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News stories and opinions related to saving money

What Is Dead Peasant Life Insurance?

Posted In:  News and Opinion

Most life insurance policies provide financial assistance to a deceased person's surviving relatives. When an insured person dies, his life insurance benefit goes to the beneficiary of the policy such as his spouse or children. This money is usually used to pay for funeral expenses and replace the income of the deceased. Another type of life insurance exists, however, that many people have been unaware of until recently, and it has a more nefarious purpose.Read the rest...

Most Big Companies Suck to Work for...11 That Don't

Posted In:  News and Opinion

When you think of working for a large company, you probably imagine cubicle farms and deep levels of redundant middle management. In many cases, you wouldn't be far from the truth. Working for a big company can be tough. It is easy to get lost in the shuffle and feel like the company doesn't care about you at all. Not every company is like that, though. More large corporations have begun to recognize that having happier employees results in better overall productivity. High tech companies like Intel and Google are leading the trend toward becoming better places to work.Read the rest...

Don’t be a Sucker; Avoid These Five Tricky Pricing Gimmicks

Posted In:  News and Opinion

Think it's buy one, get one? Don't jump so quickly. It's probably buy one, get one half off. This is just one trick retailers use. Whether we like it or not, bargain hunting requires that we stop and pay attention. Some of us enjoy bargain hunting; some don’t. Whichever category we fall into, we need to be aware that retailers employ a laundry list of tricks in order to get us to spend more. Here are some gimmicks to watch out for and how they work.Read the rest...

Impulse Buying? Your Last Name Might be to Blame

Posted In:  News and Opinion

Are you an impulse buyer? You may now have an excuse – it’s all your last name’s fault. People whose last names start with letters toward the end of the alphabet are more prone to impulse buying. According to a study to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the “last name effect” seems to stem back from childhood.Read the rest...

Five Lessons from the Obamas' 2010 Tax Returns

Posted In:  taxes  News and Opinion

The Obamas recently released their 2010 tax return, revealing an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $1,728,096. While this is a nice haul to most people, it’s a two-thirds pay cut from the $5.5 million they earned in 2009. They paid $453,770 (26%) of their income in federal taxes and $245,075 (14%) of their income to charities. President Obama earned $400,000 as Commander-in-Chief, but the bulk of their earnings came from his book sales. While those numbers are a bit overwhelming to the average taxpayer, there are still lessons that anyone can apply to their own finances.Read the rest...

Five Least Stressful Healthcare Jobs

Posted In:  other  News and Opinion

Want a job that helps others, pays well and doesn't stress you out? Healthcare is an excellent field to look for work in a challenging economy. Career Cast ranked the top 10 least stressful white collar jobs for 2011 and 5 health care jobs were on the list. Some of the stress factors considered in the ranking were income opportunity, competitiveness, travel, hazardous work environment, and if lives are at risk.Read the rest...

Are Today's Households More Prudent?

Posted In:  family  News and Opinion

The recent recession had a widespread impact on households in every economic sector. Unemployment, high energy prices, and rising food costs have caused consumers to evaluate their spending habits and make a few changes. While homeowners appear to be more frugal these days, economists hope they don't see too much of this good thing.Read the rest...

Need a Job? Don't Turn Your Nose Up at McDonalds

Finding good paying jobs has been something of a challenge over the last few years for many people who are out of work. Even fast food positions have been hit or miss in this struggling economy. Indications are beginning to show that jobs are opening up across the nation, and McDonald's is leading the way. The company expects to hire as many as 50,000 new workers this month.Read the rest...

eBay Buys GSI, but Why?

eBay, in a deal announced on Monday, March 28th, has bought out GSI Commerce. GSI is a multi-service company that currently provides e-commerce solutions, including marketing, payment processing and customer service, to over 180 different companies such as Zales, Toys R Us and Radio Shack. The merger deal, worth $2.4 billion dollars, is eBay's most expensive purchase since 2005 when the online auction company bought Skype for $2.6 billion.Read the rest...

Are they Freegans or Just Freeloaders?

Posted In:  News and Opinion

I'm not really sure what to make of the Freegan lifestyle. While I strongly believe in some of the things they do, others seem down right insensitive, lazy and disruptive. Freegans are relative newcomers to the environmentalist scene who object to a profit-driven economy. They consider it the basis of all evil and injustice. Freegans do their best to avoid spending money at all costs to prevent supporting greed-driven corporations responsible for the excesses abd throwaway mentality of today's consumers.
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