It’s almost Halloween, which means everyone you know is probably posting adorable photos from the pumpkin patch. But folks looking for pumpkins to carve before the trick-or-treaters arrive may not be able to find the orange gourds at Home Depot locations in hurricane-ravaged Texas and Florida this season, as the retailer says it’s cutting back on pumpkin sales to let some stores focus on storm recovery. [More]
priorities
Please Call 9-1-1 When You See A Car Crash Before Taking Pictures With Your Phone
By 2.10.16
While there are many Internet-savvy police departments out there, one thing that the world’s cops have not yet learned how to do is receive reports of car crashes and other catastrophes through Facebook posts. That’s why the Iowa State University police are annoyed with the population they serve. When an out-of-control Infiniti landed on top of some other cars, onlookers took their phones out to take pictures, but not to call emergency services. [More]
Would You Pass Up A Discount On An Item Just To Pay With A Credit Card?
By 7.18.12
Now that Visa and MasterCard have settled a major lawsuit with retailers, opening the door to let stores tack on surcharges for customers using credit cards, some big businesses are considering offering a discount to those paying with cash. [More]
Don't Sacrifice Your Financial Future Underneath The Christmas Tree
By 12.21.11
Retailers and their marketing arms are excellent at convincing parents to spend more and more each Christmas, and those who fall for the trap may be doing so at the expense of their future. Short-time financial impact aside, blowing big money on presents year after year eats away at savings potential for your kids’ college funds, as well as your own retirement. [More]
Cost Of Funding SETI vs A Citibank Exec's Bonus
By 5.4.11
On the back of news that SETI, an array of satellite dishes that search for extraterrestrial intelligence, would be shut down, John at μcosmologist put together a infographic to compare the cost of running it against other things. For instance, it costs $2.5 million a year to run one SETI satellite, while one Predator drone costs $4.5 million. A Citibank exec’s bonus? $19.3 million. And if just a small part of the $10.7 billion Starbucks made last year was put aside instead of paying for their employee’s health insurance, we’d have ET’s whole city in the bag. In comparison, continuing to send and seek out bleeps into a silent and uncaring void isn’t that much. Check out the full version here, and stick around for the money shot by scrolling all the way to the bottom. [More]
Guess Which Charter Envelope Has Important Billing Information?
By 9.29.10
Here’s an excellent example of how a company will put more effort into getting you to notice its junk mail than any important account related information. David says this happens to him all the time, and it’s usually a serious notice (as in “impending disconnection”) thanks to a recurring billing error. [More]
Five Things Worth Paying For In A Recession
By 3.1.09
Just because the economy is imploding doesn’t mean you should entirely freeze your spending. The Wall Street Journal brings us a list of five things that are well worth their price, even in a recession.
