Tips for flying with an infant
Traveling with baby is a challenge for any parent. Flying with an infant can be that much more difficult; planning ahead becomes essential. Here are some infant travel tips for parents who would like to, at least, maintain the illusion that they are indeed flying the friendly skies.
Make a list, check it twice
Before you pack your carry-on for the flight, create a checklist of necessities and make sure you have everything before you go to the airport, as airport stores rarely carry it all (and will charge more for what they do have). Here are some essentials any parent of [...]
Wells Fargo settles predatory lending lawsuit
Wells Fargo has just settled a lawsuit brought by the city of Memphis and Shelby County in Tennessee, which claimed the bank engaged in predatory lending against minority mortgage borrowers. A federal lawsuit alleging the same is expected from the Justice Department as well.
Alls wells that ends Wells
Part of the housing crash of the past few years was tied to adjustable rate mortgages, especially those lent to subprime borrowers. Adjustable rate mortgages are adjusted to the market periodically. Borrowers benefit if the rate lowers, but the lender benefits if the rate is adjusted up. A good number of mortgage holders [...]
Gold buying scams still abound
A veritable gold rush has begun in the past few years, as the price has been going up and investors have jumped on the bandwagon. However, wherever money is involved there are also scams, and gold buying scams have been proliferating as well as the price of the metal.
Bandwagons attract wolves
Anywhere money is involved, scams are sure to follow. Gold, for instance, has been attracting attention in recent years due to higher prices. It still is; the spot price of gold recently reached $1,565 per ounce on the Comex, a commodities trading index, according to Forbes.
However, by 2010, warnings were [...]
Unemployment benefits cut early for thousands – part 2
As we have seen, many states have been forced to prematurely end the extended unemployment benefits of thousands. Additionally, some states, apart from the acts of Congress, are also making applicants jump through more hoops to qualify.
More than half rejected in Fla.
Florida, where unemployment is 8.7 percent, is the toughest. According to wepartypatriots.com, nearly 44,000 Florida applicants were denied benefits between August and April because they could not finish a 45-question test.
Under Tea Party Governor Rick Scott’s watch, fewer than half of new unemployment applicants qualify for benefits. Nationally, that figure is more than 70 percent.
Florida Legal Services attorney Valory [...]
Unemployment benefits cut early for thousands – part 1
Despite Congress extending long term unemployment benefit programs in February, thousands of unemployed people in eight states saw their benefits come to an end prematurely in May. Benefit recipients in 15 other states suffered the same fate in April. Thousands more are poised to follow in June.
Nearly half a million stranded
In April, extended unemployment benefits were discontinued in 15 states, including Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina. The same thing happened in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas on May 12. According to the National Employment Law Project, an additional 70,000 are poised to lose [...]
The unemployment conundrum for those in their prime working years
The mainstream media would have you believe that happy days are here again, thanks to declining unemployment numbers. However, a cancer lurks deep within the sweet bud of economic recovery, a malady that goes largely unreported: the percentage of employed Americans in their prime working years (25 to 54) is at its lowest point in 23 years.
Turbulent years for US workers
U.S. federal statistics indicate that in the 23 years before the economic recession, the proportion of prime working aged Americans has never been so low. Currently, a mere 75.7 percent of working Americans between the ages of 25 and 54 [...]
Save time and money and eat well with chicken or vegetable stock
Every non-vegetarian cook can find a use for chicken stock. Vegetarians can simply substitute vegetable. The uses for this kind of miracle base are myriad, and keeping some on hand is not only convenient, but it can save money. Here are a few things to make with chicken stock, in case you’re in search of healthy cooking ideas.
Add flavor to white rice
Cook the rice with chicken stock instead of water for some added zest. Two parts liquid to one part rice is the general rule of thumb. Bring the chicken or vegetable stock to a boil, and 1/4 teaspoon of [...]
Walmart latest large retailer opening smaller stores
For much of the past decade, the largest retail chains were the ones with the largest stores, though these businesses have been struggling in recent years. As a result, the stores are getting smaller and, somewhat surprisingly, Walmart is next in line for smaller stores.
Un-super sizing
For most of the past few decades, the trend in a lot of consumer goods has been to get bigger and bigger. McDonald’s gave us the “Super Size” fries and drinks, developers gave us larger houses in developments that look just like the adjacent houses and retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart and others led [...]
Some people can save money by homebrewing
Few things in life can have the restorative and refreshing power of a cold, tasty beer, though indulging can get expensive. Some might wonder if homebrewing will save money, which will, depending on the economy of scale.
