The Cost of Familiarity
Businesses put a lot of time, effort, and money into building brand recognition, and it seems that their efforts are paying off. _Time_ magazine reported on a study in which people were asked to taste peanut butter from three different jars. The jars contained the same peanut butter but had different labels. By far, people […]
Teaching Tots About Money
Is the sippy cup stage too early to start teaching kids about money? Absolutely not. That’s the message of a recent _MSN.com_ article, which offered several helpful ideas for teaching pre-schoolers about money. The article suggested teaching little ones that there are three things you can do with money: spend, save, and give. To make […]
Share My Ride
The high cost of owning a vehicle (the average household spends over $8,000 per year on transportation) is one reason why car-sharing companies are growing in popularity. The idea, which started in Europe in the late 1980’s, allows people to rent vehicles by the hour, and it’s gaining momentum in the U.S. Car-sharing companies now […]
Saving on Healthcare
Benefits enrollment season is fast approaching, and if you work for a large company chances are you’ll have the opportunity to sign up for a Flexible Savings Account (FSA). As reported in the _Chicago Tribune_, FSAs enable you to use pre-tax dollars for everything from doctor co-pays to aspirin, which can add up to hundreds […]
ATMs Getting Even More Automated
Coming soon to an ATM near you: no deposit envelopes. And no, they didn’t just run out, as is often the case. According to the _Detroit News_, the newest ATMs allow checks to be fed into special slots without envelopes. The machines then spit out receipts showing images of the checks. Cash can be inserted […]
All Online Calculators Not Created Equal
With all of the online calculators available you’d think it would be easy to figure out how much to save for our later years. But with lots of calculators come lots of different answers, which is why _MarketWatch.com_ recently kicked the keys on several popular retirement calculators. While the article didn’t rave about any of […]
Free is Good
If filling your tank with gas or your toddler with milk is tapping you out, _Kiplinger.com_ recently provided a welcome list of things that are absolutely free. Looking for some new tunes for your iPod? Check out the free choices on . As you might expect, the choices are mostly limited to less familiar bands. […]
Packin’ on the Pounds with Plastic
Credit cards used to be for big-ticket items. Today they can be used at some parking meters, on buses, and at more and more fast food restaurants. While purchasing a burger and fries with a credit card may make the fast food experience even faster, an article on _Bankrate.com_ said it could also make us […]
Travel Search Engines on Steroids
Are you still using travel sites like , or to look for travel deals? According to an article in _Money_ magazine, it’s time you stepped up to , , or . These sites search a wider array of travel sites, giving you access to more deals with fewer clicks. You won’t be able to purchase […]
Paper, Plastic, or Designer Bag?
Environmentalism is in. But as with most things fashionable, it can cost a lot to go green. For example, one of the hottest eco trends is to bring your own shopping bags to the grocery store. This has given rise to the shopping bag as fashion accessory. As reported on _CBSNews.com_, the limited supply of […]