“Consumers are opting for safety over income when they stash their money in the banks. That means picking savings or checking accounts at FDIC-insured banks.”
It’s a Deal: JetBlue Flights from $19, Cross-Country Routes from $99
During JetBlue’s Less Is More Sale, flights start at just $19 each way (between Las Vegas and Long Beach, CA), and other routes on sale begin at rates such as $34 (Baltimore-Boston, New York City-Boston), $39 (Orlando-Nassau, Oakland-Long Beach, Boston-Charlotte), and $79 (Buffalo-Fort Lauderdale, Chicago-New York City, Fort …
‘Tis the Season of Self-Gifting
There’s nothing a retailer likes more than a consumer who goes shopping for gifts, and who winds up picking up a few things for herself while she’s at it. Earlier in the shopping season, a rise in self-gifting was projected, with 57.1% of pent-up consumers expected to take advantage of deals and buy stuff for themselves on gift-getting …
Will Madoff’s Investors Break Even?
Madoff offers a ponzi pointer (Photo: Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS)
Bernie Madoff investors might end up getting more of their money back then they thought.
Two years after the now-convicted-and-jailed Ponzi schemer’s arrest, the prospects for his beleaguered victims are all of a sudden looking up. In the past few weeks, Irving Picard, …
Should We Worry about Inflation: Ask Ben Bernanke?
Ben Bernanke will take your questions (Matt Sullivan/REUTERS)
Nearly a year ago, TIME magazine named Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke our Man of the Year. Even if you didn’t like the pick, you have to agree that Bernanke was a big player in both the government bailout of the US economy last year and in steering the recovery, for …
Cheapskate Wisdom … About Watching Free HDTV with an Antenna
“Over-the-air is the new basic cable.”
How You Slowly Lose Money with Bank Accounts
Banks used to be good not just as holding pens for your money, but as places your money could grow slowly but surely. But considering the evil combo of rising fees and pathetic interest rates, the net result is a slow but sure loss of value even when there’s not much inflation. The main reasons for putting money in standard checking and …
It’s a Deal: $25 Credit for Spending $25 with Your Amex Card
American Express is sponsoring a pretty amazing incentive to get consumers to shop at small businesses this holiday season: When you sign up at the link above, you’ll get a $25 credit on your Amex card if you spend at least $25 at nearly any independently owned business—that accepts American Express, of course. The offer is valid for …
Seasonal Employment at the Mall: Do You Have What It Takes To Be Santa?
To play the role of the big man like a pro, you should of course have a jolly belly, yet you must be in good physical condition in order to pick up dozens of children and handle ten-hour shifts while wearing too much heavy clothing under bright lights. You’ve also gotta have the beard—one that’s not only carefully groomed daily, but …
Is Germany to blame for the euro crisis?
Should German Prime Minister Angela Merkel, right, be pointing in the mirror? (Photo: Francois Lenoir/REUTERS)
The financial turmoil in the Eurozone is fostering another potentially scary problem that could hamper the resolution of Europe’s debt crisis – smoldering anger towards Germany, the dominant member of the monetary union. …
Did the Labor Department Miss 350,000 Jobs?
A worker at Best Buy helps shoppers get carts on Black Friday (photo: Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS)
We might need a jobs recount.
The employment numbers came out on Friday morning for November and they were far lower than people were hoping for. But here’s the problem: The employment picture might not be as disappointing as the number …
180 Money Tips, Holiday Gift Edition
Including links to more than 80 unusual and unusually thrifty gift ideas, along with money lessons from “The Simpsons” and money lessons for irresponsible 20-somethings, smart financial moves to make for the holidays and dumb financial moves that’ll make you fat.