When a mortgage company says 31% of your income do ...

Filed under: Bargain Babe The Burts Bees grab bag with 23 different products is $24.99, half off the regular price. Individually, items in the grab bag retail for more than $50. Plus, if you buy one additional item to get your total over $25 (that one penny counts, unfortunately) you can get 20% off and free shipping with code BURT20. I bought a $3 Lifeguard's Choice Lip Balm to validate the coupon code, which meant $5.60 off my bill plus no $3 shipping charge. My total was $25.12. Unclear how long the 50% off deal will last. A few other sites are recommending two additional coupon codes - WELCOME and FBFAN - but when I tried them it said they were invalid. I plan to split up the items for a few gift baskets I am making for friends. Continue reading Burt's Bees grab bag 50% off Burt's Bees grab bag 50% off originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Real Estate He can't offer a vacation in the Bahamas or jacuzzis and other fancy upgrades. Instead, California entrepreneur Christopher Laird Simmons is offering a virtual emotional plea , and hoping people would buy into it and snag his mom's Colonial Missouri home. buymymomshouse.com is a one of its kind Web site that gives buyers a tour of the house, its history and the story of the family who dwelled in it. You won't get any freebies here, but a tale that probably would resonate with many in these tough economic times. "My mother is on a fixed income, has no retirement income other than social security, and needs to sell this house to live on for the rest of her life, literally," Simmons writes. Continue reading Son launches Web site to sell mom's home Son launches Web site to sell mom's home originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Bargains , Shopping , Economizer If you carry a cell phone, you also have a calculator. Pretty much every mobile phone on the market has one, so you have no excuse not to do some intelligent per-unit math while you're out shopping. Companies love that their customers assume economy of scale, and they want you to assume that buying more stuff means you're getting a better deal for it. Too often, though, it's not true. This summer, WalletPop made the papers when we wrote about the "great McNugget caper," which proved that McDonald's popular bird chunks can actually cost more if you buy them in bulk.Continue reading Cell phone's calculator saves you from the 'per-unit shaft' Cell phone's calculator saves you from the 'per-unit shaft' originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Banks , Recession , Recession Diaries "She's back!" screams the cover of Reason , the magazine "For Free Minds and Free Markets," featuring a photo of right-wing icon Ayn Rand looking suspiciously like the Bride of Frankenstein. (Seriously. Did you ever see the two of them together? I didn't think so.) Like Frankenstein's monster, Rand's ideas are back from the dead and have attracted the attention of torch-bearing angry villagers like the teabaggers. Sales of her cinder-block-sized manifesto, Atlas Shrugged, are reportedly at their strongest ever (more on that later) and this Christmas we have not one but two Rand biographies from which to choose. (Apparently nothing says "magical holiday" like "angry screed.") There are also lots of "Who Is John Galt?" T-shirts and even the Atlasphere , an Ayn Rand dating and networking site. So I felt compelled to find out what the buzz was all about.Continue reading Ayn Rand -- back from the dead and still dead wrong Ayn Rand -- back from the dead and still dead wrong originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Home , Kids and Money , Tax , Career , Taxes-audit Rachel Porcaro is the manager of a hair salon, and to look at her, you wouldn't think "tax fraud." If you were to walk into her home, you probably wouldn't think "these kids are obviously fictions of her imagination!" According to the The Seattle Times , to see her with her two boys, 10 and 8, where they live with her parents, the three look more like a normal family headed by a single mom than any you could imagine. She works, pays her parents $400 rent a month, and pays to feed, clothe and provide for their preteen needs: toilet paper, toothpaste, soap. That's not how the IRS sees it. Porcaro, the agency says, is making far too little, half the average necessary for a mom to survive with two children in the Seattle area. Continue reading IRS to mom of two: You can't possibly live that cheap IRS to mom of two: You can't possibly live that cheap originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Entrepreneurship , Career It's well-known that women rule their family's pocketbook and make many of the major purchasing decisions in their households, and now there's proof that women play a big role in the economy as business owners. A report from the Center for Women's Business Research found that the eight million women-owned businesses in the U.S contribute $3 trillion to the economy and create or maintain 23 million jobs. That's 16 percent of the total workforce. Combined together, women-owned businesses would have the fifth largest gross domestic product rate in the world, ahead of the U.K., France and Italy. Pretty impressive. The New York Times reports that, armed with this data, women business leaders are going to the White House, Congress and the Small Business Administration to ask for more support for women-owned business.Continue reading Women entrepreneurs should go for the million-dollar mark Women entrepreneurs should go for the million-dollar mark originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Shopping Since the rise of the Internet, much has changed in the way we buy electronics. It's information overload. Tech guru Omar Wasow , founder of Blackplanet.com , cuts through the clutter and tells the best ways to research, search and buy tech stuff. For most electronics, check out Consumerreports.org and Cnet.com. For Mac related