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/Halo Effect Causes Us to Overestimate Organic Foodshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/11/halo-effect-causes-us-to-overestimate-organic-foods/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/11/halo-effect-causes-us-to-overestimate-organic-foods/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/11/halo-effect-causes-us-to-overestimate-organic-foods/#commentsFiled under: ,

halo effectThe halo effect is in play whenever you see a person with a pocket protector and thick glasses and assume he's intelligent. It's a common human judgment error to presume that certain characteristics go together; blondes and joie d' vivre, tans and athleticism, dreadlocks and a fondness for jam-band music.

A researcher at the Cornell, Jenny Wan-chen Lee, and colleagues recently tested the halo effect on food that is labeled "organic". She conducted a double-blind study, feeding the same ice cream, yogurt or potato chips to test subjects, telling half that the food was organic, telling the other half that it was conventionally produced.

The guinea pigs preferred, by a wide margin, the foods they thought were made organically. They also believed these foods had less calories, less fat and more fiber. They also assumed the organics would cost more.

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]]>cheap foodsCheapFoodsfood studiesFoodStudieshalo effecthealthy foodsHealthyFoodsorganic foodsOrganicFoodsTom BarlowMon, 11 Apr 2011 14:00:00 ESTLive Longer by Shopping More Often, Study Suggestshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/07/live-longer-by-shopping-more-often-study-suggests/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/07/live-longer-by-shopping-more-often-study-suggests/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/07/live-longer-by-shopping-more-often-study-suggests/#commentsFiled under: ,

Shopping can help you live longerA new study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests that older people could live longer if they shopped more often. The study of almost 1,850 people in Taiwan showed a marked increase in longevity among those who hit the stores on a daily basis.

The population, all 65 or older, were living independently at the start of the study in 1999-2000. The researchers then tracked their mortality.

Of those surveyed, 48% never, or almost never, shopped during the week. 13% shopped once a week, 22% went shopping up to four times a week, and 17% shopped every day.

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]]>daily shoppingDailyShoppinglive longerlonger lifeLongerLifeshoppingshopping extends lifeShoppingExtendsLifeTom BarlowThu, 07 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST57% of U.S. Adults Surveyed Are Without a Willhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/04/57-of-u-s-adults-surveyed-are-without-a-will/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/04/57-of-u-s-adults-surveyed-are-without-a-will/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/04/04/57-of-u-s-adults-surveyed-are-without-a-will/#commentsFiled under: ,

Don't face the grim reaper without a willIf you don't have a will, chances are you've never been in a situation where someone near to you passed without one. You'd understand the nightmare that probate court can be when divvying up an estate without a will; it gets parsed according to state law, with no stipulation for loyal friends or the church or a charity or any other person or entity the deceased might have wanted to honor with a bit of his or her estate.

A new study by the Rocket Lawyer found that 57% of the 1,000 people it surveyed were without a will. That's sad.

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]]>bequestsEstatePlanninginheritancelacking a willLackingAWillwillswithout a willWithoutAWillTom BarlowMon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:00 ESTTests Show AA Batteries Are Mostly the Samehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/31/tests-show-aa-batteries-are-mostly-the-same/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/31/tests-show-aa-batteries-are-mostly-the-same/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/31/tests-show-aa-batteries-are-mostly-the-same/#commentsFiled under: , ,

AA batteriesAre you a devotee of brand-name AA batteries to power your flotilla of portable devices? Then a new study by Dealnews could save you a great deal of money. Its conclusion: There's not much difference between the lesser-known and the recognized brands.

The site set up a test with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute to gauge the relative battery life of brands including Duracell, Energizer, Rayovac and a generic brand. It found "no measurable difference" in energy output among them -- except the Energizer Advanced Lithium battery.

