Cabbies in Chicago have requested a bump up in fares—up from $2.25 to $2.75 to start off, and from $1.80 to $2.10 per mile—along with several new fees. One request is a $50 fee assessed to anyone who vomits inside the taxi.
Apparently People Just Don’t Want to Buy Cars on eBay
Well, at least not if the cars are GMs, and if the prices are nothing special. The troubled car manufacturer is putting an end to a briefly-lived strategy of trying to sell cars on eBay.
A Dozen Disturbing Health Care Statistics
Most people know the big number: 45 million. That’s the generally accepted tally of Americans currently without health insurance. With the prospect of a public option all but gone, it appears that any change that does occur will pretty much bring more of the status quo—meaning more numbers like these.
Happier Hours: At Restaurants, Cheaper Drinks and More Hours in Happy Hour
To attract customers at a time when many are inclined to eat at home, restaurants are offering big happy hour discounts (and adding more happy hours period), slashing the prices of margaritas and wine, and introducing new drinks priced especially for the recession—like Benihana’s Scorpion punch, a mix of vodka, sake, and Southern …
Happy -778th anniversary, baby
It was a year ago today that the Dow fell 777.68 points in reaction to the House rejecting version 1.0 of the bank bailout plan.
That was the biggest point drop ever, although in percentage terms it didn’t even make the top 10. It was also, in retrospect, a reasonable (if a bit sudden) reassessment of the prospects for corporate …
Starbucks Instant Coffee: Cheaper Alternative to Starbucks Store-Brewed Coffee
Starbucks is introducing a new instant coffee called Via. It’ll cost a bit less than $1 per cup, and the company CEO, when comparing the new brew to the store product, says, “Most people will not be able to tell the difference.”
In which I take a stand against the first-time home buyer tax credit
I have a story up on Time.com about why I don’t think the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit should be extended. I was asked to write the story as an opinion piece, which is why it reads like an opinion piece—even though the headline might lead you to believe you’ll be getting some good old-fashioned …
“Prenatal Learning Systems”: More Useless Baby Products
Apparently it’s not enough to inundate babies with “educational” toys soon after they’re brought out into the world. Now, fetuses are being forced to listen to foreign language recordings and classical music in the womb, all under the pretense of making the child smarter.
When to pay attention to Case-Shiller and when not to
One positive byproduct of this real estate/financial crisis has been the elevation of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices to the status of standard measure of housing prices and the relegation of the National Association of Realtors’ average and median sales price numbers to sideshow. This is mostly a good thing, because the NAR …
It’s a Deal: Kids Eat Free at Chevy’s on Tuesdays
At nearly every Chevy’s restaurant location, you’ll get one free kids’ meal with the purchase of each adult entrée all day on Tuesdays. More details here.
Are You Born a Cheapskate?
The experience of living through the Great Recession will forever change the way we spend. It will create a generation of cheapskates. Or so the thinking goes. But will folks who are new to thrift really stick with it? Can the currently frugal-chic environment truly change people into less buy-crazed consumers? Or is being a …
Saving Money Isn’t Just About Buying Stuff on Sale
If you’re going to scale back in the hopes of saving money, it sure makes sense to do it smartly, ensuring that all your sacrifice and effort pays off.