Do you roll out of bed eager to start the work week? Roxanne Emmerich does, and she says that you can too. Join Jean tomorrow as she sits down with the bestselling author of “Thank God It’s Monday,” to talk about tricks you can use to get excited about work. Later, Congressman Bart Stupak stops by to weigh in on the ongoing health care debate.
Today, the average undergraduate student leaves college owing over $22,000 in student loans. If you, or someone you know is struggling with paying them back, tune in tomorrow (at 12pm EDT on XM 156 or SIRIUS 195) as Jean talks with FinAid.org’s Mark Kantrowitz about changes that have been made to make repayment just a bit easier.
This week pirates invaded my town. Trust me though; this isn’t as scary, or as strange, as it sounds. Every summer, Alexandria Bay, my small, tourist town in the summertime paradise known as the Thousand Islands (read the NY Times story on the area here), hosts one of the country’s oldest pirate festivals. For ten days, pirate invasions, pirate parades, and skits to reenact the antics of Bill Johnston (seen with me in the photo at left)-an actual pirate who hid from authorities in a cave in one of the Thousand Islands for almost a year- entertain thousands of tourists.
But what does a pirate festival have to do with money? Well, in a word, lots. For my town, this festival is a major economic driver of an economy that relies, for the most part, on income generated during the summer months. While people from all over attend Bill Johnston’s Pirate Days, this year, many people from not-so-far-away see the festival as the perfect opportunity for entertainment while on a “staycation.”
“Staycation”, seems to be the buzzword of the summer. A staycation is defined (yes, I said defined…staycations have become so popular, that they now have their own dictionary entry) as a vacation where one takes time off at or close to home. According to a recent poll by Harris Interactive, almost 60% of Americans say they are looking for ways to find less-expensive activities to fill up their summer days. Nearly 50% of survey participants said they’d take vacations closer to home.
In an economic climate where everyone’s trying to save a little more, staycations are a chance to take a break from the everyday, without spending a bundle of money. If you’ve yet to take a staycation this summer, there’s still time. Here are some tips for finding cheap fun that’s close to home:
Find a Festival: Visit Festivals.com, where you can search for festivals in your area by city or state, many of which are low-cost or even free.
Fun at the Fair: There are very few places where you can eat a deep fried Oreo, take in a concert by a big-name entertainer and marvel at a sculpture made of butter all in one day. Tickets to your state fair will cost around More…
Growing up today can be challenging-but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. In “The Double Daring Book for Girls,” the follow up to their bestselling “The Daring Book for Girls,” Miriam Peskowitz and Andrea Buchanan teach readers how to do everything from how to organize a croquet tournament to how to surf. Join Jean (at 12pm EDT to SIRIUS Channel 195 or XM Channel 156) as she talks with the authors about creative ways that girls can have fun in today’s world.
Tune in tomorrow (at 12pm EDT on SIRIUS Channel 195 or XM Channel 156) as Jean and producer John St. Augustine compare their experiences test-driving the Camaro SS. Later, auto expert Barbara Terry stops by to talk about the relationships people have with their vehicles.
On tomorrow’s show, Jean chats with legendary investor John Bogle about how you should be investing now. Tune in Thursday at 12pm EDT on SIRIUS Channel 195 or XM Channel 156.
Tomorrow, Jean chats with credit expert Gerri Detweiler about her new e-book “Reduce Debt, Reduce Stress.” Later, New York Times economics reporter Edmund Andrews stops by to discuss his new book Busted: Life Inside the Great Mortgage Meltdown.” Listen in on SIRIUS XM channel 156.
The ink on the Credit Card Bill of Rights (officially the The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act) is barely dry but banks have already figured out they stand to lose big bucks in lost interest and fees from consumers. Not surprisingly, they’re already figuring out how to make up that ground. Despite the fact that the new law won’t go into effect for nearly nine months, some of these fees/charges are already on the way – others you should simply watch out for.
