DailyFinance.comhttp://www.dailyfinance.comDailyFinance.comhttp://o.aolcdn.com/os/df/2013/img/2-dailyfinance_logo_m.pngDailyFinance.comhttp://www.dailyfinance.comen-usCopyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Garden Crops That Make Financial Sensehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/31/garden-crops-that-make-financial-sense/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/31/garden-crops-that-make-financial-sense/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/31/garden-crops-that-make-financial-sense/#commentsFiled under: , ,

My mom and I both love to grow corn. There's something amazing and magical about those tall wavy plants and the ears that spring into physicality before your eyes. It's American as can be; the cultural significance is as mysterious and nuanced as crop circles.

And, according to my favorite garden guru, Steve Solomon, it's a total waste of money. In his vegetable gardening tome -- targeted at growers in my region -- he has a list of the best crops to grow for which your investment of space, seed, water and compost money will pay off. Some vegetables, he says, can be purchased extremely cheaply in season from local farmers; corn is one of those. Ears are as cheap as 10 cents each when they all come ripe at once in August or September; but the plants (as I've learned) strip the soil of nutrients and take up a lot of space and sunlight.

The best crop to grow for your money, it is almost universally agreed-upon, is the tomato. Even at the height of the season, when tomatoes are coming ripe faster than zucchinis, a huge heirloom tomato can be five whole dollars -- or more, sometimes, for organic or especially in-demand varieties. And growing them yourself doesn't take a lot of space; the plants are in the ground from May, or even as late as June, to September -- and aren't too taxing on the soil. You can easily pull them up and plant garlic cloves in their stead to harvest when the baby tomatoes go in next season. And, if you're even the least bit handy in the kitchen when it comes to preserving, you cannot grow a bumper crop too immense to preserve and use throughout the year. Tomatoes can be canned into sauce, chutney, ketchup, marinara, or whole; they can be roasted and frozen or set on the windowsill green to eat later when they're fully ripe.

At a few dollars for even the fanciest plant, and way less if you grow your own from seed (or save seeds), the payoff can be enormous -- as much as $100 in value for a $2 investment. If this were Wall Street, you'd be spending your summers in a 10,000-square-foot home in the Hamptons for this kind of return. But we know you'd rather spend them in the garden of your own humble backyard...

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]]>cropsgardengarden cropsgardeninggoodbyewalletpopproducevegetable cropsvegetable gardenSarah GilbertSun, 31 Jul 2011 20:00:00 ESTNetflix Faces Challenges From Blockbuster, Walmarthttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/28/netflix-faces-challenges-from-blockbuster-walmart/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/28/netflix-faces-challenges-from-blockbuster-walmart/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/28/netflix-faces-challenges-from-blockbuster-walmart/#commentsFiled under:

NetFlixCall it opportunism, playing to weakness, or just marketing to pissed-off people: Targeting your competitor's customers after an unpopular move, one like that made by Netflix earlier this month, is kind of a no-brainer.

NPR's Marketplace Tuesday called it "anger marketing." And Blockbuster knows from anger. Through the late 1990s until 2005, the company dealt with millions of customers angry over excess late fees and what many considered ungentlemanly collections practices. Netflix was virtually founded as a response to consumer anger over Blockbuster's late fees -- at least, it was marketed as a low-cost alternative to punishing daily fees.

So how pleased was Blockbuster, then, when Netflix launched its volley into the dead of mid-summer with a pricing change that it called "lowering rates" and Twitter screamed was a price hike, a rip-off, a sacrilege to all we hold near and dear? I only wish I could have been a fly on the wall in the office of Blockbuster's marketing executives when they realized, after all the ignomy of becoming a dinosaur, then being taken to their knees by the DVDs-by-mail upstart, they finally had a chance to turnabout. It must have been grand.

