March 2009 Archives

There is a lot of talk in the news lately about credit card companies having unfair business practices.

Here's how to tell if your credit card company is unfair or not.

Now, consider this...

Can you imagine your children being overlooked for admission into a good college because other students who went to their high school did poorly at the school, even when your child's scores are superior to those other students?

Can you fathom a dentist drilling and filling teeth that don't need cavities just because your neighbors generally get cavities in the teeth they have targeted?

What if you were denied car insurance because you once visited a car wash that has a customer base of people who get into accidents. 

Well, if these scenarios sound a bit odd and unfair, imagine how Kevin Johnson of Atlanta (who has a near excellent credit score) felt when his credit card limit was dropped nearly $7,000 based on nothing more than a store he shopped at!

Never mind that his credit score was impeccable.  Never mind that he never carried a balance.  Never mind that he owned his own home and was a successful business man. 

One innocent stop at one store led to his account being flagged as a potential credit threat. 

I had a friend who did mystery shopping for a living. 

It seems every week she was visiting and "grading" a different place.  She got to check out hotel rooms.  She had free restaurant meals.  She also got to purchase a few cool things and she was reimbursed for them.

Over the years, I have tried mystery shopping a few times. My hope was that I would have the kind of success with mystery shopping as it seemed my friend enjoyed. 

Here's how mystery shopping went for me, plus some tips for making money as a mystery shopper...

The first place that many people go when looking for a job is online, and rightly so.  

Old job hunting rules tell you to pound the pavement as if your job search is a full-time job.  But with the convenience of the Internet, you can cover a lot more ground online.  

Still, finding a job online is a fulltime job in itself.  

Here are the best tips gathered from career experts regarding how to find a job online...

Did you know that you can get some of the exact same channels that you watch on cable and satellite television right on your computer?

Well...you can!

If you're paying $90 or more a month to have cable or satellite television then you're paying too much.

There is a wealth of television available online that is easy to access and watch if you know where to look.

That is the biggest thing: knowing where to find what you're looking for. Because believe me, as much good stuff as there is available online, there is just as much junk.

Whatever you do, do not buy one of those software packages that "gives you satellite TV on your computer." Nearly all of them are a scam, and you can actually get the same software for free! Yup, that's right for FREE, and I'll tell you how to do that.

Here are 7 free programs that enable you to watch TV and movies on your computer...

Hot dogs are a simple food that requires very little in the way of preparation, is modest in cost, and is as American as apple pie.

Every ball park, county fair, and football stadium sells them. With a large captive customer base, serious money changes hands during these and many similar events.
 

Fun facts about hot dogs sold at baseball stadiums.

Here in Duluth Minnesota, there is a long-established hot dog vendor business selling under the name "The Original Coney Island." The largest portion of their business is generated from the sale of coney dogs, dressed with coney sauce, mustard and onions.

Many years back, I often picked up "5 coney dogs with everything" for lunch at a cost of about $2.50 it was an economical meal that came guaranteed with heartburn to carry me through the rest of the day.

Today, I'm more likely to order just two, but the tab will come to $3.50, indicating a healthy profit on a very small investment for the modern hot dog vendor.
 

Read one man's story about selling hot dogs through the recession.

Forever stamps are U.S. postage stamps that have no price printed on them.

The value of a Forever Stamp is whatever it costs at the moment to send a letter first class, regardless of when you bought that Forever Stamp.

Thus, a Forever Stamp never declines in value. In fact, it actually increases in value as the cost of postage increases. It's kind of like "rent control for stamps". 

Good News & Bad News

The bad news...

There's another postage rate hike around the corner: May 11, 2009!

The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service have approved new prices for mailing services, including a 2-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail stamp to 44 cents. Prices for mailing services are reviewed annually and adjusted each May. The new prices will go into effect Monday, May 11. -- Postal News Blog

The good news...

If you already have some Forever Stamps on hand, they will be worth more on May 11th when the newest postage rate hike goes into effect. Yep, the value of a Forever Stamp automatically increases from 42-cents apiece to 44-cents apiece -- the new first-class postage rate.

If you haven't already invested in a good supply of Forever Stamps, you might want to now... before the rate hike takes place!

Customers can continue to mail letters at today’s prices by purchasing the Forever Stamp before May 11. Forever Stamps were developed to help consumers ease the transition during price changes. Forever Stamps do not have a denomination and will be honored whenever they are used with no need for additional postage for a one-ounce letter mailing. On May 11 the price of the Forever Stamp will be 44 cents. -- Postal News Blog 

Looking for a fun way to pick up the slack and increase the paycheck during these tough economic times? Why not try a simple service business, such as driving a food catering truck?

My first exposure to the tasty delights that can be found on a catering truck was on a military base overseas. Every noon hour, the chow wagon (affectionately referred to as the "roach coach") rolled onto the tarmac in front of the hanger where our two C-123B cargo planes where based.

This was almost 40 years ago and I can still recall the taste of their Asian fried chicken lying on top of a bed of fried rice -- all packaged up in a neat little box that served as both a delivery container and serving bowl.

Over the years, I've worked at many different locations that were faithfully serviced by a shiny chrome truck bringing snacks, quick meals, and often local specialty dishes that you just couldn't get anywhere else. One thing that all worksites have in common is hungry workers. No matter if it's a construction site, a sales lot, or even a multi-story office building -- wherever more then a dozen people are employed, a catering truck of some sort is likely to include those locations on their daily route.

Catering trucks that service job sites throughout the work day usually come in 2 styles:

• The lunch truck -- a stainless steel catering unit, mounted on a pickup truck cab and chassis. The vendor stands alongside and the truck's sides open like wings to display the products. Usually, one side of the truck is the cold side with the display case filled with ice, and sandwiches, cold drinks, fruit, and anything else that requires refrigeration would be located on that side. The other side of the truck would likely be equipped with a large coffee urn, and warming oven to keep heated items ready to serve.
   
• The catering truck -- a full service stand-up rolling kitchen. Usually this type of catering truck is manned by 2-3 people. One may work the crowd outside collecting money and passing orders to those inside who are doing the cooking and packaging. This is where burgers, fries, breakfast specials, and other specialty items are cooked to order on the spot.