University Club Apartments

The 10 worst V-Day gifts…

2012-02-13T11:25:00.000-08:00

We know what you’re thinking: Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday. It’s forced. It’s too much pressure. But if you’re dating this month, you’ll probably wind up roaming the aisles for a gift to give your date on February 14th. And, “like it or not, Valentine’s Day becomes a test in which you have to show you’ve been paying attention to the other person’s taste,” says Christine Silvestri, founder of Urban Shopping Adventures, which gives tours of LA’s shopping districts.

But choosing the right gift can be quite a challenge: Too many frazzled sweethearts reach into the Valentine’s void for gift ideas and come up with something that’s just plain wrong. To help you avoid joining their ranks, we present the 10 worst presents possible — and what to give your sweetie instead.

1. Ye olde bouquet of red roses and baby’s breath

What’s wrong with it: Yes, you went out and got something nice and romantic. Unfortunately, certain types of flowers are the equivalent of a shrug because they are so predictable and clichéd... and the rose bouquet falls into this category quite neatly. Says Kristin, 40, of Lake Geneva, WI, “I was dating a guy who said he adored all my quirks and my adventurous spirit. Then he turned around and gave me a big bunch of roses with the lacy white stuff for Valentine’s. It was embarrassing, because I’m so not the kind of woman you give that to! It made me feel as if he didn’t really know me or get what I was all about.” Browse Local Singles at Match.com on Yahoo!

I am a: Man Woman Seeking a: Man Woman Near: Indeed, Frank Leusner, manager of Delphinium Home, a popular gift shop in New York City, says this of the classic red and white bouquet: “There’s absolutely no thought behind it. It’s a copout because it’s just so expected.” Obviously, a gift that says “I’ve never paid attention to your tastes” or “This would also work well on a tombstone” is not a Valentine’s Day message worth sending. Or, consider the way Brittney Cason, relationship advisor for Elevate magazine in Charlotte, NC, puts it: “A gift should never make a woman wonder if you picked it out at the pharmacy while waiting to get a prescription filled on the way over.”

A simple solution: Ask one of your more florally-inclined friends to name a cool-looking bloom (think calla lily, parrot tulip, Gerbera daisy) and then buy three dozen of those. Or order up a monochromatic bouquet of various blooms in your honey’s favorite color — arrangements look especially striking when the flowers are all one shade.

2. A box of assorted chocolates

What’s wrong with it: “Taking candy from guys you know on Valentine’s Day is the only thing more risky than taking candy from strangers,” says Amy Borkowsky, author of Statements: True Tales of Life, Love, and Credit Card Bills. Let’s face it — not all chocolates are created equal. And while a variety pack of sweets shows that you’re trying to cover the bases, the dark (or milk or white) secret is that some of these morsels will be, well, icky. Do the math: Out of every box of 15 assorted chocolates, a woman will probably have three or so favorites. And there’s all that crazy, frou-frou wrapping as part of the picture — enough satin and ribbon to fashion a child’s “princess bride” Halloween costume. So what would you rather get? Three chocolates you want and 21 you don’t — along with a lot of excess red metallic cardboard? Or a small box of something you actually like?

A simple solution: This is where a hefty dose of your sweetie’s favorite sweet can come in handy. “Get creative with your packaging or give it as a gift within a gift — who wouldn’t like that?!” says Silvestri. “If you’re dating a Reese’s peanut butter cup gal, she’d rather have a bag of those in a nice hand-painted bowl or wrapped in a soft scarf than a lifetime supply of random chocolates in a heart-shaped box.”

3. Jewelry in a ring-sized box

What’s wrong with it: In truth, most women love something glittery. But the biggest jewelry mistake a man can make is anything in a ring-size box — be it earrings, a pendant, or a 1 oz. tube of saffron — that’s not, in fact, an engagement ring. Women know there are five key probable proposal days (namely, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s, and her birthday), so giving her false hope on one of them is cruel. “When a girl sees that box, she’s either going to freak out because she’s not ready or hope that it is the ring and then be disappointed, so it’s lose-lose,” says Cason.

A simple solution: Even if you do get her, say, pink sapphire earrings — which we’re sure she’ll love — wrap them in a shirt box just so she doesn’t get the wrong idea.

4. Something girlie and decorative like a sachet, a candle holder, a silver wishing stone…

What’s wrong with it: We’re talking about things like rhinestone-studded soap dishes, elaborate aromatherapy dispensing devices, and other stuff people would never buy for themselves. “Anything red and pink and cutesy often winds up being kind of cheap and useless when you look at it on February 15th — the luster is gone,” says Borkowsky. “And any solid red trinket risks saying, ‘I love you — just enough to get you Christmas stuff at 75 percent off.’” Recalls Adrienne, 35, of Cincinnati, “My boyfriend tends to get me things like little heart-shaped pink velvet pincushions or a wreath of red satin hearts for Valentine’s Day, because he thinks that’s in keeping with the theme of the day. I wish I could tell him to stop wasting his money this way. I never use that stuff!” So before plunking down your dough, ask yourself, “Do I see this gift bringing my date pleasure and enjoyment... or do I see it winding up in his or her guest room?” The answer ought to make your purchase decision very clear.

A simple solution: “Bath products are a great choice,” says Leusner. “You can find scents and formulas that suit your boyfriend or girlfriend’s personality, and most people really enjoy using them.”

5. A cute stuffed animal bearing a message of love

What’s wrong with it: We’ve never heard anyone admit to expressing themselves best through plush koalas, yet that medium remains popular for many a romantic utterance. “It’s so cheesy,” says Leusner. “When you buy that gift, it could be for anyone — even a child. What’s an adult going to do with a stuffed animal?” We’ll tell you what: stuffed animals get tucked somewhere out-of-the-way. And when the romance dies, the Stuffed Bear of Love serves no practical purpose, so the recipient feels pathetic keeping it around as a reminder of her ex (that’s you) and donates it to a children’s charity.

A simple solution: Cut to the chase and make a donation in your honey’s name to a charity you think he or she respects. Now that’s a thoughtful gift.

6. Racy sleepwear

What’s wrong with it: Look, we all know that when you buy someone underwear, it’s more for you than for her. So don’t use Valentine’s Day as your excuse to present all the secret fantasies you’ve been keeping hidden away for the last 364 days. “A lot of the lingerie you see in stores for Valentine’s Day is opposite of women’s tastes,” warns Silvestri. Something that’s not her style can make her feel uncomfortable (figuratively and literally) — and criticized. The point of V-Day is to make couples feel happy about being together, so the last thing you want to say is “I don’t think you’re sexy enough — put this on.”

A simple solution: Buy a black or lacy version of a type of undergarment she already wears, if you two are intimate enough to know that kind of thing. At least you know you’re somewhere within her comfort zone. Or acknowledge the weather outside with something that will actually caress her skin for more hours than you: long, silk underwear.

7. Anything that could be considered a small appliance

What’s wrong with it: A toaster, a humidifier, a yogurt maker... trust us, if she needed it so badly, she’d have gotten it already. “Being too practical is a real romance killer — no one wants anything with an electrical cord for Valentine’s Day,” says Silvestri. (Disclaimer: This rule can be waived if you’re buying an mp3 player or pre-loading a digital camera with shots of yourself holding up signs that say “Will you marry me?”). Here’s how one recipient puts it: “My boyfriend knows I love to cook, especially Asian food. But when I unwrapped a rice cooker last Valentine’s Day,” says Amy, 39, of Portland, ME, “it just felt very roommate-like or haus-frau-ish... as if he didn’t see me as this amazing woman who rocks his world.”

A simple solution: Get her something she absolutely does not need but that you know she’d love, whether it’s a helicopter tour of the city or a pair of microfiber massaging slippers. C’mon, it’s a day for romance, which is supposed to be fun — think about her definition of that and shop accordingly.

8. A nice bottle of cologne or perfume

What’s wrong with it: It’s a time-honored gift, and all that fancy packaging might actually make you think you’re buying something your pumpkin will love. But the same spritz that reminds you of a splendid beach holiday in Europe may smell like bath day at the zoo to your beloved. Problem is, “Perfume choice is so specific that it’s a real challenge,” says Leusner. “It’s almost impossible to know what smells good to another person.” And let us not forget that nothing says “You smell weird” better than a bottle of concentrated fragrance. Recalls Danielle, 29, of Oakbrook, IL: “I like really feminine floral perfumes. When my boyfriend gave me this intense, musky stuff one year, I felt like, ‘Do you not know how I like to smell? or are you trying to tell me you wished I smelled like someone else?’ It really did a number on my confidence!”

A simple solution: Buy a soap, aftershave, or other body product in a fragrance that your loved one already has, or go for a high-end unscented body lotion.

9. A tie

What’s wrong with it: “Women actually have a harder time than men shopping at Valentine’s Day, because there are fewer gift options for men than for women,” says Silvestri. “Still, a tie is a big yawn.” It’s amazing how many women complain about generic gifts and then hit the tie aisle for their man. At best, the tie is by a great designer — which the guy likely won’t care about. At worst, it’s a novelty accessory featuring pigs, the Blues Brothers, or some other unwearable gimmick. But usually, it’s just “about” the color the guy usually wears, meaning he already owns a dozen of ’em.
A simple solution: Head a little further into the menswear section and pick out a great scarf instead — it’s more casual and therefore more wearable; some fun or extra-soft (cashmere, maybe) socks; or another item that shows a dash more originality.

10. A gift certificate

What’s wrong with it: It’s one thing to not know exactly what your cutie might want, but it’s another to throw in the towel entirely. “Gift cards are too impersonal and disappointing,” says Borkowsky. “There’s no actual gift, yet you know how much someone spent. It’s like saying, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day, honey — I got you a price tag!’” Any gift for a service or store your partner doesn’t already frequent could be read as your attempt to change the person to your pleasing.

A simple solution: Take the money, reread our suggestions above, and give gift-giving your best shot. Or, to earn bonus points, call your honey’s best pal and ask what to get — that will make a great impression on many levels.

Freelance writer Laura Gilbert contributes to The Knot, Health, Maxim, and Stuff.

Bank of America Declared Live Customer Dead for 3 Years?

2012-02-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

Arthur Livingston, of Prosperity, S.C., may feel prosperous and alive, but his credit report says, "File not scored because subject is deceased."

That's because Livingston's bank, Bank of America, has been reporting him as deceased to the three major credit agencies since May 2009, he said.

Bank of America has still not resolved the issue, even after media attention, causing headaches for Livingston, 39, and his family in South Carolina.

A regional manager of a chemical company, Livingston, discovered the dilemma when he tried to obtain a loan from a mortgage company in October. The problem may have begun when Livingston, who said he has been a Bank of America customer for 14 years, sold his home in May 2009.

Five months since he discovered the problem, Bank of America still does not have a solution, and his mortgage company has not been able to obtain his credit score to give him a loan for his new home, which he said is the "major problem" with being "deceased." He also fears the inactivity on his credit will negatively affect his credit score.

A spokeswoman for Bank of America told ABC News on Thursday said the company is working with Livingston directly to "resolve this issue as quickly as possible."

Livingston said he regularly pays off his credit card bill in full, including $2,000 to $4,000 in travel expenses for work. But none of that, he fears, is being recorded on his credit record.

"[Bank of America] is well aware that the account is very active on a daily basis," he said.

That has been "frustrating" for Livingston and his family's plan for their new home, which was supposed to begin construction from mid-December. He was hoping the home would be half finished by now.

"It's been a complete waste of time," he said of the "inexcusable" mistake.

He, his wife, son and daughter, 8 and 5, respectively, have been living in a rental home while they wait. Construction of the home is estimated to take four to six months, weather pending. The Livingstons had hoped to move into their new home by April.

"Obviously, that's not going to be remotely possible," he said.

Livingston has done everything from talk to his local branch to emailing Bank of America's CEO Brian Moynihan two weeks ago, only to have company representatives tell him his issue has been bounced around or "escalated."

"I'm not trying to be overdramatic," he said. "I'm not legal-seeking. I've been patient for 90 days."

That's when he contacted the local television station, WISTV-10. When the news station aired a segment about him on Tuesday, a company representative said it would contact him directly. He heard from the bank on Thursday, when he said a representative said she wanted to "touch base" with him and that the right people were trying to resolve the issue.

"It's inexcusable. She's making it sound like now it can be a quick fix. It should have been a quick fix three and half months ago," he said. "I've really reached my limit."

Victor Searcy, director of fraud operations for IDentity Theft 911, said one possible reason for the mix-up is Livingston's name could be common, and Bank of America may have mixed up his account with another one associated with a deceased person.

"Regardless of the situation, it shouldn't take 100 days to investigate and clear," Searcy said. "He can obviously present identification and appear in person to provide 'proof of life.'"

Tom Quinn, credit scoring expert with Credit.com, said most credit scoring systems have logic that prevents a score from being generated when a credit report is requested if there is any indication of a deceased status.

Once a bank reports a customer deceased to the credit bureaus, until the code that indicates a deceased status is removed no credit score will be generated when that consumer's report is requested, he said.

"Just another good reason why consumers should periodically check their credit report for accuracy and follow the disputing-inaccurate-information process if they find this kind of inaccurate information on the file," he said.

Livingston, who has two checking accounts, a savings account, and two college savings tuition plans for his children, said he plans no longer to be a Bank of America customer after the issue is resolved. He is staying with the bank until then.

He fears worse treatment if he is no longer a customer, though, he said, "I don't know how they could give me any less attention."

While his friends first joked about the situation, they now sympathize.

"It's gone on so long, it's comical but not funny," he said.

Meanwhile, he said, his wife is "completely stressed out."

"It's a helpless feeling. It has taken a toll on both on us because we were hoping to start building a house," he said. "We knew we were going to move eventually before we started building. But once we started building, we had no idea that this was going to happen."

Kick-Start Your Diet: 8-Step Plan

2012-02-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

1. First, there must be a plan for food intake - aka your diet. If you eat haphazardly throughout the day, then I honestly can't help you. However, if you're using one of the eDiets food plans, then you can easily determine the amount of calories you take in per day, as well as the ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fats. In fact, all that work is already done for you by eDiets.

This is vital because you need to know what you're consuming in order to manipulate your program; you can't make wild guesses.

2. You must have a workout plan that includes weight training,cardiovascular exercise and flexibility. The number of workouts need not exceed five days of cardio (no more than an hour) and three to four days of weight training, unless you're a competitive athlete.

3. Make sure you know and record your scale weight and measurements. Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing wrong with weighing yourself once per week. Even if you get a body composition test (also called body fat tests), you'll still have to step on a scale.
4. Remain on the program for three weeks and don't make any changes at all. If you start reducing food or increasing activity before the three-week point, you might sabotage your efforts. It's important to have a clear starting point.

Some people stay on a specific program for months and never make a change - that's insanity. After three weeks, there is absolutely no reason you shouldn't have some degree of fat loss.

If you're losing up to 1 to 2 pounds per week, you're on the right track. Even a bit less is fine.

If you haven't lost weight, it's time to make a change.

5. At this point, I do not recommend adding more activity and manipulating calories. Do one or the other - not both. It's vital to have an understanding of what's working. The change in parameters needs to be tightly controlled. Reduce your daily caloric intake by 150 (assuming it does not fall below 1,200 calories).

Here comes the tricky part. In some cases, you might not be eating enough, so calories would need to actually increase. You can't work out six days per week for 90 minutes and take in 1,200 calories per day. You most likely won't lose fat - the body will rebel. This is one of the reasons I always tell members to call eDiets nutrition support and always mention their activity level. We need that information to increase or decrease calories.

I realize you may be confused as to the lowering or increasing of calories, but that's why we're here.
6. If you haven't lost weight in two weeks, I would then increase activity -but do not decrease or increase food intake. Again, exercise tight control - you want to know the formula that works for you.

7. Allow 10 days to pass. Most people are losing fat by now and have the formula for their personal success. It may sound like a hassle, but it's actually not that many weeks when you consider your entire lifetime.

8. If you're still at a plateau, it may be time to shift the ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fats. It's possible that the food plan you're using isn't working efficiently with your biochemistry.
It may take 6-8 weeks to break the plateau (for some), but there is a solution. Yes, it takes some work and effort. However, once you have the formula, you're home free. Always check with your doctor prior to beginning any exercise program.

Steps for Rebuilding Credit

2012-02-01T07:53:00.000-08:00

Know Your Starting Point

Obtain a copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus so that you have a clear understanding of what is says about you and your current credit scores.

Develop A Plan

If there are errors on your credit report, have the credit bureaus investigate and correct them. Set goals and time frames for future major credit endeavors.

Bankruptcy Today – Homeowner Tomorrow

If you recently filed bankruptcy or if you don’t have any open credit, it is necessary to have new positive items being reported on your credit report. Try to obtain several new accounts or sources such a secured credit card, department store cards or being put on someone else’s account as an authorized user. The lower your starting credit scores, the more your need to have positive items reporting.

For secured cards remember the following:

•Never carry over balances as the interest rates are very high.

•Purchase one thing on credit that you would normally pay cash for – say for $20.00 and as soon as the bill arrives write the check and pay the bill. If paid in full during the 25 day grace period no interest is charged. Follow this practice consistently and NEVER miss a payment.

Keep Older Accounts Open

If you already have credit open, keep the accounts you have had for the longest period of time. Even if there were late payments on it in the past, pay it on time now and the length of time it has been open will help your credit.

Make Your Payments On Time

Always.
Pay Down Your Credit Card Balance

Target to have the total amount of outstanding revolving debt at 40%, or less, of the total available credit limits.

Once new positive sources are created, avoid all unnecessary inquiries – don’t fill out any additional applications for credit.

For home purchase or refinance, old collections/judgments/unpaid taxes/ unpaid child support/ must be dealt with. Look at the date of the item, compare to statute of limitations for that item, and plan a strategy to address each.

People Who Quit Their Jobs and Made Millions

2012-01-31T13:13:00.000-08:00

People Who Quit Their Jobs and Made Millions

By Michelle Fox

CNBC – Fri, Jan 27, 2012 3:15 PM EST

Share82EmailPrint......Have you ever wished you could just quit your job and follow your dream? While reality gets in the way for many, there are some who have taken the chance and ditched their steady paychecks in order to turn their business ideas into reality.

Success is by no means guaranteed, but for the lucky ones the decision to say “I quit” has been handsomely rewarded. With hard work and determination, they’ve been able to turn their ideas into booming businesses.

The following people quit their jobs and went on to make millions, whether it was creating personal wealth or revenue for their company.

Shep and Ian Murray, Vineyard Vines

Photo: Vineyard VinesBrothers Shep and Ian Murray were miserable sitting behind desks at their corporate jobs in Manhattan. So in 1998, Shep Murray, an advertising account executive, and Ian Murray, who worked at a small public relations firm, quit their jobs within 10 minutes of each other. They took cash advances on their credit cards and, despite being told how “dumb” their idea was, started Vineyard Vines — a tie company based on Martha’s Vineyard. Or, as the brothers like to say, they decided to trade in their business suits for bathing suits by selling ties so they wouldn’t have to wear them.

At first they sold their ties one at a time out of their backpacks, on the beach, on boats and in bars. They sold out of 800 ties within the first week. They quickly re-ordered, paid off their debt and moved into their first office. More than a decade later, the business is now an entire clothing line.

There are now 18 freestanding Vineyard Vine retail stores around the country, and the line can be found in about 500 stores. The company is projecting about $100 million in sales for 2011.

Rick Wetzel and Bill Phelps, Wetzel’s Pretzels

Photo: Wetzel's PretzelsRick Wetzel and Bill Phelps were working for Nestle when the concept for Wetzel’s Pretzels was born. The two were on a business trip when Wetzel told Phelps about an idea his wife had — to make big, soft pretzels to sell at the mall. That night, they sat at a bar and drew out their business plan on napkin.

Wetzel sold his Harley Davidson to help raise funds for the fledgling business, which they started in their spare time. They brought in a partner to help create the recipe in Phelps’ kitchen, and when it came time to open shop they persuaded a mall landlord to come to the house to try their creation. The landlord liked what he tasted and rented Wetzel’s Pretzels its first store.

That was 1994. About a year later, Wetzel and Phelps got their lucky break when they were offered a severance package from Nestle. They opened up several more stores before deciding to franchise in 1996. There are now 250 stores nationwide, with locations set to open in Japan and India this year. System-wide sales are more than $100 million and same-store sales were up 9 percent in 2011.

Terry Finley, West Point Thoroughbreds

Photo: West Point ThoroughbredsTerry Finley was finishing his military service in 1990 when he and his wife, Debbie, bought a $5,000 horse. The horse, named Sunbelt, won its first race, and Finley was hooked. He quit his insurance job and took a chance on his passion. Armed with credit cards and personal savings, he started West Point Thoroughbreds with his wife.

“Taking what you love to do and making a profession out of it is so much better than just working to make a living,” Finley says .

West Point Thoroughbreds now buys 20 to 25 horses a year, forming groups of investors who can profit when the horses win, breed and sell. Since 2007, its horses have won more than 20 percent of their races, with purses totaling more than $16 million and counting. Annual sales are near $7 million.

Dana Sinkler and Alex Dzieduszycki, Terra Chips

Photo: Hain CelestialDana Sinkler and Alex Dzieduszycki were working for star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten at his four-star restaurant, Lafayette, in New York when they decided to strike out on their own and start a catering business. They were looking to create a signature dish to serve at the bar, since it’s the place people first visit at a party. But they wanted something different from the elaborate crudité platters that were popular at the time. So in 1990, they experimented with frying different vegetable roots in the kitchen of Sinkler’s tiny apartment and struck gold.

The vegetable chips were a hit, and soon the pair brought Terra Chips into stores. In 1995, a private equity group bought 51 percent of the company, and in 1998 Hain Celestial bought Terra Chips as part of an $80 million bundle deal that included three other companies. At the time, Dzieduszycki says, Terra Chips had $23 million in annual sales.

Sinkler and Dzieduszycki have moved on to new ventures. Sinkler has started a new restaurant called Hubee D’s. Dzieduszycki began Julian’s Recipe, a frozen waffle line.

Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan, Method

Photo: MethodAdam Lowry was working as a climate scientist and Eric Ryan was in advertising when they decided to leave their jobs to develop the environmentally friendly cleaning product company, Method. At the time there weren’t many choices when it came to cleaning products that didn’t contain harsh chemicals. So the two childhood friends did their research, and Lowry even mixed chemicals in the sink of their apartment. They maxed out their credit cards, scrounged together $200,000 from family and friends and started Method in 2000.

Method has become one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, with over 100 products — from hand soaps to dish soaps to bathroom cleaners. The company has gross revenue north of $100 million.

The 7 Deadly Credit Card Sins

2012-01-26T13:40:00.001-08:00

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..The 7 Deadly Credit Card Sins

By Jeanine Skowronski
Credit cards can be a great asset or a great liability, depending on how a cardholder uses them. While you probably won’t go to hell for committing any of these sins, the financial situation you will find yourself in afterwards can certainly cause some pain to your pocketbook and damage your credit score. Read on to find out the seven deadly credit mistakes you should avoid at all costs.

Gluttony: Bumping Up Against Your Credit Limit

Just because your issuer awarded you a $6,000 credit limit doesn’t mean you should max the card out. For starters, those who aren’t able to pay off their balances in full increase the likelihood of winding up in debt, since they’ll be subject to the interest on their purchases. Secondly, bumping up against your credit limit is likely to have a negative overall impact on your credit score.

“The closer you get to your credit limit, the riskier your credit profile is going to look,” says Chris Mettler, founder of CompareCards.com, since it leads to a high credit-to-debt utilization ratio. Mettler says a best practice is to use credit in moderation, using only 15% or less of your total credit at any given time. And yes, you should also pay off all those balances in full by the end of the month whenever possible.

Pride: Not Checking Your Credit Score

You might assume your credit score is in fine standing based upon a presumably stellar payment history, but the truth of the matter is that credit reports can easily contain errors. And the more egregious ones, like inaccurate delinquencies or improper credit limit information, can cost you more than a few points on your accompanying credit score.

As such, consumers should check their credit report at least once a year – especially since you’re entitled to one free copy each year, thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act – or right before you apply for a big loan, to minimize the chance that you’ll encounter any surprises.

Lust: Applying for Too Much Credit

Lucrative sign-on bonuses can certainly be attractive, but that doesn’t mean you should apply for every credit card that’s touting one. Too many credit card inquiries – generated by lenders who are looking to see if you deserve a new line of credit – in a short timeframe can also negatively impact your credit score. Instead, apply for credit as you need it and add a new card to your payment arsenal about once a year until you’ve got three or four you can consistently pay off on time at your disposal.
Greed: Taking Out a Cash Advance

It may seem like an awesome idea to use your credit card to get a cash advance at a casino so you have some cash to gamble with, but in addition to the lousy odds you’ll have in making the money grow, the paper comes with a price.

“You’re going to be charged a significant amount of interest,” Mettler says, estimating that most transactions will carry an interest rate around 23% or higher. As such, it’s best to use a credit card only in instances where the plastic itself can be used to make the purchase… and you can pay back the funds by the subsequent bill’s due date.

Envy: Applying for a Card That’s Out of Your League

Your globe-trotting friend may continuously flash a credit card that grants them access to swanky airport lounges, earns free airfare and avoids foreign transaction fees, but don’t let jealously lead you to sign up for one of your own. Typically, cards of that caliber contain high annual fees that are only worth paying if you travel enough to justify the rewards.

Instead, ask yourself a few questions to figure out what type of credit card is more suitable to your lifestyle. (You'll also want to check that your credit score qualifies you for the account so as not to rack up any unnecessary inquiries we were talking about.) There may be a great rewards card with no annual fee that will look much better with your name on it.

Wrath: Closing All Your Credit Card Accounts

Those who have gotten burned by their plastic may be inclined to cut up all the credit cards in their wallet and close all the accompanying accounts, but it’s best to curb your anger. Closing accounts can negatively influence your credit-to-debt ratio, especially if the one card you’re leaving open – or transferring a balance to – is bumping up against its credit limit.

It’s better to keep the account open, but not use it, since that will keep your credit-to-debt ratio positively intact and not jeopardize the average age of your credit report.

Sloth: Not Checking Your Monthly Credit Card Statements

It can be easy to set up automatic bill pay on your account and then forget all about your credit card, especially in instances where you use it infrequently. However, it’s a bad idea to skip out on checking your monthly credit card statements entirely.

“You can be paying for things you’ve signed up for and forgotten about,” Mettler says, in addition to any fraudulent charges that may appear, courtesy of errors or – worse yet – identity theft.

What the Top 1% of Earners Majored In

2012-01-25T08:40:00.001-08:00

What the Top 1% of Earners Majored In

By ROBERT GEBELOFF and SHAILA DEWAN
New York Times – Mon, Jan 23, 2012 1:16 PM EST

We got an interesting question from an academic adviser at a Texas university: could we tell what the top 1 percent of earners majored in?

The writer, sly dog, was probably trying to make a point, because he wrote from a biology department, and it turns out that biology majors make up nearly 7 percent of college graduates who live in households in the top 1 percent.

According to the Census Bureau's 2010 American Community Survey, the majors that give you the best chance of reaching the 1 percent are pre-med, economics, biochemistry, zoology and, yes, biology, in that order.

Below is a chart showing the majors most likely to get into the 1 percent (excluding majors held by fewer than 50,000 people in 2010 census data). The third column shows the percentage of degree holders with that major who make it into the 1 percent. The fourth column shows the percent of the 1 percent (among college grads) that hold that major. In other words, more than one in 10 people with a pre-med degree make it into the 1 percent, and about 1 in 100 of the 1 percenters with degrees majored in pre-med.

Of course, choice of major is not the only way to increase your chances of reaching the 1 percent, if that is your goal. There is also the sector you choose.

A separate analysis of census data on occupations showed that one in eight lawyers, for example, are in the 1 percent -- unless they work for a Wall Street firm, when their chances increase to one in three. Among chief executives, fewer than one in five rank among the 1 percent, but their chances increase if the company produces medical supplies (one in four) or drugs (two in five). Hollywood writers? One in nine are 1 percenters. Television or radio writers? One in 14. Newspaper writers and editors? One in 62.

Undergraduate Degree / Total / % Who Are 1 Percenters / Share of All 1 Percenters

Health and Medical Preparatory Programs 142,345 11.8% 0.9%

Economics 1,237,863 8.2% 5.4%

Biochemical Sciences 193,769 7.2% 0.7%

Zoology 159,935 6.9% 0.6%

Biology 1,864,666 6.7% 6.6%

International Relations 146,781 6.7% 0.5%

Political Science and Government 1,427,224 6.2% 4.7%

Physiology 98,181 6.0% 0.3%

Art History and Criticism 137,357 5.9% 0.4%

Chemistry 780,783 5.7% 2.4%

Molecular Biology 64,951 5.6% 0.2%

Area, Ethnic and Civilization Studies 184,906 5.2% 0.5%

Finance 1,071,812 4.8% 2.7%

History 1,351,368 4.7% 3.3%

Business Economics 108,146 4.6% 0.3%

Miscellaneous Psychology 61,257 4.3% 0.1%

Philosophy and Religious Studies 448,095 4.3% 1.0%

Microbiology 147,954 4.2% 0.3%

Chemical Engineering 347,959 4.1% 0.8%

Physics 346,455 4.1% 0.7%

Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration 334,016 3.9% 0.7%

Accounting 2,296,601 3.9% 4.7%

Mathematics 840,137 3.9% 1.7%

English Language and Literature 1,938,988 3.8% 3.8%

Miscellaneous Biology 52,895 3.7% 0.1%

10 Interview Fashion Blunders

2012-01-24T14:03:00.000-08:00

Any article about what to wear to an interview might well begin with a qualifying statement covering the extremes in various states (New York and California, for example) and industries (technology, manufacturing), which are possible exceptions to the normal rules of fashion. But it might surprise you to learn that those extremes have, over the last couple of years, begun to move closer to the middle ground.

Nowadays, if you were to ask 100 people their opinion about what to wear to an interview, the majority would answer, "Dress on the conservative side." With that in mind, here are some suggestions on how to avoid fashion blunders.

Anna Soo Wildermuth, an image consultant and past president of the Association of Image Consultants International, says, "Clothes should be a part of who you are and should not be noticed." She cites 10 dressing faux pas to avoid when interview time comes around:

Wild Nail Polish: This tip is for women or men. Extremely long or uncut nails are a real turnoff, too. Your nails should be groomed and neat.

Jangly Jewelry: Don't wear more than two rings per hand or one earring per ear. And no face jewelry or
ankle bracelets allowed.

Open-Toed or Backless Shoes: And mules are a definite no-no. Out-of-date shoes should be thrown out or kept for other occasions.

Bare Legs: Wear stockings, even in humid summer weather. Stockings can be in neutral colors or a fashion color to match your shoes.

Out-of-Date Suits: These have lapels that are too wide (three inches or more) or too narrow (one inch or less). A good tailor can alter lapels. The style for men's jackets is full-body and looser rather than fitted or tight.

Short Skirts: Hemlines should not be more than three inches above the knee. Don't wear capri pants or leggings to the interview.

Leather Jackets for Men or Women: Even leather blazers are not good for interviewing purposes. They look like outerwear.

Turtlenecks for Men: A tie is preferable, at least in the first go-round. At the very least, wear a collared shirt.

Printed or Trendy Handbags: Purses should be conservative and inconspicuous.
Conservative colors in various shades of blue and gray are best. Wearing black to the interview could be viewed as too serious. If you do wear black, make sure another color is near your face to soften the look. Brown is still considered questionable as a business color and probably should be avoided. Change your outfit's look for a second interview by wearing a different color blouse, shirt, scarf or tie.

An interview is not the place to make a fashion statement, though those in the creative/design field and the very famous can be more adventurous. Everyone else should opt for a conservative look. "More and more companies are returning to traditional professional dress," Wildermuth says.

Whatever you wear should accent the fact that you're a professional who's ready to get to work at a new job. Let common sense guide you, and it should be easy to avoid fashion blunders that could damage your chances of getting to the next step in the process. In this market, it is essential that you look good and your appearance is right for the job.

The 5 Best Foods for Flat Abs

2012-01-23T10:13:00.000-08:00

They say that abs are made in the kitchen. If you're working hard toward a six-pack, why not start stocking up on these foods today?

1. Plain or Greek yogurt: We all know that yogurt is good for us, but did you know it's also good for maintaining your flat abs? For a nice mid-section, nutritionist and owner of Essential Nutrition For You Rania Batayneh says to reach for the kind that's plain flavored or Greek. "The probiotic bacteria in most yogurts help keep your digestive system healthy, which translates into a lower incidence of gas, bloating, and constipation, which can keep your tummy looking flat."

Whole grains

2. Whole grains: Set aside the white bread and rice and swap them in for whole grains such as 100-percent whole wheat bread, lentils, and brown rice. "A recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that a calorie-controlled diet rich in whole grains trimmed extra fat from the waistline of obese subjects," registered dietitian Erin Palinski says. "This may be due to the decreased insulin response to whole grains versus refined carbohydrates, making it easier to mobilize fat storage."

Brussels sprouts

3. Cruciferous vegetables: That means, broccoli, brussels sprouts, asparagus, peppers, and yellow beans, which contain vitamins A, C, and K, as well as folate, beta-carotene, calcium, magnesium, and fiber, Batayneh says.