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]]>AA batteriesbatter lifespanbatteriesBatterLifespanbattery comparisonbattery testingBatteryComparisonBatteryLifeBatteryTestingduracellEnergizerEnergizer Advanced LithiumrayovacTom BarlowThu, 31 Mar 2011 12:00:00 ESTWhat to Buy in Aprilhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/31/what-to-buy-in-april/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/31/what-to-buy-in-april/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/31/what-to-buy-in-april/#commentsFiled under: ,

What to buy in April, the month of cherry blossoms like thisOh, April, you cherry-blossom-imbued harbinger of summer to come. When the warmer weather hits, many of us feel the urge to get out of the house and get some exercise, and what better exercise than that American tradition, shopping? Here are some suggestions on what to buy in April.

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]]>april clearancesapril dealsapril discountsapril salesAprilClearancesAprilDealsAprilDiscountswhat to buy in aprilWhatToBuyInAprilTom BarlowThu, 31 Mar 2011 07:00:00 ESTShpoonkle Lets Lawyers Bid for Your Businesshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/30/shpoonkle-lets-lawyers-bid-for-your-business/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/30/shpoonkle-lets-lawyers-bid-for-your-business/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/30/shpoonkle-lets-lawyers-bid-for-your-business/#commentsYou need an attorney, but are spooked by the notion that you may have to pay hundreds of dollars an hour for something relatively simple, such as a will. That's the dilemma that has led to Shpoonkle, a site where lawyers bid for your business.

WalletPop talked to the owner of Shpoonkle, Robert Grant Niznik and he explained how the site works.

A client would log onto the site, sign up for free activation (there is no charge for the client to use the service), then write up his legal needs. This is then posted for the member attorneys to view (no client can see any other client's postings). The client will receive competitive bids from lawyers on the site.

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]]>attorney auctionAttorneyAuctioncompetative bidding for legal servicesCompetativeBiddingForLegalServiceslawyer auctionLawyerAuctionlawyerslegal services auctionLegalServicesAuctionTom BarlowWed, 30 Mar 2011 14:30:00 ESTBest and Worst States for Retirementhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/28/best-and-worst-states-for-retirement/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/28/best-and-worst-states-for-retirement/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/28/best-and-worst-states-for-retirement/#commentsFiled under:

best, worst states for retirement in this corn field map of the U.S.As my colleague Aaron Crowe pointed out in December, financial sites looking for some press coverage often generate lists; in this case, the best and worst states for retirement.

At that time, he reported on a study on this topic by MoneyRates.com. Recently another site, TopRetirements.com did a similar list, results below.

Ten worst states for retirement:
50. Illinois
49. California
48. New York
47. Rhode Island
46. New Jersey
45. Ohio
44. Wisconsin
43. Massachusetts
42. Connecticut
41. Nevada

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]]>best states for retirementbest states to retire toBestStatesForRetirementBestStatesToRetireToworst states for retirementworst states to retire toWorstStatesForRetirementWorstStatesToRetireToTom BarlowMon, 28 Mar 2011 12:00:00 ESTFree Compost Night Might Be Baseball's Best Promotion Yethttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/25/free-compost-night-might-be-baseballs-best-promotion-yet/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/25/free-compost-night-might-be-baseballs-best-promotion-yet/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/25/free-compost-night-might-be-baseballs-best-promotion-yet/#commentsFiled under:

Player signing ball, representing giveaways like Free Compost NightThe staid game of baseball has a wacky underbelly, visible when the teams hold giveaway nights. Fans have become used to (and perhaps grown callous of) bobbleheads, free food or dance competitions. A new promotion by the Seattle Mariners, Free Compost Night, might pique the interest of green fans, though; the team is giving away bags of compost made from the trash generated during the ball games.

The compost, made of recycled paper, food and other garbage strewn around Safeco Field, will be processed by local Cedar Grove Composting, and given out at several games during the year. (If the Mariners don't play better this year, the compost might also contain little pieces of well-chewed mitts and bats.)

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]]>baseball giveawayscrazy basebal giveawaysCrazyBasebalGiveawaysfree compost nightFreeCompostNightfunny baseball giveawaysFunnyBaseballGiveawaysTom BarlowFri, 25 Mar 2011 14:00:00 ESTNew Passport Application Asks for Insane Detailshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/23/new-passport-application-asks-for-insane-details/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/23/new-passport-application-asks-for-insane-details/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/23/new-passport-application-asks-for-insane-details/#commentsFiled under: ,

U.S. passport, for which you need to fill out a passport applicationWhat was the address you lived at when you were two? What's the phone number of the first job you even had? Do you remember the address of your primary school? How about the birth date and location of your stepfather?

