Recent comments

  • Ask the Readers: How Do You Handle Rude Questions About Money?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    I simply tell people it's none of their business and move on to another topic of conversation.

  • Ask the Readers: How Do You Handle Rude Questions About Money?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    The last time I was interviewing someone, she started prying into our money affairs: How much was your house? How much is your rent? How much are your utilities?

    Since it wasn't someone I was at all familiar with, though you wouldn't know it from how much she thought it was ok to pry!, I deflected with fake ignorance. "Oh I don't know, my husband handles that stuff." I'd probably never do that with someone I actually knew (because anyone who knows me knows that I handle all the money) but it worked with this nosy Parker!

  • Cheat Sheet: Retail Markup on Common Items   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Sears hardware department sales commission rate is 1% and cut to .5% on Black Friday.

  • Ask the Readers: How Do You Handle Rude Questions About Money?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    I haven't been asked rude questions about money. Politics & religion are topics that I find more sensitive.

  • Ask the Readers: How Do You Handle Rude Questions About Money?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    I thought this was rude. A neighbor is a financial planner, but she lives down the street and I do not know her, but one day she thought it was okay to come to my house and ask me personal questions about my finances when I was outside doing yard work. I kept telling her that I do not need her services and it was awful! I told her now thanks, but I felt trapped because I live by her and did not want to offend her!

  • Ask the Readers: How Do You Handle Rude Questions About Money?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    I don't give a direct answer to money questions. I usually say that I am not sure

  • Ask the Readers: What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    The worst job I had was working at a supermarket.

  • Ask the Readers: What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Working at a fast food restaurant.

  • Ask the Readers: What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    My 1st job at 16 at Hardees, it was the manager who made it terrible for everyone. She was so annoying and had no life and was there all the time and had her favorites

  • Ask the Readers: What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Definitely temp jobs!

  • 8 Green Products That Aren't   10 years 21 weeks ago

    #5 contains incorrect or untrue information. Stevia is not an artificial sweetener but a well known plant based extract that has been in use many years and enjoys periodic bouts of commercial usage every few years. Coca Cola is simply the largest commercial brand to use it in a product.

    Perhaps the author of the article might wish to engage in some fact checking.

  • Ask the Readers: What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Probably the worst one was working at a small public radio station, which sounded like a cool job until I discovered it was staffed by people who were either whining slackers or certifiably crazy. The management was hostile and inept, and the hourly staff was given responsibilities far beyond their expertise and pay level just to keep the place going.

    Quit when I began having anxiety attacks driving to work in the mornings. Should have done it a lot sooner.

  • 7 Ways Being Debt Free Can Cost You   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Yikes. A Tiny bit of good advice mixed in with a lot of bad advice. While I agree a home mortgage can be good (e.g. leveraged asset that can grow while you live in it, good inflation hedge, etc.), I don't think it should be mixed in with "Frugal isn't always fun." Some of these points are more equal than others, just like in Animal Farm.

  • 5 Sobering Facts About Credit Card Debt   10 years 21 weeks ago

    When people lose their jobs and unemployment runs out, they survive on credit cards until they find a new job. It isn't pleasant, but sometimes it's the only way. This is the case with many people in that middle age range.

  • 6 Ways to Resist a Splurge   10 years 21 weeks ago

    If I succumb to a splurge in a store, I don't wear/use it and leave all the tags on it. In a few days I can reconsider if the item was worth the money or if I really want it and then have the option to return or keep it.

  • How Much Should You Have Saved for Retirement by 30? 40? 50?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Hi, I am 31.5 yrs old. I don't have any children at the moment and may not get any until 35. I earn $4,000 per month from my job and my stocks provide me about $450 per month in dividends. My expenses normally are in the range of $1,600 -$1,800 per month. Recently paid off all my debts. I have $45,000 in a retirement account and stocks worth $205,000 in an index fund. How am I doing compared to others in my age group & income level? Please advise.

  • Ask the Readers: What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    A job at a pizza place; unfortunately I didn't know at that age what sexual harassment was ... but neither did the other dozen or so waitresses that quit while I worked there as he never faced charges.

  • Ask the Readers: What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Worked answering hospital telephones -- 80/100 calls an hour for $8 at time in 2008. I mean taking messages from patients to their doctors, doctor to doctor consults on admitted patients, all codes like code blue, ambulance call aheads on critical injuries, WHERE IS MY child? IS HE IN THE ER?, and call transfers to rooms.

    Hospital only buys cheap computer systems -- like all information scrambled around in the computer, check out to find on-call doctors had to be memorized for hundreds of doctors, hundreds of telephone prefixes on cheat sheets....

    Lovely coworkers, very energetic slaves but really scared by management who did not feel need to clean up this computer system for consistent abbreviations and information placement in life & death situation. Moved to another job in a few months....

    Checked back in 2013 when family ran though the hospital, about $11 an hour and still using barely sufficient computer software....Many of the employees had kids who failed to thrive, so lots of the millennials and olders needed assistance from parent with bad job market here (scammer's delight with no unemployment if you get in trouble, lots of 4-6 month jobs sadly). Heard many stories while working there and really feel for someone having to slave at this pay-rate in life-death situation with management that doesn't mind taking chances with lives.

    Seen other situations in my hometown that are very similar as wages and staffing fall, likelihood of suit for employees get too bad to deal with this.

    Hospital bought bad billing computer system more recently, barely runs anything actually...Lots more layoffs.

    Seeing too much stuff like this is good motivation to relocate, as it only got worse.

  • Ask the Readers: What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Telemarketing.

  • Ask the Readers: What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    I've had several bad jobs but the worst would have to be my first full time job out of high school. I was working at an office supply store where I was supposed to type up phone orders all day long. Not bad at all. Then they fired one of the other employees and did not replace her. So I spent most of my time taking the phone orders instead of typing them up. I was criticized for not doing my original job. Well, duh!
    Nearly all of my fellow employees were rude to me, would all go on break together and leave me to deal with the phones, the mail room manager would scream at me for bringing orders to him late, one of the other mail room employees would always "scan" me when I came in (but never spoke to me). I was fired after 4 months. I didn't quit because I was living with my parents and they would NOT have liked it.

  • Capital One 360: A Competitive Banking Option   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Having read all the negative comments, I will no doubt go elsewhere. I too was a fan of ING Direct.

  • Ask the Readers: What's the Worst Job You've Ever Had?   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Working at a furniture store on commission where the owner would steal all of your sales.

  • 10 Depressing Jobs That Aren't Worth the Money   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Concrete form pin counter.

  • Make Your DVD Player Region-Free in Seconds   10 years 21 weeks ago

    Hi everybody, I'm from México and bought a Sony DVD SR115, I'm trying to make it multiregion but I cant find a code.
    If anyone could help me I really apreciate it my Mail antoniomenav@hotmail.com thanks in advance.

  • 15 Great Jobs That Don't Pay Much   10 years 21 weeks ago

    I work for a nonprofit that just started a substance abuse program for underserved rural youth in Kentucky. Without a doubt, this is the best job I've ever had and wouldn't trade it for the world. I believe in what we do and it is tremendously rewarding. I am a single parent with a bachelor's degree in my mid-40's. That said, my salary is 31,999 a year.