Monounsaturated fats

4. Monounsaturated fats: New research indicates that a diet high in monounsaturated fats like olive oil can help us lose some of that belly fat, even without changing calorie intake or adding in additional exercise, Palinski says.
Vinegar

5. Vinegar: A Japanese study found that the substance that gives vinegar its sour taste and strong odor might fight fat. "The study found that in overweight individuals who consumed 1 or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar daily for 12 weeks had significantly lower body weight, BMI, visceral (belly) fat, and waist circumference than the control group that didn't consume any vinegar," Palinski says. "Researchers feel this may be due to vinegar's acetic acid, which may switch on genes that pump out proteins that break down fat."

4 Bad Habits that Are Making You Sick

2012-01-19T13:23:00.000-08:00

By Reader's Digest Magazine

Posts .By Reader's Digest Magazine

Healthy Living – Tue, Jan 17, 2012 10:18 AM EST
What happens when you don't sleep enough, skip breakfast, don't exercise, or hold grudges? Find out how these behaviors are harming your health.

What happens when I only sleep five hours?

The inside story: No one knows for sure why sleep is necessary, but there's no doubt that getting too little throws a wrench into your body's works. For example, studies show that a sleep debt lowers levels of the hormone leptin, which helps keep your appetite under control. Implication: Sleep too little, and there's a good chance you'll be soon overeating. Sleep deprivation also boosts levels of stress hormones, which prompt your body to send more glucose into your bloodstream. Too little sleep also makes your body less sensitive to insulin.

But that's just the beginning. Research shows that sleeping too little shuts down production of certain chemicals in the immune system that defend your body against germs. Shortchange yourself on shut-eye and you may want to have a box of tissues and cough medicine handy: A 2009 study found that people who sleep less than seven hours a night are up to three times more likely to develop a cold.

Other studies show that even modest sleep deprivation - cutting back from your usual eight hours a night to six hours, for instance - can turn up levels of chronic inflammation, which increases the risk for many conditions, including heart attacks, strokes, and osteoporosis.

PLUS: 8 Things That Are Making You Fat

Then, there are the immediate effects. When the alarm clock blares you out of a deep sleep, you're apt to start the day in a sour mood. As the day passes, you're also likely to feel dull witted and foggy. Some neurologists believe that one purpose of sleep is to give your brain a chance to build and strengthen the wiring between neurons. Studies show that well-rested people learn new information faster and have sharper memories. Short sleep reduces your reaction time, too, making you at risk for car accidents and other mishaps.

BOTTOM LINE: While some people can get by on relatively little sleep, most of us need seven to eight hours a night. Experts say one sign that you're getting adequate sleep is that you can wake up on time every day without using an alarm clock.

What happens when I skip breakfast?

The inside story: When you wake up after a long night's rest, your body has gone as much as 12 hours without a meal. That means one thing: You need fuel. More precisely, it means there's probably a shortage of glucose in your bloodstream. If you don't eat breakfast and head out the door with low blood sugar, one organ in particular won't be operating at full speed: your brain, which requires a steady flow of blood sugar to run effectively. And even a mild case of low blood sugar can leave you queasy and jittery. You may also feel less sharp-witted. Studies of school children have shown repeatedly that kids who eat breakfast have better memories and learn more than their classmates who don't.

What's more, blowing off breakfast is a set-up for pigging out later on. "Breakfast is important for keeping your appetite under control the rest of the day," says endocrinologist Suma Dronavalli, MD, of the University of Chicago Medical Center. In other words, skip breakfast and by noontime your groaning stomach will convince you to skip the salad and order a Dagwood-size sandwich, instead. Most people more than compensate for the calories they miss at breakfast by overeating at lunch and dinner - especially foods high in saturated fat, the kind that plugs arteries.
Meanwhile, breakfast skippers are also more likely to snack on junk food between meals. One study found that women who usually nixed breakfast were able to take off four pounds - simply by adding a nutritious meal in the morning. Eat breakfast regularly and you'll not only lose weight, but your blood sugar should shape up, too.

BOTTOM LINE: More than three quarters of people who lose weight and keep it off eat breakfast. Sitting down for the morning meal may also make you up to 50 percent less likely to develop insulin resistance, the problem that causes type 2 diabetes.

What happens when I spend the day sitting around?

The inside story: Remember that old saying "the devil finds work for idle hands"? Spending a lazy day on the sofa may not seem evil to you, but your body finds plenty of ways to make trouble with the sugar, or glucose idling in your bloodstream. Taking a walk or getting any other type of physical activity forces muscle cells to soak up glucose, which it uses to produce energy. On a day when you don't give your muscles enough work to do, glucose goes unused. Over time, a sit-around lifestyle encourages two major problems:

* Your body converts some unused sugar to fat. Build up too much and your butt, thighs, and belly will expand. The latter flab depository is the most worrisome; research shows that fat cells around the waistline produce chemicals that cause insulin resistance and low-grade inflammation, which promotes heart disease and other conditions.

* Having lots of glucose lingering in the blood increases levels of dangerous compounds called AGEs that damage nerves and blood cells. That's why high blood sugar causes diabetes complications such as blindness and kidney disease.

Getting up off the sofa and heading out the door for a walk can help you to avoid these fates, of course. Exercise is a reliable fat burner and research shows that physical activity lowers levels of AGEs, too - among many other benefits.

BOTTOM LINE: Sitting around all day may help you get caught up on your favorite cable shows, but it is also a set-up for bad blood sugar, weight gain, and all the problems they can cause.
What happens when I spend the day really angry?

The inside story: There's nothing wrong with getting angry - it's perfectly natural and healthy to get ticked off now and then. Staying angry is another matter altogether: It's terrible for you. Apart from wrecking your mood and alienating others, fuming all day can make it much harder to manage diabetes. Anger is a form of emotional stress, which causes your body to release adrenaline and other related hormones. One effect of these "stress" hormones is to raise blood sugar. Also, stress may make you indulge in bad habits, such as eating junk food, which can make matters worse.

There's more. Letting your anger boil all day can damage your heart. Do you get irked and annoyed now and then, but you're able to shrug it off? No big deal. But scientists now know that clinging to anger raises blood pressure. While that's not a big surprise, a recent Yale study found that people who tend to let their anger stew also have high levels of a substance called endothelin, which is known to trigger heart attacks by causing plaques in the arteries (clumps of fat, cholesterol, and other gunk) to burst open and form blood clots. Other research has found that intense, sustained anger can actually cause an arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat, which can stop your ticker from ticking - permanently.

BOTTOM LINE: Day-long anger can be toxic, so find a way to let it go. Write down your rage in a journal.
If a friend or family member made you mad, tell 'em. Or just go outside and scream - whatever helps you blow off steam.

9 Things You Shouldn't Buy at Grocery Stores

2012-01-17T14:52:00.000-08:00

Grocery stores offer plenty of conveniences to make food-buying as simple as possible. Most of us head to the grocery store to pick up fresh produce, meats, cheeses, snacks, and other convenience foods, and you can pick from dozens of brands and generic items that fit your budget. Still, there are a few things you don't want to pick up at your local supermarket. Certain types of produce are full of pesticides and you'll be better off heading to the local farmers market or buying organic. Buying non-grocery items at the supermarket usually means you'll spend much more than the average price in your area.

Here are nine items you shouldn't pick up from the grocery store:
1. Cosmetics and skin care items. Even though many grocery stores are stocked with popular brands of cosmetics and skin care products, you'll probably pay a premium for every item. Head to your nearest chain drugstore, Wal-Mart, or Super Target if you want to stock up on or sample makeup, moisturizer, cleansers, and scrubs.

2. Pre-ground coffee. Some grocery stores offer great prices on coffee beans that you can grind right in the store, but buying pre-ground coffee could put a dent in your grocery budget. The mark-up on pre-ground coffee is relatively high and you could get a much better deal on large coffee cans at your neighborhood big-box store. Remember you can also track down coupons and vouchers for certain brands.

3. Party supplies. As convenient as it is to pick up candles, balloons, and other party supplies for that last-minute get together, you'll end up paying a high price solely out of convenience. Plan to make a pit stop at the local dollar store or party supply store to take advantage of lower prices.

4. Kitchen appliances. Whether you're in the market for a new toaster, blender, or food processor, do your homework and track down a great price on kitchen appliances online. Grocery stores typically carry a very small stock of these items and you probably won't even find a quality brand. Stick with big-box stores and online merchants for your kitchen appliances and other small electronics.
5. Hardware. Light bulbs, extension cords, nails, and small tools don't come cheap at the grocery store. Again, these are considered to be specialty goods at a grocery store and most will only have a very small inventory of hardware items. Stick with big-box retailers, the dollar store, or even your local hardware store when you need to stock up.

6. Cookware and bakeware. If you're suddenly inspired to cook a banquet-style meal when shopping at the grocery store, make sure you pick up your basic supplies elsewhere. Cookware and bakeware items are usually heavily marked up at the grocery store and you could end up paying almost double the price for your items. Make a list of what you need then head out to a store that has a larger inventory of these specialty items.

7. Some fruits and veggies. PBS put together two lists of fruits and vegetables that are worth buying-and not buying-at the grocery store, based on the level of pesticides and chemicals present in each items. The recommendation is to stick with organic varieties of apples, bell peppers, peaches, strawberries and potatoes. Grocery stores are your best bet for fruits and vegetables like asparagus, sweet peas, eggplant, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, and onions.
8. Gourmet cheese. The deli section of most grocery stores is stocked with pricey items that also have a very short shelf life. If you're looking for cheese, head to the dairy section where you'll find processed varieties for a fraction of the price of the fresh, gourmet options. If it's gourmet cheese you're after, keep an eye out for deals on offerings from daily deal sites at local wine and cheese stores in your area. You can also get better pricing on cheese at your local warehouse club.

9. Name-brand spices. Fresh spices are another gourmet food item that you're probably paying a premium for at the grocery store. Your best bet? The ethnic food markets and local ethnic food stores. Some big-box stores also tend to stock a large spice inventory and will price these at lower price points than your neighborhood grocery store. Consider buying in bulk from the ethnic market to save even more.

Sabah Karimi is a popular Yahoo writer and a Wise Bread guide to groceries rewards cards.

@USNewsMoney

8 Common Credit Myths Debunked

2012-01-16T07:17:00.001-08:00

By Jeanine Skowronski
MainStreet – Fri, Jan 13, 2012 2:03 PM EST

Share21EmailPrint......Credit may be a big part of most consumers’ lives, but that doesn’t mean everyone fully understands the industry.

“For many people, credit is a weird thing,” says Todd Albary, CEO of credit education site Quizzle.com. He believes many consumers are intimidated by the notion that there is a “secret system used to generate a score that follows you all over the place.”

In an attempt to help you become more credit savvy in 2012, we spoke to experts to clear up some common misconceptions about credit cards and credit scores.

Myth: Paying on Time Guarantees a Good Score

Paying your bills on time is an important component to your credit score, but it’s not a surefire way to a perfect score, especially if you’re prone to bumping up against your credit limits before making a payment.

In addition to payment history, “credit bureaus see the balance on your last statement,” says Adrian Nazari, CEO of Credit Sesame. If this balance is extremely high, it can negatively affect your credit utilization ratio – the amount of credit you are using versus the amount of credit you have available to you – and can cost you some points in that category.

This is why it’s a good idea to “pay [your issuer] a few days ahead of your credit card statement date,” Nazari says, which will ensure a low balance gets reported to the bureaus each month.

Myth: Carrying a Balance Helps Build Credit

The credit bureaus are privy to your payment history and the balance on your monthly credit card bill, “but they don’t know if you’re paying interest or not,” Nazari says. This means deciding to pay the minimum each month isn’t going to do much more than cost you money, especially if you’re carrying a particularly high annual percentage rate. The lesson? Don’t forgo payments just to carry a balance month to month.

Myth: All Credit Scores Are the Same

Most consumers are probably familiar with the FICO scoring model, which calculates your score on a scale of 300 to 850, but the truth is there are many other credit score models available to consumers and the lenders who service them. Pulling one or another isn’t going to guarantee that you’re going to see the same score that the lender does.

“Many of the scores calculated for and used by lenders are not available to consumers,” says Susan Papp, a spokeswoman for credit card comparison site Credit Donkey. “Consumers unaware of the variety of scores may purchase a score believing it is their ‘true’ score and when in reality the score that lenders are seeing is quite different.“

This is why it is important to pay more attention to the information on your credit report (as opposed to its accompanying score) and the risk level that the service you are using to view the information assigns you.

Myth: Your Income Affects Your Score

People tend to assume that the more money they make, the higher their credit score will be, but that’s not the case. While it’s true your income may affect your ability to pay your bills on time, it has no bearing on your credit score, Albary says.

Your income can, however, influence a lender’s decision to approve you for a loan. This is because lenders often compare the income you’ve listed on your application to the debts listed on your credit report in an attempt to judge your ability to make monthly payments.

Myth: You Should Cut Up the Cards You Don’t Use

Those who have accumulated significant debt may be inclined to close credit card accounts as they pay them down, but doing so may hurt your score – in a few ways.

“You risk lowering your credit utilization ratio,” Nazari says. Instead of cutting up unused cards if customers consistently bump up against their credit limits, Nazari adds, it is better to keep your cards open and restrict use to one or two small payments a year to keep your utilization ratio intact and your payment history stellar.

Myth: Using Only Cash Will Help Your Score

Sorry to break it to you, but consumers have to use credit to build credit. Credit scores are a way for lenders to predict whether you will pay back money you’ve borrowed, and one of the best ways to demonstrate your creditworthiness is to show you’ve paid off some type of debt before. Sticking to cash only may seem like the responsible thing to do, but it won’t help you establish a payment history with lenders. This can be problematic when you need to buy a big-ticket item such as a car or house.

“If you don’t have or use credit, you may have no credit history at all, and if you do, your credit score won’t be as good as someone who consistently demonstrates responsible use of credit over time,” Albary says.

Myth: A Store Card Will Boost Your Score

If you’re looking to build credit, you’re better off adding a card backed by a major credit card issuer than a store card being advertised at the point of purchase. While credit bureaus don’t award extra points for taking out a line of credit from a big bank, store cards typically have lower limits than traditional credit cards, Nazari says. This can lead to a higher utilization ratio if it’s among one of the only cards you have in your arsenal.

Myth: Paying Off Debt Will Instantly Change Your Score

Getting up to date on delinquent accounts is certainly a good idea, but a score of 580 isn’t going to turn into a 700 overnight no matter what you do.

“Negative information on your credit report that is accurate can only be removed over time,” Papp says. “For example, credit delinquencies will stay on your credit report for seven years and bankruptcy information will stay on your credit report for 10 years.”.

.

'Stress in America' study released by American Psychological Association

2012-01-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

About one third of all American adults are taking care of their ill or disabled relatives, the National Alliance for Caregiving estimates, and that number is expected to grow as more people find themselves sandwiched between their own young kids and their rapidly-aging parents. Obviously, it's a stressful situation, but according to the American Psychological Association's latest report on stress, it's even tougher than most people think. Caregivers (who are usually women) are more likely to report stress than the general population -- and they're more likely to suffer from chronic illness themselves, even though they're the ones taking care of people who are chronically ill.

Related: Can your kids 'catch' your stress?

In the newly released report, "Stress in America: Our Health at Risk," 1,226 U.S. residents ranked their stress levels and discussed their beliefs about stress and health. While the average stress rating dropped slightly since 2010 -- from 5.4 to 5.2 on a 10-point scale -- 39 percent of respondents said that their stress levels had increased over the past year, and 44 percent said that theirs had increased over the past five years. Meanwhile, just 29 percent of respondents said that they thought they were doing an "excellent" or "very good" job managing or reducing their stress levels.

Do you have symptoms of stress?

.But what's causing the stress? According to the report, money (75 percent), work (70 percent), and the economy (67 percent) top the list, though the severity depends on where you live. People in the East were more stressed about money, relationships, and job stability than those in the West, and those in the South were most concerned about family responsibilities.

Numerous studies have shown the link between stress and chronic illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and depression. And those who care for people with chronic illnesses, ironically, are more likely -- 82 percent, compared to 61 percent for non-caregivers -- to develop chronic illness themselves. They also tend to manage their stress in less-healthy ways, like smoking (20 percent, compared to 10 percent of non-caregivers), and 55 percent of caregivers surveyed admitted that they felt "overwhelmed" by the amount of care their aging or ill family member required.

"We are caught in a vicious cycle where our stress exceeds our own definition of what is healthy, and those who are already living with a chronic illness report even higher levels of stress," psychologist Norman B. Anderson, the American Psychological Association's CEO and executive vice president, said in a statement. "Given the persistent nature of our stress and the serious physical health consequences associated with it, stress has the potential to become the country’s next public health crisis."

Some ways of coping with stress are healthier than others. Here are five things to try:

1. Exercise. It can help stress-proof your brain, so that when you're in a stressful circumstances, your brain will be less reactive. But don't force yourself to go through a workout that you hate -- that can trigger your body to release stress hormones that undermine the positive effect of the exercise.

2. Don't diet. Instead of eating because you're stressed (ice cream! Chocolate!), try to eat only when you're hungry -- and pay attention to the foods you're eating. Savoring your meals makes more of a difference -- and causes less physical and psychological stress -- than dieting.

3. Get enough sleep. Your ability to combat stress gets lowered if you don't get enough sleep. If you have trouble sleeping, a hot bath taken 90 minutes before bedtime can help. Our bodies need to be relatively cool in order to achieve that slow-wave sleep that we really need. Soaking in a hot bath elevates your body temperature, and when you get out you cool down rapidly, which helps you slip into a deeper sleep.
4. Try not to be negative. That doesn't mean you need to put on those rose-colored glasses, says Thea Singer, the author of "Stress Less: The New Science that Shows Women how to Rejuvenate the Body and the Mind." Look for the good things in your day and write them down or tell someone about them in order to "bring it into the world" and put things in perspective. Focus on your strengths rather than your weaknesses, do something nice for someone else, set reasonable and attainable goals, and put a positive spin on a negative experience, she suggests.
5. Meditate. Or, at least, remember to breathe deeply. Singer writes that daily meditation can lead to an increase in perceived control which, in turn, decreases stress. Stress gets bad "when we're ruminating, we're worrying, we're obsessing about things and we're not expending any of the physical energy," Singer explains. "It's in heads, but it's our bodies and brains that pay the price."

The 10 Commandments of Wealth and Happiness

2012-01-10T12:25:00.000-08:00

I’ve been doing TV news stories about saving more, spending less, and avoiding debt for more than 20 years. And I’m now financially independent. But unlike most wealthy people you’ve read about online or seen on Oprah, I didn’t get this way overnight, nor did I do it by selling books or advice. I did it the same way you can: one paycheck at a time over many years.

One of my young staffers recently asked if I could condense everything I’ve learned into 10 simple ideas that would serve as a guide to those starting out, starting over, or maybe beginning to realize they’re not where they’d like to be. While certainly a challenge, it’s a worthy one. So here goes: the 10 commandments of achieving financial independence and being happier while you do it …

1. Thou shalt live like you’re going to die tomorrow, but invest like you’re going to live forever.

The ease of making money in stocks, real estate, or other risk-based assets is inversely proportional to your time horizon. In other words, making money over long periods of time is easy – making money overnight is the flip of a coin.

Money is like a tree: Plant it properly, care for it every so often, then wait patiently. Stare at a newly planted tree for 24 hours, and you’ll be convinced it’s not growing. Fixate on your investments the same way, and you could miss out on a game-changer.

The biggest winner in my IRA is Apple stock. I don’t remember exactly when I bought it, but I’m guessing it was in 2002 or 2003. My split adjusted price is around $8/share: As I write this, Apple’s trading at around $300/share, for a gain of 3,800 percent. Had I been listening to CNBC or some other “news” outlet that promotes constant trading, I almost certainly wouldn’t still own it.

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Patience is certainly a virtue when it comes to investing. I invested a bunch of money and built my online portfolio when the Dow was hitting generational lows back in spring 2009. I had no idea where the market was going next. I was every bit as scared as the next guy.

But having lived through similar times before – I was a stockbroker during the market crash of 1987 – and since I’m only in my mid-50s, I was confident the economy would rebound sometime before I died. While the stock market has come back quite nicely since then, in many parts of the country, housing prices haven’t. That’s why I’m now looking for real estate investments. Are you?

In short, enjoy your life to the fullest every day – live like you’re going to die tomorrow. But since you’re probably not going to die tomorrow, plant part of your money in quality stocks, real estate or other investments; then hold onto them. Don’t ignore your investments entirely – sometimes fundamental things change that indicate it’s time to move on – but don’t act rashly. Patience pays.

2. Thou shalt listen to thine own voice above all others.

My job as a consumer reporter has included listening to countless sad stories about nice people being separated from their money by people who weren’t so nice. While these stories run the gamut from real estate deals to working at home, they all start the same way: with a promise of something that seems too good to be true.

And they all end the same way: It is. Just last week, I helped someone who was about to lose money by applying for a government grant.

If someone promises they can make you 3,000 percent in the stock market, they’re either a fool for sharing that information or a liar. Why would you send money to either one? When you hear someone promising a simple solution to a complex problem, stop listening to them and start listening to your own inner voice. You know there’s no pill that’s going to make you skinny. You know the government’s not handing out free money for your small business. You know you can’t buy a house for $300. Stop listening to commercials and start listening to yourself.

3. Thou shalt covet bad economic times.

Wealth is realized when the economy is booming, but that’s not when it’s created. Wealth is created when times are bad, unemployment is high, problems are massive, everybody’s freaking out, and there’s nothing but economic misery on the horizon.

Would you rather buy a house for $400,000, or $200,000? Would you rather invest in stocks when the Dow is at 12,000 or 7,000?

Obviously, nobody wants one in 10 Americans to be out of work. But the cyclical nature of our economy all but assures that this will happen periodically. If you’re one of the 90 percent who still has a job, this is the time you’ve been saving for. Stop listening to all the Chicken Littles in the media: The sky isn’t falling. Get busy – put your cash to work and create some wealth.

4. Thou shalt not work.

MSN Money’s Liz Pulliam Weston recently wrote a great story called Pretend You Won the Lottery. She asked her Facebook fans to describe what they would do if they won the lottery. From that article:

Most of the responses had a lot in common. People overwhelmingly wanted to:
•Pay off all their debts.

•Help their families.

•Donate more to charity.

•Pursue their passions, including travel.

Note that these goals are largely achievable without winning the lottery. And that was her point: Listing what you’d like to do if money were no object puts you in touch with the way you’d really like to spend your life.

My philosophy takes this concept a step further: When it comes to work, you should try to do something that you regard as so fulfilling that you’d do it even if it didn’t pay anything. In other words, the word “work” implies doing something you have to do, not something you want to do. You should never “work.”

I’ve chosen to spend nearly all of my adult life in warm climates – I lived in Arizona for 10 years and have now lived in Fort Lauderdale for nearly that long. Why? Here’s what I’ve always said: “You already spend a third of your life sleeping. Why spend another third of it freezing your tail off?”

No offense to you Northerners. I realize some people enjoy the cold. The point is that if you’re going to spend a huge part of your life working, don’t fill that time with what makes you the most money. Fill it with what makes you the most fulfilled. I made more money in 1990 managing a branch office for a Wall Street investment firm than I will this year. But I feel a lot less slimy (no offense to stockbrokers) and lot more fulfilled. You can’t put a price tag on that.

5. Thou shalt not create debt.

I’m always getting questions about debt. “Should I borrow for this, that, or the other?” “What’s an acceptable debt level?” “Is there such a thing as good debt?”

There’s way too much analysis and mystery around something that isn’t at all mysterious. Paying interest is nothing more or less than giving someone else your money in exchange for using theirs. Rule of thumb: To have as much money as possible, avoid giving yours to other people.

Don’t ever borrow money because you want something you can’t afford. Borrow money in only two circumstances: when your back is against the wall, or when what you’re buying will increase in value by more than what you’re paying in interest.

Debt also affects you on a level that can’t be defined in dollars. When you owe money, in a very real way you’re a slave to that lender until you pay it back. When you don’t, you’re much more the master of your own destiny.

There are two ways to achieve financial freedom: Have so much money that you can’t possibly spend it all (something exceedingly difficult to do) or don’t owe anybody anything. Granted, since you still have to eat and put a roof over your head, living debt-free doesn’t offer the same level of freedom as having more money than you can possibly spend. But living debt-free isn’t a matter of luck or even hard work. It’s a simple choice, available to everyone.

6. Thou shalt be frugal – but not miserly.

The key to accumulating more savings isn’t to spend less – it’s to spend less without sacrificing your quality of life. If going out to dinner with your significant other is something that you enjoy, not doing it may create a happier bank balance, but an unhappier you – a trade-off that is neither worthwhile nor sustainable. Eating an appetizer at home, then splitting an entree at the restaurant, however, maintains your quality of life and fattens your bank account.

Finding ways to save is important, but avoiding deprivation is just as important. In short, diets suck.

Whether they’re food-related or money-related, if they leave you feeling deprived and unhappy, they’re not going to work. But there’s a difference between food diets and dollar diets: It’s hard to lose weight without depriving yourself of the foods you love, but it’s easy to reduce spending without depriving yourself of the things you love.

Cottage cheese isn’t a suitable substitute for steak, but a used car is a perfectly acceptable substitute for a new one. And the list goes on: watching TV online rather than paying for cable, buying generics when they’re just as good as name brands, using house-swapping to get free lodging, downloading books from the library instead of Amazon… No matter what you love, from physical possessions to travel, there are ways to save without reducing your quality of life.

7. Thou shalt not regard possessions in terms of money, but time.

You go to the mall and spend $150 on clothes. But what you spent isn’t just $150. If you earn $150 a day, you just spent a day of your life.

Almost every resource you have, from physical possessions to money, is renewable. The amount of time you have on this planet, however, is finite. Once used, it can never be replaced. So when you spend money – especially if you earned that money by doing something you had to do instead of what you wanted to do – you’re spending your life.

This doesn’t mean that you should never spend money. If those clothes are all that important to you, by all means, buy them. But if it’s really not going to make you that much happier, don’t. Think of it this way: If you can live on $150 a day, every time you forgo spending $150, you just get one day closer to financial independence.

8. Thou shalt consider opportunity cost.

This is related to the commandment above. Opportunity cost is an accounting term that describes the cost of missing out on alternative uses for that money. For example, when I said above that not spending $150 on clothes puts you $150 closer to independence, that was a gross understatement. Because when you save $150, investing those savings gives you the opportunity to have more savings. If you’re earning 10 percent, $150 invested for 20 years will ultimately make you $1,000 richer. If you can live on $150 a day, ignoring inflation, you can now retire nearly a week sooner, not just a day.

One of the exercises in my most recent book, Life or Debt, is to go around your house and identify things you bought but probably didn’t want or need. A quick way to do this is to find things you haven’t touched in months. These were probably impulse buys. Add up the cost of these things, multiply them by 7, and you’ll arrive at the amount of money you could have had if you’d invested that money at 10 percent for 20 years rather than wasting it.

And when you do this, consider the stuff in your closet, the stuff in your garage, the rooms of your house that you heat and cool but don’t use, the new cars you’ve bought when used would have worked. The truth is that most of us have already blown the opportunity to achieve financial independence much sooner. Maybe now’s the time to stop.

9. Thou shalt not put off till tomorrow what thou can save today.

Shortly after I began my television career in 1988, I went on set with a pack of smokes, a can of soda, and a candy bar. I explained that these things represented the kind of money most of us throw away every day without thinking about it – at the time, about $5. But compound $5 at 10 percent for 30 years, and you’ll end up with about $340,000. That’s why learning to save a few bucks here and there and investing it is so important.

Fortunes are rarely made by investing big bucks, nor are they often made late in life. Wealth most often comes from starting small and early.

In short, there are limited ways to get rich. You can inherit, marry well, build a valuable business, successfully capitalize on exceptional talent, get exceedingly lucky – or spend less than you make and consistently invest your savings over time. Even if you’re on the road to any of the former, why not do the latter?

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s stuff.

If this commandment sounds familiar, that’s because it resembles the Biblical 10th commandment:

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s. (Exodus 20:17)

Envy may not be the root of all evil, but it is the root of much wasted money. As I’m fond of saying, you can either look rich or be rich, but you probably won’t live long enough to accomplish both. I’ve lived both ways, and trust me: Being rich is way better than using debt to look rich.

We’ll all admit that when on the verge of making a purchase decision, we’re often thinking of what our friends will say when they see it. Normal human behavior? Sure, but it’s not in your best interest, or theirs. Making your friends feel jealous isn’t nice, and feeling envy for other people’s possessions is silly. Possessions have never made anyone happy, nor will they.

Decide what really makes you happy, then spend – or not – accordingly. When your friends make an impressive addition to their collection of material possessions, be happy for them. One of the stupidest expressions ever coined was: “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” When you’re on your death bed, you won’t be thinking about the things you had – you’ll be thinking about the times you had.
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12 Kids' Symptoms You Should Never Ignore

2012-01-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

The wait-and-see approach is fine for some kids' health problems. But not these.

By Kristyn Kusek Lewis

When you become a parent, you earn a medical merit badge of sorts. Whether you're sopping up a goopy nose or extracting a dangling-by-a-thread baby tooth, eventually few things faze you. But sometimes it's tough to tell what warrants a call to your doctor's office: Which temperature actually classifies as a "high fever"? What kind of tummy ache means your child has more than your average stomach bug? And when something truly frightening happens -- say, your child suddenly breaks out in hives -- should you call your pediatrician or head straight to the E.R.?

"Parents should always err on the side of caution and seek immediate medical care when they're worried about something," says Anita Chandra-Puri, M.D., a pediatrician at Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group, in Chicago, and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, to give you more specific guidelines to follow, we talked to top pediatricians about the 12 symptoms that always require medical attention.

Symptom #1: A fever that's 100.4°F or higher in a baby younger than 3 months; higher than 101°F in a baby 3 to 6 months; or higher than 103°F in a child 6 months to 2 years

Pediatricians stress that when fever strikes, the number on the thermometer isn't as important as your child's disposition. The one big exception: infants under 3 months old, who need immediate medical care if fever rises to 100.4°F. "If their fever is caused by a bacterial infection like a urinary-tract infection, it could quickly spread through the body," says pediatrician and Parents advisor Jennifer Shu, M.D., coauthor of Heading Home With Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality. "It's usually just a common virus causing the symptoms, but we have to check it out to be sure." It's important to call your doctor right away; if it's after office hours, be on the safe side and head straight to the E.R. In kids older than 2, fevers aren't urgent as long as your child appears to be well hydrated and acting normal. Call your pediatrician for guidance.

Symptom #2: A fever that doesn't go down with treatment, or that lasts more than five days

If you've given your child a fever reducer like acetaminophen or ibuprofen and the number on the thermometer doesn't budge within four to six hours, call your pediatrician. This is a sign that the infection may be too strong for the body to fight off, and your doctor may want to do a thorough examination to determine the cause. A fever caused by a common virus like cold or flu typically goes away within five days. One that hangs on longer -- even when it's low-grade (100.4°F) -- may be caused by an infection like bacterial pneumonia, which requires antibiotic treatment, explains Alanna Levine, M.D., a pediatrician at Orangetown Pediatrics, in Tappan, New York.

Symptom #3: A fever that's accompanied by a stiff neck or headache or a rash that's either bruise-like or looks like tiny red dots

Call your doctor -- these can be signs of meningitis and need immediate attention.

Symptom #4: A rash that resembles a bull's-eye or consists of tiny red dots that don't disappear when you press the skin, or excessive bruising

A ring-shaped rash with a pale spot in the center can signify Lyme disease. Get help right away if you see pinpoint-size spots under the skin, which can signal many serious conditions. Any inexplicable, widespread bruising may be a sign of a possible blood disorder. In addition, a splotchy rash, often a little raised, may be a sign of an allergic reaction. If your child also has difficulty breathing or is agitated or lethargic, she should be checked immediately by a doctor.

Symptom #5: A mole that's new or changing

Keep tabs on your child's moles, especially any that she's had since birth, because those have a higher risk of becoming malignant, says Parents advisor Ari Brown, M.D., a pediatrician in Austin and author of Baby 411. Do a monthly skin check during bathtime. Alert your doctor if you notice a mole that's irregularly shaped, has ragged borders, is not all one color, or is raised. All of these are signs of a potential skin cancer.

Symptom #6: Stomach pain that's on the lower right side, or that's sudden and crampy and comes and goes

If your child has pain on the lower right side, ask him to jump up and down -- if it's excruciating for him to do so, it can be a sign of appendicitis. Although the appendix is on the lower right side of the abdomen, the pain caused by appendicitis can start around the belly button and migrate to the right. "With a normal stomach virus, there's typically fever, then vomiting, then stomachache and diarrhea," says Dr. Brown. "With appendicitis, it's sometimes diarrhea, then abdominal pain, then vomiting, then pain, then fever." If you notice these symptoms, call your doctor -- appendicitis progresses quickly and it's most effectively treated when caught early.

Symptom #7: A headache that occurs in the early morning or wakes her up in the middle of the night, or that's accompanied by vomiting

These could be signs of a migraine. Your doctor can determine the appropriate treatment. Migraines in kids are not dangerous, and tend to run in families. However, morning and middle-of-the-night headaches can also be a signal of something more serious, and that's why you want to see a doctor right away.

Symptom #8: Dry mouth and lips, decreased urination, a flat fontanelle (in an infant), dry skin or skin that stays bunched when you pinch it, or excessive vomiting or diarrhea

These signs are all associated with dehydration and need to be treated fast because dehydration can lead to shock. Call 911 or get to the hospital if you think your child is nearing this stage. Otherwise, call your doc and try to get more fluid into your child.