Mother’s milk of civilization
Ah, beer. The moderately alcoholic beverage has been made in some form for thousands of years, predating Western civilization, every modern religion and just about everything else. A large body of research indicates that demand for a steady supply is the reason civilization itself started in the first place.
Beer is now a global, multi-billion dollar entity dominated by commercial enterprises. However, [...]
When Bank of America outsources, does the free market win?
After a $45 billion bank bailout, 30,000 U.S. workers laid off and gouging customer fees that have drawn the ire of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one wonders what Bank of America could have done for an encore. According to Mother Jones, the answer is that America’s second-largest bank is undergoing massive job outsourcing for cheap labor in the Philippines.
Business is better in the Philippines
Bank of America is currently relocating its business support operations to the Philippines, according to majority leader of the Philippine House of Representatives, Roman Romulo. Part of the relocation will include a portion of the bank’s customer [...]
Student that challenged Wall Street dies
Marina Keegan, a budding journalist and playwright, died Saturday, May 26 at the age of 22. The recent Yale graduate left a powerful message to young consumers. Be leery or Wall Street, she said. Be informed and hang onto to youthful optimism.
Tragic accident
Keegan had graduated from Yale only days before the tragic event. She was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by her boyfriend, Michael Gocksch, when it was involved in a rollover accident near the Massachusetts town of Dennis. According to the Boston Globe, Keegan was pronounced dead at the scene. Gocksch was taken to a hospital, but [...]
Home prices up in most major U.S. cities
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index, which tracks housing prices in 20 major U.S. cities, showed a slight uptick in 12 them for March. It is the first such increase in seven months.
S&P/Case-Shiller index
The S.&P./Case-Shiller index, as the index is usually called, uses methods developed by economics professors from Yale and Wellesley College to gather and analyze sales data for single-family dwellings. It compares its data with prices from January of 2000 and averages the numbers over a quarter. It publishes its report on the final Tuesday of each month, with a lag-time of two-months.
Index drops slow
Though prices were [...]
Homeowners still plagued by underwater mortgages
The number of homeowners who have found themselves owing more for their homes than the house is worth has skyrocketed in recent years. It shows no sign of abating, as recent surveys have found the rate is holding steady.
Only the Titanic sunk further
As a result of the housing market tanking in the past few years, a large number of homeowners have come into mortgages that are said to be “underwater.” Technically referred to as negative equity, a large number of people wound up making mortgage payments on loans that were for more than the home was worth in the market.
Granted, [...]
Billions of reasons why Obama is against medical marijuana
President Obama has gotten a lot of stick for various things, one of which is the federal crackdown on medical and recreational use of marijuana, despite him being a former user. The disparity doesn’t make logical sense on the face, but there are some good reasons why he would order such a crackdown.
Going back on a promise
President Obama pledged on the campaign trail that drug raids on medical marijuana dispensaries would stop. In 2009, according to the Huffington Post, Attorney General Eric Holder asserted publicly that his Justice Department would be following suit, though the Drug Enforcement Agency quietly said [...]
Things you can do with used dryer sheets
Don’t be a fool and throw away your dryer sheets after only one use. That’s what devious little Snuggles the bear wants you to do! Rather than listen to an animated teddy bear, consider these things you can do with used dryer sheets. You’ll save money.
Freshen up a suitcase
Use dryer sheets to freshen up a suitcase when traveling. The fresh smell will permeate your clothes, and if an extremely nosy person is in your hotel room, they’ll be sufficiently pleased until such time as you kick them out of your room.
Cut back on static cling
Rub used dryer sheets on those [...]
Hotels offer free gas to summer travelers
Planning on a road trip this summer? Not only are gas prices going down, but many hotels are sweetening the pot with a free fill-up.
Gas offers lure in guests
When gas prices begin to rise, many hotel and motels offer free gas cards with lodging. Some major chains, like Comfort Inns, Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Quality Inn & Suites, and Radisson are offering such deals this spring and summer.
And now that gas prices are on the wane, some of those deals still remain in effect, saving you all the more.
Gregg Laskoski, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said:
“The deal will go even further [...]
Space delivery: A giant leap for commerce
A privately-funded space craft arrived at the International Space Station Friday with a cargo hold full off supplies, ushering in a new era of commerce that extends beyond the boundaries of the Earth’s atmosphere.
‘Dragon by the tail’
As the space station passed 250 miles over Australia Friday morning, astronaut Doanld Petit used a 58-foot robotic arm to snatch the unmanned SpaceX Dragon capsule and its 1,000 pound payload of supplies.
Petit radioed to NASA’s Mission Control back in Houston:
“Looks like we’ve got us a dragon by the tail.”
The SpaceX Dragon capsule performed a practice lap and other maneuvers for NASA before finally [...]
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