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]]>angeranger marketingblockbusterdvddvd rentalExtracurricularsmarketingnetflixstreaming videovideovideo rentalwalmartSarah GilbertThu, 28 Jul 2011 08:45:00 ESTMcDonald's, Other Fast Casual Restaurants Go 'Healthy' for Kidshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/27/mcdonalds-other-fast-casual-restaurants-go-healthy-for-kids/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/27/mcdonalds-other-fast-casual-restaurants-go-healthy-for-kids/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/27/mcdonalds-other-fast-casual-restaurants-go-healthy-for-kids/#commentsFiled under: ,

Happy MealThere'll be no more focus on french fries and soda as the founding tenets of the kid's meal faith, say competing press releases from McDonald's and the National Restaurant Association (NRA). OK, maybe soda. But french fries will be taken down a notch.

In a roundly lightweight move to stave off concerns that fast food and quick casual dining restaurants are marketing unhealthy food to children, the NRA announced the "Kids LiveWell" initiative while McDonald's said it would add fruit to its Happy Meals and halve the number of french fries it provides.

The Kids LiveWell initiative is voluntary, requiring only that restaurants make one menu item available that is "600 calories or less; two servings of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and/or low-fat dairy; with limits on sodium, fats and sugar" plus one additional item that's only 200 calories.

McDonald's is changing its Happy Meals default option, in some ways making it healthier but in other ways not at all -- it's adding chocolate milk to the choices of beverage, which is marginally better than soda but still has far too much added sugar.

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]]>fast foodfrench frieshappy mealhealthy foodkidskids marketingmarketing to kidsmcdonaldssodaSarah GilbertWed, 27 Jul 2011 12:30:00 ESTWhat Shoplifting Says About Us Allhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/25/what-shoplifting-says-about-us-all/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/25/what-shoplifting-says-about-us-all/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/25/what-shoplifting-says-about-us-all/#commentsFiled under:

We want to be someone else. This, according to author Rachel Shteir, is why we shoplift.

I say "we," because of the dozens of people with whom I've discussed this topic over the years, only one or two insist they've never shoplifted. The number of reported shoplifters, according to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP), make up 9% of the population. I'd argue that closer to 90% of us have, at least once or twice in our lives.

And as Shteir said in The New York Times Sunday, shoplifters often steal because of a vague sense of having been wronged or deprived throughout their lives. "In my observations, a lot of shoplifting seemed like it was an effort to transform into something else. Women shoplift cosmetics, men shoplift power tools. It seems to relate to some idealized view of yourself," Shteir told The New York Times.

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]]>rachel shteirretailretail industryshopliftshopliftersshopliftingshrinkageshteirstealingsticky fingerstheftSarah GilbertMon, 25 Jul 2011 14:15:00 ESTWhy 10 for $10 at the Grocery Store Might Bust Your Budgethttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/22/why-10-for-10-at-the-grocery-store-might-bust-your-budget/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/22/why-10-for-10-at-the-grocery-store-might-bust-your-budget/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/22/why-10-for-10-at-the-grocery-store-might-bust-your-budget/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Sale itemsShopping at the grocery store isn't always a walk in the park. You're bombarded with offers that seem to be a bargain -- but could just be a bust.

As an example, let's look at two end-of-aisle advertised specials on sale at two different grocery stores. For the sake of argument, let's say you have cream cheese on your list. At Store A, you find you can buy 10 packages of cream cheese for $10. At Store Z, cream cheese is advertised for $1.29 a package -- the fine print says you don't have to buy 10 packages to get the special price. Given these choices, you should shop at Store A, right?

Maybe not.

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]]>10 for 10five for fivefood shoppingfred meyergroceriesgrocerygrocery shoppinggrocery specialskrogermultiple pricingpricingpricing strategiesshoppingspecialsSarah GilbertFri, 22 Jul 2011 08:30:00 ESTJail Time for a Vegetable Garden?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/20/jail-time-for-a-vegetable-garden/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/20/jail-time-for-a-vegetable-garden/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/20/jail-time-for-a-vegetable-garden/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Earlier this month, an Oak Park, Mich., woman came face to face with the prospect of hard time for the crime she'd committed: nurturing tiny baby pea pods, little baby zucchinis, and sweet, juicy tomatoes in her front yard.

I know! Young people these days. I'm shaking my head, too. Ninety-three days in the slammer is barely just desserts for such a terrible act.

