Is Your Food Package Smaller than Last Year?
If you feel like you are getting less for you money, it might be because your food package is smaller, not just because food costs more. During the economic downturn, food manufacturers have been quietly shrinking food packaging. As the rate of food inflation has been accelerating, so has the rate of food package shrinkage. As shoppers start to notice they are paying more for less, the spin from food manufacturers is that smaller food packaging is good for the environment and more convenient for consumers.
The incredible shrinking food package
Shrinking food packaging isn’t a recent phenomenon. When unemployment is high [...]
How to Stay on Budget in Tight Times
To stay on budget is harder every day. The economic crisis affects most of us every day as we tighten our belts and keep our wallets in check. But like a dieter craving sweets, temptation is always there to consume beyond our means. Thankfully, there are simple things you can do when the cravings get to be too much.
Think ahead
Thinking long term can help. Instead of seeing savings and frugality as a chore, think big picture. You and your family will be happier if you aren’t overextending to pay off last month’s splurge.
Realistic frugality begins with a realistic plan. If [...]
California DMV Gets You in and Out
There are few things in life as monotonous and frustrating as waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Yet the most unlikely of heroes – dmv.ca.gov – has stepped forward with a sanity-preserving service, reports the Modesto Bee. Driving records are now available online.
Don’t stand in line, go online at dmv.ca.gov
Bureaucracy is self-perpetuating, so let staying home and logging on to dmv.ca.gov for driving records online be your small way of refusing to feed the line monster. According to a recent California Department of Motor Vehicles news release, secure access to a driver’s record is now just a [...]
The Not So Secret Scam of Bottled Water
The Story of Bottled water is a short film by Anne Leonard. In The story of Bottled Water, Leonard shows how corporations have convinced Americans to spend extra cash on half a billion bottles of water every week though most people in this country can get it for free. “Purified” bottled water has become a $5 billion-a-year industry in the U.S. and ironically threatens public health and the environment.
World Water Day
In an article on huffingtonpost.com, Anne Leonard said she chose World Water Day to release the Story of Bottled Water because World Water Day is:
“a good day to pause and [...]
Fixodent – Good for Dentures, Bad for Nerves
Dentures usually require a denture cream to attach to an individual’s gums, and Fixodent is a popular product for that. An ABC News investigation has led to a Fixodent lawsuit. The lawsuit is based on the allegation that Fixodent could be poisoning customers. The secondary allegation is that the company knew and did not warn customers.
Damage to nerves can happen with fixodent
In 2006, researchers at the University of Texas found a connection between denture creams and zinc poisoning. Zinc poisoning can cause loss of sensation, muscle weakness, paralysis and numbness. When people use Fixodent, the zinc in sits all day [...]
Most Financial Institutions Do Not Offer Payday Loans
There is a good reason a traditional bank or credit union doesn’t offer payday loans. Many people have wondered why it is that a small loan for a short period of time is solely the province of payday lenders. Banks and credit unions steer clear of the practice. There are good reasons why payday loans will never be offered by traditional institutions.
Typical institutions do not offer payday loans
A lot of people have observed that while you can visit any payday loan store for a loan until payday, a similar loan is not available at a bank or credit union. It [...]
Small Businesses in America are Big
Small businesses in America represent 99.7 percent of businesses in the United States and employ more than 55 million American citizens. So think of a collection of people that you know. Roughly nine out of every 10 people you know, or simply meet on a typical day, work for a small business in the United States. Some may even work for a company that provides short term loans for bad credit. Furthermore, knowing whether the majority of small businesses in America are doing well is a near accurate barometer of how most of your family and friends are doing economically.
Small [...]
You’re More Likely to be Audited if You’re a Millionaire
Tax season is over and now the IRS will start their audits. According to a report from the Internal Revenue Service nearly twice as many millionaires were targeted for tax audits in 2011. That’s right, you’re more likely to be audited if you’re a millionaire.
Number of all audits about the same
The overall audit rate in 2011 remained nearly unchanged at 1.1 percent of all taxpayers. Not so, however, for taxpayers who earned between $1 million and $5 million over the year. Twelve percent of taxpayers in those brackets were audited, a five percent leap from 2010.
Higher the income, greater the [...]
