The 10 Best Cities



1. Pittsburgh, Pa.—$539 per week



2. Charlotte, N.C.—$457 per week



3. Raleigh, N.C.—$457 per week



4. Boston, Mass.—$600 per week



5. Philadelphia, Pa.—$539 per week



6. Providence, R.I.—$531 per week



7. Salt Lake City, Utah—$427 per week



8. San Antonio, Texas—$378 per week



9. Seattle, Wash.—$515 per week



10. Houston, Texas—$378 per week

The 10 Worst Cities



10. Los Angeles, Calif.—$450 per week



9. Nashville, Tenn.—$275 per week



8. Kansas City, KS-MO—$280 per week



7. Tampa, Fla.—$275 per week



6. Orlando, Fla.—$275 per week



5. Washington, D.C.—$359 per week



4. San Francisco, Calif.—$450 per week



3. Phoenix, Ariz.—$240 per week



2. Miami, Fla.—$275 per week



1. New York, N.Y.—$405 per week

If your job falls prey to the ongoing not-recession, read up on our tips for saving cash and consider potential ways to make the most of unemployment.

Best and worst cities for unemployment pay [L.A. Times]

Companies defend the practice as an appropriate way to take care of an executive's family after an unexpected death. They also note that the benefits often are negotiated as part of a pay package that has many components. In many cases, compensation attorneys say, death benefits are really a form of deferred compensation, structured partly for estate-planning or tax reasons.

Companies often say one goal of their pay packages is to keep executives from leaving. But "if the executive is dead, you're certainly not retaining them," says Steven Hall, an executive-pay consultant in New York.

We're fine with this, but only on one condition: that the CEO's family members, pets, and belongings have to be buried with him.

"Companies Promise CEOs Lavish Posthumous Paydays" [Wall Street Journal]
(Photo: t-bet)

Even if you are rejected by Social Security, you can apply for benefits again and again, which is what both lawsuits claim insurers are taking advantage of to avoid paying benefits. The suits cite the federal False Claims Act and contend "that the insurers were knowingly committing fraud."

The insurers have claimed this is just business as usual and it's their policy to require everyone to apply—a Cigna spokesperson disingenuously says, "Our goal is to ensure that each member receives all of the benefits to which he or she is entitled." But a former Gigna employee who's now a plaintiff in one of the suits says insurers abuse the practice by routing everyone to Social Security even when it's obvious they'll never qualify.

Forcing people who are injured to apply for Social Security before paying their claims appears to bolster insurers' profits in several ways. If claimants refuse to apply, the insurers can simply stop paying their benefits, said Dawn Barrett, an employee of the Cigna Corporation, who grew frustrated sending people to Social Security and who is now a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits. More typically, she said, people apply for Social Security when an insurer tells them to. That allows the insurer to reduce its claim reserves, money that is kept in conservative investments for benefit payments. And in the insurance industry, smaller reserves mean bigger profits.

"Insurers Faulted as Overloading Social Security" [New York Times]

In order to properly enjoy these tips you have to:

• 
  
• Enjoy budgeting money.
  
• Be naturally responsible with money.
  
• Have a job.
  
• Spend less than you earn.
  
• Pay your credit card on time.
  
• Realize that not all cards are the name, and take the time to find one that has the benefits you want.

If that sounds like you, let's take a look:

1) Cash Back: Some cards offer "rewards," but we think those programs are better at convincing you to spend money than they are at actually giving you the rewards. We like cash back cards. You spend money. You get some back. It makes you happy.

2) Insurance: If you credit card offers rental car insurance you can say, "No thank you" to the rental car agent when he or she asks if you'd like to purchase insurance. In fact, you should do this, because accepting the rental car insurance may void your credit card insurance. (Some debit cards may also offer this sort of protection, so don't assume that yours doesn't and run out and get a credit card just for this reason.) If your card carries this benefit, don't forget about it, or you'll be sad. Your card may also offer roadside assistance without you even knowing about it. Will you remember this when you're stuck on the side of the road?

3) Arbitrage: Some people really like doing this. Personally, we would screw it up and don't recommend it, but it is a demonstrable fact that there are people who are benefiting from this tactic. So who are we to judge? It makes them happy. (We still think you shouldn't do it.)

4) Fraud Protection: It might be due to the differences between how credit and debit fraud is handled, but most of the horror stories we hear are from people dealing with bank account/debit card fraud. Credit card fraud departments seem to have their act together when compared to a bank's fraud department. This is just an observation, but we do read an awful lot of complaints. Take it for what it's worth.

5) Extended Warranty Protection: If you buy a lot of expensive electronics, get a credit card with extended warranty protection. If you do this, you'll be able to say "get lost" to the blue shirt who is trying to sell you an expensive warranty. Don't believe us? We helped one of our readers get his laptop replaced by AMEX. He sure seemed happy.

We know a lot of our readers use credit cards. Why do you bother with them when so many "personal finance gurus" tell you you're crazy? Let us know in the comments.

(Photo:jgodsey)

These plans often cap out at amounts far lower than the market cost of any procedure, or have complicated rules on pay outs—Aetna's new offering, for example, pays up to $7,500 a year for inpatient care, but limits the daily amount of a hospital stay to $250.

As our reader Laurel puts it,

They market themselves as a way for temp firms and other places with hourly employees to increase the perception that their employees are 'valued.' The employer pays little - sometimes nothing - for the 'benefits.' Payment is deducted automatically from employee payrolls.

My fear is that, with the push toward universal insurance, scam-scum like this will qualify as 'being insured,' leaving workers in the lurch if they become ill.

RELATED
"More Kansas Insurers Offering Limited-Benefit Plans For Employer-Sponsored Health Care" [Medical News Today]
"Wal-Mart has a limited benefit plan, called Starbridge." [old WSJ article, found through Google ]
(Photo: Getty)

• Part-time workers would rather work 3 days a week for a longer period of time than just during "rush hour" 4 days a week.

• This might mean fewer hours for employees.

• Some full-time workers feel they are likely to be replaced with "senior citizens and students," who are available during rush hours, and who will not receive benefits.

"This is one piece of a deliberate effort to cut benefit costs through more part-time employees," said Nu Wexler, communications director at Wal-Mart Watch, which is a Washington-based coalition of labor, religious, community and environmental groups."

Stock holders, however, were happy with the move. Shares of Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart rose $1.37, or 3%, to $47.55. —MEGHANN MARCO

Wal-Mart rolls out scheduling software [LA Times]