If you plan to apply for a passport and you don't have rock-solid proof of citizenship, you might soon be asked to fill out an insanely detailed passport application, form DS-5513, by the State Department before you can receive your papers.

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]]>passportpassport agencypassport applicationpassport regulationsTom BarlowWed, 23 Mar 2011 13:00:00 ESTZippo Looks to Grow Beyond Lightershttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/22/zippo-looks-to-grow-beyond-lighters/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/22/zippo-looks-to-grow-beyond-lighters/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/22/zippo-looks-to-grow-beyond-lighters/#commentsFiled under: ,

zippo lighterNo, Zippo is not a lost Marx brother. For most of the 20th century, the lighter brand was ubiquitous wherever smokers gathered. Now, however, with the decrease in and vilification of smoking, the business is trying to find new niches. Would you buy a Zippo purse, or jeans or perfume?

A move such as this can be deadly if there is a disconnect between a brand and the new products it introduces. Remember Smith and Wesson mountain bikes? Colgate Kitchen Entrees? Bic underwear? Harley Davidson perfume? Probably not, because they were massive failures.

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]]>brandingcigarette lightersCigaretteLightersZippoTom BarlowTue, 22 Mar 2011 15:00:00 ESTA Dog's Life? Pet Trust Funds Becoming Increasingly Popularhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/21/pet-trust-funds-increasingly-popular-among-dog-cat-owners/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/21/pet-trust-funds-increasingly-popular-among-dog-cat-owners/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/21/pet-trust-funds-increasingly-popular-among-dog-cat-owners/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Boy with dog that could be protected with a pet trust fundHow much do you love your pet? What would happen to it should you die? More and more, people are solving that dilemma not by depending on the good will of a friend or a stipulation in a will. They are going with the gold standard to guarantee a good life for their pet if they should die first: the pet trust fund.

According to Rachel Hirschfeld of PetTrustLawyer.com, over half a million dogs and cats are euthanized each year because their owner dies or is forced to move to assisted-living housing where they are not permitted.

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]]>estate planningEstatePlanningpet carepet trust fundsPetCarepets in willsPetsInWillsTom BarlowMon, 21 Mar 2011 18:00:00 ESTNew York Times Pay Wall and How to Save Money Crossing Ithttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/18/new-york-times-pay-wall-and-how-to-save-money-crossing-it/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/18/new-york-times-pay-wall-and-how-to-save-money-crossing-it/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/18/new-york-times-pay-wall-and-how-to-save-money-crossing-it/#commentsFiled under: ,

NY Times: pay wallWe'll look back some day at the first dozen years or so of the Internet as a golden age, when information flowed freely, even information developed at great expense from seminal sources such as The New York Times. Those times are coming to an end if the Gray Lady succeeds with a pay wall plan to begin charging for digital access to daily content.

As of March 28, the paper will begin serving up content based on this menu:
  • To read it on your smart phone, $3.75 a week, billed every 4 weeks.
  • To read it on your tablet (such as the iPad) $5 per week.
  • To read it on both platforms, $8.75 a week.

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]]>New York times pay wallpaid journalismPaidJournalismPayWallTom BarlowFri, 18 Mar 2011 14:00:00 ESTOnline Poker Sites Trying to Deal Out Poker Botshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/16/online-poker-sites-trying-to-deal-out-poker-bots/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/16/online-poker-sites-trying-to-deal-out-poker-bots/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/16/online-poker-sites-trying-to-deal-out-poker-bots/#commentsFiled under: ,

Poker bots threaten honesty of online pokerA poker player sits hunched over his computer, frantically trying to read the behavior of his opponents, looking for all-too-human habits and weaknesses that will give him the edge in betting. Unfortunately, the opponent he's trying to read could well not be human. Welcome to the world of poker robots, commonly known as poker bots.