items, click on macrumors.com. For deals, look at retailmenot.com and Bank of America's Add It Up . What has not changed: use your credit card to protect yourself and buy within the United States. Podcast: Buying electronics 101 originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Shopping , Technology , Identity Theft For most of us, the terms identity theft or fraud bring to mind fraudulent Web sites that try to phish for our personal information or viruses that send our sensitive data to a criminal. Surprisingly, a new study by Travelers Insurance revealed that the information gathering that makes identity fraud possible most often takes place offline. Identity fraud has been growing dramatically, by 22% each of the past two years. Based on the incidents reported to Travelers, the number one cause of identity fraud is old-fashioned burglary in which a wallet, purse, other personal identification, or computer are stolen. Theft of personal property was responsible for 78% of the cases of identity fraud with online issues or data breaches only accounting for 14%. Continue reading Online theft not the main cause of identity fraud Online theft not the main cause of identity fraud originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Travel , Credit cards The allure of frequent flier miles, or perhaps just the game of chasing them, has resulted in many inspired schemes taking advantage of thoughtless merchants. According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), the latest deal comes courtesy of the U.S. Mint , and at a slight cost to the taxpayers. A number of frequent flier fans took the Mint up on its offer of free shipping for bulk orders of coins. The fliers paid for their coins with charge cards that offered frequent flier mile rewards. When the coins arrived, the fliers took them directly to the bank to pay off that credit card debt. The end cost to the fliers? A little time and a trip to the bank. The reward? For one of them, two million miles. Continue reading Shrewd frequent fliers make miles on U.S. Mint's mistake Shrewd frequent fliers make miles on U.S. Mint's mistake originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Bargain Babe Get a tasty $1 oatmeal breakfast from Jamba Juice with a coupon good through Friday, Dec. 11, 2009. Print the coupon here . You can choose one of four toppings on your healthy breakfast, including apple cinnamon, fresh banana, blueberry/blackberry, or berry cherry pecan. Mmmm, sounds tasty. Caveats: not valid in Texas, at any airport, university, Safeway, Vons, or Pavilions stores. One coupon per visit. Coupon for $1 oatmeal breakfast at Jamba Juice originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Budgets , Saving Money , Shopping , Economizer With the holiday party season officially underway, you may be wondering what to give the busy hostess at the parties you will be attending. Here are some easy ideas that mix items from the grocery or department store with things from the dollar store. I found a pretty floral candy dish for $1.25 at my local dollar store. Just add some brand-name wrapped candy or a can of Planters mixed nuts and you're good to go. This gift only looks expensive. In reality, $6 was all it took to put together a gift with two wine glasses, cocktail napkins, a reindeer ornament and some After Eight mint sticks on a silver-colored tray. Just add basket wrap and a bow. If you're thinking of taking flowers for the hostess, a pretty vase from the dollar store filled with a bouquet of grocery store flowers makes a thoughtful gift. That way, your hostess won't have to search for a vase in the middle of a busy evening. Continue reading Six great hostess gifts with help from the dollar store Six great hostess gifts with help from the dollar store originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Banks , Banking-checking-account , Banking-savings-account More than a million Americans lost access to banks last year, bringing the total up to 30 million people in this country who can't even open a savings account or write a check. The issue of the "unbanked," as they're being called, is a serious one, and the recession is only making the problem worse. According to the FDIC, which compiled the stats, poor, immigrant and minority members of society are most likely to have trouble finding a bank. In total, a whopping 25.6 percent of all citizens are unbanked or "underbanked," a situation which makes their day-to-day financing more expensive and makes it extremely difficult for them to attain upward mobility.Continue reading Why 30 million Americans lack banking services Why 30 million Americans lack banking services originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pamela Anderson is in the news again but not necessarily for the reasons she hoped. The former Baywatch babe and Playboy model had hoped to cause a stir upon the release of her new pop song, "High" in early 2010 (the song is co-produced by fashion, um, designer Richie Rich). Instead, she's making headlines for high... tax liens. WalletPop previously reported on Pam's money woes in October , which were allegedly related to construction problems at her dream home.Continue reading Pamela Anderson hit with a pair of tax liens Pamela Anderson hit with a pair of tax liens originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Banks , Insurance , Credit cards For anyone who is serving in the military, or served and was honorably discharged, you're now eligible to be a customer of one of the top-ranked banking and insurance companies in the country. USAA , started in 1922 by 25 military officers to insure each other's cars, is opening its doors wider. It recently announced an expansion of its customer base from enlisted military to all living service men and women who were honorably discharged.Continue reading Served in the U.S. military? This bank's for you Served in the U.S. military? This bank's for you originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments