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This article is by staff writer William Cowie.

That Walmart, and more recently, McDonald’s are giving their workers much-overdue raises is now old news. What few realize is those raises might cost you a lot more than you expect — even your job.

Think that’s a little overstated? Hear me out.

The good news

Many have documented the fact that this recovery has, for the most part, bypassed America’s rank and file. Employment statistics look better and better every month; but still, most of the jobs added back during the recovery have been the low-paying kind in retail, restaurants and hospitality services.

So it is nice to know that some of the lowest-paid workers are getting a modicum of relief. The general feeling is that there is a real recovery after all. I see more and more evidence that the recovery has reached Joe Plumber and any other composite person created to represent middle class America.

This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle.

We spend a lot of time talking about green here on Get Rich Slowly. But let’s direct our attention for a couple minutes to another color: blue.

I first read about the Blue Zones in a magazine a few years ago. These blue zones were identified after researching some of the longest living people on the planet. Although nine characteristics were associated with these blue zones, several are lumped into the social category. Having a healthy social life can extend your life? Who knew?

Maybe you don’t care about living until you are 100, but do you think that your social network could help improve your finances or decrease your stress level? I think it can. And so does the Blue Zones organization, but more on that later.

This article is by editor Linda Vergon.

We spent a fair amount of time exploring investments in the month of March. We looked at how to ladder certificates of deposit (CDs), scrutinized the decision to include gold in your portfolio, and even considered the growth of hedge funds. Over the months and years, we have discussed rental properties, peer-to-peer lending and everyone’s favorite, the index fund.

There are a lot of reasons to invest – you are planning for retirement, you want to provide a college education for your children, or you’ve decided to buy a house and need to build up funds for a down payment. But the nitty-gritty of investing comes down to risk and reward: What kind of return can you expect and how much risk will you have to accept?

This is a guest post from former GRS staff writer Donna Freedman.

A blogger who goes by “empressjuju” thinks she and her husband spend too much on restaurants. “Every month we find ourselves rushed, or tired, or invited out with friends and there goes the budget,” she wrote in a post on her website, (the) Vegas in Austin.

Her husband wondered whether it is unreasonable to spend less. Given that they want to be homeowners, she took a different view: “We are eating our house!”

Her words reminded me of an interview with personal finance expert Mary Hunt. On the subject of giving college students credit cards for emergencies, here is what Hunt thinks: Young people rarely encounter true emergencies. “If you can eat it, drink it, wear it, watch it or listen to it,” she said, “then it’s not an emergency.”