Symptom #9: Blueness or discoloration around the mouth; labored breathing where you can see your child sucking in his chest and abdomen; or panting, grunting, or a whistling sound when breathing

"Breathing problems are more worrisome when the sounds come from the chest and lungs, not the nose," says Dr. Shu. Critical breathing issues are often due to choking, an allergic reaction, an asthma attack (which can occur in kids as young as a few months old), pneumonia, whooping cough, or croup. Seek help right away or call 911. If it's not obvious that your child is having serious trouble, check his respiratory rate. Count each breath taken in for 30 seconds and then multiply by two. A normal rate is less than 60 for newborns; less than 40 for babies under 1 year; less than 30 for 1- to 3-year-olds; and less than 24 for 4- to 10-year-olds.

Symptom #10: Swollen tongue, lips, or eyes, especially when accompanied by vomiting or itchiness

These often signal a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). Symptoms may include swelling, breathing problems, and severe hives and need immediate attention. Call 911 and, if possible, give your child a shot from an EpiPen or a dose of an antihistamine like Benadryl in the meantime. For less severe reactions, call your doctor and ask about giving an antihistamine to quell symptoms.

Symptom #11: A fall when your child is less than 6 months old, or has obvious neurological changes like confusion or loss of consciousness, or that causes vomiting and/or any damage to the body, such as broken bones

These emergency situations must be addressed by a doctor -- so head to the nearest medical facility. Falls are generally not problematic in kids older than 6 months if they only fall the distance of their height and don't land on anything hard or sharp.

Symptom #12: A cut that gapes open widely enough that you could stick a cotton swab in it, or that doesn't stop bleeding within a few minutes of applied pressure

These are signs that your child needs medical attention (and perhaps stitches, skin glue, a butterfly bandage, or staples). Depending on the severity of the injury, your next step should be to either call 911, go to the E.R., or call your pediatrician. You should also always see your doctor if an animal bites your child or if another child bites your child and breaks the skin.

Texas police kill 8th-grader carrying pellet gun

2012-01-05T07:35:00.000-08:00

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The parents of an eighth grader who was fatally shot by police inside his South Texas school are demanding to know why officers took lethal action, but police said the boy was brandishing — and refused to drop — what appeared to be a handgun and that the officers acted correctly.

The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun that closely resembled the real thing, police said late Wednesday, several hours after 15-year-old Jaime Gonzalez was repeatedly shot in a hallway at Cummings Middle School in Brownsville. No one else was injured.

"Why was so much excess force used on a minor?" the boy's father, Jaime Gonzalez Sr., asked The Associated Press outside the family's home Wednesday night. "Three shots. Why not one that would bring him down?"

His mother, Noralva Gonzalez, showed off a photo on her phone of a beaming Jaime in his drum major uniform standing with his band instructors. Then she flipped through three close-up photos she took of bullet wounds in her son's body, including one in the back of his head.

"What happened was an injustice," she said angrily. "I know that my son wasn't perfect, but he was a great kid."

Interim Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez said the teen was pointing the weapon at officers and "had plenty of opportunities to lower the gun and listen to the officers' orders, and he didn't want to."

The chief said his officers had every right to do what they did to protect themselves and other students even though there weren't many others in the hallway at the time. Police said officers fired three shots.

Shortly before the confrontation, Jaime had walked into a classroom and punched a boy in the nose for no apparent reason, Rodriguez said. Police did not know why he pulled out the weapon, but "we think it looks like this was a way to bring attention to himself," Rodriguez said.

About 20 minutes elapsed between police receiving a call about an armed student and shots being fired, according to police and student accounts. Authorities declined to share what the boy said before he was shot.

The shooting happened during first period at the school in Brownsville, a city at Texas' southern tip just across the Mexican border. Teachers locked classroom doors and turned off lights, and some frightened students dove under their desks. They could hear police charge down the hallway and shout for Gonzalez to drop the weapon, followed by several shots.

Two officers fired three shots, hitting Gonzalez at least twice, police said.

David A. Dusenbury, a retired deputy police chief in Long Beach, Calif., who now consults on police tactics, said the officers were probably justified.

If the boy were raising the gun as if to fire at someone, "then it's unfortunate, but the officer certainly would have the right under the law to use deadly force."

A recording of police radio traffic posted on KGBT-TV's website indicates that officers responding to the school believed the teen had a handgun. An officer is heard describing the teen's clothes and appearance, saying he's "holding a handgun, black in color." The officer also said that from the front door, he could see the boy in the school's main office.

Less than two minutes later, someone yells over the radio "shots fired" and emergency crews are asked to respond. About two minutes later, someone asks where the boy was shot, prompting responses that he was shot in the chest and "from the back of the head."

Administrators said the school would be closed Thursday but students would be able to attend classes at a new elementary school that isn't being used.

Superintendent Carl Montoya remembered Gonzalez as "a very positive young man."

"He did music. He worked well with everybody. Just something unfortunately happened today that caused his behavior to go the way it went. So I don't know," he said Wednesday.

Gonzalez Sr. said he had no idea where his son got the gun or why he brought it to school, adding: "We wouldn't give him a gift like that."

He said he last saw his son around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, when the boy said goodbye before leaving to catch the bus to school. And he said nothing seemed amiss the night before when he, his wife and their son went out for nachos then went home and watched a movie.
Gonzalez Sr. was struggling to reconcile the day's events, saying his son seemed to be doing better in school and was always helpful around the neighborhood mowing neighbors' lawns, washing dogs and carrying his toolbox off to fix other kids' bikes.

Two dozen of his son's friends and classmates gathered in the dark street outside the family's home Wednesday night. Jaime's best friend, 16-year-old Star Rodriguez, said her favorite memory was when Jaime came to her party Dec. 29 and they danced and sang together.

"He was like a brother to me," she said.

SALT LAKE CITY HERO

2012-01-04T14:51:00.001-08:00

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — With a plane circling overhead and police on the ground, Logan McFarland and Angela Atwood ended an intensive four-day manhunt by telling officers, "We give up."

McFarland, 24, and Atwood, 25, surrendered Tuesday in a desolate part of Nevada on suspicion of killing an elderly Utah couple, driving to Nevada in a stolen car, then shooting a woman during a botched carjacking.
The Fairview, Utah, pair were "pretty calm" when they were arrested walking in sagebrush country a few miles south of Oasis, Nev., said Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Jim Stewart.
Rancher and Elko County Commissioner Demar Dahl, also a pilot, said he knew the suspects could be in the area and kept an eye open for them while surveying his cattle herd from the air.

"We flew and looked, and sure enough we found them," Dahl told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "It was just lucky we found them."

The suspects' stolen vehicle had not been located, and police believe it may have broken down in the mountains south of Interstate 80, not far from where they ditched police during a high-speed chase Saturday.
On Sunday, authorities issued an arrest warrant for McFarland in the burglary of the Utah couple's Mount Pleasant home. He was charged the same day.
Authorities suspect McFarland and Atwood are responsible for the killings, and the carjacking and shooting of the West Wendover, Nev., woman, who is recovering at a Salt Lake City hospital, but they had not been formally charged with those crimes.
Federal marshals said they would drop a charge of unlawful flight to let state authorities take over the case.
McFarland has a recent criminal history that includes drug and theft charges, according to the Utah state courts database. He was released Oct. 10 after spending a month in jail for a conviction of theft by receiving stolen property — a supply of copper cables. He was supposed to pay a $500 fine in monthly installments. In August, he was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. That charge was dismissed a month later by prosecutors.

Atwood has some minor offenses listed in court records.

Her parents believe she was an unwilling participant in the crime spree, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. They reacted in joy at the news she was arrested and safe. Neighbors told the AP that the parents, Mike and Denise Atwood, immediately drove to the Elko, Nev., jail.
"I believe that Logan has held her hostage, that he has held her so scared that she hasn't been able to do anything but follow him," Denise Atwood told the newspaper. She said Angela Atwood was engaged to a different man, a former U.S. Marine, and Atwood's relationship with McFarland was unclear.

No phone listing could immediately be found for McFarland's parents.

Police said a witness told them McFarland bragged at a Friday night party about obtaining money and firearms.

Jewelry and other stolen items from the home of the Utah couple, LeRoy and Ann Fullwood, were found in the trunk of the first car the suspects took from the host of the Friday night party, police said.
The items led police in West Wendover to the Fullwoods' home, where the couple were found shot to death Saturday.
The car was ditched about 45 miles away and a stolen Saturn sedan was allegedly used to drive to West Wendover where police say they shot and wounded a woman in an attempted carjacking. A receipt from a fast-food restaurant found in the car indicated the meal was paid for with LeRoy Fullwood's stolen credit card, according to the warrant filed in court Tuesday.

A gray Volkswagen Jetta was then stolen from a motel parking lot. McFarland and Atwood were last seen in the car Saturday, leading police on a 50-mile chase at speeds up to 100 mph before turning off I-80 and fleeing into the hills.

In Mount Pleasant, about 100 miles south of Salt Lake City, people were locking their doors, a neighbor of the Fullwoods, Coleen Oltrogge, said Tuesday.

"People are concerned, worried and upset," Oltrogge said. "There's lots of retired people out here in Mount Pleasant. It's a loving and caring town. This is a real shock to everybody."

LeRoy Fullwood, 70, a retired barber, and his 69-year-old wife, a retired schoolteacher, moved to the town a few years ago and were volunteers at a Mormon temple in nearby Manti, she said.

"They were wonderful, caring and loving," said Oltrogge, a Mount Pleasant city council member. "We're trying to look at any little thing that could cause this — a motive. We just don't know."

Associated Press writer Sandra Chereb in Carson City, Nev., contributed to this report

Top Reasons to Eat Breakfast

2012-01-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

Do you find yourself dipping in and out of consciousness by midmorning? Suddenly, your boss starts to sound like one of the adults from Charles Schulz's Peanuts and, for the love of God, you can't seem to keep your eyes open. The funny thing is, you got plenty of sleep last night, so why are you so tired? Well, if you skipped breakfast, you might have set yourself up for a day of failure.

"Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper," is an old saying that rings true to this day. Often, we ditch the breakfast routine in order to catch an early train or to cut back on the calories. Some even find it hard to will themselves to eat that early in the day. But hear you me, friend: Breakfast is not the enemy.
Skipping breakfast not only completely ignores your body's needs, but it also deprives it of so many positive benefits. Eating later in the day can ruin your body's chances of burning off unnecessary fat, consequently putting yourself at risk for obesity, heart disease, and robbing your brain of intelligence. It really is that serious.
Now, of course, in order to reap all of the benefits of breakfast, which include radiant skin and a better immune system, you can't go shoving breakfast pastries down your throat whilst running out the door. Even sweetened, sugary cereals aren't going grant these benefits. To start the day off right, breakfast should be a complete meal with whole grains, protein, and fiber.

© Istock/IuriiSokolov

Enhance Immune System

To fight the common wintertime colds and flus, you need to sit down and eat your breakfast. A study in the Netherlands showed that eating a substantial breakfast boosts your body's gamma-interferon, a natural antiviral that directly activates immune cells. Skipping breakfast caused a 17 percent drop in gamma-interferon.

© Veer/Msheldrake

Improve Your Skin

Eggs, the incredible and popular breakfast food, do way more than fill you up. No matter how they are prepped, eggs are fantastic for your skin. Lutein, a carotenoid antioxidant found in eggs, helps to preserve the skin's elasticity and protects skin cells from free radical damage. Just one egg a day can boost your lutein levels by 26 percent. There are plenty of other breakfast foods that will do the job as well, like oatmeal, walnut pancakes, and breakfast smoothies.

Keep Yourself Thin

While eating breakfast alone will not help you magically shed the pounds, it may help your emotional relationship with food (and that invariably affects your weight). Prolonged fasting can increase your body's insulin response, which increases fat storage and weight gain. Breakfast also helps to prevent overeating and attempts to sate desperate hunger with quick fixes like doughnuts and vending-machine snacks.

Stabilize Energy Levels

A balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fiber is the key to any healthy breakfast, and eating foods with these components will increase your energy levels. Breakfast replenishes your glycogen stores, which supply muscles with immediate energy. Breakfast was found to supply around 25 percent of people's daily energy expenditure, thus leading to a high-functioning day.
Live Longer

An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but a healthy breakfast may keep the reaper at bay, too. Studies show that people who lived to be 100 years old were consistent breakfast eaters, or consumed breakfast more often than non-breakfast eaters. Also, those who eat breakfast regularly are less likely to develop fatal habits like smoking and excessive drinking. And thanks to all of the benefits of breakfast, the body has an increased chance of warding off disease.

Teen banned from playing after coach’s samaritan act

2011-12-29T07:08:00.000-08:00

By Cameron Smith

This is supposed to be the season of forgiveness and patience. Evidently someone forgot to tell that to the Marmonte League in the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section.

As first reported by the Los Angeles Times, the Marmonte League unilaterally rejected a transfer hardship request submitted by Thousand Oaks (Calif.) High basketball coach Richard Endres on behalf of 17-year-old Derrick "Deejay" Brown, whom Endres has taken under his own legal guardianship. While that might be a completely reasonable decision by a league under normal circumstances, Brown's situation is anything but normal.

The teen, who arrived in Thousand Oaks from Brooklyn, N.Y., was the victim of horrific violence in 2009, when his stepfather attempted to kill both Brown and his mother, Treena Hunter, who are pictured above, by stabbing them in the face.

Brown's past and remarkable ability to forgive his stepfather have been chronicled at length by the New York Daily News and a variety of other media outlets.

With his stepfather in jail, Brown spent a year at South Kent School in Connecticut, then decided he needed to start over, so he moved to Southern California. After a season at Simi Valley (Calif.) Stoneridge Prep, where the Brooklyn native was a boarding student, Brown was left with nowhere to go when Endres learned of his precarious situation.

Without thinking twice, the coach did what he thought was right: He took in a teen in need, regardless of who he was on the court. Now, both the player and coach are being punished for what is virtually universally recognized as a truly samaritan act.

As reported by the Times, the Marmonte League principals didn't even let Endres speak at the hearing set up to decide whether or not to approve a waiver of CIF residency requirements which would allow him to play for Thousand Oaks. While Endres wanted to explain why he became Brown's legal guardian, league principals didn't even want to hear his side of the story.

Earn more, work less: 8 great jobs that escape the rat race

2011-12-27T07:15:00.000-08:00

Yoga teacher and self-titled "Life Stylist" Sadie Nardini advises her clients, "Think huge-small and medium have a lot of competition." That's just what she did when she went from being a broke, harried studio yoga teacher to harnessing technology, streamlining her workload, and earning in a day what she used to make in a week. In 2010, she put in the hours she wanted and netted close to $300,000.

Nardini got her start as a yoga teacher moonlighting after her day job in cubicle land. Eventually, she got fed up with laboring long days for little money doing office work and decided to teach full time. Soon enough, she was teaching 25 classes a week and feeling just as burnt out as before. "I love the scene in 'Finding Nemo' where he swims into the current with the sea turtles and speeds effortlessly toward his goal," she says. "I asked myself, 'How can I be more passive and less active income-wise?'"

Nardini posted free online videos to gain a wider audience. Now she has 25,000 subscribers on YouTube and 40,000 Facebook followers. She started selling DVDs and teaching at large conferences instead of small classes. She branched out into wellness counseling and life coaching. On a practical level, she set up automatic responses on her website and outsourced all of her administrative work.

Nardini says that fear gets in the way of people actually doing something instead of just talking about it. "People often have skills that they doubt anyone will care about. I advised a friend who loved making bracelets to sell them on Etsy. A magazine featured her work and within a month she had earned more money from her bracelets than she had made in a year working an office job."

Here are seven more jobs that offer flexibility, fun, and a good wage:

Massage Therapist

According to the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), the majority of massage therapists work under 27 hours a week. Massage therapist Jenny Adams, who has practiced in Pennsylvania for 20 years, describes the benefits of her career: "I get to wear comfy clothes, set my own hours, and work with wonderful people. Most days I see three to four clients which leaves me plenty of time for other things."

Gyms, doctor's offices, sports teams, and spas all employ massage therapists. Some massage therapists are self-employed and travel to people's homes.

Background requirements:

•300 to 1000 in-class hours (varies state to state). See the AMTA website for info.

•National certification exam for therapeutic massage and bodywork.

•Some states require additional certification.

Earning potential: $60 to $100 per hour

Technical Writer

Are you the only one of your friends who actually reads the manual before powering up a new electronic device? If you are a clear communicator with a good head for technology, you might want to consider a pursuing a career in technical writing-according to the Bureau of Labor Statics, the field is expected to grow by 18 percent between now and 2018.

Technical writers translate technical information supplied by experts into easily understandable language for everyday consumers. They usually work for computer systems and software companies, but could also be employed by engineering or architectural firms or in the medical industry. Many are freelance.

Background requirements:

•Most Technical writers hold a Bachelor's degree in English, Communications, or Journalism.

•Being comfortable working with computer systems is a must and desktop publishing and multimedia software experience is also helpful.

Earning potential: $40 to $75 per hour

Make-up artist

Being a make-up artist involves more than just helping people look pretty. Some create detailed prosthetics for film and television. Top fashion and celebrity make-up artists such as Bobbie Brown have created their own multi-million dollar cosmetics lines.

Background requirements:

•There are no specific requirements for becoming a make-up artist, but you can take courses at a school such as Make-up Designory (MUD), which has campuses in Los Angeles and New York City.

•Some budding make-up artists get their start by working at a department store cosmetics counter or volunteering to do make-up for local theater productions.

Earning potential: Entry level make-up artists earn about $15 per hour, but a Hollywood makeup artist who works on successful films can earn a upwards of a million dollars a year.

Internet Tutor

Internet tutoring covers every imaginable topic and student group: online teachers might help young kids manage homework, do SAT prep with teens, or coach pre-meds in organic chemistry depending on their expertise. One of the larger and more reputable online tutoring companies is Tutor.com. This is a great job for teachers, teachers-in-training, or graduate students interested in earning extra cash or creating a freelance career.

Background requirements:

•A degree in teaching or another advanced degree is a big plus.

Earning potential: $15 to $100 per hour depending on educational background.

Social Media Consultant

This business is still the "Wild West" of the publicity world, and one that you can break into with little formal training--if you have the know-how and ambition. Helping companies market themselves using social media tools is an exploding field. Today, most companies and organizations, large and small, need to promote themselves on the Internet and many are hiring savvy media professionals to help them do so.

Most freelance social media consultants start by building their own presence on the web through blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools. You can also offer to publicize a small business or other enterprise for free to gain experience.

Background requirements:

•A Bachelor's degree in Marketing or Communications can be helpful but not a necessity since the field is changing rapidly.

Earning potential: $20 to $300+ per hour depending on experience and success rate.

Private chef

Private chefs work in client's homes or deliver meals to them. Some specialize in a particular cuisine or cook for people with special nutritional needs.

Restaurant chef Kate Duncan had a promising career cooking at a hip bistro in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, but, as she puts it, "no life." The hours were brutal--she often fell into bed after 2 am and barely made ends meet financially. When a friend suggested she apply for a job cooking for an affluent family who likes to entertain, she jumped at the chance. She now makes more money working 30 hours a week than she used to in 65, enjoys a social life, gets to the gym every day, and generally finds the change "amazingly positive."

Background requirements:

•Cooking in a restaurant offers great experience, but some private chefs get a job straight out of a one- or two-year culinary school program.

•Gaining experience in the catering business is another path.

Earning potential: $25 to $50+ per hour

Personal trainer

Personal trainers work one-on-one with clients at a gym or home to evaluate and improve their fitness. The Bureau of Labor Statistics points out that the aging Baby Boomer generation is driving up the demand for fitness workers and the field is projected to grow by about 29% over the next decade.

Background requirements:
•Trainers need to be certified. The National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine both offer a wealth of information on certification and careers in the fitness industry.

•Additional training in yoga or Pilates can enhance one's career opportunities.

Earning potential: $30 to $100 per hour

The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012

2011-12-26T08:48:00.000-08:00

Better weather, affordable housing, and plenty of interesting things to do are just a few reasons people move to a new place when they retire. Whether you want to spend your golden years watching the sun set over the water or taking on a second career, we've identified an ideal place. Using data from Onboard Informatics, U.S. News selected 10 key attributes that many people look for in a retirement spot, along with a city that excels in meeting each need. Here are 10 excellent places to retire in 2012.

Pleasant year-round weather: Flagstaff, Ariz.

Thinkstock

Flagstaff's high altitude and low humidity generally lead to a pleasant four-season climate throughout most of the year. To select a place with great year-round weather, we used National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data to find places with the most sunny days. Among the sunniest cities, we looked for places where the temperature seldom rises above 90 degrees. The sun shines in Flagstaff an average of 78 percent of the year, according to NOAA data, but unlike most other sunny climates, the temperature only rises above 90 degrees an average of three days per year. Flagstaff can receive a significant amount of snow in the winter, but the prolific sunshine often quickly melts accumulation. "There is a lot of sunshine and no extremes of temperature," says Karen Haskins, 71, a retiree who moved to Flagstaff from Amherst, N.H., in 2007. "Summer and early fall are really pleasant. Winters are cold and you do get snow, but because of the intensity of the sun, it melts quickly."
Affordable mountain town: Boone, N.C.

Pricey Aspen and Vail may be beyond your budget, but that doesn't mean you can't spend your retirement years appreciating spectacular mountain views or making runs on the slopes. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Boone boasts three nearby ski resorts as well as trails for cross country skiing, winter hiking, and snowshoeing. Residents of this small town of 14,000 also have access to one of the country's most scenic roads, the Blue Ridge Parkway. A bonus: Boone provides residents with a free local bus service, AppalCART, and access to many of the amenities at Appalachian State University. In 2010, the median home sale price was $215,250.

Water views on a budget: Traverse City, Mich.

Dream of retiring to a lake house? The Traverse City area offers more than 180 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 149 large lakes measuring 10 acres or more. Residents can climb the high sand dunes and lounge on the freshwater beaches at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, or take a ferry out to the Manitou Islands. There are also plenty of opportunities for boating on the twin Grand Traverse Bays. Housing prices in this lakeside city average a reasonable $155,715.

Greenest place to retire: Walnut Creek, Calif.

Retirees make up more than a quarter of the population of Walnut Creek, which combines the amenities of a city with abundant access to the wilderness. Downtown is filled with high-end shops, fine dining, and organic eateries, as well as the Lesher Center for the Arts. The city also has 22 city parks and 2,704 acres of open space. "There's a great amount of open space available," says Joe Stadum, a resident of Walnut Creek's large 55-and-older gated community, Rossmoor. He enjoys hiking with the Rossmoor Trails Club, which counts more than 200 members. "You can drive or ride your bicycle or run and hike. It's a great asset." Residents may choose to drive up to the summit of 3,849-foot Mount Diablo or travel to nearby San Francisco. But life in the Bay Area doesn't come cheap. The median home price is $411,000.

A college town for retirees: Ithaca, N.Y.
College towns like Ithaca can be an ideal place to retire. For a median home price of just $176,500, retirees can take classes at Cornell University or Ithaca College and attend speeches, concerts, and sporting events. They can also spend their days hiking to the more than 100 waterfalls and gorges within 10 miles of downtown or sampling the wares of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail. Don Wilson, 65, a retired cardiologist from Rockford, Ill., bicycles throughout the Finger Lakes region three times a week. "The rural roads in the Finger Lakes region have so little traffic that you can ride three or four abreast on a bicycle in continuous conversation, learning from each other," he says. Wilson has also developed an interest in paleontology, and is taking a course on the subject at Cornell University and conducting research on fossils at the Museum of the Earth. "I think that university towns tend to attract interesting organizations, like the Museum of the Earth, and interesting people who may or may not be connected with the college."

Clague Hodgson, 65, retired early from a faculty position at the Creighton University School of Medicine and founded his own biotech company, Nature Technology Corporation, in 1998. His Lincoln-based business now employs eight people who investigate the use of DNA as a medicine. Hodgson says the city's low unemployment rate and proximity to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln make it an excellent place to launch a second career. "The University of Nebraska Technology Park really takes a lot of the weight off your shoulders," he says. "For an entrepreneur, remaining affiliated with the university is a good source of information, the library is very helpful, and occasionally we collaborate with researchers there." Nebraska's state capitol had an unemployment rate of just 3.5 percent in 2010, among the lowest in the country. According to Onboard Informatics data, the city has added more than 15,000 jobs since 2000, many of which are in fields known to hire older workers, including government, higher education, and healthcare.

Best mix of affordability and amenities: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Pittsburgh has a low cost of living coupled with a wide variety of amenities that retirees will need as they age. The median home sale price was $97,900 in 2010, which is unusual for a city with a large university and top-notch hospitals. Senior citizens age 65 and older with proper identification are entitled to ride Port Authority buses and trains for free. You'll just have to decide whether you want season tickets to the ballet, symphony, or Steelers games, assuming all three won't fit into your retirement budget.
Best place for affordable housing: Port Charlotte, Fla.
Port Charlotte home prices were battered by the housing bust, which could mean bargains for retirees new to the area. The median home sale price was a shockingly low $59,950 in 2010. And many of these homes are located along canals and waterways. "There are a tremendous number of houses on the water, and everybody's got their boats in their backyard," says retiree Chris Zwirner, 78. "All the people who live on water essentially have access to the Gulf of Mexico, and from there you can go around the world." The Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park spans 42,000 acres, including 70 miles of shoreline along the Charlotte Harbor. An added bonus: Florida has no state income tax.

Best place for single retirees: Pittsfield, Mass.

Dating is increasingly becoming a part of the retirement years. And Pittsfield is the only metro area where the majority of the 55-and-older population (52 percent) is single, according to Census Bureau data. Carol Scott, 60, an event planner who has been widowed for three years, likes to connect with new people online and has arranged five in-person dates so far this year. "I usually like to meet for a coffee or a drink," she says. "If we find we enjoy each other's company, perhaps it runs over into dinner." But even if you move to Pittsfield, we can't guarantee that dating will be easy. There are nearly twice as many single women (14,237) age 55 and older as single men (7,869). "A lot of my women friends are single," says Scott. "And while I have met some very nice people, I have not met someone I am interested in pursuing."

Best place for recreation and culture: Santa Fe, N.M.
At more than 400 years old, Santa Fe is the country's oldest state capitol. The city is known for its unique culture and art galleries, including the New Mexico Museum of Art and Institute of American Indian Arts. "Santa Fe has a charter that is unlike other cities," says Karen Ralston, 67, a retired director of marketing for a publisher. She moved to Santa Fe in 2006. "The cultural mix that we get here — the Anglo culture and the Indian culture and the Hispanic culture — blends very beautifully here. We really love that mix," she says. An art history minor in college, Ralston rediscovered that interest by volunteering at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and the Center for Contemporary Arts. The creations of artists worldwide are also celebrated at a variety of annual festivals and markets, such as the Native Treasures Indian Arts Festival and the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.

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Last Minute Shopping? Try an Opulent Island Paradise

2011-12-23T10:04:00.000-08:00

Easter Sister Rock Island in the Florida Keys can be yours for $12 million.

The biggest gift-giving holidays are upon us, and if there's a particularly hard-to-shop-for person on your list you may be stumped. Fear not, because for the sum of just $12 million, you could give that special someone their very own island paradise. The East Sister Rock Island retreat off the Florida Keys is everything an affluent adventurer could want in a summer home, and now it's officially on the market.

Part dream home and part escape from reality, the island is an ideal location for someone who loves everything about Atlantic coast life, except for its crowded nature. The sun, surf, and cool ocean breeze makes the island a perfect vacation home, or even a year-round residence.

The island is a quarter mile from Marathon, FL.

Photo: Century 21
East Sister Rock Island offers approximately 5,000 square feet of usable space. It provides a 360 degree view of the surrounding ocean, meaning that no matter what time of day, there is always a pleasant place to relax in the sun or shade. The island is tropical living at its finest, and features landscaping with pruned bushes and towering palm trees.

What's better than owning your own beach?

Photo: Century 21

Located just a quarter mile offshore of the Florida Keys city of Marathon, the island offers an isolated atmosphere while still allowing its residents easy access to the mainland. The main structure on the island is the large 2,500 square-foot villa that features three bedrooms, a luxurious dining room, and spacious living room already adorned with furniture and a flat-screen TV complete with cable and satellite service (of course).
When it's time to be indoors there's plenty of space for entertaining guests.

Photo: Century 21

The island features a beach with plenty of space for parties, a private boat dock, and even a helicopter landing pad. The oasis is surrounded by a massive coral reef which is perfect for scuba diving, and the crystal clear waters appear ideal for any kind of water sports you have in mind. The island's price tag includes a 21' Carolina skiff that is perfect for jetting to and from the remote residence.

East Sister Rock was built way back in 1980. The current owners originally purchased the property in 1995 and raised their four young children there. As the family grew, the owners began renting it out as a luxury getaway that demanded as much as $5,000 per week. The islands' $12 million asking price ensures it will be scooped up by either a wealthy isolationist, or a vacation company looking to capitalize on the private paradise.

..Where Germs Lurk on Planes

2011-12-22T07:46:00.000-08:00

It's a common complaint: Fly on a crowded plane and come home with a cold. What's in the air up there?

Air travelers suffer higher rates of disease infection, research has shown. One study pegged the increased risk for catching a cold as high as 20%. And the holidays are a particularly infectious time of year, with planes packed full of families with all their presents—and all those germs.

Air that is recirculated throughout the cabin is most often blamed. But studies have shown that high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters on most jets today can capture 99.97% of bacterial and virus-carrying particles. That said, when air circulation is shut down, which sometimes happens during long waits on the ground or for short periods when passengers are boarding or exiting, infections can spread like wildfire.

One well-known study in 1979 found that when a plane sat three hours with its engines off and no air circulating, 72% of the 54 people on board got sick within two days. The flu strain they had was traced to one passenger. For that reason, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an advisory in 2003 to airlines saying that passengers should be removed from planes within 30 minutes if there's no air circulation, but compliance isn't mandatory.

Much of the danger comes from the mouths, noses and hands of passengers sitting nearby. The hot zone for exposure is generally two seats beside, in front of and behind you, according to a study in July in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A number of factors increase the odds of bringing home a souvenir cough and runny nose. For one, the environment at 30,000 feet enables easier spread of disease. Air in airplanes is extremely dry, and viruses tend to thrive in low-humidity conditions. When mucous membranes dry out, they are far less effective at blocking infection. High altitudes can tire the body, and fatigue plays a role in making people more susceptible to catching colds, too.

Also, viruses and bacteria can live for hours on some surfaces—some viral particles have been found to be active up to a day in certain places. Tray tables can be contaminated, and seat-back pockets, which get stuffed with used tissues, soiled napkins and trash, can be particularly skuzzy. It's also difficult to know what germs are lurking in an airline's pillows and blankets.

Research has shown how easily disease can spread. Tracing influenza transmission on long-haul flights in 2009 with passengers infected with the H1N1 flu strain, Australian researchers found that 2% passengers had the disease during the flight and 5% came down within a week after landing. Coach-cabin passengers were at a 3.6% increased risk of contracting H1N1 if they sat within two rows of someone who had symptoms in-flight. That increased risk for post-flight disease doubled to 7.7% for passengers seated in a two-seat hot zone.
The epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002-03 suggested a wider exposure zone, however. On one flight studied, one passenger spread a particular strain to someone seated seven rows away, while people seated next to the ill passenger didn't contract the disease.

That said, most people sitting near someone who is ill probably won't get sick. "When you get aboard an aircraft, most of us don't have a say on who we sit next to. But that doesn't doom you to catching the flu," said Mark Gendreau of Boston's Lahey Clinic Medical Center.

In 2005, he was part of a team that published a paper in the Lancet that concluded the perceived risk for travelers was higher than the actual risk, and that's still the case today, he said.

Even so, there are some basic precautions passengers can take to keep coughs away.

Hydrate. Drinking water and keeping nasal passages moist with a saline spray can reduce your risk of infection.

[More from WSJ.com: New Breed of Flu Shots for Dogs]

Clean your hands frequently with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. We often infect ourselves, touching mouth, nose or eyes with our own hands that have picked up something.

Use a disinfecting wipe to clean off tray tables before using.

Avoid seat-back pockets.

Open your air vent, and aim it so it passes just in front of your face. Filtered airplane air can help direct airborne contagions away from you.

Change seats if you end up near a cougher, sneezer or someone who looks feverish. That may not be possible on very full flights, but worth a try. One sneeze can produce up to 30,000 droplets that can be propelled as far as six feet.

Raise concerns with the crew if air circulation is shut off for an extended period.

Avoid airline pillows and blankets (if you find them).

"If you take the proper precautions, you should do quite well," said Dr. Gendreau. "In most of us, our immune system does what it was designed to do—protect us from infectious insults."
Hidden Dangers in Security

You think the plane is bad? Security checkpoints harbor a host of hazards as well, researchers say.

People get bunched up in lines, where there is plenty of coughing and sneezing. Shoes are removed and placed with other belongings into plastic security bins, which typically don't get cleaned after they go through the scanner.

A National Academy of Sciences panel is six months into a two-year study that is taking samples at airport areas to try to pinpoint opportunities for infection.

With limited resources, airports and airlines have asked researchers to help figure out where best to target prevention, said Dr. Mark Gendreau of Boston's Lahey Clinic Medical Center who is on the panel.

Check-in kiosks and baggage areas are other prime suspects in addition to security lines, he said.

Searching for the Perfect Gift

2011-12-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

With Hanukkah and Christmas fast approaching, shoppers are heading to the Web for help finding that perfect present.
If there are kids who have made it onto your "nice" list, here's what they might want under the tree this year: Check out gift ideas that are popular in the Yahoo! Search box.

Wuggles -- billed as pets you "bring to life yourself" -- are the popular "as seen on TV" pick. Pillow Pets (chenille toys that double as a headrest) are also a hit this season.

