Feed items
How does a strong dollar affect you?
This article is by staff writer William Cowie.
You have probably heard it before: At the end of yet another melancholy rant about how bad things are in America, someone inevitably adds “… and then the dollar is so weak, too.” Well, lament no longer because the dollar recently reached a seven-year high.
How is the dollar measured?
The U.S. dollar is used to measure so many things. The gold price is quoted around the world as so many U.S. dollars per fine ounce. Oil, too, is quoted as yea-many American dollars per barrel. Many other countries establish the value of their currencies against the dollar. So what do you use when you want to measure the thing that measures seemingly everything else? How do you answer the seemingly simple question: What is a dollar worth?
What to buy on Black Friday
This is a guest post from former GRS staff writer Donna Freedman.
Want to start a fight? Announce that you’ll be shopping on Thanksgiving Day.
A whole bunch of folks will likely sigh and mourn the once-was-sacred Thanksgiving dinner with family. Why, they’ll ask, would anyone want to shop on this day? Why would anyone force retail clerks into manning their posts even though they’d rather be home melting marshmallows atop sweet-potato casseroles?
One such pearl-clutcher, hearing that Macy’s would open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, suggested to a Chicago-area newspaper that an obituary was needed. “I think this death needs to be acknowledged,” she said. “It is the death of Thanksgiving.”
Wow.
Hyperbole aside, she does have a point: Not everyone is excited about the idea of working on turkey day. (Some are, though. A relative of mine who works in retail is desperate for all the hours she can get.)
Preparing financially for a job search
This article is by staff writer Honey Smith.
Looking for a new job is a multi-faceted process. Many of the aspects of career-building that I have been discussing recently are applicable even if you are just trying to keep a job you already have. But laying the groundwork for a successful job search is about more than just your reputation. A job search can take months — in some cases, up to a year or more — so it is very important to be prepared financially before you start to look. Here are three financial aspects to consider as you prepare.
Ask the Readers: Where can you get a last-minute seasonal job?
This article is by editor Linda Vergon.
When you think about getting extra money for the holidays, your first thought may be to get a job at your local mall. Retail is certainly one of the easier industries to break into to find a holiday job, and this year’s retail numbers are expected to be much better than in recent years. But your next thought may be that we are right on the cusp of the holiday season and those positions have probably been filled by now. After all, most retail companies start hiring for the holiday season in September and October. In fact, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., a career transition firm, noted that retailers “went on a hiring spree” in October, adding more than 180,000 workers to their payrolls in preparation for the holiday shopping season.
Can a cash grocery budget save you money?
This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle.
As I mentioned in my last article, I experimented with paying cash only for my October groceries. I had only one goal in mind: Spend less on groceries so I could save more money each month. Well, my little experiment opened a whole can of worms.
The Experiment
Basically, I always try to keep my grocery spending in check, but I usually don’t limit quantity or variety of food based on the budget.
With that in mind, I think it is important how I picked my budget of $500. I didn’t look at my past spending. I didn’t do any research to see what a normal amount is for a family of five. Nope, $500 just sounded good. And it sounded easy enough to stay under budget. I wanted it to be a challenge, but I didn’t want it to be too difficult either.
How the new healthcare law changes maternity care
This article is by staff writer Holly Johnson.
My husband and I got married in December of 2005 and spent the first few years of our marriage enjoying each other without the responsibility of children. Then, after a few years, I found myself longing for a child of our own. Unfortunately, a giant roadblock stood in our way — our health insurance plan did not cover maternity.
Those were the days before the new healthcare law commonly known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and Obamacare came into play. At the time, health insurance providers were not obligated to offer plans that covered maternity and those that did often charged ridiculous sums of money for a “maternity rider” that covered pregnancy and delivery. Unfortunately, I would soon find out just how hard it was to qualify for this kind of coverage in the pre-PPACA era.
A six-figure income, and still paying off debt?
This article is by staff writer Kristin Wong.
At another site, I recently wrote about a tool that shows you online prices in terms of hours worked. I used a random item — a fancy coffee maker that costs $116 — as an example. It would take someone who earned $38 an hour approximately three hours of work to pay for that item. A reader replied that, if they made $38 an hour, they wouldn’t waste their time thinking about whether or not the purchase was worth it.
To me, this was a spot-on definition of lifestyle inflation, summed up perfectly in one simple comment.
The pros of experiencing the cons of poverty
This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle.
At the beginning of October, I slipped five crisp Benjamins into my purse. I don’t usually carry any cash at all, so I was feeling flush with $500 in my pocket.
It was all part of a simple experiment: Could I save on my grocery budget if I only paid in cash? While I will share more in the future about what I specifically learned about groceries and my budget, this experiment made me think about a bigger problem.
Ask the Readers: How much are you budgeting for holiday travel?
This article is by editor Linda Vergon.
Nearly two thirds of Americans are planning to travel at least once between Thanksgiving Day and New Years Day this year, according to the Orbitz Holiday Travel Insider Index. The survey is based off the popular site’s consumer research and booking data, which also indicates that 60 percent of travelers are willing to spend as much as $2,500 on their getaway. Most travelers (68 percent) plan to spend Christmas away, with Orlando and Cancun being the destinations of choice.
Indexing vs. stock-picking: You don’t have to choose sides
This article is by staff writer Robert Brokamp.
A discussion about personal finances can be a polite, congenial affair. Few people come to blows over insurance or budgeting. But some topics inflame financial passions, and one of them is investing. Fellow GRS e-scribe William Cowie encountered this a couple weeks ago when he advocated for investing in individual stocks in certain situations. I thought I would pass along a few thoughts of my own, given that 1) William cited the success he’s had with a newsletter from The Motley Fool (my employer for the past 15-plus years), and 2) my own portfolio has big holdings in index funds but also some actively managed funds and individual stocks.
Facebook
Become a fan
Twitter
Follow us
RSS
Subscribe