When a judge dismissed the charges recently, the mild-mannered Julie Bass was in the middle of a four-day migraine. Still, she got no relief: The city followed up by pursuing two misdemeanor charges against her for the two dogs she had initially failed to license. While the lawbreaker had procured licenses for the dogs in June after receiving a warning from the city, Oak Park, evidently not pleased with being known as the "veggie-haters" around the world, weren't about to let her get away with so much as a stray dandelion bloom.

Bass -- the scofflaw who professes to enjoy "laundry folding by moonlight" on her blog -- is about to reap the rewards of defying the Oak Park city planner with her cabbages: It's dangerous to make a point in one's own front yard.

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]]>front yardfront yard gardengardengardeninghomeillegal veggiesjail for veggiesjulie bassoak parkoak park michiganvegetable gardenvegetablesveggie gardenveggie gardeningSarah GilbertWed, 20 Jul 2011 08:30:00 ESTBaby's First Three Years: The Only Gear You Needhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/15/babys-first-three-years-the-only-gear-you-need/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/15/babys-first-three-years-the-only-gear-you-need/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/15/babys-first-three-years-the-only-gear-you-need/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Baby Items you needI have to laugh every time I see someone writing an article about the 10 or 15 or even 20 "must have" items for a baby. Typically, these lists start with heavy, large, relatively expensive products that most children outgrow within a few months, and they finish with the little things you can pick up at a 24-hour grocery store in the middle of the night (and, in my opinion, don't need anyway): diaper cream and teething tablets.

I've had three babies, and I have more than a dozen nieces and nephews, so I've been around the block with what you need -- and what you don't. And with my youngest sister about to give birth on an extremely tight budget, I've come up with a list of just four things you really need.

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]]>babybaby gearbaby stufffrugalfrugal parentinggearminimalistminimalist parentingstufftoddler gearSarah GilbertFri, 15 Jul 2011 13:00:00 ESTIs Netflix Still Worth It?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/13/is-netflix-still-worth-it/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/13/is-netflix-still-worth-it/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/13/is-netflix-still-worth-it/#commentsFiled under: ,

NetflixSix dollars. This is what had the internet boiling yesterday. Six dollars a month, or just less than 20 cents a day. As someone in my Twitter stream raged: "Here's a quarter...now shut up."

But for the thousands of Netflix subscribers upset about the decision by the content-streaming-and-DVD-mailing company to raise rates, no one has that many quarters. A reporter for the Greeley, Colorado Tribune tweeted, "I don't know how the person who wrote that Netflix press release gets to keep his or her soul." A Midwestern theatre professor tweeted, "Netflix from awesome and hip to evil and draconian in one day. Congrats, you just lost the Internet."

How evil and soulless is the move? Not very, say some who agree with the writer of the Netflix release (for the record, it was Jessie Becker, vice president of marketing, who executed that feat of positive-speak) that it's not exactly a price increase, depending on how you use Netflix. Those who currently pay $9.99 a month for unlimited streaming plus "unlimited" DVDs (though you can only have one out at a time, so your DVD consumption is limited by the realities of the U.S. Postal Service) can now choose between $7.99 a month for streaming only, or $7.99 a month for DVDs only.

This, says Becker, is a way of "offering our lowest prices ever" in order to "provide great value to our current and future DVDs-by-mail members." Up until Tuesday, there was no DVD-only option.

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]]>dvddvd rentalmovie rentalmovie streamingmoviesnetflixnetflix price hikenetflix pricesnetflix pricingprice hikeprice increasestreamingSarah GilbertWed, 13 Jul 2011 16:40:00 ESTSelf-Check Lanes Phasing Out, Ending Grocery Privacyhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/13/self-check-lanes-phasing-out-ending-grocery-privacy/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/13/self-check-lanes-phasing-out-ending-grocery-privacy/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/13/self-check-lanes-phasing-out-ending-grocery-privacy/#commentsFiled under: ,

self checkoutAlbertson's, a Southern and Western U.S. grocery chain, has had enough with self-checkout lanes. Albertson's is pulling its do-it-yourself lanes in about half of its 217 company-operated stores to make way for regular and express employee-operated lanes. (The 450 stores operated by SuperValu get to keep their U-check lanes for now.)