Consider the Angry Birds board game (no batteries required) along with other video game-inspired finds like Annoying Orange toys, Transformer toys, Star Wars toys, and Batman toys.

If you choose the low-tech route, you're not alone in searching out "john deere toys" and "tonka toys." For the adventure set, trampolines and scooters may be a good bet. So are LEGOs.
According to search trends, older kids might like the game Skyrim or the Nintendo add-on Skylanders. Gamers who appreciate old-school gifts might get a kick out of Atari Flashback. A LeapPad educational tablet may be a smart choice for the younger set. Try to ignore pleas for the iPad -- maybe when the tykes turn nine?
Speaking of gadgets, the techie types in your life might be hankering for a Kindle gift card, and iPad accessories are a nice idea. Tablets of all kind are getting some attention; so are netbooks and LED TVs. Beats by Dr. Dre headphones are also a rockin' find.

Your 'tween may appreciate a Justin Bieber perfume or Taylor Swift perfume. You can't go wrong with Chanel perfume for that special someone. Burberry perfume, Juicy Couture perfume, Jennifer Aniston perfume, and Coach Poppy perfume are also scent-sational ideas.

But don't forget the feet. Stompeez Slippers (shaped like fluffy animals) have stormed up the Search box, as have footwear from Ugg (the fuzzy sheepskin boots are on plenty of wish-lists at this time of year). Loveable moccasins have also made a comeback in Search -- take that, Christian Louboutin.

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..8 Hair Myths––Debunked

2011-12-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

Email.....By Amanda Greene

By now you probably know that washing your hair every day can dry out and damage your locks, which is why experts recommend only sudsing up two to three times per week instead. That got us thinking-what other long-standing hair beliefs can't be trusted? We spoke to the experts to dispel eight popular tress tenets. Read on for what they had to say about everything from treating greasy strands to understanding your hair's natural texture.

Myth #1: Slather on mayonnaise and olive oil to deep condition your hair.

While kitchen staples like mayo and olive oil do contain moisturizing properties, adding heaping handfuls of the stuff to your locks isn't the ticket to silky hair. "The success of this treatment depends on the type and texture of your hair," says Doug DiCanio, a stylist at Blow in New York City. "If your hair is fine, limp or sparse, you'll see a greasy or heavy result. But if you have thick, coarse and extremely dry hair, mayo and olive oil can be a low-cost alternative to deep conditioning treatments, so long as you apply them correctly." He suggests distributing one tablespoon of either ingredient into clean, damp hair, concentrating on the ends. Leave it on for at least 30 minutes and then thoroughly rinse with a gentle cleansing shampoo. Photo: Valentyn Volkov/Thinkstock

Check out eight hair treatments you can make at home.

Myth #2: You have to constantly change up your shampoo and conditioner in order to get great results.

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If your tried-and-true shampoo and conditioner don't seem to be working as well as they used to, don't rush out to pick up new brands. Contrary to popular belief, hair doesn't "get used to" products-build-up and residue is usually to blame for lackluster locks. "Some shampoos and conditioners can leave behind residue, which might make it difficult to see results over the long term," says DiCanio. "Use a clarifying shampoo once every two weeks to remove excess build-up in your hair, and you should be able to see continued great results from your favorite products." Photo: Jacob Wackerhausen/Thinkstock

Myth #3: Cutting your hair will make it grow faster.

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While regular trims are a great way to keep your hair healthy, monthly snips won't turn you into Rapunzel. "On average, hair grows about half an inch every month regardless of whether or not you trim it," says Jenny Cho, a stylist for Suave Professionals. "While cutting ends will prevent damage and encourage stronger, healthier hair, it doesn't tell the roots to grow faster." However, healthy hair may appear longer, since it's free from dry, damaged and broken ends. So visiting your salon every eight to 12 weeks is still the key to maintaining healthy, long locks. Photo: Diego Cervo/Thinkstock

See the 10 things your hairdresser won't tell you.

Myth #4: You can't dye your hair while pregnant.

According to Amy Burkett, MD, ob-gyn residency director at Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio, no studies have conclusively proven hair dye is dangerous to a developing fetus. That said, "In general, pregnant women need to be concerned with what they're exposing their body to. The big concern for me is that some hair products contain formaldehyde, which is a carcinogen that I'd recommend any woman, pregnant or not, steer clear of." Formaldehyde will be noted on a product's ingredients list, so to be safe, choose a dye that doesn't contain it, opting instead for one that has as many natural ingredients as possible, such as henna-based dyes. If you go to the salon for color, ask your stylist what ingredients are in your hair dye, and see if there's a more natural option to pursue. (Note: Formaldehyde can also be found in Brazilian blow outs, a hair-straightening treatment.) Although none of Dr. Burkett's patients-including hair dressers-have ever experienced hair dye-related complications, to be cautious she recommends avoiding all hair dye during the first trimester of pregnancy, since that is when a fetus's basic neurological development occurs. Photo: Shutterstock

Myth #5: If you have greasy hair, skip conditioner.

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According to DiCanio, greasy hair is caused by the overproduction of sebum, a waxy, oily substance that comes from the tissues of the scalp-so skipping conditioner altogether is not going to cure the problem. Instead, she recommends those with greasy locks to "shampoo the roots with a clarifying shampoo and the ends with a moisturizing shampoo. Apply conditioner to the middle and ends of your hair only, steering clear of the scalp." Once your hair is dry, applying dry shampoo can help absorb excess oil. Since oil deposits can build up on styling tools and redistribute them throughout your hair, DiCanio also recommends keeping your brush clean by occasionally using a fine-toothed comb to remove the hair that can get stuck in its teeth. To remove oil and build up, dip both your brush and comb into a bowl of warm water mixed with a few drops of shampoo, rinse with warm water and let dry face down. Photo: Olga Lisitskaya/Thinkstock

Learn 10 surprising facts about shampoo.

Myth #6: Always comb your hair from top to bottom.

Though nearly every hair commercial features women brushing their locks from the roots downward, combing wet hair in this manner can actually cause breakage. Avoid snapping strands by combing your hair from bottom to top instead. "Start at the ends and work your way up," suggests Cho. "This will put less stress on your hair than if you started at the top and had to pull downwards to detangle a massive knot." Use your other hand to hold onto the hair above the knot you're detangling so that the pressure doesn't pull the hair from the roots, which could cause hair loss. Photo: George Doyle/Thinkstock

Myth #7: All hair grows at the same rate.

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Ever wondered why the perfect symmetry of a fresh haircut never lasts? According to Joel Schlessinger, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and president emeritus of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery, "Hair grows at different rates on every part of the body, including on your scalp. Hair goes through three phases of growth, and each area of your body has different phase times." While there's nothing you can do to even out your hair growth times, regular trims will keep your style looking consistent. Photo: Thinkstock

Learn how to dye your hair at home.

Myth #8: Nothing will ever change the natural texture of your hair.

Baffled by why your naturally stick-straight hair has suddenly turned wavy? According to Dr. Schlessinger, hair texture is not set in stone. "It has to do with the length of its growth cycle, nutrition and medications. While the actual hairs we have are technically dead, the scalp and hair root are not. Medications affect the strength of the hair root and can lead to curling or color changes. Additionally, they can weaken the root, eventually leading to hair loss, as happens with chemotherapy." Stress, age and hormones may also play a role in how your hair texture behaves, turning thick hair thin, or coarse hair fine. Photo: Shutterstock

7 Gifts to Avoid this Holiday

2011-12-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

If your loved ones haven't given you a wish list full of gift ideas this holiday season, you might be at a bit of a loss for what to give them. If you're considering any of the following seven presents, you might want to rethink your gift-giving plan.

Household Appliances

She may have expressed her desire for a fancy Dyson vacuum cleaner or a convenient KitchenAid mixer sometime this year, but that doesn't make a household appliance a good gift idea. No woman wants to be reminded of household chores or think you're thinking of her as the one who does the cooking and cleaning when she opens her gift.

Supercool Stocking Stuffers

A Pet

Even if you think your little ones are ready for a puppy or kitten, save pet adoption for after the holidays. With guests visiting your house, holiday decorations on display, and myriad other distractions during the week, it's the worst time to try and introduce a small animal to its new home.

Jewelry You've Seen on a TV Commercial

Despite the plethora of television commercials with messages to the contrary, most women do not want a heart-shaped pendant from a chain jewelry store. If your loved one is an accessory lover, opt for something special and one-of-a-kind from an independent jewelry designer on Etsy.

Assorted Gourmet Gift Basket

Gift Baskets

The one thing there's never a lack of during the holidays is food. From cookies, candies, and fruitcakes to ham, mashed potatoes, and gravy, there's always something to pop in our mouths in the last weeks of the year. That's why no one needs any more food coming their way. While a nice gift basket full of cured meats, cheese spreads, fruit, and candy might be delicious, there's already more than enough to eat without giving someone more.

Cashmere Sweaters

A Sweater

There's no denying a cashmere sweater is a nice thing, but opening a box and discovering a plain sweater is sort of dull. Plus, the chances of getting the exact style, size, and color the recipient would prefer is slim. Instead, add a nice cashmere scarf or pair of gloves to your loved one's stocking.

Credit Card Gift Cards

While a nice shiny Amex or Visa gift card sounds like a great gift idea, it can be a hassle for the recipient to use. They're processed as credit cards with a limit of whatever is loaded on the card so it can be difficult to use them for purchases that exceed that amount. And most of these cards have an activation fee you'll have to pay at the point of purchase. Instead, opt for cash or a gift card to a store you're certain your recipient likes to shop in.
Lingerie

Most women love pretty lingerie, but let's face it, if you're a man buying a woman lingerie, the gift is as much for you as it is for her. And, if you're opening gifts in mixed company, it could be really embarrassing for the recipient. Save the sexy underthings for a Valentine's Day gift and get her something she really wants this holiday season.

Tennessee family home burns while firefighters watch

2011-12-07T05:38:00.001-08:00

A Tennessee couple helplessly watched their home burn to the ground, along with all of their possessions, because they did not pay a $75 annual fee to the local fire department.
Vicky Bell told the NBC affiliate WPSD-TV that she called 911 when her mobile home in Obion County caught fire. Firefighters arrived on the scene but as the fire raged, they simply stood by and did nothing. "In an emergency, the first thing you think of, 'Call 9-1-1," homeowner Bell said. However, Bell and her husband were forced to walk into the burning home in an attempt to retrieve their own belongings. "You could look out my mom's trailer and see the trucks sitting at a distance," Bell said. "We just wished we could've gotten more out."
South Fulton Mayor David Crocker defended the fire department, saying that if firefighters responded to non-subscribers, no one would have an incentive to pay the fee. Residents in the city of South Fulton receive the service automatically, but it is not extended to those living in the greater county-wide area.
"There's no way to go to every fire and keep up the manpower, the equipment, and just the funding for the fire department," Crocker said.
The South Fulton policy produced precisely the same nightmare scenario last year, when homeowner Gene Cranick--who had likewise failed to pay the $75 annual fee for rural Obion County residents--saw his house engulfed by flames as South Fulton firefighter watched close by. That incident sparked a debate among conservative pundits over the limits of fee-for-service approaches to government.
For his part, Mayor Crocker stressed that the city's firefighters will help people in danger, even those who haven't paid the fee. "After the last situation, I would hope that everybody would be well aware of the rural fire fees, this time," Crocker said.

Vitamin D: Who Should Take a Supplement

2011-12-01T08:21:00.001-08:00

Vitamin D provides a wide range of health benefits. It is effective in preventing rickets and treating other bone diseases such as osteoporosis. According to the Mayo Clinic, getting enough vitamin D may prevent high blood pressure and protect against certain types of cancer. It may also promote weight loss for women. A growing body of research links heart health to sufficient vitamin D. Most recently, a large-scale study in the American Journal of Cardiology discovered that boosting vitamin D levels in heart patients who were deficient cut their risk of death by 60%, among other significant findings.

Related link: 6 Heart disease risk factors

Getting enough vitamin D

It's estimated that 30-50% of Americans suffer from vitamin D deficiency. The human body produces vitamin D, which is actually a hormone, when exposed to sunlight. However, during the winter, it is impossible to get enough exposure anywhere north of San Francisco or Philadelphia. People in southern states who slather on sun block or who stay indoors most of the time may not be getting enough either. The same goes for people who are housebound due to illness or whose work keeps them inside all day. In addition to lack of sunshine, other conditions may increase likelihood of vitamin D deficiency:

Infants who are exclusively breastfed. Mother's milk may not provide sufficient levels. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a supplement of 400 IU per day.

Older adults. The elderly do not synthesize vitamin D as effectively as younger people and tend to spend more time indoors.

People with dark skin. The pigment melanin can reduce the body's ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight.

Obese people. Body fat alters the way vitamin D is released into the system.

Choosing a vitamin D supplement

If you are shopping for a supplement, research suggests that vitamin D3 is more effective than vitamin D2. Food sources rich in vitamin D include cod liver oil, fatty fish (such as mackerel), eggs, and fortified milk and orange juice.

There is some debate over how much vitamin D to take. The National Institutes of Health recommends 600 IU per day for adults but some experts say that taking a supplement that contains between 1000-2000 IU can be beneficial. Its important to stay within the appropriate range--there is a toxicity risk at over 10,000 IU. The best way to determine how much you might need is to have your physician administer a simple blood test and make a recommendation based on the current level in you system.

Warm Lentil Salad with Sausage & Apple

2011-11-30T07:22:00.001-08:00

2 tablespoons coarse dry breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat (see Note)

1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, divided

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided

1 1 1/2-pound rack of lamb, Frenched and trimmed (see Tip)

3 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 15-ounce can lentils, rinsed, or 1 1/3 cups cooked lentils

1 Granny Smith apple, finely chopped

2 stalks celery with leaves, finely chopped

3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, or water

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, or cider vinegar

Preparation

1.Preheat oven to 450°F.

2.Mix breadcrumbs, 1/2 teaspoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl.

3.Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb, meat-side down, and sear until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Turn it over and spread 2 teaspoons mustard over the meat. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the mustard. Transfer the lamb to the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted in the center registers 140°F for medium-rare, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

4.Return the pan to medium-high heat (be careful: the handle will still be hot). Add shallots, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until starting to soften, about 1 minute. Stir in lentils, apple, celery, broth (or water), vinegar and the remaining 1 teaspoon mustard; bring to a lively simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is slightly reduced and the celery and apple are starting to soften, about 4 minutes. Cut the lamb into 8 chops and serve over the lentils.

Tips & Notes

Note: We like Ian's brand of coarse dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs, labeled “Panko breadcrumbs.” Find them in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets. Or, make your own breadcrumbs: Trim crusts from firm sandwich bread. Tear the bread into pieces and process in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. One slice makes about 1/3 cup. Spread the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet and bake at 250°F until dry and crispy, about 15 minutes.

Tip: To serve 4 people, look for a rack of lamb that has 8 chops. If you can find one that’s been “Frenched” (meat cut away at the tips, exposing the bone) and trimmed, you will only need a 1-pound rack. Otherwise, look for a 1 1/2-pound rack and ask your butcher to prepare it for you.

NutritionPer serving: 285 calories; 9 g fat ( 3 g sat , 4 g mono ); 69 mg cholesterol; 21 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 29 g protein; 7 g fiber; 429 mg sodium; 362 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Folate (54% daily value), Selenium (34% dv), Zinc (20% dv)

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 fruit, 4 lean meat

American Airlines parent seeks Ch. 11 protection

2011-11-29T06:58:00.001-08:00

.American Airlines parent seeks Ch. 11 protection
American Airlines' parent files for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection; CEO steps down

......Related Content.

...FILE - In this June 29, 2011 file photo, an American Airlines aircraft at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, in Grapevine, Texas. The parent companies of American Airlines and its regional affiliate American Eagle are filing for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

....

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- American Airlines and its parent company are filing for bankruptcy protection as they try to cut costs and unload massive debt built up by years of high fuel prices and labor struggles. There will no impact on travelers for now.

The nation's third-largest airline also said Tuesday that CEO Gerard Arpey had stepped down and was replaced by company president Thomas W. Horton.
AMR Corp. has continued to lose money while other U.S. airlines returned to profitability in the last two years.

Horton said the board of directors unanimously decided to file for bankruptcy after meeting Monday in New York and again by conference call on Monday night.
American said it would operate normally while it reorganizes in bankruptcy. The airline said it would continue to operate flights, honor tickets and take reservations. It said the AAdvantage frequent-flier program would not be affected.

Horton said, however, that as the company goes through a restructuring it will probably reduce the flight schedule "modestly," with corresponding cuts in jobs.

The company will delay the spin-off of its regional airline operation, American Eagle, which was expected in early 2012. AMR Eagle Holding Corp. also filed for bankruptcy.

American was the only major U.S. airline that didn't file for bankruptcy protection in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks that triggered a deep slump in the airline industry. The last major airline to file for bankruptcy protection was Delta in 2005.

Speculation about an AMR bankruptcy grew in recent weeks, however, as negotiations with pilots and other workers over cost-saving labor contracts seemed to stall. The company said that labor-contract rules forced it to spend at least $600 million more per year than other airlines.

Horton said, however, that there was no single factor that led to the bankruptcy filing. He said the company needed to cut costs in view of the weak global economy and high, volatile fuel prices. The average price of jet fuel has risen more than 50 percent in the past five years.

American was the world's biggest airline as recently as 2008, but has fallen behind United and Delta after those two companies bought other airlines.

Fort Worth-based AMR lost $162 million in the third quarter and has posted losses in 14 of the last 16 quarters.

AMR has about $4 billion in cash and has announced plans to order 460 new narrow-body planes used primarily in the U.S., plus other jets for longer flights.

American was founded in 1930 from the combination of more than 80 smaller carriers. It now flies about 240,000 passengers per day and has about 78,000 employees.

The airline operates out of five major hubs in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, and Miami. It has major international partnerships with British Airways and Japan Airlines.

Maple Sweet and White Mashed Potatoes

2011-11-23T07:54:00.001-08:00

Ingredients

5 pounds white potatoes, peeled

3 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, peeled

1 1/2 pounds butter

1/2 cup cream

Salt and pepper

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

Directions

In a large saucepot, boil white and sweet potatoes together. Cook until soft. Drain off water. Try to get all liquid out of the pot. Add butter, cream, salt, and pepper, and whip until all ingredients are incorporated. Add maple syrup and serve.

UC Holiday Recipe's: Scalloped Potato Gratin

2011-11-22T12:26:00.001-08:00

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 sprig fresh thyme

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Butter

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.

While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes.

UC Holiday Recipe"s Favs: Pumpkin Cheesecake With Bourbon-Spiked Cream Recipe.

2011-11-18T11:15:00.001-08:00

Pumpkin Cheesecake With Bourbon-Spiked Cream

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse for Food Network Magazine

Total Time: 1 hr 55 min.

Prep40 min.

Cook1 hr 15 min.

Pumpkin Cheesecake With Bourbon-Spiked CreamRecipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse for Food Network MagazineSponsored by:Add Timer Timer Name: 25 Characters Max Enter Time: : : Start You can create up to five timers

IngredientsFor the cheesecake: 1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 45 crushed wafers) 1 cup pecans, ground 1 stick unsalted butter, melted 2 pounds cream cheese, cubed and softened 1 cup packed light brown sugar 6 large eggs 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup all-purpose flour Pinch of salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cups canned pure pumpkin For the toppings: 2 cups sweetened whipped cream Dash of bourbon 3/4 cup half-and-half 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (1 1/3 cups) 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extractDirectionsPrepare the cheesecake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the wafer crumbs, ground pecans and melted butter in a bowl. Press into the bottom of a 12-inch springform pan. In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, mix the cream cheese until smooth. Add the brown sugar and process until blended. Add the eggs one at a time, processing until fully incorporated, then blend in the heavy cream. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add the pumpkin and blend until smooth.

Pour the filling over the crust in the pan. Bake 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until the cheesecake is just set. Remove from the oven. Use a knife to loosen the cake from the side of the pan; this will prevent it from splitting down the center. Let cool completely before slicing.

Meanwhile, make the toppings: Combine the whipped cream and bourbon in a bowl and mix until blended. For the chocolate sauce, combine the half-and-half and butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Heat until a thin, paper-like skin appears on top; do not boil. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Remove the side of the springform pan and slice the cheesecake. Top each piece with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and some bourbon whipped cream.

Ingredients

For the cheesecake:

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 45 crushed wafers)

1 cup pecans, ground

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

2 pounds cream cheese, cubed and softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

6 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups canned pure pumpkin

For the toppings:

2 cups sweetened whipped cream

Dash of bourbon

3/4 cup half-and-half

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (1 1/3 cups)

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Prepare the cheesecake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the wafer crumbs, ground pecans and melted butter in a bowl. Press into the bottom of a 12-inch springform pan. In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, mix the cream cheese until smooth. Add the brown sugar and process until blended. Add the eggs one at a time, processing until fully incorporated, then blend in the heavy cream. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add the pumpkin and blend until smooth.
Pour the filling over the crust in the pan. Bake 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until the cheesecake is just set. Remove from the oven. Use a knife to loosen the cake from the side of the pan; this will prevent it from splitting down the center. Let cool completely before slicing.
Meanwhile, make the toppings: Combine the whipped cream and bourbon in a bowl and mix until blended. For the chocolate sauce, combine the half-and-half and butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Heat until a thin, paper-like skin appears on top; do not boil. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and let coo
Remove the side of the springform pan and slice the cheesecake. Top each piece with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and some bourbon whipped cream.

Almost-Famous Pumpkin Cheesecake
By: Food Network Kitchens
Pumpkin Cheesecake
By: Emeril
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon...

'Patriotic Millionaires' Beg Supercommittee for Higher Taxes

2011-11-17T12:38:00.001-08:00

Two dozen wealthy members of the group Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength are targeting members of the deficit "supercommittee" to increase their taxes.

Entrepreneur and producer Charlie Fink, said he and other Patriotic Millionaires testified in a congressional hearing and visited the offices of 13 members of Congress on Wednesday, seven of whom are members of the supercommittee, to express their concern for the country's fiscal health.

Fink, who lives in Washington, D.C., said if the Bush tax cuts do not expire, the country "is digging itself a big hole by foregoing revenue."

"Without revenue, we will never solve the problem by giving tax cuts to the wealthy while supporting two foreign wars," Fink, a former AOL executive, said.

The group visited the offices of legislators in both parties, including Senators John Kyl, R-AZ, and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Reps. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., minority leader, Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., and Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., assistant democratic leader.

"It was a very refreshing conversation that restored my faith that there are people who, in spite of their financial successes, have not lost their compassion and sense of fair play," Rep. Clyburn told ABC News after meeting the group.

The supercommittee has stalled on how to trim over $1 trillion from the budget.

Democratic members of the group met on Wednesday for more than two hours.

Patriotic Millionaire Robert Johnson, former chief economist of the U.S Senate banking committee, said that the current economic system is not broken, but it is "working on behalf of those who designed it in their favor."

"America is no longer based on markets and capitalism, instead our economy is designed as 'socialism for the rich' – it is designed to ensure that the wealthiest people take all of the gains, while regular Americans cover any losses," he said at a press conference this afternoon in Washington, D.C.

"It's a Las Vegas economy where regular Americans put their money on the table and the richest 1 percent own the house," he said. "And if the 1 percent happen to lose money, the 99 percent bails them out – covers their losses and then stands by watching while the house does it all over again."

Last November, the Patriotic Millionaires launched with 45 signatories who sent a letter to President Obama asking him to allow the Bush-era tax cuts to expire at the end of last year. The petition was signed by the Grammy Award-nominated DJ, MOBY, as well as Jerry Cohen of Ben-and-Jerry's-Ice-Cream fame.

The Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength wrote a 155-word letter saying they hope their taxes will increase. Its text is posted at FiscalStrength.com.

The message of the group has remained the same.

"For the fiscal health of our nation and the well-being of our fellow citizens, we ask that you allow tax cuts on incomes over $1,000,000 to expire at the end of this year as scheduled," the group's website states. "We make this request as loyal citizens who now or in the past earned an income of $1,000,000 per year or more."

Other Patriotic Millionaires who participated on Wednesday were Lawrence Benenson, executive vice president of Benenson Capital Co., David desJardins, former Google software engineer, Guy Saperstein, civil rights attorney, and Eric Schoenberg, former managing director of Broadview International.

How to be a Bridesmaid Without Going Broke

2011-11-15T09:42:00.001-08:00

The recession might have made frugality cool, but there is still one area where overspending is practically required: weddings. And as Kristin Wiig made clear in the movie Bridesmaids, the bride's attendants, who are often expected to host parties, buy dresses, and travel for both the wedding and celebratory events in advance of the big day, often face the steepest price of all.

The cost of gifts has also ballooned as weddings have become more elaborate and guests feel compelled to spend as extravagantly as their hosts. The WeddingChannel.com recently reported that it costs more than $1,600, on average, to serve as a bridesmaid.

Part of the reason for the growing pressure on wedding guests is that when couples and their families spend thousands to make a day perfect, they want to make sure everyone else is in tip-top shape as well. "Your bridesmaids are like your back-up dancers," says Rebecca Mead, author of One Perfect Day.

Adds Katherine Jellison, author of It's Our Day and a professor of history at Ohio University: "It's all part of a larger phenomenon that we have convinced ourselves of--that if we don't spend a lot of money on something, it's meaningless."

To save their budgets, wedding guests and participants may need to scale down their efforts. That may mean declining invitations from anyone other than best friends or relatives. Guests often put pressure on themselves to buy the Waterford crystal set or china pattern on the couple's registry, when the bride and groom are expecting their friends to choose the $40 set of martini glasses. Participants may also need to assign themselves new roles. "If you feel you can't afford to be in the bridal party, be upfront about it right away," suggests WeddingChannel.com senior editor Christa Vagnozzi.

The bride and groom can help ease money worries by organizing group discounts for hotel rooms and local activities and even hiring a stylist for a few hours so each member of the bridal party doesn't need to pay for her own hair and nails, says Michelle Preli, editor-in-chief of Brides.com.

Perhaps one of the biggest favors a bride can do for her attendants is be realistic. Telling guests that a destination wedding is affordable because it doubles as their annual vacation has become the new bridal fib, replacing the one about bridesmaids being able to rewear their dresses, as Katherine Heigl's character is repeatedly told in the movie 27 Dresses.

So why don't bridesmaids unite and cast off their (matching) chains? "They submit," Mead says, "because they're happy for their friend. And statistically, bridesmaids are going to be brides themselves in a few years," and they'll want the favor returned.

[In Pictures: 10 Ways to Save on Food Costs]

For those looking to cut back, here are five ways to spend less on weddings:

1. Just say no. It may sound harsh, but sometimes it's the best solution. Ask yourself if you'll still be friends with this person in 10 years. If the answer is no, consider responding with a polite decline.

2. Stick to one celebration. The National Endowment for Financial Education points out that guests are often expected to attend not only the wedding, but also a bachelor or bachelorette party, bridal showers, and engagement parties. If you end up going to more than one, NEFE recommends sticking to cheap gag gifts for the bachelor and bachelorette parties and giving joint gifts with friends for the others.

3. Rein in presents. While registries often include $400 china sets, there's no need to buy something beyond your budget, says NEFE. Gift cards for the couple's favorite store can be just as welcome.

4. Negotiate with the happy couple. This may not be a popular idea, but if the bride wants her attendants to wear a $200 dress, plus shoes and jewelry of her choice, she may need a reality check. Similarly, meeting up for a bachelor party in Las Vegas may not be possible for the groom's friends who already have to travel to the wedding.

5. Split costs with friends. Consider weddings as a chance to relive your college days of room sharing. Ask the bride and groom to match you up with another guest who might be interested in splitting hotel costs.

14 Little Changes for a Healthier Life

2011-11-14T09:42:00.001-08:00

“Is that you, Daddy?”

It was a good question, from my six-year-old, who stumbled across the corporate I.D. card in my wallet the other day. The picture was taken in 2003, right after I started at Men’s Health. My daughter was asking the question not because I looked 8 years younger, but because I looked 20 pounds heavier.

“It’s me, sweetie,” I said.

She looked at the picture inquisitively. “What’s different?”

That too was a good question, especially in the figurative sense. The 2011 version of me isn’t all that different from the unrecognizable guy on the I.D. card. In short:

•I wear contacts instead of glasses.

•I don’t put sugar in my coffee.

•I don’t drink soda very often.

•I exercise about an hour a week.

That’s pretty much it. Small changes, big results. It’s my mantra. And it should be yours, too. Fact is, it's hard to make big changes in life. That's why so many of us struggle with our weight and health. The problem isn't knowing what to do; it's doing it. So forget grand, life-changing goals and start small instead.

Aim to drink the leftover milk in your cereal bowl each morning to get more vitamins, or hold your fork in your non-dominant hand to slow your eating, or "forget" your glasses the next time you're at the gym so you won't get distracted. Little tips like these can make a big difference over time.

To that end, here are 14 more small changes you can make today that will make you fitter, healthier, and happier tomorrow.

1. Make a Rainbow on Your Plate

A 14-year study found that men whose diets were highest in fruits and vegetables had a 70 percent lower risk of digestive-tract cancers. How to reach your quota: Never eat a meal that doesn't contain a vegetable or fruit. And no, potato chips don't count.

2. Dry-Brush Your Teeth

Do it before you brush with toothpaste and water and you'll cut tartar by 60 percent, and reduce the risk of bleeding gums by half. Use a dry, soft brush to scrub the insides of your top and bottom teeth, then buff the outer surfaces. Rinse, spit, and then brush with toothpaste. And avoid the 12 Foods Your Dentist Would Never Eat.

3. Lose Weight by Eating More

A survey of more than 2,000 people who lost an average of 67 pounds and kept the weight off for more than 5 years found that 78 percent ate breakfast 7 days a week.

4. Embrace an Italian

Diet, that is. Two to four servings of tomato sauce a week can cut your prostate-cancer risk by 34 percent.

5. Drink Away Your Diabetes Risk

In a 9-year French study, people who regularly consumed 17 to 34 ounces of water daily were 36 percent less likely to develop high blood sugar or diabetes than those who imbibed less. Why? When you’re dehydrated, your brain turns up production of vasopressin, a hormone that signals your liver to pump out more glucose.

6. Coach Your Kid's Soccer Team

Men who do volunteer work at least once a week have half the death rate of those who don't.

7. Beat Back Pain the Easier Way

Researchers in Finland found that men who lack lower-back muscular endurance—in other words, their back muscles tire quickly—are 3.4 times more likely to develop back pain. Build your endurance with this 7-minute back-saving workout.

8. Always Order the Thin-Crust Pizza

It has a third fewer calories than thick-crust pizza. Blot the cheese with a napkin to cut more fat, and you'll be able to enjoy your pie guilt-free.

9. Go Fishing Once a Week

Eating just one serving of fish per week can cut your risk of a sudden fatal heart attack by half! The secret ingredient in fish is omega-3 fatty acids. Salmon is especially high in them. If you don't like fish, pop a daily fish-oil supplement that contains at least 500 mg of both DHA and EPA.

10. Invest in Your Marriage

An unhappy marriage increases your chance of getting sick by 35 percent and shortens your life expectancy by 4 years.

11. Exercise Depression Away

Exercising for 40 minutes can reduce stress. In fact, studies show that working out on a regular basis can be as effective as taking antidepressants like Prozac.

12. Eat Two Bananas a Day

The potassium they contain can lower blood pressure by 10 percent in as little as a week, according to researchers in India. How? The average American consumes 1,000 mg more sodium than our bodies need each day, raising our blood pressure and our risk of heart attack and stroke. Potassium neutralizes sodium. While you're at it, banish The 25 Saltiest Foods in America from your diet.

13. Snack on Cherries Before Bed

Cherries and cherry juice are concentrated sources of melatonin, a popular over-the-counter sleep aid.

14. Take Vitamin E and Aspirin Daily

Researchers have found that this antioxidant-and-blood-thinner combination can reduce arterial plaque by 80 percent. The benefit of the duo is so great that it may help men prevent atherosclerosis even if they can't lower their cholesterol levels.

Wal-Mart unveils Black Friday circular: See the deals

2011-11-10T14:56:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- They may as well call it Black Thursday. Joining a slew of other national retailers, Wal-Mart said it too will open its doors nationwide on Thanksgiving night.

Not to be one-upped by Target (TGT, Fortune 500), which recently announced it would open at midnight on Black Friday, Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) said it will kick off its Black Friday deals at 10 p.m. on Thursday.

152021PrintComment"Our customers told us they would rather stay up late to shop than get up early, so we're going to hold special events on Thanksgiving and Black Friday," Duncan Mac Naughton, Wal-Mart's chief merchandising officer, U.S., said in a statement.

Starting at 10 p.m., Wal-Mart is offering doorbuster deals on toys, clothes and home accessories like $5
Barbies marked down from $19, jeans for less than $10, children's pajamas sets for $4.47 and a Black & Decker Coffeemaker for $9.44.

Then at midnight, the retailer said it will begin discounting electronics as well. Deals include a Samsung 51-inch plasma TV for $498 down from $649, a Kodak 14 megapixel camera for $49 and a Magellan GPS for $69, marked down from $89.

Another round of discounting will start at 8 a.m. and continue throughout the weekend, Wal-Mart said. Among those deals will be Goodyear tires starting at $59, a Vizio 42-inch 3D LED Wi-Fi HDTV for $598 and a selection of DVDs for $1.96 each.

Black Friday predictions: What should you buy?

