It seems the State of Rhode Island is threatening to close businesses for not paying sales taxes and I think those businesses should call their bluff. PROVIDENCE — State tax officials have put more than 1,200 businesses across the state on notice this week that they are out of business unless they pay their overdue…
Month: July 2009
Beware The AeroGarden
Last Christmas, I received an AeroGarden as a gift and initially I loved it but lately it’s become a huge money pit.  Perhaps I’ve just had a bad streak of luck but the bulbs keep going out in my AeroGarden. I’ve already replaced them TWICE and at $20 for a pair, that’s $40 spent on…
What’s Going On At Chase?
This is weird. I went to a Chase Bank branch to close an account and upon arriving I had to “sign in” to see a rep. I took the clipboard and took a gander to see the list of people before me and what they were there for and about half were there to close…
Public Service Announcement: Water Babies SunScreen Is Top Notch
Although perhaps a bit late for the summer, I wanted to write a post about a product I’ve been unable to live without this summer. During the past few months, I’ve taken the kids to lakes, beaches, pools, water parks, and other outdoor activities and the ONLY sunscreen that has worked consistently is Coppertone’s Water…
Personal Finance, Suicide and The UK
It seems public support for elderly suicide is growing in the United Kingdom and I suspect that is has a great deal to do with money. At some point in time, countries are going to have to make hard decisions about how to deal with a burgeoning aging population. This has become a frequent topic…
The 401k Is Nearly Dead
With the stock market down you’d think it would be the perfect time to invest in the stock market but many companies are cutting their 401k match, changing plan options to save money and in some instances, eliminating the hassle altogether.   Many people are also taking pay cuts so in order to make up the…
Why Aren’t Tax Credits Adjusted For Inflation?
As some of you know, I may be going to back to school to get an MBA this fall and I’ve been researching the Lifetime Learning Tax credit and the Hope Tax Credit to see if I would be able to take advantage of the credits on my taxes next year and something struck me…
Applebees Food Terrible!
So after watching those enticing TV commercials for Applebees two for $20 dinner specials we decided to go to the restaurant for dinner.  The special includes an appetizer and two entrees so we had the spinach artichoke dip, tequilla time entree and burger entree.    Boy what a disappointment, it seems the way Applebees is getting…
Book Stores Still Mainly Useless!
Bank in March, I wrote this post criticizing the bookstore oligopoly of their vast ineptness of being able to carry any decent books and five months later, the book stores still don’t have a clue. I’m actually reminded of the big 3 auto firms when I think of bookstores as they appear to have the…
He Bought A Mercedes!?!?
Back in January, I along with a few coworkers, were all laid off.  A few weeks later I got a call from one of those co-workers. He was BEGGING me to find him some leads to get work. Evidently, his wife got laid off the following few days after he did so they were BOTH…