Christine Wilcox of Albertson's told WalletPop, "We're actually almost done with the entire process" of taking out self-checkout lanes from 100 stores; [the balance] either never had self-checkout or had it removed long ago."

By way of explanation, Wilcox told MSNBC.com and many other news outlets, "We just want the opportunity to talk to customers more." But lots of customers -- like me -- don't want to talk back, and I fear we're moving just one step closer to the erasure of privacy from grocery stores all together.

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]]>albertsonsgroceriesgrocerygrocery storesself checkoutself checkout lanesucheckucheck lanesSarah GilbertWed, 13 Jul 2011 12:30:00 EST5 Strategies for Saving Year-Roundhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/12/5-strategies-for-saving-year-round/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/12/5-strategies-for-saving-year-round/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/12/5-strategies-for-saving-year-round/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

I'd been waiting for a biggish freelance check for a while and making lists of things my family needed when the money came it. So when I got it, I had some shopping to do: new organic bath towels; a new mattress and (very important given my kids' ages and self control) a top-notch protective mattress cover; a birthday-boy bike for my youngest son; and a service provider to refinish my tub.

All this purchasing makes me queasy after months of frugality, so I had to think long and hard about spending strategies to make the most of my money and the least of my ticket shock.

So when I saw this piece from CNNMoney on ways to save on everyday expenses, I browsed through and got excited. Although none of the tips was quite right for my personal situation, a few great strategies emerged from the reader stories -- strategies that you, too, can apply to spending on big ticket items, run-of-the-mill bills and the costs of every day life.

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]]>bargainsdealssaving moneyshoppingstrategiesSarah GilbertTue, 12 Jul 2011 12:00:00 ESTWith McDonald's Down in the Polls, Will Booze Help?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/07/with-mcdonalds-down-in-the-polls-will-booze-help/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/07/with-mcdonalds-down-in-the-polls-will-booze-help/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/07/with-mcdonalds-down-in-the-polls-will-booze-help/#commentsFiled under: ,

Mcdonald's and beer? With "billions served," McDonald's and its Golden Arches have come to be synonymous with American culture: We are the "fast food nation," the Big Mac is universal, children all over the world order Happy Meals with Chicken McNuggets, and the language is understood everywhere.

But fresh off a victory over other quick service restaurants in breakfast loyalty and four "Bests" in the latest Zagat survey -- for French Fries, Drive-Through, Value Menu and Breakfast Sandwich -- the home of Ronald McDonald has suffered a major setback. In Consumer Reports' first-ever fast food survey, In-N-Out Burger was ranked the nation's fast food favorite. McDonald's, along with large competitors like Burger King and other fast food icons like KFC and Taco Bell, got low marks from consumers.

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]]>alcoholbeerbeer at burger jointsboozeburger jointsburger kingconsumer reportsfast foodinandoutinandoutburgermcdmcdonaldsSarah GilbertThu, 07 Jul 2011 07:00:00 ESTPasta Prices Rise: It's as American as Farfallehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/06/pasta-prices-rise-its-as-american-as-farfalle/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/06/pasta-prices-rise-its-as-american-as-farfalle/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/07/06/pasta-prices-rise-its-as-american-as-farfalle/#commentsFiled under: ,

FarfalleIt's still raining in North Dakota, and the price of pasta, couscous and other grain-based products is going to raise significantly over the next year. And yes, these things are connected, because pasta has become as American as apple pie and the square dance (North Dakota's state dance, don't you know?).

North Dakota is prime territory for the cultivation of durum wheat, the basic ingredient in pasta and couscous. In March, 1.69 million acres were planted; in Montana, the next-largest durum wheat-producing state, only 500,000 acres of durum wheat were planted.

Planting generally takes place all the way through the end of June in most years, but due to flooding and extensive rainfall, North Dakotan farmers stopped planting June 19th and never took it up again. Due to the early stoppage, only 44% of its yearly crop was planted, and durum wheat futures -- which last year ranged between $5 and $9 a bushel -- have spiked to an average of $15 a bushel, three times the price at harvest in September 2010.