This is the earliest look at the retailer's highly anticipated doorbuster deals, which are not usually released until the week of Thanksgiving. Last week, the retailer said it would give customers who sign up at Walmart.com or Facebook.com/Walmart an even earlier preview of its Black Friday sales.

For hard-core deal hunters, the retailer is also offering a downloadable map for all of its stores on its Facebook page so they can map out their route before they start shopping.

As the holiday season gets underway, retailers will have to work harder to motivate shoppers -- even on one of the biggest shopping days of the year, said Tom Julian, president of Tom Julian Group, a retail consultancy in New York.

"I expect there will be more Thanksgiving openings from other groups as a result," he said. "It's a marketing maneuver for those that really want to own Thanksgiving to Black Friday."

Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500), Macy's (M, Fortune 500) and Kohl's (KSS, Fortune 500) have already announced openings at midnight.

But getting shoppers in the mood to spend has been particularly difficult for retailers, as Americans feel increasingly protective of their discretionary dollars.

Last year, Black Friday sales totaled $11.8 billion, according to a report by research firm IBISWorld. This year, sales are expected to increase by only 1.2% to just under $12 billion.

Wal-Mart has also announced a number of additional shopping incentives in recent weeks, including price matching from now until Dec. 15, layaway on purchases over $15, free shipping on most Walmart.com products, no interest on Wal-Mart credit card purchases if they are paid for in full within six months, and a 10-cent discount on each gallon of gas bought at participating Murphy USA or Wal-Mart stations.

First Person: How the Recession Made Me Smarter Financially

2011-11-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

As a small business owner and the parent of two children that like to shop, I'm not ignorant about the economy. From gas prices to grocery bills, I've seen everything increase except my income. Instead of bemoaning my situation and falling apart, I've decided to focus on the positive aspects. One good thing that has come from these hard economic lessons is that I'm financially smarter. I manage my household and business affairs smoother and tighter than anytime before.
That's not to say I won't welcome economic relief but I have learned a thing or two. Today, many things I've experienced have made me a better businessperson and household manager.

I make saving a priority. Strangely enough, getting loans isn't easy today. Lesson one, always save. Every paycheck, every contract paid, squirrel away something. Some weeks I could only save a few dollars, others times I saved a few hundred. Before the recession, I lived with minimal savings and threw sudden expenses like car repairs on my credit card. No more! (As a side note, I've noticed my kids save more now too. Not only am I smarter, but they are too.)

I pay debts on time or ahead of time. When every dollar counts, high interest rates weren't an option. I pay my debts on time and pay them down as quickly as possible. I know a healthy amount of debt is good for your credit but I feel better knowing my debt is small. That's good for me mentally.

I know how to price match. Prior to the recession, my husband and I saw what we wanted then purchased it. Today, we don't make snap decisions about high-priced items. We've adopted a two-day price match rule to any big ticket items. We web search, call and visit stores for the best deal. Never, ever rely on one store to give you an honest "best" price. I do my own homework.

I question my purchases. Before 2008, I was an impulse buyer. I loved walking into stores shopping for "sales" even when I didn't need the items. I don't do that anymore. I don't buy it unless I need it and I stay away from sales and discount store.

I know more. Until a few years ago, I didn't care less about the stock market. I know that's crazy since I am a business owner but it all seemed so far away from me. Today, I watch a few business shows at least once a week and I know what basic terms mean. Learning how the financial markets work makes me feel empowered and less helpless--even when I'm pumping $4 gas.

I plan ahead. Anyone that knows me will tell you that I'm a freewheeling, spontaneous kind of gal, in all things. Today, I'm much more careful. I don't just hope and expect a good future, I plan for it. I've even met with a financial planner. I think about what the next five, ten and twenty years will bring and I have a plan. That lesson has kept me sane.

Unable to pay bill, Mich. city turns off lights

2011-11-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (AP) -- As the sun dips below the rooftops each evening, parts of this Detroit enclave turn to pitch black, the only illumination coming from a few streetlights at the end of the block or from glowing yellow yard globes.

It wasn't always this way. But when the debt-ridden community could no longer afford its monthly electric bill, elected officials not only turned off 1,000 streetlights. They had them ripped out -- bulbs, poles and all. Now nightfall cloaks most neighborhoods in inky darkness.

"How can you darken any city?" asked Victoria Dowdell, standing in the halo of a light in her front yard. "I think that was a disgrace. She said the decision endangers everyone, especially people who have to walk around at night or catch the bus.

Highland Park's decision is one of the nation's most extreme austerity measures, even among the scores of communities that can no longer afford to provide basic services.

Other towns have postponed roadwork, cut back on trash collection and closed libraries, for example. But to people left in the dark night after night, removing streetlights seems more drastic. And unlike many other cutbacks that can easily be reversed, this one appears to be permanent.

The city is $58 million in debt and has many more people than jobs, plus dozens of burned-out or vacant houses and buildings. With fewer than 12,000 residents, its population has dwindled to half the level from 20 years ago.

Faced with a $4 million electric bill that required $60,000 monthly payments, Mayor Hubert Yopp asked the City Council to consider reducing lighting. Council members reluctantly approved it, even in an election year.

"We knew it was going to hurt," Councilman Christopher Woodard said. "We're all hurting."

In late August, contractors from DTE Energy Co. began rolling through the streets, taking out two-thirds of the light poles.

"It is a winning proposition, but that doesn't make it a winner with the citizens who find themselves in the dark," Woodard added. "We had to watch our backs when we got out of our cars before. Now we have to watch them even more closely."

Unless the government gets an unexpected infusion of cash or sees an uptick in its dying tax base, many parts of Highland Park will remain beneath a shroud every night.

The city's monthly electric bill has been cut by 80 percent. The amount owed DTE Energy goes back about a decade, but utility executives hesitated to turn off the juice.

"We are extremely concerned with public safety," said Trevor Lauer, vice president of marketing and renewables for the Detroit-based utility. "We recognize that street lighting is something that contributes to public safety."

Now, he said, the company has "a municipal lighting customer I'm confident can pay its monthly bill."

Most of the 500 streetlights still shining in Highland Park are along major streets and on corners in residential areas. DTE Energy has listed the city's overdue bill as an uncollectable expense.

The leader of a nonprofit group that works to reduce energy costs for low-income families said he's not heard of any other communities becoming so desperate to save money that they turned off streetlights. It might be a sign of things to come.

"If it works in Highland Park, I could not imagine other cities not looking at that as one option," said David Fox, executive director of the National Low Income Energy Consortium in Alexandria, Va.

In its heyday, Highland Park was one of Michigan's urban jewels, with large yards, spacious homes and tree-lined streets.

Henry Ford put his first moving assembly line here, and his factory eventually churned out a car every minute. By 1930, the city had grown to 50,000 people.

Ford later moved his primary manufacturing operations to River Rouge, southwest of Detroit, in search of room to expand. Highland Park survived that loss. But it never recovered from Chrysler's decision in the 1990s to move its world headquarters 50 miles north to Oakland County.

"That took away $6 million" in taxes, Woodard said. "That was a lot of money to not have anymore. It was a major industrial operation moving out of here. When Chrysler moved out, things started to happen."

Small businesses catering to Chrysler workers began to fail, and the city struggled to pay its bills. And like Detroit, which lost 250,000 residents from 2000 to 2010, people moved out, leaving hundreds of abandoned houses.

In 1980, the census counted 27,000 people living in Highland Park. By 2010, that number had fallen to 11,776.

The median household income is $18,700, compared with $48,700 statewide. And 42 percent of the city's residents live in poverty.

"It's pretty ghetto," Cassandra Cabil said from her front yard. Voices drift in the darkness from down the street, but the speakers can't be seen.

The 31-year-old short-order cook works odd hours and sometimes makes it home late at night. She watched recently as crews removed the streetlight and pole from in front of her rented home.

"It's really dark unless people have their lights on," she said. "There's a lot of vandalism going on, people breaking into these houses."

Obama health care law has unexpected beneficiaries

2011-11-03T09:54:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of the money from President Barack Obama's health care law is flowing to places you might not expect.

Two Texas public employee programs are among the top 25 beneficiaries of a $5-billion fund to shore up employer coverage for early retirees, despite Texas Gov. Rick Perry's vow to repeal what Republicans derisively call "Obamacare."

And records show the Huntsman family business, where GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman was once a top executive, received about $1 million.

Some see a gap between dire Republican rhetoric about the health care overhaul and the pragmatic impulse to cash in on a new government benefit.

"Lots of Texans are already benefiting from health care reform," said Anne Dunkelberg, a health care expert at the Austin-basedCenter for Public Policy Priorities. "Other than for political theater, there would not be the kind of opposition there is." The nonpartisan center advocates for the poor.

Employer-sponsored health insurance for retirees has been shriveling for years, ever since companies were required to report their liability to investors. Democrats who wrote the new law wanted to encourage employers to keep offering coverage. Only about 6 percent of private companies currently provide such a benefit for early retirees, according to the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute.

But that still works out to more than 400,000 companies. Add state and local government agencies, as well as union plans, and the number swells. The Obama administration's subsidy program got so many applications it stopped accepting new ones after approving more than 6,000. It pays 80 percent of the claims amount for early retirees ages 55 to 64 whose care costs between $15,000 and $90,000.

The top beneficiary: the United Auto Workers retiree medical plan, collecting more than $220 million.

"Some people have described this program as 'Cash for Clunkers,' in the sense that if you want it, you have to get in line first," said Paul Fronstin, an economist with the benefits research group. "There was a lot of advice given to be first in line." The original Cash for Clunkers paid people to trade in gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient transportation. It created a marketing sensation before running out of cash.

Texas, it seems, heeded the advice. So did Huntsman International.

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas, a statewide system for public education employees, received more than $70 million as of Sept. 22, according to the federal Health and Human Services Department. The Employees Retirement System of Texas, which covers state employees, received about $30 million.

Huntsman International, the main operating subsidiary of the family-founded chemical conglomerate, is also collecting.

As candidates, both Perry and Huntsman have sworn to repeal Obama's signature health care law, which gradually extends coverage to most of the uninsured and makes other changes, including a ban on denying coverage to people in poor health and an unpopular requirement that most Americans carry insurance.

Spokesmen for the Perry and Huntsman campaigns said they see no contradictions.

Texas taxpayers also pay federal taxes, said Perry spokesman Ray Sullivan. "State taxpayers have a right to get those federal funds returned to them, in this care in the form of disbursement to the teachers and state employee retirement systems," said Sullivan. "No Texas law or policy needed to be changed in order for these agencies to be eligible to receive the funds."

Huntsman spokesman Tim Miller said his candidate, Obama's first ambassador to China and a former governor of Utah, is opposed to all subsidies.

Jon Huntsman has not been involved in the family business since 2005, said company spokesman Gary Chapman. Huntsman resigned from the company to pursue his political career.

Asked why Huntsman International applied for the early retiree subsidy, Chapman responded: "We're a commercial organization. We are looking to maximize our shareholders' value. If there was a legitimate opportunity for us to get help in this respect, we would go for it."

Republicans have tried to paint the early retiree program as a political reward to unions, among the staunchest Democratic loyalists. According to calculations by the office of Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the United Auto Workers Retiree Medical Benefits Trust has made out the best.

A UAW spokeswoman did not return phone calls. In its 2007 contracts with Chrysler, GM and Ford, the union agreed to form the trust to pay health care costs for the companies' retirees, including early retirees too young to qualify for Medicare. The trust started paying in January 2010, before Congress passed the health care law.

Calculations by Enzi's staff also list AT&T, Verizon, General Electric, General Motors, Qwest, Caterpillar and other private companies in the top 25, not to mention the two Texas state programs. AT&T received $157 million.

Several media companies are also benefiting. The Associated Press, a nonprofit news-gathering service owned by the nation's newspapers, has received $191,888.

Back in Texas, public and private employer retiree plans have collected more than $326 million. They range from American Airlines to Texas A&M University — Perry's alma mater.

___

..The Best Global Companies to Work For

2011-11-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Want to work for a multinational corporation with great perks and opportunities around the world? Here are the 10 best.
Every year, Fortune publishes its list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, which features the top U.S. companies to work for based on things like benefits, perks, diversity, and pay. Now Fortune's data partner for that list, Great Place to Work, is launching its own list of the best global companies to work for based on many of the same metrics.

Read on to find out the top 10 companies in its inaugural list, "The World's Best Multinational Workplaces," along with some highlights about what makes them so great.

Who qualifies? Companies must have appeared on at least five national Great Place to Work lists, have at least 5,000 employees worldwide, and at least 40% of their global workforce must work outside of the company's home country.
Rank: 1

What makes it so great?
After Microsoft employees voiced their desire to contribute more to their communities, the software company gifted its workers with 40 paid hours a year to dedicate to volunteer activities — ranging from working in a soup kitchen once a week to spending a week building an orphanage. Bill Gates' brainchild also supports employees who are new parents: In Norway, where maternity and paternity leaves are quite generous at the federal level, Microsoft hosts a "Junior Lunch" every quarter, allowing new parents on leave to come to the office for a lunch with their children, keeping the working parents in touch with their colleagues and up-to-date with office happenings.

"Microsoft is a place where you can be yourself," says an employee. "It's expected that you have an opinion, and there are multiple opportunities to really make a contribution to the company and to society. Unless you work here, it is hard to believe the passion that people display."

SAS

Photo: Courtesy of SAS

Headquarters: Cary, NC, USA

2010 Revenue ($ millions): 2,430

Rank: 2

What makes it so great?

SAS, a business analytics and business intelligence software company, doesn't outsource its North Carolina headquarters maintenance staff, preferring that its crews of gardeners, food service employees, and health care staff are SAS employees. Many SAS-ers also take pride in the company's Curriculum Pathways program. Free of charge for all educators in the U.S., the interactive program provides standards-based resources in English, science, mathematics, social studies, and Spanish for over 50,000 American teachers. With initiatives like this, the company stays true to its mission — to enhance people's ability to use information and create knowledge — and sets a great example for its staff. "It is, by far, the best place I have worked in more than 15 years of working within the industry," raves an employee.

NetApp

Photo: Courtesy of NetApp

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, CA, USA

2010 Revenue ($ millions): 5,123

Rank: 3

What makes it so great?

The 'Catch Somebody Doing Something Right' initiative, started by Vice Chairman Tom Mendoza 17 years ago and informally kept alive since, rewards NetApp employees of all levels for deeds that positively reflect the computer storage and data management company's culture. Mendoza makes 30 calls, 5 minutes each, a week and personally thanks staffers for their impressive behavior. "NetApp makes you feel that you are part of a bigger picture. Every effort you make to do [your] job really means something to the organization as a whole," says an employee.

After NetApp was forced to reduce its global workforce by 5% in 2009, the company's execs went on a global tour, stopping by their offices in 13 different countries to raise company morale. The initiative worked: The next 12 months brought record numbers, including a 60% increase in the company's stock price.

Google

Photo: JP Mangalindan

Headquarters: Mountain View, CA, USA

2010 Revenue ($ millions): 29,321

Rank: 4
What makes it so great?

Though Google has grown tremendously since its startup days — the company hired 31.9% more employees this year than last — the behemoth Internet company still operates like one in many ways, says an employee. "The amount of direct exposure we get to leadership and the fact that the well-being of employees is held in such high regard [are both] incredible."

With initiatives like 20% time (engineers are encouraged to spend 20% of their time brainstorming and developing new Google-related content, even if it never materializes), Googlers retain the innovative spirit that often gets lost as small companies grow into larger ones.

The company also provides mentoring programs for its workers: In Google to Googler (g2g) classes, employees train each other on technology, business, and personal interests and in gWhiz, any Google employee globally can register to answer questions or provide mentorship on an area of expertise.

FedEx Express

Photo: Courtesy of Fedex

Headquarters: Memphis, TN, USA

2010 Revenue ($ millions): 24,600

Rank: 5
What makes it so great?

Next time a FedEx courier smiles as he/she hands you a package (if you live in the Middle East or Europe), be sure to go online and fill out a customer service form — you could help that employee win the Courier of the Year competition. Couriers are rated by customers based on politeness, presentation, and helpfulness. In 2010, The company received 7,659 nominations — and the winners' faces beam on posters in FedEx Express offices across the region.

The delivery service provider also has an online recruitment tool, Career Hub, which allows employees to track new job opportunities within the company and plan their careers.

Cisco

Photo: Courtesy of Cisco

Headquarters: San Jose, CA, USA

2010 Revenue ($ millions): 40,040

Rank: 6
What makes it so great?

Every other month, Cisco CEO John Chambers invites employees whose birthdays fall within the designated two-month period to an informal Q&A with the head honcho himself. Those not located in its sunny San Jose headquarters can join the chat via Cisco TelePresence locations and TV broadcasts.

The company also offers job sharing, onsite childcare and, in France, pre-first day training. Through an interactive website, new employees learn all about Cisco's mission and its culture, allowing for a smooth transition on the first day. This type of training is representative of the management chops the company boasts.

Marriott

Photo: Courtesy of Marriott International

Headquarters: Bethesda, MD, USA

2010 Revenue ($ millions): 11,691

Rank: 7

What makes it so great?

The "In the Beginning" introductory course, required at all Marriott hotels in Mexico, involves three days of interactive sessions that expose new hires to the Marriott culture. (A graduation ceremony and a one-night stay in the hotel are some of the spoils included in completing the course.)

The hotel company also begins every shift — in every department worldwide — with a "stand-up" meeting, where leaders highlight the goings-on in the company, acknowledge excellent associate behavior and birthdays, and discuss the company's numbers. "There are so many associates that have been with the company for so long. [You gain] a wonderful second family, with friendships that last for years," says an employee.

McDonald's

Photo: Courtesy of McDonald's

Headquarters: Oakbrook, IL, USA

2010 Revenue ($ millions): 24,100

Rank: 8

What makes it so great?

The fast-food giant cares about its employees' talents in the kitchen — and on the stage. McDonald's Pencourages workers to participate in the "Voice of McDonald's" program, which is basically an American Idol with a Golden Arches twist. The top 16 singers (each gets a plus one) receive an all-expenses paid trip to the McDonald's Global Convention in Orlando, Florida, to compete against one another for the winning title — and a prize of $25,000 and a possible recording contract.

Fun aside, the company ensures that all employees receive fair treatment. In the UK, McDonald's has partnered with Job Centre Plus to provide jobs for long-term unemployed applicants and with Remboy, which helps disabled and disadvantaged unemployed citizens. "This company cares about people — developing them, training them and giving them the tools to do their job confidently and effectively. There's a great training system, and also a clear focus of where we are and where we are going," an employee says.

Kimberly-Clark

Photo: Courtesy of Kimberly-Clark

Headquarters: Irving, TX, USA

2010 Revenue ($ millions): 19,700

Rank: 9

What makes it so great?

There's no better place to have a conversation than over a cup of coffee — and the management teams at Kimberly-Clark offices in Central America get that. At the "KC Café," employees can chat with administrative and operational employees about worries, cares, and career advice. A different leader hosts the initiative once every two months, hoping to break down the walls between boss and employee.
The same offices host an annual Mother's Day celebration, rewarding its mom-employees with a catered breakfast and, in 2010, a "spa" with food, drinks, and gifts. The company also offers onsite child-care and job sharing, making parenting a bit easier for KC workers. According to an employee, this healthy and happy environment is also common in the offices: "People are transparent; problems are solved in the moment, which prevents comments in the hallways — and resentment."
SC Johnson

Photo: Courtesy of S.C. Johnson & Son

Headquarters: Racine, WI, USA

2010 Revenue ($ millions): 8,800

Rank: 10

What makes it so great?

Ever wonder if you made the wrong decision with your career, but you're too afraid to take a risk and dip your toes in some other options? If you work at SC Johnson Canada, that's not a problem. They actually let you try out jobs in different areas of the company for three to six months through their Internal Internship Program. Once your internship is complete, you're free to return to your original position and, if a position opens up that requires similar skills acquired during the internship, you are free to apply.

The "Family Company" also implemented a rule in their Italian bureau that stays true to the work/life balance they promote: Directors and managers cannot call meetings before 9:30 in the morning and cannot hold a meeting after 5:00 in the afternoon, so employees can drop-off/pick-up their kids from school.

........Hundreds Want Death-Defying Beagle Named Daniel

2011-10-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of people are vying to adopt Daniel, a 5-year-old miracle beagle who sniffed at death and came out of an Alabama gas chamber wagging its tail.

The pooch was sent to his doom along with 18 other dogs at an overcrowded animal shelter in Florence, Ala., on Oct. 3.

But when the animal control officer in charge of the operation returned to the locked chamber he found the
dog waiting at the door, wagging its tail. The other dogs were dead.

His amazing survival has attracted several charitable groups to come to his aid to make sure he isn't sent back into the gas chamber. He found a temporary home in Tennessee with Karen Rudolph, who runs Schnauzer Savers Rescue of West Tennessee with her husband Michael.

Rudolph dubbed him Daniel, inspired by the biblical story of Daniel, who walked out of a lion's den unscathed. Eleventh Hour Rescue, which brought Daniel to New Jersey with the help of Pilots and Paws, gave the dog the last name "Milagro," meaning miracle in Spanish.

When Rudolph took Daniel Milagro to see her veterinarian, he received a clean bill of health.

"Amazingly, not only did he survive the gas chamber which is very rare … he was not sick," Rudolph said. "It was almost as though angels pulled him out of there and he didn't even breathe the gas."

At 20 pounds, Daniel is underweight and his immune system is slightly compromised, but otherwise he is in good health, Eleventh Hour Rescue president Linda Schiller said. Schiller's group is trying to find a home for Daniel.

The beagle is now staying with Eleventh Hour volunteer Jill Pavlik until the organization finds an appropriate home for him.

Schiller isn't worried about finding a new home for Daniel, who is highly adoptable due to his celebrity status. In fact, just an hour after the Star Ledger newspaper first covered the story, Schiller had received over 200 emails from readers interested in Daniel, and the attention hasn't slowed down since.

But she hopes at least some of the applicants will be interested in adopting other dogs.

"We have dogs that are just as wonderful as him that were on death row, but didn't walk out of a gas chamber," Schiller said. "They're happy and they're wagging their tales and ready to be adopted."

15 Ways to Stop Wasting Money on Food

2011-10-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

15 Ways to Stop Wasting Money on Food

tweet97EmailPrint..Kimberly Palmer, On Wednesday October 26, 2011, 3:27 pm EDT

As anyone who's ever cleaned up after a dinner party knows, Americans waste a lot of food. In addition to the fruit, vegetables, and other items that go bad in our own kitchens, farmers and grocery stores toss unused goods as well. According to Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland, it adds up to at least 160 billion pounds of wasted food each year. The problem is considered so serious that food industry groups have launched an initiative to reduce the amount of food that ends up in landfills while increasing the amount that goes to food banks.

[In Pictures: 10 Ways to Save on Food Costs]

In his book, Bloom says Americans themselves can also do a lot to stop food waste, starting with a few adjustments to refrigerator organization. Bloom recommends keeping a "use it up" shelf for items that will soon go bad so you remember to eat them. Here are 15 more recommendations from Bloom on how to waste less money on food:

1. Buy less food overall. The European model of more frequent and even daily shopping trips can help reduce food waste compared with the more American-style mega-shopping sprees on the weekends. After all, when you're shopping on Sunday for Friday's meals, the chances of food spoiling in the interim is greater. Plus, shopping more frequently gives you flexibility to make use of unexpected leftovers, Bloom says.

2. Keep your fridge uncluttered. If you can't see the hummus, you might forget to eat it. (That's also where Bloom's "use it up" shelf helps.) He also suggests putting new groceries in the back and pushing older items to the front.

3. Make French toast. The classic recipe uses slightly stale bread; bread pudding and bread crumbs serve the same purpose. Banana bread similarly makes use of old bananas. Bloom also suggests chicken pot pies, chicken salad, fried rice, and soups for getting the most out of leftovers and vegetables approaching their expiration dates. (The recipe finder tool on Allrecipes.com makes it easy to look up uses for extra food.) You can also use leftover chicken bones and vegetable scraps to make your own stock, which can then serve as a base for soups.

4. Ignore expiration dates. Well, maybe not completely, but because those dates tend to be conservative, Bloom recommends relying more on your own senses to determine whether or not food is still edible.

5. Decline the "extras" at restaurants. Once the bread basket hits your table, it can no longer be served to others, so speak up if you'd rather skip the carbo-loading before the main meal. Similarly, if you're not going to eat the fries that come with your meal, let your server know.

[In Pictures: 10 Kitchen Tools That Will Save You Money]

6. Bring home leftovers. Some restaurants are famous for large servings; don't let the leftovers go to waste. Bringing your own container for them makes the choice more environmentally-friendly, too.

7. Use smaller plates at home. One of the families Bloom profiles in the book uses smaller plates to encourage taking smaller servings, which can then be refilled if necessary. That way, children (and adults) are less likely to take more than they will eat.

8. Cook more. Bloom found that people are less likely to waste food that they or a loved one made, which means home-cooked meals have a better chance of avoiding the garbage disposal.

9. Grow your own herbs. The small amount of basil or mint often called for in recipes can lead to big waste, since you often have to purchase a larger bunch. Instead, consider growing the herbs yourself in small indoor pots, or plan several herb-heavy recipes in one week. Bloom also suggests dicing and freezing herbs in ice cube trays with water for longer-term storage.

10. Shop for fruits and vegetables last. Most of us do the opposite, since produce sections are usually the first we enter, but Bloom recommends saving it for last to protect them from getting buried and bruised by heavier items, and also to keep them refrigerated as much as possible.

11. Eat before you shop. Shopping on an empty stomach tends to lead to impulse buys and unnecessary stocking up.

12. Limit bulk buys. As research from Harvard Business School has shown, stocking up on items can lead to overspending (and waste), especially if we don't get the chance to use up all that cream cheese before it gets moldy.

13. Save and eat leftovers. Some items, such as chili and meatloaf, taste even better the next day.

[How to Eat for $7 or Less a Day]

14. Use your freezer. Putting long-term leftovers in the freezer, along with other freezable items that you can't use right away, can help reduce the amount that ends up in the trash. Using sealed bags will help prevent freezer burn.

15. Label items. Writing down the date and a description can help remind you to use them up. Bloom adds that including the monetary value of items can also provide an incentive to avoid waste.

Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

2011-10-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

RememberDark leafy vegetables are good sources of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, C, and K.

Teenage girls should aim to eat 3 cups of dark green vegetables a week or ½ cup everyday.

Why should I eat dark green leafy vegetables?

Dark green leafy vegetables are good sources of many vitamins (like vitamins A, C, and K and folate) and minerals (such as iron and calcium). They are also great sources of fiber. Research suggests that the nutrients found in dark green vegetables may prevent certain types of cancers and promote heart health. It is recommended that teenage girls eat 3 cups of dark green vegetables per week, or about ½ a cup every day.

Your body needs a little dietary fat to absorb some of the vitamins found in dark green vegetables. Add a bit of oil (such as olive or canola oil) or salad dressing to your dark green vegetables to make sure your body absorbs all of the vitamins you eat.

What are some examples of dark green leafy vegetables and the best way to eat them?

Arugula has a peppery taste and is rich in vitamins A, C, and calcium. Arugula can be eaten raw in salads or added to stir-fry, soups, and pasta sauces.

Broccoli has both soft florets and crunchy stalks, and is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, folate, and fiber. Broccoli can be eaten raw, steamed, sautéed, or added to a casserole.

Collard Greens have a mild flavor and are rich in vitamins A, C and K, folate, fiber, and calcium. The best way to prepare them is to boil them briefly and then add to a soup or stir-fry. You can also eat collard greens as a side dish. Just add your favorite seasoning and enjoy!

Dandelion Greens have a bitter, tangy flavor and are rich in vitamin A and calcium. They are best when steamed or eaten raw in salad.

Kale has a slightly bitter, cabbage-like flavor and is rich in vitamins A, C and K. Kale is tasty when added to soups, stir-fries, and sauces.

Mustard Greens have a peppery or spicy flavor and are rich in vitamins A, C, and K, folate, and calcium. They are delicious when eaten raw in salads or in stir-fries and soups.

Romaine Lettuce is a nutrient-rich lettuce that is high is vitamins A, C, and K, and folate. It is best when eaten raw in salads, sandwiches or wraps.

Spinach has a sweet flavor and is rich in vitamins A and K, folate, and iron. Spinach tastes great eaten raw in salads or steamed.

Swiss Chard tastes similar to spinach and is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, potassium, and iron. It is best stir-fried, added to sauces, or eaten raw in salads.

Quick and Easy Recipe Ideas:

Dark green vegetables are very tasty and easy to add to your daily meals. Look for them at your local grocery store and try some of these recipes!

Make a salad: Leafy greens such as romaine lettuce, spinach and arugula taste great when mixed in a salad with different kinds of veggies, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and lettuce.

Wrap it up: Make a wrap with tuna, chicken, or turkey and add romaine lettuce, spinach, arugula, and other veggies for some extra flavor.

Add to a soup: Try mixing leafy greens such as collard greens, kale or mustard greens into your favorite soup.

Stir-fry: Add chopped leafy greens or broccoli to your stir-fry. Chicken or tofu stir-fried with olive or canola oil and your favorite dark green vegetable is delicious!

Steam it: Try steaming collard greens, kale, or spinach. Add water to a pot and place a steamer with the vegetables into it. Next, bring the water to a simmer, cover with a lid, and wait a few minutes until your vegetables are slightly soft.

Remember: Try to include ½ a cup of dark green leafy vegetables in your day for a tasty way to get lots of vitamins and minerals.

Netflix stock plunges on brutal 3Q, somber outlook

2011-10-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Netflix jolted its shareholders again with a third-quarter financial report that portrayed a company in crisis.
The video subscription service's latest blooper reel, released Monday, included an even larger customer exodus than the company had foreseen after announcing an unpopular price increase in July. What's worse, the report contained a forecast calling for more defections during the next few months.

The backlash will deprive Netflix Inc. of some of the revenue that management had been counting on to finance the company's expansion plans while it pays higher fees for Internet video streaming rights. The result: Netflix expects to post losses next year when it starts selling its steaming service in Britain and Ireland. The company didn't offer further specifics besides saying it won't go into any other overseas markets until it's making money again.

None of the developments pleased Wall Street as Netflix lost more than a quarter of its value after the bad news came out. If that sharp decline holds in Tuesday's trading, it will mark the first time Netflix's stock price has fallen below $100 in nearly 14 months.

Netflix shares shed $32.01, or nearly 27 percent, to $86.83 in Monday's extended trading.

It's the latest setback for a former stock market darling whose shares topped $300 just 4- 1/2 months ago. Netflix's market value had already plunged by about 60 percent, or nearly $9 billion, before Monday's late sell-off.

Netflix lost its luster among consumers and investors by raising prices as much as 60 percent in the U.S. and bungling an attempt to spin off its DVD-by-mail rental service.

Raising the prices had to be done, according to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. He said, however, that Netflix should have taken more time to explain to subscribers that the company needed the money to pay movie and television studios for rights to stream more video over high-speed Internet connections.

"We became a symbol of the evil, greedy corporation," Hastings said in a Monday interview with The Associated Press. "Then we faced a reputational hit that created significantly more cancellations than we anticipated."

The company, which is based in Los Gatos, ended September with 23.8 million U.S. subscribers, down about 800,000 from June. Netflix had predicted it would lose about 600,000 U.S. subscribers in a forecast released last month.

Management expects to gain U.S. subscribers in the current quarter, although Netflix didn't set a specific target. But a substantial number of Netflix's customers are expected to choose between renting DVDs through the mail, or streaming Internet video, instead of paying for both services.

The biggest hit is expected on the DVD side, a service that Netflix has been de-emphasizing to save money on mailing costs as its spends more to license movies and TV shows for its Internet video library. The company expects its DVD subscribers to fall from 13.9 million as of Sept. 30 to as low as 10.3 million at the end of December.

Hastings said he expects Netflix's DVD subscriptions to steadily decline, much like what has happened to AOL Inc.'s dial-up Internet connection service during the past decade as high-speed alternatives became more affordable.

Netflix's streaming subscriptions in the U.S. may rise by as much as 100,000 subscribers in the quarter, according to the company's projections.

The company's outlook looks even grimmer compared with how rapidly Netflix had been growing. From the end of 2009 through June of this year, Netflix had gained 12.3 million U.S. subscribers -- adding an average of 2 million customers every three months.

From a financial perspective, Netflix did better than analysts expected in the July-September period.

The company earned $62.5 million, or $1.16, per share, in the third quarter. That compared to income of $38 million, or 70 cents per share, at the same time last year.

The performance topped the average earnings estimate of 96 cents per share among analysts polled by FactSet.

Netflix's revenue climbed 49 percent from the same time last year to nearly $822 million -- about $9 million above analyst estimates.

Netflix's downfall leaves Hastings -- the only CEO the company has ever had -- in a precarious position.

Once regarded as one of the savviest leaders in technology and entertainment, Hastings has turned into a punching bag for frustrated Netflix customers and shareholders. Many of them are still befuddled by his recent decision making.

After Netflix's higher prices kicked in on Sept. 1, Hastings amplified the outrage by outlining a plan to toss the DVD rental business onto a separate website called Qwikster. The split from the Internet streaming service got panned so badly that Hastings reversed course in less than three weeks.

"I am not a quitter," Hasting said Monday after the AP asked him if would heed some investor calls for him to resign. "We made some mistakes, but I think our 10-year track record is extremely positive. We are going to focus on making this a great global streaming business. I am very excited about that."

