Thrifty and Thriving

with code FREE_PHOTO_CLING_DEAL today (8/18/10 only) and you have to have it shipped (about $6) but it’s a $9.99 value!

The U.S. government has said that iPhone owners are officially allowed to “jailbreak” their devices for “educational purposes.” (read more here)

Jailbreakme 2.0 was released promptly after the announcement and you can now jailbreak your iPhone by visiting the site.

Read more here

The U.S. government has said that iPhone owners are officially allowed to “jailbreak” their devices for “educational purposes.” (read more here)

Jailbreakme 2.0 was released promptly after the announcement and you can now jailbreak your iPhone by visiting the site.

Read more here

10 ways to cozy up your home (fewer people have the credit line to do the renovations – kind of sad but good tips)

and,

Tired of carrying around loyalty cards on your keychain? Read about mobile loyalty programs

Let’s discuss!

Kids are trading cell phones for Porsches these days, at least this kid did

Ortiz [the kid] spends five to six hours each day searching Craigslist for the right kind of swaps. Over the last two years and 14 trades, he’s had an eclectic assortment of items in his possession, including an iPod touch, various dirt bikes, a MacBook Pro, a golf cart, and a 1975 Ford Bronco. It was the Bronco that allowed him to become the only kid at his high school who drives his own convertible Porsche to class.

Read the full article here

Check out this article from Budget is Sexy. It introduces the concept of bonuses you get throughout the year if you get paid weekly or biweekly.

I get paid 1 time a week. That’s 52 paychecks per year. There are 4 weeks in each month, or are there? Four months out of the year, I receive 5 paychecks. How can this be? Am I just that good of an employee that I warrant a quarterly bonus? I like to think so, but alas, that is not the case. 12 months X 4 paychecks each month = 48 paychecks a year. So what about the other 4 weeks of the year?

The author also lists some ways you can spend those bonuses:

What to Do With Your New Found Bonuses

There are plenty of things you can do with the extra money:

Buy some toys
Give it to charity
Go out to eat
Burn it for warmth
Put it into savings
Invest it
Add it to your retirement fund
Put it towards paying off debt
Cash it for $1 bills and roll around in it
The possibilities are as plentiful as oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

What do you do with those extra paychecks?

History is being made here, guys. Not just because you won’t need to already have an account or pay $6 to check your email while you’re sipping coffee at Starbucks, but also

In addition to the new free WiFi program, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz told Wired’s Chris Anderson that the company is also planning on rolling out a new Starbucks Digital Network in partnership with Yahoo later this fall. This network, which will only be accessible in U.S. company-operated stores, will offers customers free and unrestricted access to paid sites and services like WSJ.com and other content providers on their phones, tablets or laptops.

Exciting! Ok, maybe a lot more so for people w/out the smart phones, those who do not live in a big city where this is readily available on every corner anyway… and for those connected to the newspaper industry

Read our article which summarizing Siena research on consumer confidence:

statewide gain [in consumer confidence] was largely resulted from confidence gains in the New York City area. Consumer confidence in upstate New York actually dropped.