Through the economy’s booms and busts, we’ve doled out plenty of advice on managing money, from living well on A Thousand a Year in 1902 to making sense of today’s credit card laws. Here, our 125 best pointers to help you make the most of your dollars.

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Past Nuggets of Wisdom

Even our early advice was often right on the money. Some tips that are truly ageless:

• An ounce of originality is worth a pound of swank.
• . it is so easy to be extravagant and buy recklessly when one can say, ‘Charge it.’ (September 1890)
• Children should learn to appreciate the fact that the greatest happiness does not always come with the greatest wealth. Give them a suitable allowance when they have reached what may be called years of discretion. (September 1899)
• It is oftener the trifling outlays frequently repeated that prove ruinous than any conspicuous extravagance. (January 1900)
• Having a small garden can be profitable: vegetables and fruit can be produced from 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of buying them. (May 1903)
• Shoes soon lose their shape and appearance of newness. If two or three pairs are worn interchangeably, all look fresher, as well as wear longer. (March 1908)
• Buy furniture just as it comes from the factory — unsanded, unpainted, and unstained — to save money. (The chairs featured in the article cost 65 cents each!) (February 1909)
• Stocks, even good stocks, are speculative; they always have been and the always will be. (November 1929)

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Nab a Great Deal

• Learn the sales cycle at your fave stores (every six weeks? every Wednesday?). The easy way: Ask a salesclerk.
• Shop liquidation sales — but wait until the last days for the best deals. Pay with plastic: If the item turns out to be broken, the Fair Credit Billing Act gives you the right to dispute charges for items that were not delivered as agreed.
• Hit the swankiest neighborhoods for top bargains on thrift-store goods. Ask what day they put out newly donated items, or stop by early in the week (most people drop off duds on the weekend, and it can take a day or two for them to hit the racks).
• Dollar stores can help you save big, but be wary of time-sensitive products like over-the-counter medicines and food.
• Look for the Good Housekeeping Seal. If you buy a Seal-backed product that proves defective, we’ll replace the item or refund your money.

Beyond Coupon Clipping

• Stock up on grocery staples right after Thanksgiving. It’s prime time: More food coupons are issued in November and December than in any other season.
• Beware of eye-level impulse buys: Grocers often place overpriced items at eye level on the right-hand sides of the aisles.
• Don’t buy premixed: You can pay up to 50 percent more for foods with sugar, spices, or sauces already mixed in. Juice in cartons can cost a hefty 60 percent more than frozen concentrate.
• Check drugstores, warehouse stores, clubs, and dollar stores for great deals on milk, granola bars, cereal, and juice.
• Try amazon.com for nonperishables. Its Subscribe & Save Program typically gives 15 percent discounts (plus free shipping) on items such as paper towels.