15 Insurance Policies You Don't Need

2011-10-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

15 Insurance Policies You Don't Need

by Lisa Smith

Fear of the future sells insurance. Because we can't predict the future, we want to be ready to cover our financial needs if, or when, something bad happens. Insurance companies understand this fear and offer a variety of insurance policies designed to protect us from a host of calamities that range from disability to disease and everything in between. While none of us wants anything bad to happen, many of the potential catastrophes that happen in our lives are not worth insuring against. In this article, we'll take you through 15 policies that you're probably better off without.
1. Private Mortgage Insurance
The infamous private mortgage insurance (PMI) is well known to homeowners because it increases the amount of their monthly mortgage payments. PMI is an insurance policy that protects the lender against loss when lending to a higher-risk borrower. The borrower pays for this insurance but derives no benefit. Fortunately, there are several ways to avoid paying for this unnecessary policy. PMI is required if you purchase a home with a down payment of less than 20% of the home's value. The small down payment is viewed as putting you at risk of defaulting on the loan. Put down at least 20% and the PMI requirement goes away. Alternatively, you can put down 10% and take out two loans, one for 80% of the sale price of the property and one for 10%, although interests rates can prevent the economics of this maneuver from working out in the homeowner's favor.
2. Extended Warranties
Extended warranties are available on a host of appliances and electronics. From a consumer's perspective, they are rarely used, particularly on small items such as DVD players and radios. If you purchase a reputable, brand-name product, you can be fairly certain it will work as advertised and that the extended warranty is statistically likely to be unnecessary. If you spend $5,000 on a giant, flat-screen television, the policy is still unlikely to pay off, but might make you feel better. For everything else, forget it.

3. Automobile Collision
Collision insurance is designed to cover the cost of repairs to your vehicle if you are involved in an accident. If you have a loan out on the car, the loan issuer is likely to require that you have collision insurance. If your car is paid off, collision is optional; therefore, if you have enough money in the bank to cover the cost of a new car, collision insurance may be an unnecessary expense. This is particularly true if you are driving an old car, because cars depreciate so quickly that many vehicles are worth only a fraction of their purchase price by the time the loan is paid in full.

4. Rental Car Insurance
Most auto insurance policies offer additional coverage for the cost of car rentals, touting it as a useful feature if your car is ever involved in an accident and needs to spend some time in the repair shop. This may sound like a good idea, but in reality, most people rarely rent a car, and when they do, the cost is relatively low and hardly worth insuring against. Although rental car insurance is relatively inexpensive, amortized over the course of a lifetime you are still likely to spend far more than you will benefit.

5. Car Rental Damage Insurance
Many auto insurance policies already cover rentals, so there's no need to pay for this twice. Check your policy before you pay. Depending on where you rent the vehicle, you may also be able to pay a small fee for insurance on your rental when you pick it up at the rental center. If this fee is less than what you'd pay for a year in your old policy, choose the fee over the policy.

6. Flight Insurance
Flight insurance coverage is completely unnecessary. Despite media portrayal, airline accidents are relatively rare, and your life insurance policy should already provide coverage in the event of a catastrophe.

7. Water Line Coverage
Water companies have made an aggressive push to sell policies that cover the repair of the water line that runs from the street to your house. The odds are in your favor that you will never use this coverage, particularly if you live in a newer home. If you live an average suburban neighborhood and you do need to repair the water line, the distance to the street is short, the likelihood of a problem is low and repair costs are a few thousand dollars or less. The same goes for policies offered by other utility companies.

8. Life Insurance for Children
Life insurance is designed to provide a safety net for your heirs/dependents. Because children don't have heirs to worry about and, statistically speaking, most kids will grow up safe and healthy, most parents should not purchase life insurance for their kids. Instead, use the money that you would have spent on life insurance to fund an education plan or an individual retirement account (IRA).

9. Flood Insurance
Unless you live in a flood plain or an area with a history of water problems, don't even bother buying flood insurance. If none of the homes in the area has ever been flooded, yours is unlikely to be the first.

10. Credit Card Insurance
Purchasing coverage to pay your credit card bill in the event you cannot pay it is a waste of money. A far better idea is to avoid running up your credit cards in the first place, so you won't need to worry about the bills. Not only do you not save on the insurance premiums, you'll also save the interest on your debt.

11. Credit Card Loss Insurance
Federal law limits your liability if your credit card is stolen. Your out-of-pocket costs are limited to $50 per card and not a penny more. In fact, many credit card companies don't even try to collect the $50.

12. Mortgage Life Insurance
Mortgage life insurance pays off your house in the event of your death. Rather than add another policy - and another bill - to your list of insurance plans, it makes more sense to get a term-life policy instead. A good life insurance policy will provide enough money to pay off the mortgage and to cover other expenses as well. After all, the mortgage isn't the only bill your survivors will need to pay.

13. Unemployment Insurance
This coverage makes minimum payments on your bills if you are out of work, which sounds like an attractive proposition. A better plan is to save your money and build up an emergency fund instead. You won't have to cover the cost of the insurance policy and, if you are never out of work, you won't spend any money at all.

14. Disease Insurance
Policies are available to cover cancer, heart disease and other maladies. Instead of trying to identify every possible disease that you may encounter, get a good medical coverage policy instead. This way, your medical bills will be covered regardless of the problem you face.

15. Accidental-Death Insurance
Unless you are extraordinarily accident prone, an accident is unlikely. Major catastrophes such as car wrecks and fires are covered under other policies, as is any harm that comes to you while at work. Accidental-death policies are often fraught with stipulations that make them difficult to collect on, so skip the hassles and get life insurance instead.

When Choosing Insurance
There are so many policies to chose from, and they all cost money. While a certain amount of insurance coverage is necessary and prudent, you need to choose carefully. In general, broad policies that offer coverage for a multitude of potential events are a better choice than limited-scope policies that focus on specific diseases or potential incidents. Before you buy any policy, read it carefully to make sure that you understand the terms, coverage and costs. Don't sign on the dotted line until you are comfortable with the coverage and are sure that you need it.

10 million could pay more Social Security tax

2011-10-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

Seniors got good news on Wednesday: Their Social Security checks will go up 3.6% next year because of a cost-of-living increase.

That also means an estimated 10 million high-income workers may be paying a bigger tax bill.

That's because the inflation that justifies the benefit increase also will raise the amount of income subject to the portion of the payroll tax supporting Social Security.

Currently workers pay the tax on the first $106,800 of income. Starting next year, they will pay it on the first $110,100.

Normally the tax rate is 6.2% for workers and 6.2% for employers. Those who are self-employed pay the full 12.4%.

But this year workers have only paid 4.2% thanks to a temporary payroll tax holiday that Congress passed last December.

Social Security checks to rise 3.6%

It's not clear yet what the rate for 2012 will be. If President Obama has his way, it will be temporarily cut even further -- to 3.1%. Otherwise it may be maintained at 4.2% or revert to 6.2% as it is scheduled to under current law.

This year, people making $110,100 are paying $4,486 into Social Security.

Next year, if the rate reverts to 6.2%, they'd pay $2,341 more.

If the rate stays at 4.2%, they'd pay $139 more.

And if it's reduced to 3.1%, they'd pay $1,073 less.

Proponents who support an extended payroll tax holiday say letting it expire would hurt the economy.

Opponents say the idea is not very effective as economic stimulus.

To help close Social Security's long-term financing shortfall, budget experts have recommended increasing the amount of income subject to the payroll tax.

One proposal is to raise the cap to a level where the payroll tax is covering 90% of wages earned in the country, as it used to for years.

To accomplish this, Obama's fiscal commission proposed raising the cap gradually so that it covers 90% of wages by 2050. Under that proposal the taxable maximum would be $190,000 in 2020, up from the $168,000 currently projected.

View this article on CNNMoney

Why a personal trainer is making himself obese… on purpose.

2011-10-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

Normally, I share weight loss success stories - WooHoos!, as they’re known at FatFighterTV. But today, I want to tell you about the opposite – a fit guy who is deliberately making himself fat.

Since May, Drew Manning has gained about 70 pounds on purpose. And he’s not done yet.

Drew is a personal trainer and has always been the “fit guy.” He’s now on a journey he calls Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit where he spends six months (he has about 4 weeks left) eating unhealthy food and not exercising, then he will take six more months to get fit again. Why? To experience for himself what it’s like to be overweight, how tough it is to lose weight, and ultimately show others how to get fit. But this is sooo extreme! And I hate that Drew is deliberately making himself unhealthy. I asked him all about it…

FatFighterTV: As someone who has always been fit, how can you stand doing this to yourself?
Drew Manning: It’s been very tough physically, mentally and emotionally to let myself go like this. The first couple of months were the hardest. I felt like I was going through withdrawals, just like any other addiction. I was jealous seeing people running, going to the gym, and being in shape.

Also see: How Cammy lost 100 pounds

FFTV: Are you concerned about your health?

DM: Yes, definitely. With a BP reading of 161/113 you can’t NOT be concerned. I haven’t felt in danger yet, but I still have 4 weeks left to go. People tell me all the time to stop now, but I look at it like this…..if others can live years with these unhealthy risk factors, like high BP, glucose levels, cholesterol levels, triglycerides, etc. then I can last another 4 weeks. Plus I want to show people how living a healthy lifestyle can change all of those risk factors.

FFTV: Are you enjoying eating all those unhealthy foods?

DM: Yes and no. To some extent, all of these foods that I’m eating (sugary cereals, granola bars, juices, white breads, white pastas, sodas, crackers, chips, frozen dinners, mac n cheese, etc.) taste delicious. But then I feel like crap later on and I get hungry again and crave those same foods.

See also: Healthified Chicken Salad Sandwiches

FFTV: You’ve gained about 70 pounds now since May – how do you feel?

DM: I’m to the point where I feel lethargic and uncomfortable. I definitely feel “addicted” to these foods. In the beginning, I did not like soda, but now I can’t go a day without, otherwise I’ll get the headaches, bad mood, etc. Emotionally, it’s taken a toll on my confidence level, even in my marriage. I don’t like the way I look in public; nothing fits right; bending over to tie my shoes or clip my toe nails has become so difficult. I’ve definitely taken those things for granted.

FFTV: You mentioned that you want to gain an understanding of how hard it is to be overweight – what have you learned so far?

DM: I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is how intense and how real these food cravings are. I think a lot of people associate the word “addiction” with drugs and alcohol, but I do believe this addiction (to America’s processed foods) is real and very similar. I know I’ll never know exactly what it’s like for every person that’s overweight and I don’t claim to, but at least I understand better than I did before when I never had to struggle with this. I hope to learn a lot more in the second half of my journey, from fat 2 fit.

Bad Credit

2011-10-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe you pay cash for everything, use a debit card and don't even have a credit card. You laugh at your bad credit rating.

But one's creditworthiness, as reflected in a FICO score or a credit report, now affects a lot more than the ability to borrow money or buy something on credit. It can affect whether you get a job, what you pay for insurance, and even how your personal relationships work out.

You may think that the current economic mess and mortgage foreclosure crisis generating an overall decline in credit scores will lower the bar for you compared with others. Think again. Low credit score or not, your credit score can affect you on many new fronts.

Although there are different varieties of credit scores, the most widely used one is called FICO, named for its inventor, Fair Isaac Corp (NYSE: FICO - News). It considers such factors as credit account payment history and borrowing capacity—but not age, income or net worth—to calculate a single number called a FICO score. It can range from 300 to 850. Anything above 750 is considered excellent. Below 550 is trouble.

A credit rating is drawn from a credit report, a compilation by a credit reporting agency of your debts, payment history and other information such as employment and addresses.

At its heart, a credit score is nothing but a mathematical prediction of your ability to pay your debts. But it can also impact other areas that may not be as obvious.

It's legal under the Fair Credit Reporting Act for a would-be employer to look (with your permission) at your credit report and reasonably use that in the hiring or non-hiring decision. Employment consultants say a troubling credit score may cause hiring officers to more closely question an applicant. Vic Tanon, chief simplicity officer at Emplicity, an organization that consults in hiring practices across the U.S., says a bad credit rating is likely to be more of a factor in certain industries like financial services.

There is also advice out there that two people contemplating a permanent relationship should consider credit issues. "Sitting down and looking at each other's credit reports and seeing what that says about each other is an important step before getting married," says Lisa J.B. Peterson of Lantern Financial, a Boston financial planning group. "Risky versus debt-averse personality types that show up in credit scores may paint a pretty good picture of how each person will act in the marriage. It comes down to communication, but that can be really challenging if the personalities are so different."

New York City matrimonial lawyer Sheila Riesel says one of the main concerns with poor credit scores prior to marriage is what it says about the borrower's behavior with credit. People often wait too long to discuss these issues, and it ends up adding to one or another's stake of assets in a divorce settlement. "People's actions impact the way that assets are divided in a divorce," she says.

One detrimental effect of the bank crisis three years ago is tightened credit standards among regional banks have reduced access to capital for small businesses. Today a bad credit score can make it even harder to get bank financing for starting or expanding a business. "A credit score figures more heavily today in an individual's ability to finance a business than it did five years ago when banks had more freedom to lend," says Giovanni Coratolo, vice president of business policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Financing a home continues to be impacted by a borrower's credit history. With the new laws passed in the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul bill last year, the holder of a low credit score is really shut out of the market today unless a large down payment can be ponied up.

Federal law also allows landlords to use credit data in making a decision on whether to rent you an apartment.

The methodology behind FICO's credit scores is available on myfico.com. Fair Isaac says its scores allow faster approvals and more credit available at lower rates for many borrowers. The company also encourages people to actively correct their credit agency reports by contacting FICO along with the organization that provided the information to fix mistakes, or by spending time making regular payments on credit to establish an improved credit history.
Fair Isaac does not recommend laughing.
In the old days, a bad credit score or report simply stopped you from buying something with borrowed money at a low rate. That's still true, but times have changed. Credit has become a factor in a much wider range of human endeavors. Here are five ways a bad credit score can affect more than your credit:

Personal Relationships
Engagements have been known to end over one fiance's displeasure with the credit score/report of another. It's one thing to marry for love, but quite another thing to marry for debt. In a divorce, those credit scores can be used as leverage in dividing a couple's assets.

Getting a Mortgage
This traditional use of credit scores for buying a home with a loan is still among the most prevalent. The large number of home foreclosures calls into question whether lenders gave borrowers' credit scores the proper weight in the first place, but new rules are forcing a focus on creditworthiness.

Getting a Job
It is legal for would-be employers with your permission to look at your credit report and use that as part of the hiring decision. If you are denied a job because of a negative report, you must be told about that. There's a push to outlaw employer use of credit reports.

Car Insurance
Some car insurers think there is a direct correlation between one's creditworthiness and propensity to be in an auto accident, so they calculate their own version of a credit score. They put more emphasis on on-time payments than the overall amount of debt, using adverse results to deny coverage or jack up rates. This is illegal in some states.

Property Insurance
Much like car coverage, insurers offering homeowner insurance see a connection between low credit scores and high claims. They perhaps think the less cash-flush have a larger motive to file dubious claims.

Wireless Users Will Get Alerts on Excess Use

2011-10-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON — Users of cellphones and other wireless devices who are nearing their monthly limit for voice, text or data services will receive alerts when they are in danger of being charged extra, under an agreement reached by carriers and the Federal Communications Commission.

The agreement, which is to be announced Monday, brings together an industry and a regulator that have fought bitterly this year over the F.C.C.’s attempts to police Internet service providers and over the commission’s review of wireless company mergers. The agreement will begin within a year.

Wireless companies have generally opposed the commission’s recent efforts to dictate how they communicate with customers. But the carriers have also been losing good will with people bitter about the sometimes exorbitant charges resulting from overuse of what has become a consumer staple — the cellphone.

Tens of millions of wireless phone users are hit with overage charges each year, the F.C.C. estimates, based on its own studies and work by the Government Accountability Office and private research firms. The new agreement binds all of the members of the industry’s largest trade group, and therefore covers virtually all of the country’s more than 300 million wireless accounts, according to the F.C.C. chairman, Julius Genachowski.

President Obama, Mr. Genachowski and Steve Largent, president of CTIA — the Wireless Association, the trade group that negotiated for the carriers, hailed the agreement. Mr. Largent, a former congressman and N.F.L. player, said the deal fulfilled a government pledge without imposing burdensome regulations.

President Obama, in a statement, said: “I appreciate the mobile phone companies’ willingness to work with my administration and join us in our overall and ongoing efforts to protect American consumers by making sure financial transactions are fair, honest and transparent.”

For 18 months, the F.C.C. has been investigating what it calls bill shock, what consumers experience when they receive their monthly wireless bill to find unexpected charges of hundreds or thousands of dollars for roaming or overuse of voice and data services. In October, it proposed a regulation that will now be delayed while the commission monitors the industry’s voluntary compliance.

Most wireless contracts call for a customer to pay a flat monthly fee for a fixed number of minutes of talk time. Some plans include a set number of text messages, and others, most often for smartphones, tablets like the iPad, or laptop computer air cards, include a certain amount of data use each month.

A customer exceeding those limits will begin incurring charges that are often far more expensive on a per-unit basis than under the monthly allotments. While many carriers offer several ways for consumers to check their usage, those struck by large bills usually had not regularly done so.

Alerting consumers to data limits is particularly relevant with the explosive growth of the iPad and other
tablets, which can consume immense amounts of data in downloading music and books, and streaming movies. The F.C.C. has said that the popularity of tablets and the accompanying growth in data use is contributing to overcrowding of the airwaves, with wireless companies finding that they may eventually not be able to accommodate the demand for downloading.

A 2010 study by the F.C.C. found that one in six mobile device users had experienced bill shock, with 23 percent of those users facing unexpected charges of $100 or more. A separate F.C.C. report noted that 20 percent of the bill shock complaints it received during the first half of 2010 were for $1,000 or more in overage charges. Expensive charges can also be incurred for roaming, when a user travels out of a company’s defined area of coverage or, as often occurs, when traveling overseas.

Even so-called unlimited data plans often have a cap limiting downloads each month to a certain number of megabytes — a technical measure that, unlike a number of calls or minutes, cannot easily be tracked by the uninitiated. Last October, the F.C.C. highlighted the case of a 66-year-old retiree in Dover, Mass., who received an $18,000 bill after a promotional no-limit data plan expired without warning.

Alexander Cullison found out the hard way what can happen when a family member is unaware of usage limits and accounting. Mr. Cullison, a retired resident of Fairfax, Va., received a $400 bill one month recently after his son, whose plan had a monthly limit of 250 text messages, sent and received about 2,000 in one billing period. It was then that Mr. Cullison learned that his wireless company counted each message sent and received as separate items, causing them to build up at least twice as fast as expected.

“This is a good resolution,” Mr. Cullison said, “as long as they advise you that you are going to go over your limit before it actually happens.” Under the agreement, carriers will provide alerts when consumers approach and then exceed their limits on voice, data or texting. In addition, users will receive an alert when their phone links to a cellular system in a foreign country. Some carriers already provide similar alerts.

Companies have the option to deliver alerts by text or voice, but they must be free and automatic. Consumers can opt out of the service if they choose. At least two of the four types of alerts must be started by carriers within 12 months, and all alerts must begin within 18 months.

The companies also agreed to publicize tools for consumers to monitor their own usage. The F.C.C. has teamed with the nonprofit Consumers Union to track companies’ compliance.

“Consumers have been telling us about ‘bill shock’ for a long time, and we’ve been pushing for reforms to crack down on the problem,” said Parul P. Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union. “Ultimately, this is about helping people protect their pocketbooks, so we applaud the F.C.C. and the industry for this effort to do right by consumers.”

8 killed in Southern California salon shooting

2011-10-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

8 photos - 21 hrs ago...See latest photos »....SEAL BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Every hair-dressing station was full at Salon Meritage when a gunman burst through the door and began shooting, sending terrified customers diving for cover. The shooter then stepped outside, shot a man sitting in a truck in the parking lot and sped off.

By the time it was all over Wednesday, eight people were dead and another one in critical condition in Seal Beach, a resort town so calm the police spokesman couldn't even recall the last homicide.

"There was like a 'pop pop' ... and my receptionist screamed out, 'He just shot that man' and we all went into the bathroom and called 911," said Kimberly Criswell, who owns a salon two doors away and knew many hairstylists at Salon Meritage. "I'm sure I've lost some friends today."

Police arrested 42-year-old Scott Dekraai about a half-mile from the scene but did not release a motive or any other details.

In all, one man and five women died at the salon, one man and one woman died after being sent to a nearby hospital, and one woman remained in critical condition. Their names have not been released.

Friends of the salon owner and other employees said Dekraai was the ex-husband of a stylist who worked
there. One of the licensed cosmetologists at the salon was listed as Michelle Dekraai.

One witness, Glenn Zachman, said police placed plastic bags over the man's hands to preserve possible gunshot residue.

The man was cooperative when officers, working from a description of the shooter, stopped him near the salon, Bowles said.

Kari Salveson of Los Alamitos, who attended a service for the victims at SeaCoast Grace Church in Seal Beach, said she had known Michelle Dekraai for more than 10 years and was aware that she and her ex-husband were involved in a bitter custody dispute over their son, who is about 7 or 8 years old.

She said Michelle Dekraai made her every visit to the salon special.

"She could gab away. She was one of those girlfriends you could never get enough of. She made you smile and she made you laugh," Salveson said.

In Huntington Beach, people were shocked to learn that one of the friendliest men in the neighborhood had been arrested for the shootings.

Dekraai's neighbors described him as an outgoing man who invited them over for pool parties at the house he'd lived in for about six years. They said he doted on his son, playing catch with the boy in his yard.

Neighbors said they were aware Dekraai was in a custody battle with his ex-wife.
"It was a very difficult battle and he was trying to get more time" with his son, said Jo Cornhall, who lives across the street.

Next-door neighbor Stephanie Malchow, 29, last saw Dekraai on Tuesday morning as she was leaving for work. She was shocked when she saw the photo of the stocky man with thinning hair being detained by Seal Beach police.

"I'm like, no, not this neighbor, no way, he's the nicest guy ever," Malchow said.

Dekraai married his current wife two or three years ago in his backyard, said Malchow, who attended the wedding.

"He seemed very happy, he was just so happy he found someone new who loved his son," she said.

Dekraai walked with a limp after a tug boat accident that killed a fellow tug boat operator about two miles off the coast in 2007. Cornhall said he uses a brace for his leg.

Police were still trying to determine the sequence of events inside the shop. They wouldn't say what type of weapon was used or if the gunman used more than one.

"We're unsure at this point if he shot from the entrance and people, as they were shot, ran in seeking cover or seeking shelter, but we have fatalities throughout the salon," Bowles told reporters.

Seal Beach has seen just one other homicide in the past four years, and Bowles said Wednesday's killings were the greatest tragedy to ever strike the seaside town.

The downtown is dotted with salons, restaurants, antique shops and boutiques clustered just blocks from a beach and pier popular with teenagers and young families. Many residents live and work within walking distance of the ocean.

"It's like Mayberry in the middle of Los Angeles," said Doyle Surratt, lead pastor of SeaCoast Grace Church. "We're small and all the kids go to school together."

Associated Press writers John Rogers and Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles and Amy Taxin in Huntington Beach contributed to this report.

..

Couple will use £101 mln win to make others rich

2011-10-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

..A couple who won £101 million in the EuroMillions lottery said Tuesday they would use their winnings to marry and make up to 20 friends and family millionaires.

Dave Dawes, a shift supervisor at a food producer, and his partner Angela Dawes, a charity shop volunteer, were the only winners of Britain's third-largest lottery jackpot, worth 116 million euros or $157 million.

In a press conference, Dave Dawes, 47, said the couple went into "meltdown" as they watched the draw live on television and realised their numbers had come up.

"It was just mad, I couldn't believe my eyes," he said. "We were doing several checks that night: the TV, the website... I looked at (Angela) and said 'My god, we're the only ones!'"

It was only the third time the couple had played EuroMillions and their winning numbers were picked at random. The only number Dave deliberately chose was 18, the date of his oldest son's birthday.

The couple from Wisbech, eastern England, who are not married but have chosen to use the same name, had to wait until Monday for their win to be verified, but have already discussed how they will spend some of the money.

"My mum and dad live in Portugal so we're going to buy a house over there, we?re going to get married next year -- Dave already bought me an engagement ring but now we're going to buy a better one," Angela Dawes said.

The couple, who have been together for four years, had already been planning to marry next year, but said the wedding will now be a more glamorous affair.

Dave Dawes, an avid fan of Chelsea, said one of his first purchases will be a season ticket for the team.

The couple are also looking to swap their one-bedroom flat for a luxury property close to the club's Stamford Bridge stadium in one of London's most exclusive districts.

He said his wife-to-be has given him permission to have a games room filled with Chelsea memorabilia in their new house.

The couple said they would also happily give away much of their newfound wealth.

Angela Dawes said the couple have drawn up a list of 15 to 20 beneficiaries, which includes Dave Dawes' two grown-up sons from a previous relationship and her son from a previous relationship.

She said some of the benefactors had already been told and were "absolutely gobsmacked, amazed and in tears" at the news of their forthcoming windfall.

The couple also want to donate a portion of their winnings to charity, with children's causes set to benefit.

At the press conference, Dave Dawes officially tendered his resignation to his employers, Premier Foods. Angela Dawes said she will not return to work as a volunteer at a British Heart Foundation charity shop.

The couple said they were planning to take some time to celebrate their win, before deciding how they will share out their money -- but they said they had no intention of playing the lottery again.

In July, another British couple, Colin Weir, 64, and his wife Chris, 55, from Largs, near Glasgow, were named Europe's biggest ever lottery winners, after scooping 185 million euros £162 million in the EuroMillions jackpot.

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Want to terminate your contract? It’s going to cost you

2011-10-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

Most of us know someone who is completely obsessed with all things Apple. It's the friend who carries her iPad everywhere or the coworker who named his turtle after Steve Jobs. These folks (and a lot of others, too) waited with anticipation as the new iPhone 4S was announced Tuesday, October 4. But if you're debating ditching your current cell phone contract to snap up Apple's latest confection, make sure to do your homework first. Unless you have a prepaid plan, you can expect to pay hefty fees for canceling your contract before its official end date.

Exact amounts will vary depending on the device in question and how much time is left on your contract. Here's a quick look at major cell phone carriers' early termination fees.

The outlook for an early out

The setup of early termination fees is similar for Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. If you've had your contract for longer than the company's initial return policy (usually 14 or 30 days), you'll probably be charged between $50 and $350 for terminating it early. Contracts for so-called advanced devices (think smartphones, tablets, and netbooks) cost more to terminate than contracts for standard devices.

If you just began your contract and want out, you're in luck; most carriers let you terminate your contract within the first two to four weeks after activating without termination fees. In this scenario, though, you have to return the device to the cell phone company and pay a restocking fee of $25 to $75, depending on how much the item originally cost. If you duck out of the contract within the first three days, many cell phone carriers will reimburse the activation fee you paid to set up the line, but you'll still have to pay for any usage.

Is it time to switch carriers?

Verizon

Verizon's early termination fee is $175 for standard devices and $350 for advanced devices like smartphones. Like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, Verizon gives you a discount based on how many months of the contract you've fulfilled. For each month you've fulfilled in your cell contract, the ETF you'd pay to cancel goes down by $10 for an advanced device, or $5 for a standard device.

You'll take a little bit less of a hit if you terminate your contract immediately after you start it. You can end your contract for any reason during the first 14 days, but you'll have to return the device, for which you'll pay a $35 restocking fee ($70 for netbooks and tablets).

One small piece of good news: If you pay full price for a new device, Verizon will let you activate service without a contract. It's unlikely that the iPhone 5 will be cheap, but if you're a cell phone carrier commitment-phobe, the full-price, no-contract option might be worth looking into.
AT&T

The cost of ending an AT&T contract early is almost identical to Verizon's: $350 if you're using an advanced device, $150 for all other devices. AT&T also gives you a break for every month of the contract you completed before terminating. Cancelling the contract for an advanced device will set you back $350 minus $10 for each full month of the contract you completed; non-advanced devices get a $4 discount for each full contract month before the cancellation.

If you signed at AT&T contract before June 1, 2010, you're in luck though: your ETF, even for a smartphone device like the iPhone, will only be $175 minus $5 for each month of service you've completed. That's because the company effectively changed their early termination fee policies on that date to reflect the higher ETF for smartphone devices, so if you're in under contract before that date you're still subject to the original, lower ETF policy.

If you just started your AT&T contract, you have 30 days to cancel the contract without penalty, although (as always) you'll have to return the device and pay any usage fees you've incurred. AT&T's restocking fee is $35 for all devices except tablets and Apple devices; those will cost you 10% of the device's price to restock.

Be wary of hidden charges

T-Mobile

T-Mobile doesn't distinguish between advanced devices and standard devices when calculating early termination fees; the only factor is how much time is left on your contract when you cancel. Early cancellation fees range from $50 if you have one to three months left on your contract to $200 if you're under still contract for six months or more. If you cancel your contract during the last month, you'll pay either $50 or your monthly recurring charges, whichever is less.

T-Mobile gives you a 20-day window after starting your contract during which you can back out without being hit with early termination charges. Restocking fees for returned devices vary; you'll pay $75 to restock netbooks and tablets, $50 for smartphones, and $25 for basic phones.

Sprint

Like the other carriers, Sprint gives you a bit of a break on early termination fees based on how many months of your contract you've fulfilled. You can calculate what your ETF would be by taking the number of months that remain in your contract and multiplying by $20 for an advanced device, and $10 for a standard device — with a maximum ETF of $350 for advanced devices and $200 for standard devices, and a minimum ETF of $100 and $50, respectively. Here's a quick example: If you cancel a contract on an advanced device and there are 22 months still left on your contract, it'll cost you $350, because 22 x $20 is higher than the maximum $350. If you cancel with 10 months left in your contract, you'll pay 10 x $20 or $200. But cancel the same device when you've just got one month left, and the termination fee drops to $100 — the minimum ETF for a smartphone device. Sprint has published a handy chart so you can see what your ETF will be at a glance.

If your contract is brand new, Sprint allows you to up to 14 days to cancel without early termination fees, provided you return the device and pay for any service you've used. But you'll still be charged a $35 restocking fee unless you're returning a device that was never activated.

This article was written by Laura Selby and originally appeared on Tecca

Get Free Stuff All Year Round

2011-10-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love getting something for free? Psychologically, we sometimes can't help ourselves when we see a freebie.

My first list of year-round freebies, which I published more than a year ago, continues to attract readers. So, by popular demand, I've collected several more free products and services available to consumers every day. Enjoy!

Free Kids' Food

Many restaurants will let kids eat for free on certain nights of the week. I found a pretty comprehensive list at FrugalLiving.TV: On Mondays, for instance, you can get free kids' meals at IHOP, Denny's, Pizza Hut and TGIFridays. Accompanying adults, of course, need to order too — and pay full price.

Free Chocolate

Rewards clubs sometimes offer monthly freebies — often with no cost to sign up. Signing up for Godiva's Chocolate Rewards Club, for instance, will get you a free piece of chocolate each month. (Godiva, of course, hopes you'll buy more — but you don't have to.) Want more? By shopping at Lindt stores and signing up for Lindt's Chocolate Connoisseur's Club, you can earn points toward free chocolate. Newsletter recipients also get invitations to tasting events.

Free E-books

Save $10 per download by borrowing e-books from your local library, two-thirds of which now offer e-book borrowing. You can also borrow eBooks for free from Barnes & Noble's LendMe service, via Amazon's Kindle (which also offers free downloads of classic books), Project Gutenberg and Daily Lit, among other Web sites.

Free Yoga

I mentioned this last year, but am repeating it again here, since the offer is still good: Participating Lululemon Athletica stores across the country offer complimentary yoga classes, with instructors pushing products to the side to turn the stores into yoga studios. Find a class near you.

Free Flu Shots

CVS Caremark, in a partnership with Direct Relief USA, has announced it will be continuing its free flu shot program this year for community clinic and health center patients who don't have health insurance. Here's the list of participating clinics and health centers where you can obtain your free flu shot voucher.

Check with your local hospital or health department for other ways to obtain a free flu shot. For example, the Kansas City Missouri Health Department recently began offering free flu shots for children ages 2 through 18 who do not have insurance or whose insurance does not cover flu vaccinations.

Free Massages

Check in with your local massage therapy schools or clinics to see if students are offering free massages. For example, the Illinois Valley Community College's Advanced Massage Therapy class of licensed massage therapy students will host a free massage clinic for those with certain conditions — such as diabetes, high blood pressure or chronic pain — during certain days this month and next.

Free Medication

At the more than 1,000 Publix supermarkets located in the southern United States, the pharmacy departments offer free one-time supplies of some generic medication. One example: a 30-day supply of Lisinopril, which is used to prevent, treat, or improve symptoms of high blood pressure, certain heart conditions, diabetes, and certain chronic kidney conditions. You can also get a free 14-day supply of generic oral antibiotics, such as Amoxicillin and Ampicillin. ShopRite pharmacy, a chain spread throughout in the Northeast, also offers a free one-time supply of antibiotics and diabetes medication.

Free How-To Tutorials

If you want to know how to put on a birdcage wedding veil (I did last week), or how to mount your new Pottery Barn shelves to the wall (the directions weren't clear), you can search YouTube, HowCast and VideoJug to find thousands of free how-to videos.
Free Credit Scores
While sites like CreditKarma and Quizzle can help you access to a ballpark estimate of their credit score, it's tough to get your actual FICO score for free without paying. One new exception: If you are denied a private student loan, small business loan, mortgage or credit card — or even given one but with a less favorable rate — the lender must provide you with a letter explaining why, and include the credit score it used to arrive at its decision. The new rule took effect on July 21.

