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Daily consumer tips and advice on more than 500 topics

6 Ways to Avoid Getting Spam in the First Place

Sometimes spam is hilarious. For example, if you were to try to figure out who I am by looking at my inbox, you would assume that I was a middle-aged man who was concerned about his love life and dying to secure a younger Russian bride.

• What's a Disposible Email Address?
• Top 7 Disposable Email Addresses

Is That Sweepstakes Legitimate?

Fortunately, our expert knows what she's doing, and is more than willing to tell you. So you can sweep in peace!

• Sweepstakes With Cash Prizes
• Enter Sweepstakes to Win Instant Prizes

12 Signs That Sweepstakes Is a Scam

Or: "Why you should beware of the large check." Especially if there isn't an affidavit involved first.

• Before You Enter Vacation Sweepstakes
• Where to Find Blog Contests

25 Ways to Stop Spam

The last time I went on vacation, I came home to 2000 email messages. Only 238 were actually related to my job or social life. This gives you some idea of how much spam I get on a daily basis.

• Top 13 Spam Filters for Windows
• Top 8 Spam Filters for Macs

How to Find Rare Error Coins in Circulation

What I love about the "Find the Rare Coin" game is that it teaches you to be observant. How often do you actually look at your coins before you spend them?

• How to Start a Coin Collection for Your Kids
• What Are Wheat Pennies Worth?

Strike It Rich With Pocket Change

Generally, we wound up with ice cream. But we did find some steel pennies, which was exciting.

• Clubs for Error Coin Collectors
• How to Start a Coin Collection on $4

How Spammers Get Your Email Address

This is something I've always wondered about: How the heck do all these spammers find my email address anyway? It turns out, sometimes I'm giving it to them.

• Email Address Encoding Tools
• How Reading an Email Can Compromise Your Privacy

7 Ways to Spot a Sweepstakes Scam

The old adage isn't necessarily true for sweepstakes: If it sounds too good to be true, it might not be. Which makes it even harder to tell what's legit and what isn't.

• Daily Sweepstakes and Contests
• Sweepstakes to Enter This Week

Top 10 Most Valuable U.S. Coins Found in Pocket Change

Our idea was that we would either find a rare, valuable coin in the bunch, and make our family wealthy forever ... or we would get ice cream.

• What Is a Mint Error Coin?
• What Is a Die Variety?

I Hate My Job. What Should I Do?

My coping mechanism in those days was to whine, loudly, to anyone who would listen. (And even some people who wouldn't. If you stood still, you were fair game as far as I was concerned.)

• What to Do When You Hate Your Job
• 10 Ways to Find a New Job