While this spike might normally be attributed to a temporary supply/demand freakout, quickly mollified by new plantings or a balance of supply in Canada, whose durum wheat production is typically two or three times that of the U.S., this year, "unrelenting rain across large areas of Western Canada" has durum wheat plantings at 3.4 million acres according to the Canadian Wheat Board. That's twice North Dakota's acreage, to be sure, but it's still the least since 1971 and not enough to make up for the hole in North American demand.

We eat a lot of pasta.

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]]>agricultureclimate changecommoditiesdurumdurum wheatfloodingfood pricesnorth dakotapastapricesweatherwheat price per bushelSarah GilbertWed, 06 Jul 2011 08:30:00 ESTWhy Is the U.S. Making Money Nobody Wants?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/30/why-is-the-u-s-making-money-nobody-wants/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/30/why-is-the-u-s-making-money-nobody-wants/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/30/why-is-the-u-s-making-money-nobody-wants/#commentsFiled under: ,

One dollar coinA billion dollars in unwanted American dollar coins sits in specially-made vaults the size of soccer fields in Texas and Baltimore and other undisclosed locations. They're heavily guarded -- according to NPR's Planet Money team, even journalists must be watched carefully as they check out the "clear plastic bags piled high on sturdy metal pallets that looked like baby cribs," 1,000 coins per bag, about 35 pounds a piece.

But why are they just sitting there? A recent example from my own life illustrates the problem.

A few weeks ago, I got a dollar coin as change from a farmer's market stand. "I'm sorry," said the cashier. "It's all we have." It was special enough to keep, but one day I needed $2.05 for the bus and could only find a dollar's worth of quarters in a rush. Dropping that gold coin into the fare box may have been the last time I'll see one of those for weeks -- or longer.

Even though I love them ("No apology necessary!" I had said to that cashier, taking the legal tender eagerly), I seem to be in the minority -- the demand for dollar coins over the past several decades has continued to underwhelm experts in monetary policy. The fact is, people just don't want them.

And the demand -- or rather, the lack of it -- is one half of the reason those coins are just sitting in vaults, collecting dust.

The other half of the equation -- the supply side -- goes like this: Congress passed a law.

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]]>coincoinsdollardollar coinslawlawmakersmintmoneypresidential coinsu.s. dollarwasteSarah GilbertThu, 30 Jun 2011 08:00:00 ESTFood Stamps For Fast Food? Yum, Say Restaurantshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/28/food-stamps-for-fast-food-yum-say-restaurants/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/28/food-stamps-for-fast-food-yum-say-restaurants/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/28/food-stamps-for-fast-food-yum-say-restaurants/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Taco BellAmerica's poor, who are more likely to be plagued with poor nutrition and stricken with obesity than higher income groups, statistics show, are also more likely to get their meals from fast food restaurants. Where else can you get a days' worth of calories for $5, no preparation required?

And this is the problem that bedevils a growing group of food policy experts, who see the external costs of such dietary choices in the rising cost of obesity and diet-related health problems. It's a vicious circle, too: Children who are raised in households in which they receive low-quality food are more likely to be poor themselves, in addition to suffering from diet-related diseases and struggling in school.

There's even evidence that high-calorie, low-nutrient-value diets (think sodas, french fries and low-quality proteins like hamburgers and chicken nuggets) contribute to aggressive risk-taking behavior.

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]]>americaburger kingfast foodfood stampslow-incomelower incometaco bellyumyum brandsSarah GilbertTue, 28 Jun 2011 08:00:00 ESTEasy Ways to Make Freezer Meals Frugal and Goodhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/23/easy-ways-to-make-freezer-meals-frugal-and-good/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/23/easy-ways-to-make-freezer-meals-frugal-and-good/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/23/easy-ways-to-make-freezer-meals-frugal-and-good/#commentsFiled under: , ,

A Pennsylvania woman has forged an internet sensation with a blog post about making freeze-ahead meals for her family -- 46 of them, to be exact, for about $95.