Farnoosh Torabi is a personal finance journalist and commentator. She is the author of the new book Psych Yourself Rich, Get the Mindset and Discipline You Need to Build Your Financial Life. Follow her at www.farnoosh.tv and on Twitter/farnoosh.

Nobel Peace Prize honors African, Arab women

2011-10-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

OSLO (Reuters) - Declaring women's rights vital for world peace, the Nobel Committee awarded its annual Peace Prize on Friday to three indomitable campaigners against war and oppression -- a Yemeni and two Liberians, including that country's president.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first freely elected female head of state, shared the $1.5 million with compatriot Leymah Gbowee, who led a "sex strike" among her efforts against Liberia's civil war, and Arab activist Tawakul Karman, who hailed the award as a victory for democracy in Yemen.

"We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society," Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland told reporters.

Johnson-Sirleaf, 72 and once dubbed the "Iron Lady" by opponents, is running for a second term in an election on Tuesday where she faces criticism for not having done enough to heal the divisions of years of civil war. Jagland dismissed suggestions the award might seem to be meddling in the vote.

But the former Norwegian prime minister said that honoring Yemen's protesters, who unlike those in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya are still battling to get rid of their ruler, sent a signal from Oslo that President Ali Abdullah Saleh, long a U.S. ally, and other Arab autocrats should now step down.

It is a message that the era of Arab dictators was over, Karman told Reuters in Sanaa, declaring her prize a victory for Yemen and for all of the uprisings of the Arab Spring.

The trio of laureates follow only a dozen other women among 85 men, as well as a number of organizations, to have won the prize over its 110-year history.

The Committee said it hoped the three-way award "will help to bring an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many countries, and to realize the great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent."

ARAB SPRING HONORED

Recognizing Karman, a 32-year-old journalist and mother who was detained for a time during the unrest, was seen as a gesture of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's wider approval for the Arab Spring protest movements, which had been heavily tipped to win the prize for their young street campaigners.

"In the most trying circumstances, both before and during the Arab Spring, Tawakul Karman has played a leading part in the struggle for women's rights and for democracy and peace in Yemen," the Nobel citation read.

Egyptian activist Asmaa Mahfouz, who had been nominated, said: "Giving it to Yemen means giving it to the Arab Spring, and this is an honor to all of us and to all Arab states."

The committee said all three women were rewarded from the bequest left by Swedish dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel for "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."

LIBERIAN CAMPAIGNS

It noted that Johnson-Sirleaf had led the way for women to lead African states and that Gbowee, 39, had mobilized women across ethnic and religious lines to bring an end to the war in Liberia and ensure their participation in elections.

Her brother, Alphonso Diamond Gbowee, told Reuters: "I am so excited that her relentlessness to ensure the development of women and children in our region has been recognized.

"She's very hard-working, helping with women and children all over the place, especially in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone ... This will be a challenge for her to do more. I have no doubt she'll continue to impact those vulnerable lives."

Speaking by telephone from Monrovia, Johnson-Sirleaf's son James told Reuters: "I am over-excited. This is very big news and we have to celebrate."

Johnson-Sirleaf was Liberia's finance minister, then suffered jail and fled the country as it descended into one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars, serving as a World Bank economist before going home and winning the presidency in 2005.

Gbowee's Women For Peace movement is credited by some for bringing an end to the civil war in 2003. The movement started humbly in 2002 when Gbowee organized a group of women to sing and pray for an end to fighting in a fish market.

She is the subject of an award-winning documentary film "Pray the Devil Back to Hell."

"Whatever they achieved today has been done along with all Liberian women," Liberia's minister for gender and development Vabah Gayflor told Reuters.

"It is something that all Liberian women will be proud of ... Women all over Africa and the world will be proud."

The prize will be presented in Oslo on December 10.

(Additional reporting by Victoria Klesty, Walter Gibbs, John Acher, Joachim Dagenborg, Camilla Knudsen and Alastair Macdonald in Oslo, Richard Valdmanis and Mark John in Dakar, Alphonso Toweh and Clair MacDougall in Monrovia, Yasmine Saleh in Cairo, Andrew Hammond in Dubai and Samia Nakhoul in London; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Terje Solsvik)

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A Guide to New Light Bulb

2011-10-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

U.S. legislation is phasing out the traditional incandescent light bulb: by 2014, for the most part, you won’t even be able to find them in stores. But you may have already decided you want to get rid of your traditional light bulbs by replacing them with energy-saving alternatives.

Here’s a guide to bulbs you can use in lighting after you’ve burned your last incandescent light bulb.

For replacing your traditional indoor bulbs, you generally have two choices: a compact fluorescent (CFL) bulb or a halogen bulb. Many outdoor bulbs and some lower-wattage indoor bulbs can be replaced with a light-emitting diode (LED) bulb. Usually the packaging on the new light bulb indicates what incandescent light bulb it’s supposed to replace, but here’s a quick guide:

•A 100-watt (W) incandescent can be replaced by a 23W CFL or a 72W halogen.

•A 75W incandescent can be replaced by a 19W CFL or a 43W halogen.

•A 60W incandescent can be replaced by a 13W CFL, a 43W halogen, or a 12W LED.

The three different types of new light bulbs each have their advantages and disadvantages. To figure out what you need, you’ll want to answer some questions about your lighting first.

Did your bedroom light just burn out?

The simplest and easiest way to replace a burnt-out incandescent bulb is to get a CFL. CFLs are available in most home-improvement stores and even some supermarkets and drugstores. CFLs are more expensive than incandescent bulbs, but use considerably less energy and last longer, saving you money over the course of the light bulb’s life.

If you prefer to wait for the next wave of light bulb technology, keep your eyes peeled for LEDs to fall in price. While LEDs are currently many times more expensive than CFLs, they also use even less energy and last much longer. They are expected to be more widely (and cheaply) available in the next few years.

Do you need light right away?

CFLs take a few seconds to start emitting full light. If you can’t wait that long, investigate halogen bulbs. Halogens are competitively priced with CFLs, though they use more energy than either CFLs or LEDs do.

Are you replacing a light in a fixture with a dimmer switch?

Using a dimmer switch on a CFL can burn the bulb out much more quickly. Look for CFLs specially made for dimmer switches, or look into halogens or LEDs which are dimmer-friendly.

Can you remember to recycle light bulbs?

CFL bulbs, which contain mercury, need to be specially recycled. You can usually recycle them at home-improvement stores, or contact your local sanitation department. (If you break a CFL, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers advice on how to clean it up.) Halogen bulbs can be thrown away with the regular trash; LED bulbs can be recycled.

Do you need light for a specific purpose?
•CFL and LED bulbs sometimes throw off a less flattering light. If you’re displaying artwork, you might prefer the brighter glow of a halogen light.

•LED bulbs have an easier time with targeted light than diffused light, so they’re better at track lighting or under-cabinet lighting than lighting up a room.

•CFL bulbs are not good for lights that are turned off and on for very short stretches several times a day — closet lights, for example.

Do animals smile?

2011-10-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Pavlov might have called that happy look on your dog’s face a collection of conditioned reflexes, but now science is catching up with what animal lovers have always known.

According to Professor Nicholas Dodman, head of animal behavior at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts School of Medicine and a regular on Animal Planet’s Dogs 101 and Cats 101, until recently, scientists have generally underestimated the emotional range of animals. He says that today it is widely understood by scientists that mammals do experience primary emotions such as fear, sadness, anger, and happiness and even some secondary emotions like jealously and embarrassment—and they communicate them. Dodman says that dogs even have a sense of humor and laugh with a kind of huffing sound. He describes a study that examines how playing recordings of this laughing sound actually calms shelter dogs.

As for dogs’ smiles, he points out the dogs in our slideshow, “Note that the lips horizontally retract into what’s called a ‘submissive smile’ – a sign that a dog is non-threatening. It’s an expression that disarms possible aggression, much like the human smile.” Chimps, such as the group in our slideshow, exhibit what’s called a “play face” – or an invitation for fun. Cats have naturally bowed mouths—like the cat in our slideshow, so Dodman says its tricky to pinpoint an actual smile, but they are emotionally sensitive, trainable, and affectionate. Among many other pets, Dodman has enjoyed sharing his home with rats, which he says are “very affectionate and intelligent.” Dodman, points out that your pet might not understand the exact details of your hard day, but you probably sense it is empathetic enough to curl up and listen.

Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado and author of The Animal Manifesto: Six Reasons for Increasing our Compassion Footprint, agrees. “People are often keener observers of animal behavior than they give themselves credit for,” says the leading expert on animal emotions. Bekoff says that scientific research, for the most part, eventually confirms what animal lovers intuit and observe. Part of the lag is due to “studying animals in a box” as Dodman calls it. Dodman, who is giving a series of lectures on dog and cat behavior in November, explains that our advances in understanding the richness and depth of animal’s lives is enhanced by researchers such as Jane Goodall who live with animals in their natural environments.

Bekoff points out that it makes biological and evolutionary sense for animals to experience a range of emotions and be able to show them, just as it does for humans. In a paper published by researchers from the University of Washington on rats, laughter, and joy, the authors describe how young rats vocalize when being tickled. The scientists explain that this laughter is bonding and “may have evolutionary relations to the joyfulness of human childhood laughter commonly accompanying social play.” Bekoff says our emotions might not be exactly analogous to those of animals, but neither are all humans’ emotions the same. “The way two siblings experience the death of a parent might not be exactly the same, but they are both experiencing grief.”

Bekoff believes that our growing acceptance of animals as sentient beings based on scientific research needs to lead to legislation that provides significantly more protection of animals in labs, slaughterhouses, and entertainment. For example, a 2011 study on chimpanzees and mood disorders concluded that, “Chimpanzees display behavioral clusters similar to PTSD and depression [to humans] in their key diagnostic criteria, underscoring the importance of ethical considerations regarding the use of chimpanzees in experimentation and other captive settings.” As for how this understanding affects humans, it has also, as he puts it, “increased humans’ knowledge of our place in the world as mammals—unique mammals—but mammals, nonetheless.”

American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer

2011-10-04T11:56:00.000-07:00

The American Cancer Society recommends these screening guidelines for most adults.
Breast cancer

•Yearly mammograms are recommended starting at age 40 and continuing for as long as a woman is in good health

•Clinical breast exam (CBE) about every 3 years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40 and over

•Women should know how their breasts normally look and feel and report any breast change promptly to their health care provider. Breast self-exam (BSE) is an option for women starting in their 20s.

The American Cancer Society recommends that some women -- because of their family history, a genetic tendency, or certain other factors -- be screened with MRI in addition to mammograms. (The number of women who fall into this category is small: less than 2% of all the women in the US.) Talk with your doctor about your history and whether you should have additional tests at an earlier age. For more information, call the American Cancer Society and ask for our document, Breast Cancer: Early Detection.

Colorectal cancer and polyps

Beginning at age 50, both men and women should follow one of these testing schedules:
Tests that find polyps and cancer•Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years*, or

•Colonoscopy every 10 years, or

•Double-contrast barium enema every 5 years*, or

•CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years*

Tests that primarily find cancer•Yearly fecal occult blood test (gFOBT)**, or

•Yearly fecal immunochemical test (FIT) every year**, or

•Stool DNA test (sDNA), interval uncertain**

* If the test is positive, a colonoscopy should be done.

** The multiple stool take-home test should be used. One test done by the doctor in the office is not adequate for testing. A colonoscopy should be done if the test is positive.

The tests that are designed to find both early cancer and polyps are preferred if these tests are available to you and you are willing to have one of these more invasive tests. Talk to your doctor about which test is best for you.

The American Cancer Society recommends that some people be screened using a different schedule because of their personal history or family history. Talk with your doctor about your history and what colorectal cancer screening schedule is best for you. For more information on colorectal cancer screening, please call the American Cancer Society and ask for our document, Colorectal Cancer: Early Detection.

Cervical cancer

•All women should begin cervical cancer screening about 3 years after they begin having vaginal intercourse, but no later than 21 years old. Screening should be done every year with the regular Pap test or every 2 years using the newer liquid-based Pap test.

•Beginning at age 30, women who have had 3 normal Pap test results in a row may get screened every 2 to 3 years. Women older than 30 may also get screened every 3 years with either the conventional or liquid-based Pap test, plus the human papilloma virus (HPV) test.

•Women 70 years of age or older who have had 3 or more normal Pap tests in a row and no abnormal Pap test results in the last 10 years may choose to stop having Pap tests.

•Women who have had a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix) may also choose to stop having Pap tests, unless the surgery was done as a treatment for cervical cancer or pre-cancer. Women who have had a hysterectomy without removal of the cervix should continue to have Pap tests.

Some women -- because of their history -- may need to have a different screening schedule for cervical cancer. Please see our document, Cervical Cancer: Prevention and Early Detection for more information.

Endometrial (uterine) cancer

The American Cancer Society recommends that at the time of menopause, all women should be informed about the risks and symptoms of endometrial cancer. Women should report any unexpected bleeding or spotting to their doctors.

Some women -- because of their history -- may need to consider having a yearly endometrial biopsy. Please talk with your doctor about your history.

Prostate cancer

The American Cancer Society recommends that men make an informed decision with their doctor about whether to be tested for prostate cancer. Research has not yet proven that the potential benefits of testing outweigh the harms of testing and treatment. The American Cancer Society believes that men should not be tested without learning about what we know and don’t know about the risks and possible benefits of testing and treatment.

Starting at age 50, talk to your doctor about the pros and cons of testing so you can decide if testing is the right choice for you. If you are African American or have a father or brother who had prostate cancer before age 65, you should have this talk with your doctor starting at age 45. If you decide to be tested, you should have the PSA blood test with or without a rectal exam. How often you are tested will depend on your PSA level. For more information, please see our document, Prostate Cancer: Early Detection.

Cancer-related check-up

For people aged 20 or older having periodic health exams, a cancer-related check-up should include health counseling and, depending on a person's age and gender, exams for cancers of the thyroid, oral cavity, skin, lymph nodes, testes, and ovaries, as well as for some non-malignant (non-cancerous) diseases.

Take control of your health and reduce your cancer risk.

•Stay away from tobacco.

•Stay at a healthy weight.

•Get moving with regular physical activity.

•Eat healthy with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

•Limit how much alcohol you drink (if you drink at all).

•Protect your skin.

•Know yourself, your family history, and your risks.

•Have regular check-ups and cancer screening tests.

•For information on how to reduce your cancer risk and other questions about cancer, please call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit us online at www.cancer.org.

Retire Sooner Then Later

2011-10-03T08:19:00.000-07:00

At 31, Robert Charlton had grown disillusioned with his job as a technical writer. "The idea of doing a desk job for another 30 years seemed painful to me, so I came up with this idea of trying to retire before 45," he says. He shared the idea with his wife Robin, who was then 31 and working as a travel agent.
• A Financial Checklist for 30-Somethings

Robert read up on personal finance instead of hiring an adviser and looked at taxable accounts they could draw from before turning 60. During that period, Robin completed an accelerated nursing program to become a registered nurse. By age 43, they'd gone from $16.88 in their checkbook at age 28 to saving up enough money to leave both their jobs and live off the interest.

Now, years later, they travel the world, skydiving in New Zealand, hiking through India, sailing through the Chilean fjords, and documenting their adventures on their website, wherewebe.com. Although many people struggle to retire in their 50s or 60s, Robert believes it's possible for others to retire early as he and his wife did. "Really, we're very average people," he says, admitting that it's harder, though not impossible, for those with kids. "We never had power jobs. We just both took intelligent steps." Here are some of those steps.

1. Cut housing costs. The Charltons spent a year carefully tracking their spending to see where they could cut back. But as Robert says, "the truth of the matter is, we really didn't have that much fat to cut out." Still, they agreed to rent out half of the bi-level starter home they owned in Boulder, Colo., so they could pay off the mortgage and pad their savings. Switching from a 30-year to a 15-year mortgage also helped the couple reach their goal. "You save so much on interest that it does result in a higher monthly payment, but not as high you would think," says Robert. They later sold their house and put the equity into a bond fund.

Robert and Robin Charlton (Photo courtesy of Robert Charlton)

2. Agree on your priorities. Instead of buying new cars, the couple kept their old ones, and Robin stuck to grocery shopping lists instead of buying whatever caught her eye. "That's how he shopped [without sticking to the list] so he was cut off from shopping," she says. Keeping their shared goal in mind kept their eyes on the prize. "We were both on the same page," adds Robin. "We both knew we wanted to put the money towards experiences." However, because they value travel so much, the Charltons didn't completely deprive themselves while saving up for retirement. As Robert says, it's important to "balance living for tomorrow with living for today." If saving feels like too much of a chore, it's easy to fall of the bandwagon.

3. Live below your means. Now that they've left the workforce, the Charltons live modestly by staying in hostels and focusing on less expensive travel destinations. They estimated needing between $30,000 and $40,000 annually, and they've managed to stay in that range, though they're averaging closer to $40,000. Earlier this year, they splurged on a trip to Italy and Switzerland for their 25th wedding anniversary. However, Robert says, "we typically have tried to travel places where the dollar goes further, like Argentina and Chile, where the exchange rate was in our favor." Destinations like India and Nepal have higher airfare but low day-to-day expenses so they stay for several months at a time to balance out the airfare costs.

4. Stay in the game. Although the Charltons' portfolio has had its ups and downs, they've resisted the urge to try to time the stock market or get out altogether. "We did some of our best investing during the bear market of 2000 to 2002," says Robert. "We bought stocks 'on sale' and reaped the rewards afterwards." Although he says they could have gotten a higher return on investment if the timing had been different, they also underestimated future earnings, so that helped them reach their target more quickly than planned.

5. Don't rule out temporary work. Dips in the market have made it more challenging for the Charltons to live off their interest. So when Robert was offered a six-month consulting project in 2009, he jumped at the opportunity to rebuild their capital. Although he'd once dreaded going to work, he actually liked the temporary arrangement. "I genuinely enjoyed working hard during that window because I knew it wasn't endless, which was the thing I found challenging early on when I first came up with this plan," he says.

Robin adds that they're open to making adjustments as they go or returning to work if needed. However, she values the chance to travel and be active while they're young and healthy. "Working as a nurse, I realize so many people save so much and a lot of people don't get all the years they thought they'd get," she says.

2011-10-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

“If I could only take five supplements, what would they be?”

I only had room for five supplements per day, so they had to be the really important ones.

So here they are. By the way… these are also the ones I recommend you begin with if you’re just starting out — or the ones you can cut back to if you need to save money. Anyway, here goes…

1. A high-quality multi-vitamin

Topping the list is an excellent quality multi-vitamin. This is essential because a multi “fills in the blanks” of your diet (no matter how good it is), so you’re not running dangerously low on the essential nutrients your body needs for optimal functioning.

Be sure to avoid the TV-advertised one-a-days you find in your local drugstore. These are nearly worthless because their ingredients are based on the “bare minimum” official Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), now upgraded to the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI).

The RDA evolved from the old Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR) set by the government. This means the nutrients in most of the popular multis contain the minimum doses necessary to prevent nutritional -deficiency diseases, such as scurvy (vitamin C), beriberi (vitamin B1), and others. This certainly is not how to guarantee optimal health.

These mainstream multis are notoriously feeble. For example, Consumer Reports recently concluded that Centrum is the worst vitamin for seniors in its class. (There goes that advertising revenue!)

Consumer Reports also found that The Vitamin Shoppe’s One Daily failed to dissolve in a simulated stomach environment, while containing less vitamin A than its label claims.

You can avoid this pitfall by sticking to high-quality, bioavailable multivitamins that are reasonably priced and lab-tested. One of my favorites is Ultimate Daily Support from Real Advantage, formulated by Dr. William Campbell Douglass. It’s a terrific multi that contains a broad list of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, and enzymes that easily are absorbed and quickly bioavailable. This is the multinourishing my body in Tibet.

Another top-notch product is Forward Multi-Nutrient , formulated by Dr. Julian Whitaker, a friend and associate I’ve known for almost 20 years. Julian is a pioneer in the orthomolecular field and alternative medicine and has done so much to legitimize natural healing. He’s also a living legend who was mentored by Dr. Linus Pauling.

2. A quality omega-3 supplement

Fish oil is today’s bestselling supplement — and with good reason. The EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in omega-3 fish oil have profoundly positive effects on human health.

DHA slows your liver’s production of undesirable triglycerides, making it extremely protective against heart disease and diabetes.

In addition, fish oil is incredibly effective at reducing inflammation. It accomplishes this by triggering the release of prostaglandins (natural substances that regulate immunity, inflammation, blood clotting, brain function, plus a host of other essential functions).

There’s not enough room here to list all the healing effects of omega-3. The highlights include: Healing blood vessel walls … keeping the blood thin (thus minimizing clotting) flowing smoothly … lowering blood pressure … stabilizing blood sugar … and brightening your mood.

The American Heart Association recommends a daily dose of 500-1,000 mg of DHA and EPA from fish oil to reduce heart disease — but I think this is a paltry dose. I prefer to take 6,000 to 9,000 iu daily in three equal doses — and find this really helps my arthritis.

There’s just one problem. The huge demand for fish oil is wreaking havoc on marine life. Overfishing is depleting fish stocks and the oceans are on the brink of crisis.

Even oils extracted from krill (tiny, omega-3-rich crustaceans) are troublesome. That’s because krill are at the bottom of the ocean’s food chain — and larger fish depend upon them for life. Harvesting krill deprives all fish of their main food supply.

This is why I prefer to get my omega-3 from marine phytoplankton (also known as “micro algae”) these days.

Phytoplankton is the plant-based omega-3 food source that supplies krill and other fish with EPA and DHA. Raised in large, land-based tanks, phytoplankton is free of mercury contaminants, heavy metals, and ocean pollution. Its good stuff — and you’re not depriving fish of their food supply.

3. Co-enzyme Q-10

CoQ-10 (also known as ubiquinol) is a nutrient produced by the “energy factories” in your cells called mitochondria. Taking a CoQ-10 supplement boosts the way your cells produce and use energy. It also helps your body burn fat … improves cholesterol ratios … boosts your physical energy levels … and improves thyroid and pancreas functions.

By the way, statins — the widely — (or is it “wildly”?) prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs — actually deplete your body’s natural CoQ-10. Statins block production of cholesterol in the liver, where CoQ-10 is also manufactured. Without sufficient CoQ-10, statins can cause liver damage … irregular heartbeat … muscle weakness … leg cramps … heart attack and stroke (the two potentially fatal conditions that statins are supposed to prevent).

Other medications also can limit your body’s production of CoQ-10, including: Diabetes drugs … antidepressants … female hormone replacement therapy … and blood pressure meds. If you take any of these, you definitely need to supplement with CoQ-10.

When shopping, labels may read “CoQ-10” or “Coenzyme Q-10”, but the more active form will be labeled “QH” or “ubiquinol.” This is a stronger form of CoQ-10, though purchasing that version isn’t essential, especially if price is an issue. Take 100 mg two or three times twice per day, because your body can’t metabolize higher doses.

4. Magnesium citrate

You’ve been hearing about calcium and bone health forever — but did you know that magnesium and calcium are like conjoined twins? Calcium can’t even be absorbed unless magnesium is present. Without it, calcium is much less effective in maintaining your bones and regulating your nerve and muscle tone.

In fact, new research shows that Americans need far more magnesium than the current RDI — and that you should really be consuming twice as much magnesium as calcium for optimal health.

Magnesium may be the most important mineral you can take because it’s a key player in 300 essential bodily functions, and is used by all of your organs. It activates enzymes … powers your energy … and helps your body absorb vitamin D, potassium, and zinc.

The majority of Americans are magnesium-deficient due to the low-quality, processed foods in the typical American diet. Produce grown in mineral-depleted soil won’t provide much magnesium, either.

If you have blood sugar issues, you should know that magnesium helps regulate blood sugar and insulin activity. In addition, magnesium’s ability to relax muscles and nerves makes it one of your best allies in the battle against anxiety … hypertension … restless leg syndrome … sleep disorders … and abnormal heart rhythm.

Consuming magnesium supplements can be challenging, as they tend to be large and difficult to digest. That’s why I like Natural Calm , a fruit-flavored magnesium powder that mixes easily in water. I take it in the evening because of its relaxing effect. Start with a low dose, because it can loosen your stools (not necessarily a bad thing if constipation is a problem). Another alternative is a topically-applied magnesium chloride liquid spray that’s absorbed through the skin, which won’t affect your bowels.

5. Sunshine vitamin D

This is rapidly becoming the miracle vitamin of our time. Every week, it seems, there’s a new finding about D’s marvelous benefits. Most Americans are badly deficient in vitamin D because doctors consider the sun our enemy — and your skin converts solar rays into this essential vitamin.

Numerous studies show that this amazing vitamin is protective against all cancers (even skin cancer and melanoma!) … strengthens bones … prevents and even heals diabetes … protects against heart disease … lowers blood pressure … reverses depression … and elevates mood.

Whenever you can, spend 10-20 minutes sunbathing — without sunscreen. (Your body transforms sunshine into all the vitamin D it needs.) If your access to sunlight is limited by season or geographic location, take 2,000-5,000 iu of a good quality vitamin D supplement daily. (The elderly and African-Americans need higher doses.) Official recommendations call for a scant 600 iu, which is far too low. Just make sure you purchase vitamin D3 (not D2) because the D3 form is 87% more potent than vitamin D2.

No more “supplement overwhelm”

Taking these five supplements should cover all the important bases and provide your body with optimal nutrition (provided you’re eating a healthy diet).

Now I’d like to hear from you. Do you have a favorite supplement that I’ve missed? Do you have a story about how a particular supplement or herbal remedy turned your health around?

Please share whatever’s on your mind about nutritional supplements here so we can all benefit from your experience.

Standoff: 5 Figure Rental vs. 5 Figure Mortgage

2011-09-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

One of the most frequent questions in today's housing market is "should I buy or should I rent?" Such a question is subject to the condition of the housing market you're shopping in, unemployment, foreclosure environment, mortgage rates and so much more. But, believe it or not, even in this recession-strung economy, some people are still able to afford multi-million dollar homes, which spawned the question of whether the same rent vs. buy conundrum applied to someone who is able to spend five figures each month for a roof over their head.

We decided to find some of the country's most expensive rentals on the market and do an apples-to-apples comparison based asking price of what a five figure mortgage payment will get you (factoring in 20 percent down payment for a 30-year fixed mortgage) vs. what it can buy on the rental market.

Aspen, CO

Aspen is king when it comes to luxe mountain getaways. Known as a ski-resort city, the tourist destination has attracted celebrities and affluent socialites for decades helping to transform the Aspen real estate market into a mix of high-end luxury homes and condos. In fact, the median list and sale price in Aspen according to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports both clock in at about $2 million.

With real estate prices remaining in the top-tier, it came as no surprise to find one of the U.S.'s most expensive rentals among Aspen homes for rent, recently listed for $75,000/month (pictured below). The 7,800-sq ft estate sits on a one acre lot just 1.5 miles east of the city. Features include 5 bedrooms, 5 full and 2 half bathrooms, reclaimed oak floors, media room, billiards table, and a large patio with a built-in barbecue. The mountain living masterpiece is also available for short term lease at a still steep rate of $3,000-$7,000/month.

For just under $73,000/month, the same renter could become the buyer of a contemporary Aspen estate in Snowmass Village. Located on 40 private acres "just minutes from Aspen and the lifts on Snowmass Mountain," is a gorgeous 13,000-sq ft home (pictured below) with 7 bedrooms, 7 full and 2 half bathrooms, exercise room, two media/family rooms, game room, office with a deck and wet bar, and a covered patio with a fireplace, pizza oven, grill, fire pit and hot tub. Currently listed for $17,950,000 a 20 percent down payment is about $3.59 million placing a 30-year fixed mortgage payment at $72,794/month.

Malibu, CA

While snow lovers head to Aspen for all-star slopes, Malibu is a coast-side city where people flock to enjoy the other end of the weather spectrum: sun, surfing, and sand. A few things that Malibu does hold in common with the ski-resort town is an ultra-high median home value—$1,515,100 according to the Zillow Home Value Index—and its reputation as celebrity real estate hot spot. Take David and Victoria Beckham for example: the budding couple and now 4-kid clan recently swooped up a Malibu home for rent for $158,000/month for the summer. If six figures is a bit of a stretch, then perhaps a $45,000/month Malibu rental (pictured below) could fit the bill and still allow for some surprise run-ins with the British stars. After all, the listing description states the property is available through October.

The luxury 3-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom Malibu rental is situated at the end of a gate drive and "offers complete indoor/outdoor living so you can truly enjoy the beach." Highlights include walls of glass that open to a beach front patio with BBQ, master suite with fireplace and ocean-view office, and a roof top deck with a brand new spa.

For someone looking to become a more permanent neighbor to the stars, a 10-acre, computer-controlled compound could be your answer for just about the same monthly price. Designed by Douglas Busch, this 4,000-sq ft homes (pictured below) claims to have 360 degree views of the ocean and be the "most amazing sustainable residence in Malibu." Green features include steel troweled concrete exterior walls, imported drought tolerant landscaping, solar heated resort size pool. Currently listed on the Malibu real estate market for $9,945,000, a 20 percent down payment is about $1,989,000 placing a 30-year fixed mortgage payment at $43,083/month.

Austin, TX

When it comes to the Lone Star State, everything is big. For starters it's the largest state in the country, then of course there's big boots, 10-gallon hats, trucks, guns and...real estate. One of the highest priced rentals in Texas is that of a European influenced estate situated on a 3.2-acre lot with over 12,000-sq ft of living space and a hefty $20,000/month for-rent price tag (pictured below). This Austin rental is uniquely detailed with hand forged iron work, gothic windows, and imported flooring and lighting. Luxury amenities include an 800 bottle wine room, two-story study, fitness room, double edge pool, cave grotto, and panoramic views of Lake Austin. The property also includes a 1,700-sq ft guest house.

What's bigger than a view of the lake? How about a home on the lake. In addition to a waterfront property on Lake Travis, $20,000/month for a mortgage payment can simultaneously buy a piece of Austin real estate history. Currently listed for $3,950,000, this 4-acre property (pictured below) was originally designed by O'Neil Ford and later updated by Dick Clark and David Dalgleish. The home includes 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, indoor pool, and an open floorplan that makes it great for entertaining. With a 20 percent down payment of $790,000, a 30-year fixed mortgage payment would be $21,725/mo.

New York

It has been said before: New York real estate is unlike any other U.S. housing market with some of the highest values per square feet in the country. Likewise, the areas that are the priciest in the city, (e.g. Upper East Side, SoHo, Greenwich Village, West Village), are more often than not a townhouse, penthouse, condo or apartment but rarely a free standing house. Though not the highest-priced New York home for rent, this 5-floor Manhattan townhouse is looking for a tenant that can hand over $48,650/month (pictured below). With 4,865-sq ft of living space plus a finished garage and private outdoor space, the glamorous home totals over 6,000-sq ft in size. Additional features include a new elevator, intercom system, two terraces, 7 fireplaces, and marble foyer.

If you're in the market for a mansion in the Big Apple, Manhattan will leave you disappointed. Heading to the Hamptons is your best best. You'll still face sky-high prices but a yard, close proximity to the beach and significant acreage between neighbors are added amenities. For the price of renting the $50K townhouse above, a buyer could spend only $174 more a month to call a $9.5 million Southampton home off the market. The mid-century estate (pictured below) is situated on the "world famous Lake Agawam" on 1.7-acres of prime Southampton real estate. The cottage-like home has 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, two livings rooms, two fireplaces, brick terraces, outdoor swimming pool and almost 245-ft of private lake frontage. A 20 percent down payment on the Southampton retreat is $1.9 million making for a 30-year fixed mortgage payment of $48,824/mo.

Miami Beach, FL

For the five-figure renter heading to Miami Beach, a modern, 3-story waterfront "palace" (pictured below) could be a dream come true. Built in 2009, the 6,500-sq ft home boasts 100-ft of private waterfront with a dock, heated infinity edge pool, 6 bedrooms all with en-suite baths, an elevator, rooftop wrap-around deck, 2-story living rooms, multiple balconies and terraces, and marble floors throughout. The only thing that isn't a dream about this Miami Beach rental is the price - $60,000/month.

According to Zillow real estate market reports, the median home value in Miami Beach has risen 9.3 percent since June 2010. Could this mean it's a good time to buy instead of rent Miami Beach real estate? As it turns out, $60,000 per month can buy another waterfront home. Located on the Intracoastal waterway, this 1.5-acre Mediterranean estate (pictured below) includes an 8-bedroom, 8.5 bathroom main house, guest house, 209 ft of water frontage, billiards room, gym, pool, tennis court and garden room. Currently listed for $12.5 million, a 20 percent down payment is about $2.5 million placing a 30-year fixed mortgage payment at $60,095/month.

Coach forces bus into bizarre cemetery stop after loss

2011-09-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

A scandal is brewing in upstate New York, where a junior varsity football team made a stop at a cemetery after a dispiriting loss. What they may or may not have done at the cemetery now has parents and administrators up in arms, even if they can't definitively confirm what actually took place.

According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, the Marcellus (N.Y.) High junior varsity football team stopped at a cemetery after a loss to Skaneateles on Saturday. While no one is questioning the fact that the team bus did stop at a cemetery, one complaint reportedly made to Marcellus administrators claimed that the team members were forced to lie on graves in an attempted teaching method by junior varsity coach Jim Marsh, who is pictured in the center of the photo above, about how they should never give up.

"The bus did stop at the cemetery," Marcellus Superintendent Craig Tice told the Post-Standard. "We're talking to the kids, the coaches and the parents. We're still trying to collect information, definitely."

The Marcellus school district was to have Tice call Prep Rally to discuss the the incident, but that call was not made as of this publication.

