Ahhh, gift cards. The gift we all love to hate. Sure, they’re convenient (for the giver) and they seem (again, to the giver) like they’re more thoughtful than cash, but they’re not all they’re cracked up to be.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m always thankful when I receive a gift, and I do recognize the ease [...]
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Archive for the ‘Miscellany’ Category
Thoughts on Kids and Gift Cards
Written by Nickel - 5 Comments
Published on January 23rd, 2012 - 5 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Filed under: Miscellany
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2012’s Twelve for Twits
Written by Jeffrey Steele - 9 Comments
Back in 2011, I wrote that many Americans appear to follow a “Goof’s Guide to Money Management” in most of their monetary transactions. In the column, I posited this loony approach to dealing with earning, spending, saving and investing that nearly guaranteed a lifetime saddled with back-breaking debt.
There may be something uniquely American about the [...]
Published on January 5th, 2012 - 9 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Filed under: Miscellany
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Quit Quashing the Quirky: Support Small Businesses
Written by Jeffrey Steele - 6 Comments
Years ago, I was assigned to write a series of Chicago Tribune articles set in Princeton, IL, the historic Bureau County seat that grew up along U.S. Rt. 6, about two hours west of Chicago, and an hour east of the Quad Cities.
After I wrapped interviews one day, the Princeton Chamber of Commerce director winked [...]
Published on December 27th, 2011 - 6 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Filed under: Miscellany
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Intuit Promises to Add Lion Support for Quicken 2007
Written by Nickel - One Comment
Here’s a bit of good — albeit very overdue — news for those of you who have been waiting for Intuit to fix the Quicken 2007/Lion situation…
As you may know, Quicken for Mac 2007 does not currently work on Apple’s latest operating system, Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion). I understand the frustration this may have [...]
Published on December 22nd, 2011 - One Comment
Filed under: Miscellany
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Filed under: Miscellany
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Cash Gifts vs. Gift Cards: Pros and Cons
Written by Lisa White - 5 Comments
Cold, hard cash… Or glittery gift cards? It’s an ongoing conundrum every holiday season. If you’re like me and you have a particularly challenging list of friends and relatives to buy for, this is the burning question.
For those looking to choose one or the other, consider the pros and cons of both.
Gift card pros
Today, it’s [...]
Published on December 22nd, 2011 - 5 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Filed under: Miscellany
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US Postal Service Cutbacks – What They Mean to You
Written by Nickel - 16 Comments
In case you haven’t heard, the US Postal Service has announced major cost-cutting measures that will negatively impact the quality (or at least speed) of their service. We’ve talked about this before, but USPS is hurting. Badly. In fact, they’re currently projected to lose over $14B next year, up from $8.5B in 2010. Yikes!
In response, [...]
Published on December 7th, 2011 - 16 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Filed under: Miscellany
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You Can Only Spend Each Dollar Once
Written by Nickel - 6 Comments
Over the weekend, I sat down to talk a bit about money with our oldest son. He receives a decent monthly allowance, he got some gift money for his birthday back in October, and he also makes money from random jobs like pet sitting, etc. And yet, he was broke, and he wasn’t sure how [...]
Published on November 30th, 2011 - 6 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Filed under: Miscellany
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Stamp Prices: The 2012 Increase
Written by Nickel - 5 Comments
In yet another attempt to stanch the flow of red ink, the US Postal Service plans to increase first class stamp prices from $0.44 to $0.45 on January 22nd, 2012. This is the first such increase in two years, and it’s expected to generate $888M in revenue.
Unfortunately, that’s just a drop in the bucket relative [...]
Published on October 19th, 2011 - 5 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Filed under: Miscellany
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What Do You Do With Your Spare Change?
Written by Nickel - 19 Comments
Earlier this week I ran across a story about a guy named Danny who uses a coin jar to supercharge his savings. Whenever he spends cash, he makes a point of not using his change – and when he receives additional change, he collects it in a jar back at home before taking it to [...]
Published on August 26th, 2011 - 19 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Filed under: Miscellany
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USPS Plans to Close Over 3600 Post Office Locations
Written by Nickel - 8 Comments
In case you haven’t heard, the USPS is planning on closing over 3,600 locations. Believe it or not, of their roughly 32k locations, only about 6k (19%) cover their costs, so it’s time for a change. Is your favorite location in danger? Find out by clicking through and checking the official list.
Of the Post Offices [...]
Published on July 27th, 2011 - 8 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Filed under: Miscellany
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