Snapping up closeout deals on meat, carrots and peppers, and buy-one-get-one-free deals on potatoes and onions, Natalie assembled a mountain of raw meat and vegetables, "sucking it up and committing to an afternoon of slaving away in the kitchen," as she wrote on her blog, for the big pay-off over the next few months: "Tomato Basil Soup, Sesame Chicken, Balsamic Roasted Chicken Thighs, Parmesan Garlic Chicken, Buttermilk Herb Chicken, Pesto Chicken, Cranberry Chicken, Dijon Pork Roast, Bourbon Brown Sugar Pork Chops, hamburgers, teriyaki anything!"

(Before you go searching, her recipes all come from Don't Panic -- Dinner's In the Freezer! And while you may not be able to get such great deals on meats in your local store, there are a number of tips you can adopt as your own.)

What we can take from this post is a number of ideas on making your own convenience foods without the convenience markup. If you don't know what I mean, head to your grocery store's freezer section, choose a frozen prepared meal and compare prices by the pound.

At random, I selected Bertolli Mediterranean Garden Rigatoni And Broccoli Chicken. At my local Safeway, I can buy the Bertolli frozen meal for $5.97 a pound. But if I price out the ingredients -- a whole chicken, some pasta, broccoli, a couple of red peppers and a hunk of parmesan cheese -- even assuming I get organic whole wheat pasta, broccoli crowns instead of whole broccoli, and I use a whole eight ounces of parmesan for one dish (highly unlikely), my price is just $1.99 a pound.

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]]>convenienceconvenience foodcook aheadfeeding a familyfoodfreezerfreezer mealsfreezer recipesfrozen foodSarah GilbertThu, 23 Jun 2011 14:00:00 ESTBank Robber Wants $1 and Health Carehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/22/bank-robber-wants-1-and-health-care/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/22/bank-robber-wants-1-and-health-care/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/22/bank-robber-wants-1-and-health-care/#commentsFiled under: ,

Bank robberyIf you've ever watched a movie or TV show featuring a bank heist, you know the basic elements: There's the criminal planning for a big score that will set him up for life. There's the perfect plan, usually involving a tunnel into the vault and a hostage situation, or the quieter option of a demand note. And there's always a getaway vehicle. From this point on, it's a battle of chance and heroism.

Will the bank robber get what he wants, or will the good guys step in and foil the plan?

James Richard Verone concocted a plot that may have, in its individual elements, seemed like a bust. The Gaston, N.C., man went into the bank with a simple demand note. He wasn't really all that bad of a guy, and his greed was entirely insufficient for a profiler to ever peg him as a criminal mastermind; in fact, he had tried to make ends meet after he got laid off from his job as a Coca-Cola deliveryman by working part time in a convenience store. On the morning of the crime, he showered and ironed his shirt. And for once, the bank robber's interests and those of the good guys were aligned.

Here's the thing: His getaway vehicle was a cop car, and his sunny retirement locale was in fact the Gaston County Jail and the medical care he desperately needed. His demand note asked for $1 and medical attention; he told the teller he'd wait for the police in one of those comfy chairs where other customers wait to apply for a bank loan or to open a new account.

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]]>affordable health carebank heistbank robberhealth carehealth insurancejames richard veronemedicaidobamacareuniversal health careveroneSarah GilbertWed, 22 Jun 2011 12:30:00 ESTHostels With Kids: A Surprising Way to Save Money on Summer Travelhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/17/hostels-with-kids-a-surprising-way-to-save-money-on-summer-trav/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/17/hostels-with-kids-a-surprising-way-to-save-money-on-summer-trav/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/17/hostels-with-kids-a-surprising-way-to-save-money-on-summer-trav/#commentsFiled under: ,

As you probably remember from your late teens and early twenties, hostels are the best place to meet young singles with a yen for traveling and -- if my own experience is any indication -- a seriousness when it comes to partying. Hostels on a Saturday or Sunday morning are quieter than a church in the middle of the night.

