“The common attitude is ‘when in doubt, throw it out.’ But I try to give the food the benefit of the doubt.”
Holiday Spending by the Numbers
How much will you be spending this holiday season? Probably less than you did last year (about $25 less), but, if last year’s any indication—when the average shopper dropped $112 more than he’d anticipated—still more than you intend to spend, whether you draw up an official budget or not. Whatever you buy, it’ll probably be on sale: …
Why the U.S. midterm elections are bad for the global economy
With all of this incessant talk about the decline of American global influence, we tend to forget that the U.S. is still by far the world’s largest economy, and what happens in the U.S. matters to everyone, everywhere. That’s why people from Beijing to Brasilia are watching the midterms with heightened interest. Shifts in U.S. …
The Obvious Reason You’re Stuck Dealing with Automated Customer Service Lines
Speaking with an actual live customer service agent costs a company somewhere between $3 and $9. But an automated phone system? That costs the company 5¢ to 7¢.
Study: No Reason to Pay Realtor Commissions When Selling a House
There’s an assumption that the 6% typically paid in realtor commissions on a home sale is worth it because the seller will command a higher price than if he’d gone the “for sale by owner” route. But a trio of academics who researched years of home sales says that this assumption is false. In fact, they discovered that owner sellers got …
It’s a Deal: 50% Off Sale at Kohl’s
Now through Thursday, November 4, a Kohl’s sale offers a range of clothing, jewelry, furniture, luggage, toys, electronics, and more for 50% off. And for the duration of the sale, standard shipping costs a flat 99¢ per item.
Shout Out: ‘How to Literally Mortgage Your Children’s Future’
Tom Tomorrow envisions a new banking industry product that allows parents to get cash advances based on the estimated future earnings of their offspring.
A Full Year of College for $999?
A Baltimore-based for-profit company is offering online core 101-style college courses—English, statistics, algebra—for $138 per month, or at the infomercial-esque price of $999 for a full year.
Will the Fed’s Plan Create Jobs?
Economist Paul Krugman is among those questioning the Fed (Chip East/REUTERS)
Back in December, Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize winning economist and NYT columnist, wrote an Op-Ed saying the Federal Reserve can and should do more to boost employment. Krugman’s prescription was for the Fed to spend trillions of dollars buying long-term …
When the Dollar Store Undercuts Walmart Prices (and Vice Versa)
Ever wonder whether the dollar store really has better prices on everyday purchases than Walmart, or any number of drugstores and supermarkets?
The Good News If Debt Collectors Are After You
In many instances, debt collectors are even sloppier and more clueless than the robo-signers involved in Foreclosuregate.
The Good News If Mortgage Lenders Are After You
“The banks have been servicing mortgages and chasing delinquents with the same carelessness and indifference to due process that they demonstrated when they underwrote and securitized the mortgages in the first place.”