Even since the supercomputer Deep Blue defeated chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov and Watson won Jeopardy, the ability of a robot to dominate a human in a game has been increasingly obvious. Now, poker "bots" are for sale over the Internet. They allow anyone with a PC and the ability to follow directions to set up a bot to play one of the panoply of on-line poker sites such as PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and PartyPoker.

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]]>gambling botsgambling robotsGamblingBotsGamblingRobotsGaming botsgaming robotsGamingRobotspoker botspoker robotsPokerBotsPokerRobotsTom BarlowWed, 16 Mar 2011 14:00:00 ESTThree Tips on How to Choose a Safe Motor Coach Companyhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/15/three-tips-on-how-to-choose-a-safe-motor-coach-company/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/15/three-tips-on-how-to-choose-a-safe-motor-coach-company/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/15/three-tips-on-how-to-choose-a-safe-motor-coach-company/#commentsFiled under: , ,

How to choose a motor coach company to avoid accidentsAfter the horrific death of 15 people in a motor coach on its way back to New York City from a Connecticut casino on March 12, those contemplating taking a motor coach or excursion bus might be thinking twice. WalletPop looked into the industry and has some tips on how to choose a motor coach company.

First, is this a dangerous option? According to the Department of Transportation, motor coaches transport around 750 million passengers a year, while averaging 19 fatalities per year, or around 2.5 fatalities per 100 million miles.

By comparison, in 2009 there were 1.13 fatalities for all traffic (trucks, buses, cars, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians) per 100 million miles, so no, motor coach travel isn't necessarily safer than car transportation, But still, the chance of a fatal crash are very slight.

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]]>budget travelBudgetTravelbus safetybus travelBusSafetyBusTravelcheap travelmass transitMassTransitmotor coach safetymotor coach travelMotorCoachSafetyTom BarlowTue, 15 Mar 2011 15:30:00 ESTMost Expensive, Cheapest States for Car Insurancehttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/14/most-expensive-cheapest-states-for-car-insurance/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/14/most-expensive-cheapest-states-for-car-insurance/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/14/most-expensive-cheapest-states-for-car-insurance/#commentsFiled under: ,

Most expensive, cheapest states for car insuranceIt's no secret that drivers in different states pay different rates, even when their driving records are very similar. Recently the website Insure.com did a comparison of state automobile insurance costs, identifying the priciest and cheapest states for car insurance.

The survey averaged coverages from six providers per state for a 40-year-old driver with a 12-mile commute to work. The quotes were for a yearly policy with $100,000 coverage for a single person, $300,000 for all injured and $50,000 for property damage.

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]]>automobile insuranceAutomobileInsurancecar coveragecar insuranceCarCoveragecheapest car coveragecheapest car insuranceCheapestCarCoverageCheapestCarInsurancemost expensive car insuranceMostExpensiveCarInsurancevehicle insuranceVehicleInsuranceTom BarlowMon, 14 Mar 2011 13:00:00 ESTThree Reasons On-Hold Music Is So Badhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/13/three-reasons-on-hold-music-is-so-bad/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/13/three-reasons-on-hold-music-is-so-bad/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/13/three-reasons-on-hold-music-is-so-bad/#commentsFiled under:

Three reasons on-hold music sucksOn-hold music is to music as Velveeta is to cheese, but we never knew exactly why on-hold music sucks until Notebooks.com recently investigated. It found that the culprits for bad on-hold music were purveyor inattention, inadequate tech, and crappy files.

Its article explained that most recorded music is not produced to sound good over telephone speakers, speakers that are programmed for the range of the human voice. Therefore, a good bass line for the Black Keys or the highest register of Mariah Carey could be swallowed whole by your telephone.

