consumerism

There's nothing more refreshing than a bubbly drink, but sipping that beverage can bust your budget — even if you're drinking plain mineral water. I admit to having a pretty severe sparkling water obsession. It's sans calories, fat, or additives, and is satisfying with a splash of fresh juice, which made checking out the SodaStream pretty enticing. With the help of a carbonating cartridge that costs $15 per refill, the SodaStream promises up to 60 liters of bubbly beverages. So, did it deliver?

Read on for the review.

Although it seems like winning the lottery would solve your problems, this isn't always the case. In fact, for a lot of previous winners, they ended up right back where they started from, or worse! Our partner site Business Insider has collected lottery horror stories about winners who didn't really win in the end:

As America salivates over the $590 million Powerball prize won by a Floridian, we're reminded that winning the lottery will not solve all problems.

In fact many people's lives became notably worse after they got super rich, and they managed to lose it all in no time.

RELATED: This Man Is A Shining Example Of What To Do If You Win The Lottery

• The Griffiths bought their dream home then life fell apart

Before they won a $2.76 million lottery jackpot, Lara and Robert Griffith hardly ever argued. They bought a million-dollar house and a Porsche.

But 18 months ago, six years after their win, Robert drove away in the Porsche after Lara confronted him over emails suggesting he was interested in another woman. Their 14-year marriage was over, a freak fire gutted their house, and every penny of their fortune was gone.

• Tirabassi is back in the working class after winning $10 million nine years ago

In 2004, Sharon Tirabassi, a single mother who had been on welfare, cashed a check from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. for $10,569,00.10 (Canadian). She subsequently spent her winnings on a "big house, fancy cars, designer clothes, lavish parties, exotic trips, handouts to family, loans to friends" and in less than a decade she's back riding the bus, working part-time, and living in a rented house. Luckily Tirabassi put some of her windfall in trusts for her six children, who can claim the money when they turn 26.

Read on for more.

Negotiating is tough, especially when you're inexperienced. It seems like most of us are afraid to try simply because we don't know the ins and outs. Lucky for us, our partner site DailyWorth has some tricks that could help you land an excellent deal!

My husband was on the phone with a nursing home he and his siblings had chosen for their parents, when I heard him ask, “Can you do anything for me on the price?”

My jaw dropped. My husband — who’s a nice guy, by the way — has a mantra: everything’s negotiable. But really, a nursing home? I was shocked that he took on a big company like that — but I can’t quibble with the five percent discount he got on the room rate.

Many women (like me) recoil from negotiating, whether it’s big-ticket items [i.e., $200 and up, from necklaces and cameras to couches (and nursing-home rooms)] or their own salaries. You’re either afraid of looking like a tightwad or haggling seems too mysteriously hard to do. Right?

Read on for more.

Have you ever heard someone's money-saving trick and thought it sounded absolutely insane? There are plenty of strange ways to save a buck or two. What's really great, though, is when it actually works. Head over to our partner site Wise Bread for some crazy yet effective forms of penny pinching:

I've been called many things in my life. Some good, some not so good. But I can't say I've ever been called crazy when it comes to being frugal. So, as I'm not getting any younger, I thought it was time to bring out a list of 10 crazy frugal schemes and earn the sobriquet. Some of these plans are certainly more "out there" than others, but all are worth a try, I think. Put some of them to the test and let us know how you get on.

Related: The Enemies of Frugality

And, if you have some even crazier ideas, chime in. While I was writing this article, a friend of mine told me they sometimes skip buying lunch and eat free samples from the grocery stores. It may save a few bucks, but that’s not my style. Anyway, on with the list.

Read on for more.

Did you know the Amish are actually incredible money savers? If you're wondering why, our friends over at Business Insider have all the secrets:

The number of Amish in the US has doubled since the 1990s.

Though they're typically known for for their traditional, family-based Christian values and austere lifestyles, there's one thing most people probably wouldn't guess about them — the Amish are a lot better at managing their money than the rest of us.

"Some Amish do quite well and have a lot of success in business," Erik Wesner, founder of AmishAmerica.com, told us. “An Amish millionaire is not something unheard of.”

Their business and financial savvy goes far beyond rebuking modern conveniences like electricity and technology.

Related: The Amish Might Be the Best Money Managers in the World

We asked Wesner, along with Lorilee Craker, author of Money Secrets of the Amish, to let us in on how the Amish have mastered their money.

Find out what made the list.

Our friends at Wise Bread have a bunch of ideas that can save you money:

One great thing about being frugal is that once you start doing it, it kind of snowballs.

I've been frugal my whole life, partly because I believe that saving money is just as good as making it, and I don't like overpaying for something. But what really kick-started my frugal lifestyle was being laid off in 2008 from the newspaper industry. Without a full-time job, I no longer had benefits and the same income I had before, so some frugality was called for.

Related: New Year, New Spending Habits

Here are 16 tips I've learned, either on my own or by talking to people cited below, to kick-start frugality and make it an everyday part of life. Some are small tips to save a few dollars a week, and a few are big that can add up to hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars, so be sure to start with the easy ones before jumping to the big ones.

Read on to find out what saves big time.

If you're grumbling about your grocery bill, you might want to check out this Buzzfeed video that shows how far $5 goes in different countries. You'll quickly realize that there isn't that much of a difference in food prices between first-world countries.

It's interesting to see the huge disparity in food prices between developing nations and countries with a higher cost of living. For example, $5 gets you only eight pounds of potatoes in the US while scoring you 31 pounds of potatoes in Ethiopia.