By Sheryl Smolkin

When I blogged for moneyville, one of the mantras that appeared over and over in the best-read stories were “if you don’t ask, you don’t get.” This week on Give me back my five bucks, moneyville alumni Krystal Yee makes a great case for negotiating salary in a new job instead of simply accepting the first amount you are offered.

If you are counting the days until spring when you plan to buy a new car, take a look at Robb Engen’s blog on Boomer& Echo where he tells you what you need to know before purchasing a new vehicle.

Alan Schram recently made a good case for saving money by using house brands of over-the-counter drugs instead of name brands on Canadian Finance Blog.

And I’m REALLY glad I didn’t read Mark Goodfield’s blog on the The Blunt Bean counter about how much it costs to own a dog before we got our darling cockapoo Rufus – even if he does wake us up at 5 AM.

Finally, don’t miss the latest rant from perennial favourite Kerry K. Taylor’s (aka Squawkfox) about credit cards that charge a $10 “inactive fee” for not shopping enough.

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