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Entry bubble The Post Office Dilemma

By: Jake | February 02, 2009 | Category: Money

postal carrierWhen I was a kid, I loved Saturdays because I was out of school, cartoons were on all morning and I got to check the mail. Nowadays I don't look forward to the mail unless something I buy online ships USPS ground.

It's not just bills that have made my enthusiasm wane for mailbox deliveries, it's the fact that I do more socializing and business online. I am part of the reason why the Postmaster General recently told the U.S. Congress that the United States Postal Service (USPS) may be forced to cut service from six days to five. 

While some of that money the IRS takes from you goes to the United States Postal Service, most of their money comes from you and I buying their services. Use of email, online ordering, using other delivery services and the economic downturn (less bulk mailings, etc.) has really put a dent in post office sales. In fact the USPS could face a deficit of more than $6 billion this year.

The post office could cut back on those losses by suspending service on Tuesday or Saturday, their slowest days. Congress and postal officials would need to approve this plan, which a member of Congress says he will not do.

Even though I don't look forward to the mail's arrival anymore and it makes business sense to me for them to cut a service day, there's just something wrong with the idea of mail being delivered five days a week.

What's your opinion? Should the USPS suspend service one day a week and if so, what day would you suspend it?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [35] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: jake   post_office_closing   united_states_postal_service   usps  

 

Entry bubble Word of the Year: Bailout

By: Joanne | January 13, 2009 | Category: Money

cartoon man carrying a giant bag of money

In its 19th annual words of the year vote, the American Dialect Society voted “bailout” as the word of the year. When I heard the story on NPR yesterday morning, I was really hoping that the word of the year would be something fun, like 2005’s word of the year, truthiness, made popular by Stephen Colbert. I guess 2008 was a more serious year than 2005.

2008 found us in an economic crisis and it’s going to take a lot to get our economy back on track. I think it’s pretty painful to pinch pennies at the grocery store and drive aging cars, and watch the federal government give billions and billions of dollars away. Yes, I work for the government, but I pay taxes too, you know!

Like you, I don’t have to power to give away billions of tax dollars, but there are some things that we can do. President-elect Obama has a plan to stimulate the economy – get informed about the plan. Gov Gab’s readers are highly intelligent and always writing in to tell us about their great ideas. You can send your economy-saving idea directly to the Obama transition team. They’re listening.

Don’t forget to contact your Senator and Representative in Congress to let them know your ideas and how you want your tax dollars to be spent. They’re the ones that write the laws after all, and we need to hold them accountable to give us the truth, not just the truthiness.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: bailout   crisis   economy   financial   joanne   money  

 

Entry bubble Bring Your Lunch and Save Money!

By: Jake | January 12, 2009 | Category: Money

A Bagged LunchThe news these days is chock full of tips for saving money. We even have 66 simple ways for you to do that. But an alert Pueblo.gsa.gov visitor recently touched on an idea so obvious that most of us take it for granted. Simply, do you know how much you can save each month by bringing your lunch to work?

Like I said—it's obvious. You save more money making your own sandwich than you do paying Tony at the local sub shop, but have you ever sat down and quantified it? This alert reader sent us a lunch savings calculator from Bankrate.com which lets you calculate your savings from bagging your lunch over a long period of time.

To grab lunch in D.C. it costs me an average of $10 depending on what I get. The average cost for me to bring lunch is about $4. If I bring my lunch for a whole month, which is very doable, the calculator says I'll save $120. If I bring for a year, which is unlikely, I'll save $1,440. Bagging it for four years (impossible), will save me over $5000.

I don't know about you, but I'm able to really stick to something if there's a clear benefit to it. I won't be saving $1500 on lunch this year, but I know I can save at least $1000. While I'm bagging it, I can also focus more on my nutrition.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [8] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: financial_savings   jake   lunch   lunch_cost_calculator   money   savings  

 

Entry bubble Kids and the Economy

By: Colleen | January 07, 2009 | Category: Money

Ok, so the economy has taken the same trajectory as Penn State in the Rose Bowl. This is not news to anyone. While the moneymedia is littered with doom and gloom, how do you explain to your kids what's going on?

It's tough to break down a nationwide situation for a child (shoot, I have a hard time wrapping my head around it), but it's never too early to start teaching them about personal finances and the value of the ol' dollar. Before you know it, they'll be applying for a mortgage—better show them how to be sure they can afford it!

The Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Finance Literacy has a really great pamphlet that covers kids grades K-12, and what they should know about finances, broken down by grade level. For example, a 4th grader should be able to explain the difference between a wage and a salary.

Are you getting hit with the classic, "I really need (*need* being the operative word) a ____" line? Here are some tips for telling your kids the facts about money. It helps you establish a budget for them, and provides guidance on establishing a fair and effective way to set up an allowance system for your kids.

Have your kids questioned the current economic situation? How do you best teach them about fiscal responsibility?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: colleen   economy   kids   personal_finance   recession  

 

Entry bubble Scareware Scams

By: Colleen | December 17, 2008 | Category: Money

online scamIf you're anything like me, you've been doing your best to avoid any retail places during the holiday season. I'd love to shake the hand of whoever invented online shopping!

As always though, "buyer beware!" Scams and frauds are all over the internet, particularly during the "most wonderful time of the year."

The latest one preys on people actually trying to protect their computers. This "scareware" scheme comes in the form of a pop-up that appears on your screen while you have a web browser open. It might say something like, "Beware! Your computer has been infected!" Or, "Malicious software has been detected!" When you click on the pop-up, you will get an offer to buy software like "Winfixer" or "ErrorSafe" that claims to protect your computer from viruses. These different softwares will cost you around $30-40 and are totally bogus. They will tell you your problems have been fixed, when in reality, there was nothing to fix in the first place. But your wallet will be a tad lighter.

Over a million people have been duped by this type of fraud. The FTC has pushed for a court order to be signed to try and halt the broad-reaching scheme.

To best protect your computer:

  • Make sure you have legitimate anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software.
  • If you get one of these pop-ups claiming you have a virus, close the whole browser. Do not click the link, or even the "x" box at the top.
  • Use the control/alt/delete function if your browser won't respond to your exit.

If you've been scammed by "spyware" you can report it at www.ftc.gov, or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP. For information on dealing with other types of scams and frauds, check out the Pueblo scam site.

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: colleen   fraud   internet   online   scam   scareware  

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