The end of year holiday season has become much more than “the most wonderful time of year.” It’s become one of the most debt-inducing times of year, with many people going a little too crazy at the mall. However, if you have too much debt, this can also be a great time of year to […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
Shopping While the Turkey’s Still Warm
The day after Thanksgiving is the traditional start to the holiday shopping season and that usually prompts a number of stores to open at the crack of dawn. Crowds of shoppers gather in the dark as they wait for the doors to open and their chance at deeply discounted DVD players and such. This year, […]
Plastic Traps
Credit card fine print is getting even finer both from a cardholder’s perspective (more difficult to read and understand) and from a card issuer’s perspective (likely to contain provisions that generate additional revenue). According to an article in the _Washington Post_ on 10/15, a recent government report found cardholder agreements difficult to read and riddled […]
The Store Less Traveled
Have you ever set foot in a dollar store? Apparently more and more of us have. Citing ACNielsen data, the 10/22 issue of the _Chicago Tribune_ noted that two-thirds of all Americans shopped at a dollar store last year. The article said dollar stores not only offer good prices on a lot of items, they’ve […]
Investing in Happiness
In our search for happiness we often assume money must play a role. And it does. Research shows that when people move from poverty to the middle class their happiness grows a lot. However, research also shows that as a person moves further up the economic ladder, happiness hardly grows at all. The _Wall Street […]
A Little Goes a Long Way
One of the roadblocks we sometimes face when thinking about giving money to charitable causes is the sense that our money can’t make much of a difference. Warren Buffet’s billions could certainly make a dent in solving some of the world’s problems, we figure, but what can my measly $50 do? Quite a bit, it […]
What the Boss Drives
What type of car do you think the average CEO drives? What types and brands come to mind? As reported on _BusinessWeek Online_ on 10/6, a recent survey from CareerBuilder.com and Cars.com found that most people think the typical company leader drives a luxury sports car costing over $70,000. However, when CEOs were asked, they […]
The Smell of Shopping
In a quest to more effectively separate us from our money, retailers have tried music to tickle our ears, lighting to please our eyes, and special flooring to comfort our feet. Now they’re taking their appeal straight to our nose. According to an article in the 10/16 issue of _Time_ magazine, businesses ranging from bedding […]
Give Yourself a Raise
Are you looking for a little extra Christmas cash this year? How about giving yourself a raise? You may be able to if you were one of the nearly 99 million taxpayers who received a refund from their 2005 taxes. With the average refund totaling $2,200, that amounts to about $185 per month that people […]
Popular Board Game Adds Product Placements
MONOPOLY purists may be dismayed by the just-released “Here & Now” edition of the popular board game. Virtually everything has changed. As reported by the _New York Times_, Boardwalk has been replaced by Times Square; the railroads have been replaced by airports; and the reward for passing “Go” has zoomed from $200 to $2 million. […]