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]]>answering machine musicAnsweringMachineMusicOn hold musicon-hold musictelephone musicTelephoneMusicTom BarlowSun, 13 Mar 2011 10:00:00 ESTCan NFL Players Afford a Lockout?http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/12/can-nfl-players-afford-a-lockout/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/12/can-nfl-players-afford-a-lockout/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/12/can-nfl-players-afford-a-lockout/#commentsFiled under: , ,

NFL players lockout could destroy players in financial distress like JaMarcus RussellThe average National Football League player makes around $850,000 a year, yet, according to an expert interviewed by MSNBC, 22% of the league's 1,700 players have no savings to fall back on should the threatened lockout occur. Shocked? You shouldn't be. The combination of youth and large amounts of money has led to the downfall of many pro athletes.

Witness JaMarcus Russell, the first pick in the 2007 NFL draft, who signed a contract worth $61 million. After failing miserably at playing quarterback for the Oakland Raiders, Russell was released at the end of the 2010 season. TMZ recently reported that Russell is now in danger of losing his house after falling almost $200,000 behind in paying his mortgage.

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]]>broke NFL playerscelebs and moneyNFL lockoutNflLockoutplayer strikeTom BarlowSat, 12 Mar 2011 08:00:00 ESTIt May Be OK to Use Regular Gas Instead of Premiumhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/11/it-may-be-ok-to-use-regular-gas-instead-of-premium/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/11/it-may-be-ok-to-use-regular-gas-instead-of-premium/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/11/it-may-be-ok-to-use-regular-gas-instead-of-premium/#commentsFiled under: ,

Can you use regular gas instead of premium?Do you drive a relatively new car that requires premium gasoline? Do you seethe every time you fill up, watching that extra dime or more flow into your tank with each gallon? According to a new report from Edmunds.com, you may be able to burn regular gas in your premium car.

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]]>premium gasregular gasregular gas instead of premiumregular in place of premiumregular instead of premiumregular vs premiumRegularGasRegularInPlaceOfPremiumRegularInsteadOfPremiumRegularVsPremiumTom BarlowFri, 11 Mar 2011 14:00:00 ESTCoffee Prices on the Way Up Againhttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/10/coffee-prices-on-the-way-up-again/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/10/coffee-prices-on-the-way-up-again/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/10/coffee-prices-on-the-way-up-again/#commentsFiled under:

Coffee prices on the way upIf you're an aficionado of fine coffee, you probably have already seen the impact of atypical weather in Colombia on your grocery store shelf; be prepared for more. According to scientists interviewed by the New York Times, this might be an instance where global warming is going to hit you in the pocketbook; coffee prices are going up again.

Certainly the weather has been screwy in the South American country that is the No. 2 two exporter of coffee beans to the U.S. The mountain climate has been warmer and wetter than usual, retarding growth and enhancing conditions for coffee rust, a fungus that attacks coffee plants. The type of coffee bean grown in Colombia and Brazil, Arabica, is particularly valued for its rich-yet-mild flavor and lower caffeine.

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]]>arabica coffeeArabicaCoffeecoffee importscoffee marketcoffee pricesCoffeeImportsCoffeeMarketColumbian coffeeColumbianCoffeeTom BarlowThu, 10 Mar 2011 13:00:00 ESTTime to Kill the $1 Bill? GAO Report Suggests Yeshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/08/time-to-kill-the-1-bill-gao-report-suggests-yes/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/08/time-to-kill-the-1-bill-gao-report-suggests-yes/http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/03/08/time-to-kill-the-1-bill-gao-report-suggests-yes/#commentsFiled under: ,

Time to kill the $1 bill in favor of this coin?The government just won't give up trying to shove the $1 coin into the pocketbooks of recalcitrant Americans. Between 1979 and November, 2009, over $4 billion worth of these coins have been minted, and few of us could find one in our pockets today (unless you've been using the stamp machines at the post office. or riding the New York City subways).

Nonetheless, a new $1 coin may be in our future, if an argument laid out in a new Government Accountability Office report to Congress to kill the $1 bill finds traction.

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]]>dollar coindollar currencyDollarCoinDollarCurrencykill the 1 billkill the dollar billreplace the dollar billReplaceTheDollarBillTom BarlowTue, 08 Mar 2011 16:30:00 EST