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Leaving a tip simplified with these tipping tips, part 2
Even though U.S. consumers are working hard to claw their way back from the precipice of recession, it doesn’t mean that tipping for good service should be forgotten. On the contrary, leaving a tip, when warranted, is more important than ever before. Stimulate the economy with these tipping tips. This concludes a two-part article. If you missed the opening, CLICK HERE.
Airport, cruise and limousine tipping
Tampa, Fla.-based business etiquette expert Patricia Rossi reminds travelers and merry-makers that tipping isn’t just for restaurant and hotel staff. Here are some other situations where leaving a tip is highly appropriate:
On a cruise ship. While [...]
Leaving a tip simplified with these tipping tips, part 1
For service employees who survive on near-to-minimum wage, consumer tipping is vital to financial well-being. As a refresher to those who are uncertain about when and to whom to give a tip, here are some tipping tips that can help you show your appreciation for the hard-working men and women who fill your cup, serve your meals, clip your hair and carry your luggage.
Leaving a tip for hotel staff
Travel and tourism are vital parts of any local economy, and the wait staff at hotels and resorts are tasked with ensuring that guests are comfortable and their establishment is well-represented before [...]
Overdraft fees next item on CFPB agenda
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is wasting no time in trying to shore up consumer financial products. The agency is exploring ways to install more safeguards in mortgage, student and payday loans and is now looking at overdraft fees as its newest project.
A latte fees
Overdraft fees, which banks assess when customers overdraw checking accounts, are often the culprit behind what many media outlets refer to as the “$40 latte.” In essence, a $5 latte ends up costing up to $40 with the overdraft fee, once the fee is assessed. The fees add up.
[Interest on overdraft fees can be far more [...]
Do not pay debt collectors posing as police
Should any debt collectors call posing as police, it is fraudulent. The company and representative speaking on the phone as if they were a police officer or government employee should be reported immediately to the actual authorities. Many debt collectors are reasonable and willing to work with people, but some choose to resort to abuse and other illegal practices. Some debt collectors will call posing as police, and if any do, report them immediately.
Rogue collector shut down in California
According to the Los Angeles Times, two debt collection agencies, in reality one operation run by a single man, in California were [...]
A quarter of Americans have more debt than savings
A recently released survey shows that about a quarter of adult American consumers owe more to credit card debt than they have as a backup in savings. That could be disastrous should they face a real financial emergency, economists say.
Consumers worn down by recession
The survey, conducted by BankRate.com, was released Tuesday. It polled more than 1,000 adult consumers and concluded that, while most consumers have become more adept at living within their means, years of economic hardship has worn them down and
depleted savings. And much consumer frugality is born of necessity, not from learning lessons.
Tougher credit forces frugality
Although the number [...]
Create Jobs for USA plan on expanding small business lending
Over the holiday 2011 season, Starbucks corporation partnered with the Opportunity Finance Network to create a small business lending fund. After just three months of lending, the $7 million fund is planning on expanding.
The lending fund thus far
When Create Jobs for USA launched on Nov. 1, 2011, Starbucks seeded the fund with $5 million. Starbucks also started soliciting donations at its coffee shops and selling wristbands. All of the money that goes into the fund is used to leverage additional financing and loans to small businesses through the Opportunity Finance Network, a group of community development financial institutions that focus [...]
Price of gas edging toward four dollars per gallon
There are few things that affect consumer sentiment like the price of gasoline. The cost of gas going up by 5 cents can almost incite riots, and the cost of a gallon of gasoline is trending toward $4 per gallon.
Practically the lynchpin of American economy
There are few things that can deliver as crippling a blow to people’s finances than rapidly increasing prices of gasoline. If the cost of houses goes up, people can simply keep renting. If the cost of new cars goes up, people can just buy used and still be alright.
[Higher gas prices also cause some people to [...]
Top 10 places to retire in the US, part 2
Retirees, here’s information you need to know when it comes to choosing a place to roost for retirement. This concludes this article of covering the top 10 places to retire in the U.S. CLICK HERE if you missed part 1 of this article.
Athens, Ga.
Downtown Athens, which is within walking distance of the University of Georgia, made Armstrong’s list of the country’s best college towns. Educational opportunities, university sporting events and a lively art boutique community make this walkable town popular for retirement, said Re/Max broker Bruce Azevedo of nearby Watkinsville, Ga.
Average home price: $139,900
Area median price: $137,000
Three bedrooms, two baths
1,360 [...]