* Higher Checking Account Fees: We’re already starting to see some changes in this arena. In recent changes: Bank of America (BAC) will increase its monthly account maintenance fee on its MyAccess checking from $5.95 to $8.95 per month in June. In particular, customers who don’t maintain significant balances should be on the lookout for additional or higher fees.
* Higher Overdraft Fees: It is already common to see overdraft fees of $35 – sometimes $39 – when you spend more than you have in your account. You’re then charged interest on the amount of money you’ve essentially borrowed to cover your bad checks or debits. Watch out in particular for two new kinds of overdraft fees: A tiered overdraft fee which means that with each successive overdraft the fees go up. Nine out of the 16 largest banks also have sustained overdraft fees, which means if you don’t pay off the overdraft amount and the fee in full, an additional fee gets tacked on. Sometimes it’s a per day fee and sometimes it’s a flat fees.
These overdraft fees – many of which are charged on debit and ATM transactions — are particularly annoying because banks do something called “stacking the debt.” They program their computers to process withdrawals not in the order that you make them but by the largest first. So if the largest withdrawal takes you over your funds, you’ll then incur overdraft fees on all of the smaller ones. And very few banks, according to the Consumer Federation of America, limit the amount of fees they’ll charge you in a single day. So if you swipe at the dry cleaner, the supermarket, the hardware store and the movies in a single day, you could be looking at $140 in fees. Ouch.
What can you do about it? One suggestion: More…
Hi readers. I’m Julia Venditti, a senior at a high school in Westchester County, NY. I intern with Jean as a last semester class alternative for seniors. Recently I had a job interview and was asked to relate my largest obstacle of senior year. I knew immediately what to say because it was something that I had struggled with for months. I had put everything I had toward achieving my dream. And then I decided that my dream came with too high a price tag.
Early in my senior year, I diligently devoted my attention to college applications. I applied to NYU Early Decision and couldn’t fathom any alternatives. I love New York City and knew I’d always end up there. I love that NYU is practically an international institution and day dreamed about meeting people from foreign countries. Perhaps a friend would whisk me to Brunei on Winter break. Or maybe one of my NYU film buddies would land a spot in Sundance and ask me to accompany him. I felt like anything could happen at NYU. I felt like there was no opportunity for mundane monotony and my life would finally begin. While my indecisive sister applied to 18 colleges in her senior year, I applied to just four (two of which were SUNYs that I applied to as a fallback due to the competitive nature of NYU).
My dad reminded me how challenging it is to get into NYU and urged me to be realistic. On a daily basis, he recited statistics that made my goal seem unattainable. In high school, I was not at the top of my class and I wasn’t the most dedicated student. Nevertheless, I finished high school with a solid GPA and excellent SAT scores. But my dad was convinced that NYU, one of the most competitive schools of the nation, wouldn’t be impressed. He often said, “Stop fooling yourself; they turn down Valedictorians at NYU!” When I did get in, he was floored. I was elated. The next day, I came into school with my NYU sweatshirt on and an ear-to-ear smile firmly in place. I had never known any greater pleasure.
It wasn’t until some time later that the hard part came. More…
I mentioned in my first post that I have a bad habit of emptying my wallet by going out to eat. Although I’ve cut back a bit – the pain in my back tells me my money would be better spent on a new mattress – I’m still managing to hit my favorite spots a few times a month.
How? I don’t know about you, but in my Brooklyn neighborhood, the restaurant deals are flowing.
On Tuesday nights, my fiance and I can bring our own bottle of wine to our favorite Mediterranean spot, saving us at least $20 – $30. On Thursdays, we can get a free entrée at a local French restaurant if we buy another entrée and an appetizer (Although not a deal I can take advantage of, this same restaurant lets kids eat for free on Friday nights). There are more than a handful of restaurants in Manhattan – including David Burke’s Townhouse, where an entrée at dinner will easily run you upwards of $30 or $40 – offering three-course lunches for less than $25. More…
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