Anne Kandra

Swap.com has over 500,000 users and 1.5 million swappable items and services.The shaky economy has many of us thinking twice about parting with hard-earned dough. Maybe you’re bargain-hunting, cutting back on travel, or skipping the gym for home workouts.

Another way to get the things you need—or just want—without spending a dime is by bartering. You know the basic principle from your grade school cafeteria: I’ll give you my peanut butter sandwich if you give me your chocolate chip cookies.

We’ve all been there: A new gadget doesn’t deliver, a service plan lets you down, or a bill has bogus charges. Appeals to the company go nowhere, and you’re left feeling cheated, frustrated, and powerless. Some disgruntled consumers, however, have taken their case to small claims court and gotten, if not complete vindication, at least the satisfaction of having their complaints heard--and, of course, a little cash for their trouble.

In a recent high-profile case, Matt Spaccarelli of Simi Valley, California, took on AT&T when the carrier throttled his wireless data service, saying he’d exceeded the limit on his “unlimited” plan. An indignant Spaccarelli dug in his heels, gathered his resources, and sued the telecom giant in small claims court, coming away with $850 plus court costs.

Anyone who has survived middle school knows that publicly admitting you “like” someone can have serious repercussions. You’ve probably outgrown adolescent angst by now, but when you’re roaming the halls of Facebook, you might want to consult your inner tween before clicking a ‘Like’ button. That’s because Facebook, not unlike that nosy girl in seventh grade, wants to tell everyone about your objects of affection, via ads that make you an unwitting and unpaid celebrity endorser.

Facebook calls these ads Sponsored Stories. To create them, Facebook essentially repurposes users’ status updates and activities to hawk an advertiser’s products or services. Once you ‘Like’ a company page, check in at a merchant location, post an update mentioning a product, service, or company, or otherwise interact with a Facebook advertiser, your activity becomes potential fodder for that company's ad. Your friends could then receive an update informing them of your activity--whether you want Facebook to share it or not.