Top 10 places to retire in the US, part 1
In her recent book “America’s 100 Best Places to Retire,” author Elizabeth Armstrong takes into account a number of factors retirees should consider in a retirement home. Bankrate.com analyzed Armstrong’s results, and came up with the top 10 places to retire, based upon both lowest median home price and quality of living. Here are some highlights, with average retirement home details included.
Danville, Ky.
Danville, a “top 10 Main Street town” according to Armstrong, is both a place where generations of people stay put to run family businesses and a town that supports the arts, notes local Prudential Guerrant Real Estate broker [...]
Intrapreneurship gaining speed in rough economy
Being an entrepreneur is a tough road to follow, with long hours and endless to-do lists. Some people with their own business ideas are choosing to go a different route – intrapreneurship.
Intrapreneurship defined
Intrapreneurship is proposing and starting new businesses from within the confines of an already-existing business. Intrapreneurship is a name that has been applied to everything from encouraging new ideas in a business to full-on supporting a new business startup within an existing corporation. An intrapreneur could be the person who comes up with new business ideas and hands them off to their employers, but more often they are [...]
How the payroll tax cut affects consumers
Last week, congress voted to extend the Payroll Tax Cut through 2012. President Obama is meeting Tuesday with taxpayers to discuss the extension. Last year, most working Americans saw a slight increase in their paychecks because of the payroll tax cut. Critics, however, say that, in the long run, the payroll tax cut does more harm than good.
Obama meets with taxpayers
The president will meet with taxpayers at the White House Tuesday to discuss the benefits the payroll tax cut extension will give them. It is expected that he will also entreat Congress to continue passing legislation designed to strengthen the [...]
America Saves Week is about to start
Americans don’t tend to squirrel away enough money for a rainy day or for retirement. However, the Consumer Federation of America and American Savings Education Council want to do something about that during America Saves Week.
Another 51 weeks of the year to worry about
Among the many criticisms leveled at the typical American about personal finances is that hardly anyone saves enough money, either in case of emergency or for their retirement. Indeed, according to Forbes, the share of income that the typical person socked away has fallen significantly during the past 60 years or so. It is estimated by the [...]
Microsoft has a Caradigm for improving health care record-keeping
Health care record-keeping is still far from a universal system in the U.S., but Microsoft is looking to change that. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Microsoft’s joint venture with General Electric to modernize health care technology – which experts predict will increase care efficiency and cut costs – has taken a big step forward. It now has a name: Caradigm.
Merging care and paradigm
Caradigm, a new company that should become fully operational by mid-2012, will begin by employing 750 people in the Seattle area. A merging of the worlds “care” and “paradigm,” Caradigm will work to modernize health care through the use [...]
Unfilled job openings point to lost economic opportunity
The unemployment rate in the United States currently clocks in between 8 and 9 percent. With more than 15 million unemployed individuals, more than 3 million so-called unfillable positions point to economic opportunity that has been lost.
Growing number of unfillable jobs
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unfilled jobs in the United States is rising each month. In November 2011, there were 3.1 million jobs that employers reported they were incapable of filling. In December 2011, that same statistic clocked in at 3.4 million. In July of 2009, the last time this statistic was at its [...]
Preparing for a job interview
While unemployment figures have been dropping steadily, 13 million Americans still remain out of work. It is a tough job market out there, and anything one can do to hedge his or her bet is a good thing. The secret to winning a job is a good interview. What one does to prepare for that interview can make all the difference.
Women have the edge
In preparing for the interview, according to the Kansas City Star, women have the edge. Justin Feeney, a psychology doctoral candidate, says women do naturally what males would do well to emulate.
Feeney, along with two other researchers, [...]
Community bank network Kasasa gaining momentum
The advantages of joining a large retail bank is that it has branches everywhere. However, a growing community bank network, called Kasasa, is out to chip away at the edge huge banks enjoy.
Go big or stay home
The reason large retail for-profit banks like Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase enjoy market share over small community banks and credit unions is that they are everywhere. Account holders from New York can walk into a branch in Los Angeles or Pewaukee, Wisc., and do the same banking.
Credit unions and community banks have some networking ability, but not nearly to the [...]
Congress extends, but cuts, unemployment benefits
Congress has recently signed off on a financial compromise bill that will extend several federal programs. Unemployment compensation, however, will be cut in some states.
The extension of federal programs
According to the compromise that has been passed by both the House and Senate, the cut in payroll taxes known as the payroll tax holiday will be continuing. This cut takes out 2 percent of the payroll tax on each paycheck and is capped at $2,200 per worker. On average, this cut adds an additional $20 per paycheck for most workers. The bill also heads off a change to medicare reimbursements, which [...]
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