According to a recent study in the journal PLoS ONE, we end up throwing away an astonishing 40% of the food from our fridge and cabinets, usually because they expire before we eat them. Luckily, there’s an easy way to make use of all your food before it goes bad: Log onto supercook.com and simply type in the ingredients you have in your kitchen. You’ll be given hundreds of links to easy recipes for soups, appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts that use all those items so they don’t go to waste.

[photo: carolyn.will]

Loved the sunglasses Michelle Rodriguez wore in Avatar? The palm tree pendant Kate Hudson donned in Fool’s Gold? Thingsyousaw
inamovie.com tracks down the products stars wear or use in movies so you can get them for yourself.

[photo: gjofili]

It could be a lot if you didn’t look carefully at your store receipts before chucking them. Many retailers and restaurants—such as J.C. Penney, Old Navy, Home Depot and Panda Express—print a website link and special access code on some receipts that leads you to a short online survey. Answer the questions—which are typically about your most recent shopping trip—and you’ll be rewarded with 10% to 25% off your next purchase or entered into a sweepstakes to win a cash prize. But act fast—most access codes expire within days of your purchase.

[photo: AMagill]

When you want to make a family member or friend happy on their birthday or simply thank someone for their love and support, which gift do you think they’d like more:
A) An iPod
B) Jewelry
C) A framed photo of you and the giftee
It’s the framed photo! When Stanford University researchers surveyed birthday gift recipients, they consistently preferred meaningful presents over pricy ones, proving that the thought really is what counts.

[photo: ralphunden]

Think it’s strange when a salesperson keeps you talking about your personal life instead of plugging the product you’re considering purchasing? He or she may simply be fishing to find something you share in common, such as the same birthdate, hometown or hobby. And for good reason! A study out of the University of British Columbia shows that we’re far more likely to purchase a product when we have something in common with the salesperson who’s selling it. That’s because we all have a fundamental desire to connect with others, and having something in common creates this connection, making you feel closer and more trusting of the other person instantly, the resesarchers explain.

[photo: Tennessee-Mary]

1. Get group discounts: Every day, groupon.com offers one incredible deal—such as 40% to 60% off meals at restaurants, deep tissue massage and laser tag. The catch? The discount kicks in once a minimum number of shoppers opt in. Happily, that’s usually the case since the discounts are so great.
2. Enjoy online sample sales: You no longer have to battle the crowds for deeply discounted designer clothes thanks to sites like HauteLook.com, Gilt.com, Ideeli.com, OneKingsLane.com, and RueLaLa.com. These sites buy overstocked clothing and accessories from brand-name designers, then sell them for up to 70% less than their original price. But, you have to act fast: sales last just a few days—or even hours—and they sell out quick. To start shopping: Sign up for free membership, then you’ll be notified when a new sale begins.
3. Opt for look-alikes: Go ahead and get the cheapee version. A recent MIT study shows that, when tested, most folks can’t tell the real thing from a less expensive knock-off.

[photo: lululemonathletica]

Love to fill your home with beautiful flowers, but hate how fast they wither? “It’s easy to get five to seven more days out of your favorite buds,” says New York City floral and garden designer Rebecca Cole (rebeccacolegrows.com). Start by…
* Choosing locally-grown. Flower start to die the moment they’re plucked. So when you buy flowers that have been shipped in from other regions, you’ve already lost three to five days of life. By contrast, local farms sell their flowers the same day they cut them, which means you can enjoy them days longer.
* Purchase flowers last. Without water to continually drink, they’ll start to wither as you do the rest of your errands.
* Cut the stem on a steep angle. This way, twice as much water is drawn up into the bloom, keeping it healthy longer.
* Place them in cool water. Warm water prompts the blooms to open faster, which speeds up their life cycle, while cool water slows down the aging process. Also key for prolonging your flowers’ health: adding a packet of flower freshener to the water, which you can get from your local florist or craft store.
* Sterilize the vase. Run it through the dishwasher or rinse it with bleach to kill flower-spoiling bacteria left behind from past arrangements.
* Remove most of the leaves. Take off the leaves on the stem, leaving only two to three right under the bud. Why? Too many leaves drink up the water that should be going to the bud. However, you still need a few leaves to help draw up the water toward the flower. If you want a leafy arrangement, add leafy stems separately, but make sure no leaves are below the water line, since they can rot and breed bacteria.

[photo: Swami Stream]

Next time you need to make a purchase (such as a car, appliance or new home), watch out if the salesperson does this: He begins by flooding you with facts, technical jargon and even nonsense words. Then, he tells you he’ll simplify everything he just said. According to a report in the Journal of Consumer Research, this is a confusion-based sales technique called “disrupt-then-reframe”. Once confused, your brain becomes momentarily frozen, shutting down your critical thinking capability. This makes you more willing to agree with whatever the salesperson’s simpler reframed message is—even if it’s that you should buy something you don’t need or that you’ll be paying more.

[photo: alex-s]

Think you know a bargain when you see one? Maybe not! A study in the Journal of Consumer Research reveals that by simply making the right-hand digit of a sale price smaller, your brain perceives the discount as larger than it really is. For instance, an item on sale for $211 from the original price of $222 is perceived to be a better deal than an item on sale for $188 from an original price of $199—even though both discounts are $11. So keep a calculator handy the next time you go bargain hunting!

[photo: Cosmic Kitty]

And the savings aren’t only on items at tag sales. A national study by Consumer Reports finds that more than 90% of folks who asked for a better price got it on brand-new merchandise—such as furniture, electronics and appliances—as well as services and even medical bills. What are their top tricks for getting a better deal? Be willing to risk rejection, negotiate with a smile, deal with the person who can give you a price break (like the store manager rather than a salesperson or the doctor rather than the office manager), offer to pay cash (it saves the seller credit card fees) and ask for discounts on floor and older models as well as items with minor dings or scuffs.

[photo: Flying Cloud]