Here’s a timely bit of financial news for all of you New Year’s revelers… Due to a shortage of hops and malted barley, beer prices are expected to increase substantially in the near future. According to a recent article in The Independent, hops prices have risen in the United States by as much as 600% in the past three months. A big part of the problem is the push for increased ethanol production in the U.S., which is causing more and more farmers to convert their acreage to corn.

The price spikes are expected to be greatest for smaller, craft breweries because the behemoths of the brewing industry (e.g., Anheuser-Busch and Coors) are locked into long-term supply contracts that provide them with temporary protection against the increased costs. So… While life’s too short to drink cheap beer, it looks like the good stuff is going to cost disproportionately more for the foreseeable future.

Here are some of my favorite FiveCentNickel (subscribe) posts from a year ago this past week:

» Charities of Choice 2006, Part I: Modest Needs
» Registering an LLC
» Charities of Choice 2006, Part II: The American Red Cross
» Charities of Choice 2006, Part III: Our Local Food Bank

And here’s what was going on two years ago:

» Finding the Right Charity
» Clear Out Your Stuff & Get a Tax Break
» The World’s Most Practical Five Year Old
» Sam’s Club and a Bad Battery Deal

This is just a quick note to tell you that we’re still on vacation — and no longer missing snow! We’re flying home on New Year’s Day, and life will (unfortunately) begin returning to normal shortly thereafter.

Before we get to the roundup, I wanted to let you know that the good folks at WiseBread have launched discussion forums dedicated to “Living Large on a Small Budget.”

Moreover, for the next two weeks (12/31/07 - 01/13/08), they’ll be giving away prizes (including Amazon gift certificates) every day for people that contribute to their forums.

With that said, here are some of my favorite articles from the past week… [more]

Every December, we sit down and sort out (and then make) our charitable contributions for the year. Because 2007 was so good to us, we’ve decided to not only increase our donation levels, but also to add another charity to our list. What follows is a list of the main causes that we’re supporting this year. [more]

Last week I wrote about four credit cards with signup bonuses, including the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold Card, Amex Preferred Rewards Green Card, Discover More Card, and Chase Freedom Cash Rewards Visa.

Well, Discover has apparently decided to suspend their $40 signup bonus at the end of this month. So… If you’re looking for a Discover card and are interested in snagging a nice little signup bonus, be sure to apply before the end of the month.

Here’s a little nugget of information on the social security tax… In case you weren’t aware, every time you pay Social Security or Medicare taxes at your regular job (assuming you have one), your employer pays an equal amount on your behalf. But if you’re self-employed, you “get to” pay both shares yourself. And were not talking about a trivial amount of money, either. Social Security taxes currently stand at 6.2%, with Medicare adding another 1.45%. So self-employment income is subject to a 15.3% hit in addition to plain old income taxes — it’s not pretty. [more]

Okay, this just makes me laugh… According to a blurb in the most recent issue of Bottom Line/Personal, many jails accept credit cards for posting bail. But wait, it gets better:

“Cardholders can go home quickly - and may get reward points on their credit cards.”

So if you’re looking for another way to make use of your reward credit card, look no further than you local jail.

Here’s some not-so-happy Christmas news for you…

Apparently a number of charities have experienced noticeable declines in donations this year. This isn’t terribly surprising given the economic challenges that we’re currently facing, but it’s a bit of a double whammy, as more people than average are asking for help this year.

So… Please consider spreading some holiday cheer by supporting your favorite charities.

[Source: Boston Globe]

Just a quick note to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

We’re opening gifts in the morning and jetting off to see family in the evening.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

For your Christmas Eve reading pleasure, I thought I’d pull together some interesting pairs of articles on various financial topics… [more]