(1) CNNMoney’s Money 101
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/index.html
If you’re just getting started learning about how to manage your money, how credit cards really work, and things like this, CNNMoney’s Money 101 tutorial is a stellar place to get started. The material is neatly broken up into 23 lessons, each of which can be read through in fifteen minutes or so - in other words, it’s a great place to bookmark and go through slowly.

(2) Morningstar’s Investment Classroom
http://www.morningstar.com/Cover/Classroom.html
This is a great place to get started learning about how stocks and bonds work, what mutual funds are and how they work, and how to start investing. Better yet, if you go through the entire course, you can earn “credits,” which allow you to get up to sixty days worth of Premium Morningstar.com for free - which can be invaluable information if you’re just beginning to invest and are picking your first mutual fund. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, when I flew to visit family for the holidays, I used curbside check-in at the airport for the first time. The Skycap took my bags and then politely waited. It took me a few seconds to remember he wanted a tip… and then a few seconds more to realize I didn’t know what sort of tip was customary.

That of course got me thinking… then researching… and now we have this list below: The AnyNumberOfThings Tipping Guide. Think of it as a list of tips for giving tips.

I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible and include every situation you might ever encounter in modern life.

Common Tips

Waiter/Waitress-
I’d argue that 20% is the new standard. But if you’re old fashioned, then the old rules apply: 15% for adequate service; 20% for very good service; no less than 10% for poor service.

Taxi-
In most cities in the US, tipping is not mandatory. But that’s just the law. Of course you should tip. A minimum of $1-$2 for a short tip of only a few minutes, or a cross-town/few blocks trip. 15-20% for longer trips or driving to an especially congested or busy area of town. Read the rest of this entry »

This might not be the sort of list you want to see a few days before you have to join the holiday crowd heading back home after the new year… or maybe it is. I dunno. I guess it all depends on your luck. Are you heading to one of the good airports or one of the bad ones?

The following lists come from Travel + Leisure, and the rankings are based upon percentage of flights delayed.

For the first eight months of this year, one in four flights landed at least 15 minutes late and cancellations are en route to smashing the record set in 2000.

Sounds great right? If you’re ready to roll the dice, the 10 best and worst airports in America… Read the rest of this entry »

Over at weblog Techipedia, Tamar Weinberg has a list of his favorite Internet Marketing blog posts of 2007. He’s gone way into it, not only listing more than 250 articles, but giving a descrption of each.

I don’t have his patience or stamina, so I’ll just list a few of his favorites that I remember reading this year.

Read the rest of this entry »

For the sixth year in a row, President George W. Bush is the most admired man and Sen. Hillary Clinton the most admired woman in Gallup’s annual survey. But neither winner had a very decisive win this year, with former President Bill Clinton nearly tying Bush and Hillary Clinton barely topping talk-show host Oprah Winfrey.

Full Gallup Polling Data Found Here.

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Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index dropped 6.7 percent in October, the largest monthly drop recorded since 1991.

“No matter how you look at these data, it is obvious that the current state of the single-family housing market remains grim,” said Robert Shiller, who helped create the index, in a statement.

• Atlanta -0.7%
• Boston -3.6%
• Charlotte +4.3%
• Chicago -3.2%
• Cleveland -4.5%
• Dallas -0.1%
• Denver -1.8%
• Detroit -11.2%
• Las Vegas -10.7%
• Los Angeles -8.8%
• Miami -12.4%
• Minneapolis -5.5%
• New York -4.1%
• Phoenix -10.6%
• Portland +1.9%
• San Diego -11.1%
• San Francisco -6.2%
• Seattle +3.3%
• Tampa -11.8%
• Washington -7.0%

Source: Standard & Poor’s
Data through October 2007

October Home Prices Post Record Decline (AP)

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The Huffington Post features video clips of The View’s proud know-nothing in her 5 (greatest? most embarrassing? most infuriating?) best moments of 2007. Among the choice soundbites on display:

1. Sherri Says She Doesn’t Know If The World Is Flat
2. Sherri Says Christians Came Before Anything Else In History
3. Sherri Discusses How Her Abstinence Is Leading To Sleep Orgasms
4. Sherri Condones Hitting Her Kid…Just Not In A “Rich White Folks’ Store”
5. Sherri Condones Men Hitting Women Back

Sherri Shepherd’s Top 5 Moments Of 2007: Hitting Her Kid, Sleep Orgasms, Pondering Jesus And Asking If The World Is Flat (Huffington Post)

Gift cards have become the popular holiday present du jour. But there are plenty of things to consider before giving or even receiving (and using) a gift card. For example, did you know this?

Retailers can’t account for the sale of a gift card until the card is redeemed for merchandise. If you don’t redeem a card within a certain period of time, your state’s escheat laws kick in and the unused money goes to the state or is divided between the state and the retailer.

The 8 tips after the break:

Read the rest of this entry »