DIY Mothers Day Ideas 2013
Mothers Day 2013 is almost here, and you don’t have a present. You also don’t have much money, but you’re crafty. Why not try one of these cheap, DIY Mother’s Day gift ideas? Remember, it’s the thought that counts.
Smell your way to potpourri
Homemade potpourri is a great, cheap way to remind mom that when it comes to love, she comes out smelling like a rose. To make a bowl for mom, pick and dry flowers, roots, fruit peels, plants and more that compliment your image of her as a scent-being. Dry them by hanging them outdoors on string or by [...]
Is the Housing Market finally Stable?
The housing market will be largely on its own. The Federal Reserve’s $1.25 trillion program of buying up mortgage-backed securities ended and the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit ended a long time ago. The Obama administration’s emergency money program to provide debt relief for up to 4 million households by restructuring distressed mortgages has produced only 170,000 permanent modifications.
Job losses continue to create loan defaults, foreclosure sales are still driving property prices downward, and mortgage interest rates are expected to rise. These things do not bode well for a turn-around of the housing market, and with budget deficits dominating the political [...]
Was The Secret Coca-Cola Formula Published?
The Coca-Cola formula is one of the most closely guarded trade secrets in the history of the United States. The syndicated radio show “This America Life” revealed that the original Coca-Cola recipe was discovered in an old newspaper column. The Coca-Cola Company keeps the Coke recipe locked in a tightly guarded vault, but the radio show said all the ingredients can actually be bought online.
How the secret Coca-Cola Formula recipe was revealed
The formula for Coca-Cola was concocted by a doctor in Atlanta named John Pemberton in 1886. It has been reported that only two people who know how to mix [...]
Spokeo.com Evolved into a Scam or Search Engine?
Spokeo.com claims to do something simple: aggregate all the publicly available information about a person and sell it to anyone who is willing to pay with payday loans or otherwise. Many are asking if it’s a scam, or if Spokeo really does offer a legitimate service. The answer is … sort of. So I “Spokeoed” myself to see what comes up.
What Spokeo.com Finds
Spokeo itself is a search engine that aggregates social networking information, phone book information, and many other areas you may have entered personal information to get an all inclusive picture of you. Any information considered public on Facebook, [...]
Slow But Steady – Is the Economy Getting Better?
Is the economy getting better, or are we just adjusting to the drop? People around the country are living pay check to pay check. Don’t fret, there actually have been hopeful signs that the economy really is on the rebound. Manufacturing activity still is rising. Car sales are still happening, even years after the auto bailout.
Home sales and Employment are on the rise
Even though there seems to be increases and drops in home sales, overall the number of sales for the past year has increased. Also, while unemployment is still at unbelievable levels, the number of unemployed seems to be [...]
Convenience Foods—Thrifty or Spendy?
Ever wonder how you can rack up such a huge credit card debt so fast? Same Sex Marriage in Washington State
Same sex marriage was officially made legal in Washington State last November. Now the State is seeing revenue and increase in the economy because of this bill. Besides your moral or religious convictions regarding same sex marriage, there is no denying that it is an economic booster. The first quarter reports should be coming out soon, but just how much money do you think same sex marriage will bring in?
Projected Revenue from Same Sex Marriage
Besides the cost of marriage licenses, there is also the added benefit to the community of more people using local services for their weddings. These boosts [...]
Goldman Sachs Facebook deal and the IPO
When Goldman Sachs invested $450 million into Facebook, it was big news on Wall Street. They made the news again when people sued Facebook and Goldman Sachs for misleading investors. Where does this leave people today? The Goldman Sachs Facebook deal, plus an additional $50 million investment from a Russian firm, gave Facebook an implied market value of $50 billion, but the question of Facebook’s true value led to the lawsuits.
The Goldman Sachs Facebook deal
The Goldman Sachs investment gave the social networking phenom more implied market value than eBay, Yahoo and Time Warner. Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian investment firm, [...]
BP Settlement to Pay $4.5 Billion – Where’s The Money
Oil giant BP has agreed in a BP Settlement to pay the federal government $4.5 billion in penalties for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the largest such settlement in history. BP still faces civil suits, but don’t worry. It is still making enormous profits. I am curious who has actually seen payouts yet from BP?
BP Settlement and still is doing fine
But don’t cry for BP. While it lost $17.2 billion in the quarter that the spill occurred two years ago, today it is more than profitable. In the ensuing 9 quarters it [...]
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