captivates audiences with live activities that deliver actionable results (25 responses free)
Social Fixer - Customize your facebook feed, filter out undesirable topics (I.e. politics), and mark items as read.
Snapdrop (Web) - Cross-platform in-browser airdrop. No installation necessary.
Vanilla - Organize your Mac menu bar.
Video Speed Controller - browser-specific speed controls: Firefox, Chrome
Download Helper - Download video from almost any website. Firefox, Chrome
People often say that time = money. If this is true, then all you have to do is calculate the time saved per year and multiply those hours by the amount you earn per hour. Obviously, however, one isn't going to go and work the exact amount of time saved to replenish what is spent on time-saving products, so I prefer to add to this equation the more abstract values of increased enjoyment and reduced frustration realized through the use of some of the following purchases.
Sugru - Moldable hardening glue/rubber with all sorts of practical usesTile - Find lost keys or phone
PVA Mops - A little pricey ($30), but you replace the pva head once every few years, and it's much cleaner than all alternatives.
Copper Ice Scraper - For $3-7, cut through ice like it's nothing. So much better than plastic alternatives for glass. This has seriously improved my quality of life when living in snow. For car windows only (it will obviously scratch paint).
Carbocage Key Holder - You don't know what you were missing out on until you have one of these. I know you may think you can figure out which key is right quickly enough, but can you do it with one hand? This is a better design than other in my opinion.
Deebot 79S - This may seem exorbitant and unnecessary, but this one is fairly cheap compared to others, (and fairly dumb), but surprisingly does an excellent job. Unless you enjoy vacuuming multiple times a week, you won't regret this if it's within your budget.
A Much Better Iron - My belief is that if I'm going to iron frequently, it had better be a good experience and as optimized as possible. This particular iron saves me several minutes a day over any other iron I've ever used with the immense amount of steam it produces. It's not cheap, but the quality, time saved, and improved task enjoyment more than pay for it in value.
Smart Lock - Save time coming and going. Saves me at least 4hrs a year. This is the most inexpensive one I know of. Wyze also provides free replacements if there are any persisting technical issues.
USB Charging Flashlight - So your phone has a light that's good enough, right? Wrong. These are tiny, charge fast, and a thousand times more useful.
14-in-1 USB-C Hub - Because sometimes you need it all in one.
Free Quality Fonts: DaFont, Font Squirrel, Google Fonts, Behance
Free Stanford Photography Course: Youtube
Pocket - Great Read-it-later Bookmarking service
Goodreads - Book-Reading social/accountability network
Canva - Simple Design Templates for those without design skills.
TheWireCutter - Best Product Reviews
Lifehacker - Everyday Lifehacks with a Tech slant
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