A Bad Economy Can Be Good for You

Lost your job? Here’s some good news: Mortality rates are going down, since unemployed workers are less likely to catch illnesses from coworkers or be involved in commuter-related car accidents, and more likely to spend time doing healthy things like exercising in the outdoors and eating at home. That’s definitely an upside. Here’s how the recession is good for your health:

1. No more germy coworkers. Office cubicles can be a cesspool for germs, and with cases of H1N1 on the rise, this may not be such a bad time to be unemployed. Not only that, but unemployed and at-home workers are less likely to take public transportation during rush hour, reducing their chances of catching something during cold and flu season even more.

2. More incentive to quit smoking. With less discretionary income to spend on cigarettes, smoking is becoming a luxury not everyone can afford. In Great Britain, 39 percent of smokers polled said they’re planning to cut down on or quit smoking because of the economic downturn. Meanwhile, Washington State’s Tobacco Quit Line says it experienced a spike in calls during April 2009: 4,221 calls compared to 1,231 during the same time last year…

How to Haggle with Your Doctor

These days, everything’s negotiable – even health care, if you know how the system works. You may be able to negotiate a 20 percent discount or more on costs at the doctor’s office. A few pieces of advice:

Where to start:
Never try to negotiate a medical bill without getting a bit of background information. Read the details of your current or previous insurance plan to get a sense of what will and won’t be covered in your upcoming visit.

It’s also worthwhile to find out what Medicare pays physicians—since it is usually substantially less than what they charge private insurance providers or patients themselves—to perform whatever procedure you’ll need. This will help you determine the bottom floor of what a physician will accept. You can do this by calling the doctor’s office, asking for the procedure’s “CPT code,” and going to the American Medical Association’s CPT search engine to look up the typical payment for that procedure based on where you live. When it comes time to bargain, it’s perfectly reasonable to offer a payment that is 25 percent above the Medicare rate for services…

The Grand Prize? Free Rent

What’s one way to grab the attention of consumers in an overly-crowded market of coupons, deals, and special discounts? Offer up a free place to live.

Shopping sprees and around-the-world trips have apparently become passé when it comes to company-sponsored contests, since an increasing number of businesses are dangling free rent as the grand prize in seemingly-unrelated marketing efforts meant to attract new customers and draw attention to their products.

From discount clothing chains to beverage companies, there doesn’t need to be any connection to the housing market for free—or discounted—rent to be offered as a prize. Need proof, or just a place to stay? We’ve gathered up a handful of contests to prove our point…

Prices? They’re So Pre-Recession

If you’ve ever eaten at a restaurant and thought your meal wasn’t worth the price, this latest recession trend might be right up your alley.

When massive discounts and coupon deals aren’t enough, a growing number of businesses are letting customers take the wheel and pay whatever prices they see fit.

Community car washes have been encouraging customers to donate what they can for years. In the recession, restaurants, yoga studios, and even taxi cabs have started asking patrons to pay whatever they think the service is worth. After all, the thinking goes, it’s better for businesses to have customers paying a little less than staying at home and paying nothing at all.

Restaurants and Cafes: Was that rib eye really worth $30? Was the latte worth $4? One World Everybody Eats in Salt Lake City is among several restaurants that think you should decide—and pay donation-style…

Eating for Free

Restaurant owners certainly aren’t having a good year. From widespread job loss to lingering worries about the country’s economic future, record numbers of families have begun cooking at home rather than spending money eating out—leading to a 14 percent drop in business at fine-dining restaurants so far in 2009.

For customers still going out on a regular basis, however, the dining scene has never looked better.

That’s because many restaurants are finding that coupons and discounted specials just aren’t enough anymore. Instead, they’re being forced to go the extra mile and get creative—letting kids eat free, giving away discounted tickets to movies, and even throwing in complimentary cocktails and wine…

Discounts for Students, Past and Present

Maybe it’s been years since the last time you sat in the back row of Econ 101. But if you’ve still got that old student ID card tucked away in a drawer somewhere, then today’s your lucky day.

That’s because college co-eds aren’t the only ones taking advantage of student discounts anymore. With money getting tight in households across the country, an increasing number of budget-conscious parents are unabashedly asking for student discounts on purchases made for their children, while more and more recent grads are holding on tight to college ID cards that haven’t expired and using them to score freebies and discounts well into their twenties and beyond…

Repair or Replace: Which is Better? It Depends.

It’s a question everyone has faced at some point: When a beloved item breaks or wears out, is it a better deal to fix it or replace it?

Since the recession first began, an increasing number of families are going with the latter option, foregoing new appliances and electronics and instead fixing the products they already own at a local repair shop when they break. From cobblers to computer technicians, those working in the fix-it industry say they’re seeing more business than ever before.

Unfortunately, not every broken item may be worth saving…

Christmas Starts in September

It’s just one day after Labor Day, but retailers already have their sights set on the Christmas holiday shopping season. Royal Caribbean, for one, is running a television campaign featuring a familiar holiday jingle. Coming off a summer of slumping sales, retailers are looking to hedge their bets against another depressing holiday season by starting early.

Some retailers have been at it for months; stores like Toys R Us have been luring customers with the promise of discounts on toys and retailers like Kmart and Sears have promoted a Christmas Club card program that rewards customers for shopping early—and often—for their holiday supplies.

So what’s in store for customers shopping early this holiday season? We took a closer look at a few of the biggest sales programs going on right now.

Kmart and Sears

The Deal: Kmart and Sears are giving customers who put money onto a Christmas Club Card—basically a gift card that can be used at either of the stores—3 percent back on all money loaded onto the card as a way of helping customers “save now” and plan ahead for the Christmas shopping season…

Downturn’s Up!

The Sex and the City ladies may have been content sipping on Cosmopolitans at the city’s poshest restaurants on a nightly basis, but today’s economy calls for something different.

Luckily, savvy bartenders from around the country have stepped in the fill the void, creating recession-themed cocktail recipes that anyone can make at home.

Whether you’re throwing a recession-themed party or drowning your sorrows with a group of recently laid off friends, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite downturn drinks from around the Web…

Laid Off and Learning…to be a DJ

While the kids return to school in the coming weeks, adults impacted by the recession have been returning to the classroom as well. For an increasing number of the recently laid off, unemployment has turned into the chance to explore the creative jobs they dreamed about as a kid.

At local community colleges and private learning centers around the country, the New York Times reports, “hundreds of thousands” of newly unemployed white-collar workers have begun taking advantage of low-cost classes. While many are using the additional schooling as a way to beef up resumes or transition into new careers, an increasing number are checking out the classes simply as a way to pass the time and have a little fun while they wait for a new job in their current profession.

Still wondering what opportunities exist for those with unlimited free time and a steady stream of unemployment checks to fund a foray into fun education? A few ideas…