Until all that information is collected, it may be impossible to accurately ascertain precisely what happened. In the meantime, parents of the players -- and some of the players themselves -- are up in arms about what they feel was an inappropriate educational technique.

While the district is not yet confirming that the students physically laid on graves, two sources spoke to the Post-Standard and offered this depiction of what happened after Saturday's game:

The sources said Marsh, also an English teacher at the high school, ordered the team bus to pull over near the cemetery. He then asked the roughly two dozen players to get out and lay on the graves.

The players rested there for several minutes while Marsh preached about the importance of playing hard, and how those buried underneath them would cherish the opportunity to trade places with the players and fight to win.

Marsh then urged the Mustangs to arise from the dead and bring their season back to life.

Even for a dedicated English teacher, it seems safe to say that Marsh -- who also serves as Marcellus' boys basketball coach -- took the resurrection of a season theme a bit too literally for his own good simply by staging a pep talk at a cemetery.

While it may be some time before full details of the entire incident are made public, one thing seems certain: The fact that Marsh even had a school bus stop at a cemetery after a loss is a pretty sure sign that whatever he did force his players to do was probably a step too far.

Health and Safety Tips to Keep in Mind While You Move

2011-09-27T10:51:00.000-07:00

There’s a reason why you’re expected to tip movers: moving is strenuous, demanding work! But if you’re intending to take on a move yourself, there are things you can do to prepare your body for hauling all those boxes on and off the truck. Here are some tips to help ensure your health and safety on moving day.

Avoid loading too much in one box. It can be tempting to stuff as much into a box as possible (especially if you’re paying for boxes). But with books, for example, the weight can really add up. As you’re packing, periodically lift a box to make sure it can still comfortably BE lifted.

Rent or borrow a dolly. Rent dollies or hand trucks from your moving truck provider, local home-improvement store, or perhaps from your apartment community. These important tools will spare you a lot of lifting and help you move heavy things around much more easily.
Protect your back! This means:
•Squatting, rather than bending over, to pick up heavy items

•Keeping weight close to your body with your feet apart

•Avoiding having to jerk, twist, or move suddenly

•Turning with your whole body, not just at the waist, while holding something heavy

Depending on how much lifting you expect to do, you might also want to wear a back brace on moving day for added support.

Stay hydrated. One of your best pre-move buys might be a case of bottled water or sports drinks. While you might not have any trouble following this advice in the summer, it also applies to colder weather, when you’ll be sweating underneath your warm clothes. Also, have energy bars or other high-protein snacks on hand for a pick-me-up between meals.

Pace yourself and take breaks. This is easier, obviously, if you have plenty of time to allot for the move, but if you’re pressed for time, you still want to make sure to catch your breath now and then.

If you have friends helping, it might make sense to stagger their arrivals, rather than have everyone on the scene all day. Latecomers can join in while they’re fresh, while people who were working in the morning can take a break.

Dress appropriately. Wear comfortable clothes and closed-toe, non-skid shoes. If it’s been raining and the ground is slippery, you may need to lay down non-slip mats to help keep sure footing.

Have first-aid equipment on hand, namely bandages, antibiotic ointment to treat cuts, antiseptic towelettes or wipes, and a cold pack. Make sure you know the signs of heatstroke, and ensure your cell phone has a full battery, in case you need to make an emergency call.

The Secret to Living Well on $40,000 a Year

2011-09-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

As Washington politicians debate whether earning $250,000 a year makes a family rich, special education teacher Danny Kofke has come up with a much lower threshold for wealth: The father of two says that his family of four can live well on his $40,000 a year salary — and you can, too. He explains how in his new book, "A Simple Book of Financial Wisdom," a follow-up to his first book, "How to Survive (and Perhaps Thrive) on a Teacher's Salary." US News spoke with Kofke about how he manages to stretch his income and his tips for others trying to do the same. Excerpts:

It's pretty impressive that you have supported your family of four on less than $40,000 a year. How did you do it?
This took long-term planning. Raising a family of four on my teacher's salary would be next to impossible if we had a huge mortgage and a lot of debt. Before we had children, my wife, Tracy, was a teacher, too. We had a plan for her to be able to stay at home once we had children. We weren't exactly sure when this would happen (this is for The Man Upstairs to decide), but we had an idea on when we would start trying.
We ended up being married four years before Ava was born. During this time, we tried to live off one of our teaching salaries and used the other one to pay off debt and establish an emergency fund. We were not sure how long Tracy would be able to stay home — we initially aimed for one year — but were able to have her stay home for six years and work part-time for one. We were able to do this even after having our younger daughter, Ella, three years after Ava. The key for us was the long-term planning.
Can anyone really succeed at this?
I do feel that almost anyone can. I know there are some that earn a lot less than I do or have more debt but I feel they can work towards this, too. I am not a financial major or a chief executive of a company. I have never even taken a financial class in my life. If this 35-year-old school teacher can learn the basics of money management and finances, then others can, too.
Tell us some of your more unusual advice, that we might not have heard before.
I think the biggest thing I have learned is if broke people are making fun of you and laughing at your ways, then you are doing something right. It was difficult to get mocked when Tracy was working and we chose to live off one salary while others were spending like there was no tomorrow. Many people told me to get off my wallet and spend money.

Pride is sometimes a hard thing to swallow, but I knew that many of these people were not making smart financial decisions and these decisions would eventually come back and hurt them. I don't know if it is unusual advice but, when making financial decisions, you have to do what is right for you and not be influenced by the many temptations that surround us.

What's the hardest financial rule for you to follow personally?

Living below my means is the toughest rule for me to follow. There are so many temptations — Madison Avenue spends billions of dollars each year to get our money — and sometimes I want to buy things I know I should not. When this occurs, I allow myself a 24-hour breather and, if I still feel strongly about buying that object after this time, I will discuss it with Tracy. The great thing is, after I let the emotional aspect have time to go away, my more rational side speaks to me and I make a sound decision.

How are you teaching your children about money?

Once my older daughter, Ava, turned three, we had her do simple household chores so we could teach her how to handle money. I am not a fan of rewarding others for things they should be doing anyway, but I did make an exception with Ava since my initial goal was to teach her money management skills.

We started with chores that were easy for her to complete: cleaning her room, brushing her teeth. Every night, we would check off the chores that were completed, and every Friday we added them up and she was paid. We called this money what most parents do: an allowance. No matter what you call it, make sure your child does the work to earn the money.

After Ava got paid (she could earn up to $1 each week), she had three jars: Give Away, Savings and Spending. She first put 10 cents in the Give Away jar, 25 cents in the Savings jar and the remaining amount in the Spending jar. This worked so well for us. When we were at the store, often Ava would see something she wanted. We never had any arguments; we would simply say, "We'll have to go home and see if you have enough money in your spending or savings jar to buy it."

Ava has used the money in her Give Away jar in numerous ways. One year there was a little girl at my school who lost her father shortly before Christmas. Ava used her Give Away money to buy this little girl a stuffed animal. Ava actually came to my school and delivered this to her personally. Another year, Ava used this money to buy canned food for needy families in our community. This past Christmas, there was a family at her school that was struggling. Ava used the money in her Give Away jar to buy them a gift card to a local grocery store.

If Ava continues to apply these lessons in life — gives away 10 percent of her money, then saves 25 percent of it and uses the remainder for spending — and goes above and beyond in her job, she will be wealthy in more ways than a fat bank account can show.

___

FACT CHECK: Slippery assertions in GOP debate

2011-09-23T07:22:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared in the Republican presidential debate Thursday night that he had never advocated turning Social Security over to the states. His denial was hard to fathom given his past rhetoric about the program.

"Let the states do it," he said last year, for example.

In the latest debate, Michele Bachmann misread presidential approval polls and denied making a statement that she actually did make just the week before, concerning a vaccine for girls. Mitt Romney denied supporting an Obama administration education program that he had praised.

But the most consequential exchange may have been over Social Security, and Perry's changing thoughts about it.

A careful parsing of Perry's words over the past months shows that his position on Social Security is not cut and dried. As he said in the debate, he believes that states should be allowed to exempt certain state or local government employees from the program, in favor of a state-approved alternative. That's already the reality in some places, including at least three Texas counties.

Far more radical is the idea of essentially dismantling Social Security as a federal entitlement and making states responsible for basic retirement security of all its citizens. He asserted in the debate, "We never said that we were going to move this back to the states."

But at times, Perry has sounded very much in favor of doing just that. In a November appearance on MSNBC, he said of Social Security, "Get it back to the states. Why is the federal government even in the pension program or the health care delivery program? Let the states do it."

What's clear is that Perry, in his book and afterward, trashed Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme" and "crumbling monument to the failure of the new deal" and has since backtracked on such harsh words, especially since rival Romney has come to the defense of the popular entitlement.

A look at some other statements in the Florida debate and how they compare with the facts.

BACHMANN: "President Obama has the lowest public approval ratings of any president in modern time."

THE FACTS: That's true, if you leave out Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford. All of them at some point in their terms dipped lower than Obama's low point of 38 percent job approval, according to Gallup's comparison.

ROMNEY: "I don't support any particular program that he's describing," he said, disputing Perry's claim that Romney favors some of President Barack Obama's education initiatives, specifically the Race to the Top program.

THE FACTS: Romney was reluctant to tell Republican primary voters he doesn't hate every Obama policy. Romney does indeed support some of the specific policy changes encouraged by the Race to the Top program and said as much earlier in the week. Speaking in Miami on Wednesday, he praised the president's education secretary, Arne Duncan, for the program. And during the debate, Romney acknowledged supporting elements of the initiative, including teacher evaluations and charter schools.

ROMNEY: "I believe government is too big. It's gone from 27 percent of our economy in the years of JFK to 37 percent of our economy."

THE FACTS: Romney is including state and local government spending along with federal spending. His numbers are not far off, but most of the big increases came from Social Security and Medicare payments. Medicare started after Kennedy's presidency. Now it is one of the biggest government spending programs, and one of the most popular. Federal spending alone accounted for 23.8 percent of the gross domestic product last year and is expected to reach 25.3 percent this year.

PERRY: It's not the first time that Mitt has been wrong on some issues before. And the bottom line is, we never said that we were going to move this (Social Security) back to the states."

ROMNEY: "Well, it's different than what the governor put in his book just, what, six months (ago), and what you said in your interviews following the book. So I don't know. There's a Rick Perry out there (who) ... says that the federal government shouldn't be in the pension business, that it's unconstitutional. Unconstitutional and it should be returned to the states."

THE FACTS: In his book Perry heavily criticized Social Security, advocated states' rights and suggested federal entitlements were unconstitutional in general, but he never tied these beliefs together as succinctly as Romney claimed.

Even so, he danced close to branding Social Security as unconstitutional. He called Social Security the best example of a program that tosses "aside any respect for our founding principles of federalism." He also lamented: "If only the New Dealers had been kind enough to allow workers to make their own choice about whether to participate." And he said the program was introduced "at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government."
ROMNEY: Obama "addressed the United Nations in his inaugural address and chastised our friend, Israel, for building settlements, and said nothing about Hamas launching thousands of rockets into Israel."
THE FACTS: Obama in his 2009 address to the U.N. General Assembly by no means ignored the plight of Israelis.
Describing those who pay the "greatest price" for the conflict, Obama spoke of an Israeli girl in the town of Sderot "who closes her eyes in fear that a rocket will take her life in the middle of the night." Sderot borders the Gaza Strip and has been the target of hundreds of rockets fired into Israel from Hamas-controlled Gaza.
In the 2009 speech, Obama also did reject the "legitimacy" of Israeli settlement construction in lands the Palestinians want for their state, but those terms are largely reflective of American thinking over the last three-and-a-half decades. The Obama administration later vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have condemned Israel for the policy.
BACHMANN: "I didn't make that claim nor did I make that statement," she said when asked by a moderator if she stood by her comment that the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer was "potentially dangerous."
THE FACTS: Bachmann can't escape the tape. Bachmann used that exact phrase during the last debate when she criticized Perry for trying to order pre-teen girls to get the vaccine in Texas. "Little girls who have a negative reaction to this potentially dangerous drug don't get a mulligan. They don't get a do-over," Bachmann said then. Bachmann has tried to distance herself from remarks she made after the debate linking the vaccine to mental retardation — a claim debunked by scientists. She said then and now she was relaying the story of another mother whose daughter had the shot.

Associated Press writers Jim Drinkard, Tom Raum, Bradley Klapper, Jack Gillum and Chris Rugaber in Washington; Steve Peoples in Exeter, N.H.; Chris Tomlinson in Austin, Texas; and Brian Bakst in St. Paul., Minn., contributed to this report.

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Georgia Executes Troy Davis

2011-09-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

JACKSON, Ga. (AP) — Strapped to a gurney in Georgia's death chamber, Troy Davis lifted his head and declared one last time that he did not kill police officer Mark MacPhail. Just a few feet away behind a glass window, MacPhail's son and brother watched in silence.

Outside the prison, a crowd of more than 500 demonstrators cried, hugged, prayed and held candles. They represented hundreds of thousands of supporters worldwide who took up the anti-death penalty cause as Davis' final days ticked away.

"I am innocent," Davis said moments before he was executed Wednesday night. "All I can ask ... is that you look deeper into this case so that you really can finally see the truth. I ask my family and friends to continue to fight this fight."

Prosecutors and MacPhail's family said justice had finally been served.

"I'm kind of numb. I can't believe that it's really happened," MacPhail's mother, Anneliese MacPhail, said in a telephone interview from her home in Columbus, Ga. "All the feelings of relief and peace I've been waiting for all these years, they will come later. I certainly do want some peace."

She dismissed Davis' claims of innocence.

"He's been telling himself that for 22 years. You know how it is, he can talk himself into anything."

Davis was scheduled to die at 7 p.m., but the hour came and went as the U.S. Supreme Court apparently weighed the case. More than three hours later, the high court said it wouldn't intervene. The justices did not comment on their order rejecting Davis' request for a stay.

Hundreds of thousands of people signed petitions on Davis' behalf and he had prominent supporters. His attorneys said seven of nine key witnesses against him disputed all or parts of their testimony, but state and federal judges repeatedly ruled against him — three times on Wednesday alone.

When asked Thursday on NBC's "Today" show if he thought the state had executed an innocent man, civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton said: "I believe that they did, but even beyond my belief, they clearly executed a man who had established much, much reasonable doubt."

Officer MacPhail's widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris, said it was "a time for healing for all families."

"I will grieve for the Davis family because now they're going to understand our pain and our hurt," she said in a telephone interview from Jackson. "My prayers go out to them. I have been praying for them all these years. And I pray there will be some peace along the way for them."

Davis' supporters staged vigils in the U.S. and Europe, declaring "I am Troy Davis" on signs, T-shirts and the Internet. Some tried increasingly frenzied measures, urging prison workers to stay home and even posting a judge's phone number online, hoping people would press him to put a stop to the lethal injection. President Barack Obama deflected calls for him to get involved.

"They say death row; we say hell no!" protesters shouted outside the Jackson prison before Davis was executed. In Washington, a crowd outside the Supreme Court yelled the same chant.

As many as 700 demonstrators gathered outside the prison as a few dozen riot police stood watch, but the crowd thinned as the night wore on and the outcome became clear.

Davis' execution had been halted three times since 2007. The U.S. Supreme Court even gave Davis an unusual opportunity to prove his innocence in a lower court last year. While the nation's top court didn't hear the case, they did set a tough standard for Davis to exonerate himself, ruling that his attorneys must "clearly establish" Davis' innocence — a higher bar to meet than prosecutors having to prove guilt. After the hearing, a lower court judge ruled in prosecutors' favor, and the justices didn't take up the case.

His attorney Stephen Marsh said Davis would have spent part of Wednesday taking a polygraph test if pardons officials had taken his offer seriously. But they, too, said they wouldn't reconsider their decision. Georgia's governor does not have the power to grant condemned inmates clemency.

As his last hours ticked away, an upbeat and prayerful Davis turned down an offer for a special last meal as he met with friends, family and supporters.

"Troy Davis has impacted the world," his sister Martina Correia said before the execution. "They say, 'I am Troy Davis,' in languages he can't speak."

Members of Davis' family who witnessed the execution left without talking to reporters.

Davis' supporters included former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, a former FBI director, the NAACP, several conservative figures and many celebrities, including hip-hop star Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.

"I'm trying to bring the word to the young people: There is too much doubt," rapper Big Boi, of the Atlanta-based group Outkast, said at a church near the prison.

At a Paris rally, many of the roughly 150 demonstrators carried signs emblazoned with Davis' face. "Everyone who looks a little bit at the case knows that there is too much doubt to execute him," Nicolas Krameyer of Amnesty International said at the protest.

Davis was convicted in 1991 of killing MacPhail, who was working as a security guard at the time. MacPhail rushed to the aid of a homeless man who prosecutors said Davis was bashing with a handgun after asking him for a beer. Prosecutors said Davis had a smirk on his face as he shot the officer to death in a Burger King parking lot in Savannah.

No gun was ever found, but prosecutors say shell casings were linked to an earlier shooting for which Davis was convicted.

Witnesses placed Davis at the crime scene and identified him as the shooter, but several of them have recanted their accounts and some jurors have said they've changed their minds about his guilt. Others have claimed a man who was with Davis that night has told people he actually shot the officer.

"Such incredibly flawed eyewitness testimony should never be the basis for an execution," Marsh said. "To execute someone under these circumstances would be unconscionable."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which helped lead the charge to stop the execution, said it considered asking Obama to intervene, even though he cannot grant Davis clemency for a state conviction.

Press secretary Jay Carney issued a statement saying that although Obama "has worked to ensure accuracy and fairness in the criminal justice system," it was not appropriate for him "to weigh in on specific cases like this one, which is a state prosecution."

Dozens of protesters outside the White House called on the president to step in, and about 12 were arrested for disobeying police orders.

Davis was not the only U.S. inmate put to death Wednesday evening. In Texas, white supremacist gang member Lawrence Russell Brewer was put to death for the 1998 dragging death of a black man, James Byrd Jr., one of the most notorious hate crime murders in recent U.S. history.

On Thursday, Alabama is scheduled to execute Derrick Mason, who was convicted in the 1994 shooting death of convenience store clerk Angela Cagle.

Associated Press reporters Russ Bynum in Savannah, Ga.; Kate Brumback and Marina Hutchinson in Jackson, Ga.; Eric Tucker and Erica Werner in Washington and Sohrab Monemi in Paris contributed to this report.

Follow Bluestein at http://www.twitter.com/bluestein .

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HOW TO STAY POSITIVE

2011-09-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Can often be difficult to remain upbeat and positive in modern society. The media is full of depressing stories, and many people around you may be negative because of concerns over their careers, health, relationships or the world in general. Remember that you are responsible for creating your own outlook on life; even if other people tend to be negative, you can be happy and positive.

1

Focus only on the aspects of society that make you feel positive. If you feel down after reading the world affairs or politics section of the newspaper, focus on the comics or sports section. While it's important to stay informed about world affairs, doing so shouldn't come at the cost of making you feel negative.
2

Surround yourself with friends who have a positive outlook. Avoid spending time with friends and colleagues who are full of doom and often share their fears with you. Someone else's negativity shouldn't wear off on you. Spend more time with people who are happy, easy-going and enjoy focusing on the positive things in life.
3

Be thankful for your situation and remember that others in the world face worse problems than you do. Though it's not always easy to remember that other people are worse off, doing so helps put things in perspective. For example, if you have a job that pays well but that you hate, remember that many people are out of work and long for even a moderate-paying job.
4

Set time aside for yourself each day to engage in an activity that is healthy and fun. When you give to yourself, it will help your overall attitude and perspective. For example, try to take a walk, go to the gym or sign up for a yoga class.
5

Read a motivational book or listen to a motivational speaker when you feel as though you need extra encouragement to be positive. Hearing another person's outlook may change your thinking, give you perspective or just remind you of the importance of being positive.

How you can improve your skin

2011-09-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

Be patient. Improving acne takes a long time, even with the most powerful treatments from your doctor. Do not expect much improvement in the first few weeks of any treatment.

Do not squeeze! Discipline yourself not to squeeze or fiddle with your spots, because this encourages scarring. Relaxation techniques may help you break the habit (cassettes, videos or books may be useful).

If you have a large yellow spot containing pus that you feel you really must get rid of, pierce it with a needle and gently squeeze the pus out using a tissue. Wash your hands and sterilize the needle in a flame beforehand.

For blackheads, you can buy a ‘comedone spoon’. It has a hole in it, which you press onto the blackhead to release it from the pore; abandon the attempt if the blackhead does not come out easily.

Wash carefully. Wash the affected area twice a day with a pH-balanced, unperfumed soap. Antibacterial soap is no better than ordinary soap, and harsh soaps can irritate some skins. Alternatively, use a gentle antibacterial facewash; a variety of brands are available, and can usually be found alongside the anti-acne products in pharmacies and supermarkets. Avoid facial scrubs and abrasive cleansers, which might increase the inflammation of the skin and make scarring more likely.

Spot creams, gels and lotions. Do not waste your money on anti-acne preparations that simply describe themselves as medicated. Most have very little effect. They are also expensive, and you are likely to need to continue your anti-acne treatment for months or even years. Similarly, expensive creams containing alpha hydroxy acids (also called AHAs or fruit acids) are sometimes advertised for treating acne, but there is little scientific evidence in their favour. The Acne Support Group (see Useful contacts) says that some cosmetic companies are preying on the vulnerability of acne sufferers, and wants tighter regulation of the cosmetic industry.

Tea tree oil has antibacterial properties, and might be worth trying if your acne is only mild. Apply a small amount of the 5% strength twice a day after washing, taking care to avoid your eyes.

Nicotinamide gel (available from pharmacies) may be helpful if the spots are inflamed, but not very severe.

Benzoyl peroxide. Your best bet is to ask the pharmacist for 2.5% benzoyl peroxide. This zaps skin bacteria, and is available as a cream or gel. The gel releases its active ingredient more effectively than the cream, but is more drying. Before using benzoyl peroxide, draw a diagram of your face on a sheet of paper. Mark in the areas where your spots are, and roughly how many. This will help you later to decide whether the treatment works.

Apply the treatment thinly twice a day after washing, avoiding the lips and eyes. Its main action is to prevent new spots, so apply it over the whole area – do not just dab it on individual spots that are already there. After a week or two, upgrade to the 4% and then the 5–10% strengths, unless you have excessive peeling and redness; some slight peeling is usual. If your skin feels very dry, use the treatment every other day, and use an oil–free moisturizer (for example, Neutrogena Clear Pore, Johnson & Johnson's Clean & Clear) on the alternate days. Keep benzoyl peroxide away from your clothes as it has a bleaching effect; you may also find bleach marks on coloured bed–linen.

After about 2 months, decide whether your spot count has improved by about a third. If it has, continue with the benzoyl peroxide. You may need to continue it for several months. If there has not been improvement, see your family doctor for some stronger treatment.

In 60% of people with acne, their back as well as their face is affected. Applying a cream or gel to the back can be tricky. Acne specialist Professor William Cunliffe suggests applying the cream on your back as far as you can, putting an old T-shirt on, sitting on a hard-backed chair and rubbing your back up and down.

Pore strips. Be cautious with pore strips. These are not really a treatment for acne; they do more harm than good if used on red, inflamed spots. But they can lift out blockages at pore openings (blackheads) and may prevent an inflamed spot developing, in addition to improving the appearance of the skin. The problem is that the adhesive is powerful and can damage sensitive skin. So:

•do not use pore strips more than once a week

•peel the strip off very carefully

•if pulling the strip off is painful, dampen it with water before continuing

•after use, wash your face with a gentle antibacterial wash.

Avoid greasy make-up. If you wear make-up, avoid heavy and greasy make-up; oil-free make-up is available in some ranges. Remove it at night with a gentle cleanser before washing. If your acne is all over the face, with lots of blackheads, your make-up might be the cause, so try different brands. To disguise an individual spot, use a medicated spot concealer stick or cream a couple of shades lighter than your normal skin tone to counteract any redness. Apply it with a tiny brush to just cover the spot, removing any excess by tapping the area gently with your finger. Do not apply it to a large area or you may make the skin sensitive.

Check your contraceptive pill. The label will tell which progestin it contains. The newer progestins – gestodene, desogestrel and norgestimate – are least likely to worsen acne. The pill containing drospirenone (Yasmin) also seems to be a particularly good choice for women with acne. In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a contraceptive pill containing norgestimate (Ortho Tri-Cyclen) for treating acne in women.

http://www.embarrassingproblems.com/problem/acne-and-spots/acne-spots-improve-skinConsider a zinc supplement. One study has shown that zinc may be beneficial in acne that is inflamed (Dermatology 2001;203:135–140).

Eat the Right Foods to Help You Work Out More Effectively

2011-09-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

A regular workout routine can help you lose weight and stay healthy, but there is more to fitness than toiling away on the treadmill. What you eat has a big effect on how much energy you have and how beneficial your exercise efforts are for your body. Get the right workout fuel before and after your workout — and on your off days — to feel better and see results faster.

Get a boost before you work out

You may have the right equipment, upbeat workout music, and a great attitude, but you won’t get very far if you exercise on an empty stomach. Morning exercisers especially need to be aware of this because their fuel gauge is on empty after eight hours of sleep. To get revved up for your workout routine, make sure you have a small snack that can be digested easily.

Carbohydrates can help you score a boost of energy and maintain your stamina for a longer period of time. You don’t want to fill up too much, but a granola bar or a piece of fruit is an excellent choice. You can also add a little protein like peanut butter with a banana or whole wheat toast. Be sure to keep your portion size small. A good visual guide is to eat something that is the size of your palm.

Enhance your efforts

After your workout, grab foods that help your body recover. Again, you aren’t going for a meal, just a small snack. Carbohydrates and protein are good sources of post-workout fuel. Some fitness experts recommend low-fat chocolate milk or half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. In fact, you might make your nutrition and exercise easier by preparing a whole PB&J sandwich: eat half before you exercise and enjoy the other half after your workout is done.

Because protein is important to muscle growth and recovery, it should be part of your after-exercise snack. Cottage cheese with fruit, eggs and toast, or crackers and low-fat cheese are easy treats that provide a good carb-protein balance. Try to eat within 15 minutes of finishing your routine to get your body refueled quickly and ready for the activities you have planned afterward.

Munchies to maintain

If exercising more effectively and creating a better workout are important, then you also need to consider what you are eating the remainder of the day and on your rest days. Nutrition and exercise go hand in hand when you are trying to stay healthy, and there are foods that help you lose weight, build muscle or accomplish your fitness goals. If you are exercising regularly, you should eat 5-6 small meals each day instead of 3 big meals. This could break down into breakfast, lunch, dinner, a pre-workout snack and post-workout snack.

Building muscle should be at the top of the list, as strong muscles protect your bones and boost your metabolism. Your body needs protein to repair and restore muscle after you exercise, so make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet – roughly 10-15% of your daily caloric intake. In general, the old rules still apply, and eating a balanced diet is the best way to maintain your health and manage your weight. Large amounts of vegetables paired with small amounts of fruits, protein, carbohydrates and fat at every meal provide the nutrition you need to keep your body fueled for exercise.

One final tip for working out more effectively: drink plenty of fluids! Your body needs water to stay hydrated and powered up for that last mile or set of reps. The right food and plenty of liquids are all the equipment you really need for an amazing workout!

Fire Extinguisher: Safety and Tips

2011-09-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

When used properly, a portable fire extinguisher can save lives and property by putting out a small fire or controlling it until the fire department arrives. Portable extinguishers, intended for the home, are not designed to fight large or spreading fires. However, even against small fires, they are useful only under certain conditions:

· The operator must know how to use the extinguisher. There is no time to read directions during an emergency.

· The extinguisher must be within easy reach and in working order, fully charged.

· Some models are unsuitable for use on grease or electrical fires.
Select Your Extinguisher Choose your extinguisher carefully.

A fire extinguisher should bear the seal of an independent testing laboratory. It should also be labeled as to the type of fire it is intended to extinguish.

The extinguisher must be large enough to put out the fire. Most portable extinguishers discharge completely in as few as eight seconds.

Classes of fires: There are three basic classes of fires. All fire extinguishers are labeled with standard symbols for the classes of fires they can put out.A red slash through any of the symbols tells you the extinguisher cannot be used on that class fire. A missing symbol tells you only that the extinguisher has not been tested for use on a given class of fire.

Class A: Ordinary combustibles such as wood, cloth, paper, rubber, and many plastics.

Class B: Flammable liquids such as gasoline, oil, grease, tar, oil-based paint, lacquer, and flammable gas.

Class C: Energized electrical equipment including wiring, fuse boxes, circuit breakers, machinery, and appliances. Many household fire extinguishers are "multipurpose" A-B-C models, labeled for use on all three classes of fire. If you are ever faced with a Class A fire, and you don't have an extinguisher with an "A" symbol, don't hesitate to use one with the "B:C" symbols.

Warning: It is dangerous to use water or an extinguisher labeled only for Class A fires on a grease or electrical fire.

Extinguisher sizes: Portable extinguishers are also rated for the size of fire they can handle. This rating is a number from 1 to 40 for Class A fires and 1 to 640 for Class B fires. The rating will appear on the label. The larger the number, the larger the fire extinguisher can put out. Higher-rated models are often heavier. Make sure you can hold and operate the extinguishers are rated 1A or 2A and/or 5B, 10B, or 20B. The "C" just indicates that you can use it on electrical fires.

Installation and Maintenance

Extinguishers should be installed in plain view above the reach of children near an escape route and away from stoves and heating appliances.

Extinguishers require routine care. Read your operator's manual and ask your dealer how your extinguisher should be inspected and serviced. Rechargeable models must be serviced after every use. Disposable fire extinguishers can be used only once; they must be replaced after one use. Following manufacturer's instructions, check the pressure in your extinguishers once a month.

Remember The Pass Word

Stand 6 to 8 feet away from the fire and follow the four-step PASS procedure. If the fire does not begin to go out immediately, leave the area at once. Always be sure the fire department inspects the fire site.

PULL the pin out: This unlocks the operating lever and allows you to discharge the extinguisher. Some extinguishers have other devices that prevent inadvertent operation.

AIM low: Point the extinguisher nozzle (or hose) at the base of the fire.

SQUEEZE the lever below the handle: This discharges the extinguishing agent. Releasing the lever will stop the discharge. Some extinguishers have a button that you press.

SWEEP from side to side: Moving carefully toward the fire, keep the extinguisher aimed at the base of the fire and sweep back and forth until the flames appear to be out. Watch the fire area. If the fire re-ignites, repeat the process.

Should You Fight The Fire? Before you begin to fight a fire:

· Make sure everyone has left, or is leaving, the building.
· Make sure the fire department has been notified by dialing 911.
· Make sure the fire is confined to a small area and that it is not spreading beyond the immediate area.
· Make sure you have an unobstructed escape route to which the fire will not spread.
· Make sure that you have read the instructions and that you know how to use the extinguisher. It is dangerous to fight a fire under any other circumstances. Instead, leave immediately and close off the doors and windows if possible.

The Ins and Outs of Renting a Car

2011-09-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

Renting a car for your vacation or business travel opportunity can be a great decision. Depending on the distances you need to cover and the locations you’ll be visiting, you may find that securing a rental car to drive is a money-saving, convenient option for your trip. We offer some tips to help keep your costs (and stress!) down when renting a car.

Go online to find your rental
First, as with air travel and hotel stays, rental car fares can be compared online at sites such as Orbitz, Kayak, Hotwire, and Expedia; you’ll want to book early to get the best deals. You can also bid for a car rental via Priceline. If you would prefer a specific make and model of car, you might be better off booking directly with a car rental agency that offers the kind of vehicle you desire. (The same goes if you want to make sure your car is equipped with a GPS unit.)

Another option to consider is joining a car-sharing service, such as Zipcar. If you have a membership in your home city, you can rent Zipcars in other cities where the service is offered.

The fine print
The car rental company will require driver’s licenses for anyone who will be driving the car, of course. Drivers under 25 may have to pay an extra fee; some rental agencies still won’t rent at all to drivers under 25. (Mahalo.com posts a guide to the policies of the major car-rental agencies and applicable state laws.)

The car rental firm may offer to provide you with temporary insurance for the rental car for an additional fee. If you know your personal auto insurance will cover you in the event of an accident in a rental car and you’ll only be renting the car for a few days, you’ll probably be safe in declining it. If you’re afraid that reporting an accident will wreak havoc on your car insurance rates, you may want to go ahead and purchase the insurance for your peace of mind.

It used to be that most credit-card holders could assume that their credit-card issuer would give them additional protection, but now there are tricky fees that you might get stuck with even if you rent with a credit card. Creditcards.com provides a chart comparing the major credit card issuers’ policies and a checklist for staying covered while renting a car.

You’ll also be given the option of prepaying for fuel. The price quoted per gallon will almost certainly be more than gas is selling for at stations nearby, and almost certainly less than the penalty you’ll pay for returning the tank less than full. You might treat this as another peace-of-mind expense. By and large, if you’re renting in a suburban area or from an airport location, you can reasonably assume there’s a gas station nearby; in major cities, especially in touristy areas, you may have a harder time refilling.

Family car rental planning
If you’re traveling with a family, you may have one last task to accomplish: finding a car seat. Rental-car agencies will sometimes provide loaner car seats, but you may be more comfortable renting from a company that specializes in baby equipment, such as Baby’s Away.

With a little knowledge and planning, you can rent a car for your next trip at a reasonable price and on your terms. Know the requirements for renting a vehicle, search online for a good deal, and prepare to enjoy a spin in the car rental you’ve selected.