An unusual place to recommend for family travel? Probably, but there are several characteristics that make hostelers kindred spirits to budget-conscious families who are looking for a great travel experience that doesn't involve crippling credit card debt.

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]]>familyfamily travelfamily vacationsfrugal travelhostelhostelershostelinghosteling with kidshostelling internationalhostels with kidskidssummersummer traveltravelSarah GilbertFri, 17 Jun 2011 11:00:00 ESTThe Rising Cost of Public School Feeshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/16/the-rising-cost-of-public-school-fees/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/16/the-rising-cost-of-public-school-fees/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/16/the-rising-cost-of-public-school-fees/#commentsFiled under: , ,

School SuppliesAs public school students head home for the summer, it's time for their parents to start worrying about how they're going to pay for next year.

Pay? For public school?

Unfortunately, yes, Just as Ron Weasley's parents worried when they had to buy five sets of Gilderoy Lockhart's entire oeuvre for their offspring to study at Hogwart's in "Harry Potter," parents of children in many public schools nationwide are worrying about how to pay for algebra workbooks, Spanish classes and "technology fees," along with the athletics and arts fees that have become par for the academic course in the past decade.

A budget that once covered pencils, notebooks, Trapper Keepers and the occasional spendy calculator has expanded to include all sorts of other nitty-gritties, like printer ink for composition teachers and fees to participate in the school band. In Palouse, Wash., Patti Green-Kent says her kids have to pay for their own band instruments as well as paying a fee just to participate; to help out, her family regularly donates used instruments for other band members to use. Science classes require a $15 lab fee (and science classes are required).

"It's the principle," Green-Kent says, "not the money" -- but the principle rankles.

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]]>budgetseducationfeespaying for public schoolprogramspublic schoolschoolschool budgetsschool feesschool programsSarah GilbertThu, 16 Jun 2011 09:30:00 ESTCan Your School Afford Healthier Cafeteria Food?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/13/can-your-school-afford-healthier-cafeteria-food/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/13/can-your-school-afford-healthier-cafeteria-food/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/13/can-your-school-afford-healthier-cafeteria-food/#commentsFiled under: ,

What parent could disagree with new federal mandates requiring that school food be healthier? Up until recently, most of them were crying that the new USDA guidelines, proposed in January, weren't strict enough, allowing "flavored" milk (read: sweetened) as long as it's non-fat or low-fat so schools could "limit saturated fat in the school meals while maintaining key nutrients for growth and development found in fluid milk."

Nutritionist Marion Nestle came as close as one can to rolling her eyes in print, when she wrote, "Milk, as I keep saying, is not an essential nutrient. Chocolate or strawberry milk is a dessert. Chalk this one up to dairy lobbying."

There's also hue and cry over the requirements that highly processed faux foods -- Nestle calls them "strangely tasting miracles of food technology" -- like reduced-fat mayonnaise and margarine be included alongside real, non-processed foods like whole fruits and vegetables.

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]]>cafeteriafoodlunchesnutritionschool foodschool lunchesschool nutritionusdausda requirementsSarah GilbertMon, 13 Jun 2011 11:15:00 ESTProm Again, This Time Without Curfewshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/07/prom-again-this-time-without-curfews/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/07/prom-again-this-time-without-curfews/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/06/07/prom-again-this-time-without-curfews/#commentsFiled under:

Prom againWhen AmberDawn McCall got her invitation to the prom in Tri-Cities, Washington, she jumped at the opportunity. "A chance to dress up and go out dancing with my husband? Sign me up!" she told WalletPop.

Yes, you read that right. McCall has a husband -- and six children -- and is part of a growing trend of people who are happy, well-adjusted adults with prom memories that don't have to be dusted off.

The Washington event, a benefit for a non-profit that provides practical services to breast cancer survivors, was almost as well-attended as a local high school prom, with about 100 attendees.

"I think everybody had a great time," says McCall (pictured at right with her husband). Except for maybe those she pegged as having been the high school cool kids: "They were spending too much energy trying to look cool."

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]]>adult promadult promsdancefancy dressnew york timespartypromtrendsSarah GilbertTue, 07 Jun 2011 13:00:00 EST