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September 2009
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March 2009 Archives
According to Forbes Magazine, Austin is the 8th best city for business in America. We're actually up significantly from where we were last year (47th). The study ranked places based on the cost of doing business, educational attainment, income growth and job growth. North Carolina and Colorado had the most mentions. North Carolina took three of the top ten places: Raleigh, NC ranked first; Durham, NC ranked third; Asheville, NC sixth. Here's another sign that small businesses are thriving here in Austin. Marketplace Austin is opening a new location. The market started six years ago off North Lamar as a way to showcase entrepreneurs work. Now the second space, called Marketplace Austin Westgate, will open at the corner of William Cannon and West Gate Boulevard. The new location will fill the old Albertson's grocery store and is set to open in April. General Manager Mark Gindin is currently signing leases every day. He says the retail tenants include high-end western wear, handmade furniture, Asian imports, and women's accessories. There will also be an entire section devoted to food and another section for children's entertainment. If you'd like to secure a space call 512-826-8488. Looking for Local Deals
The company helps by providing you the downloaded programs necessary to form the layout, you supply the content. As the New York Times reports, "The company, a leading maker of computers and printers, envisions people using their PCs to develop quick magazines commemorating their daughter's volleyball season or chronicling the intricacies of the Arizona cactus business." So far the company has printed 300 magazines. You'll find everything from a photographers collection of pictures, a magazine dedicate to hope and inspiration, to a cartoonist's collection of election drawings. And you can buy any of them. According to MagCloud, "To buy a magazine costs 20¢ per page, plus shipping. For example, a 20-page magazine would be four bucks plus shipping. And you can make money! You set your issue price and all proceeds above the base price go to you." What kind of magazine would you create?
To be honest I'm surprised that number is not higher. I figure I spend at least 8 hours in front of computer screen at work, as do most of my friends. Plus think about how us are tied to our Blackberry's or iPhone's or laptops when we're not in the office. The idea behind the study was to figure out how people are choosing to consume their information. It was a yearlong look and uncovered some interesting findings. For example, "Younger baby boomers (age 45-54) consume the most video media" about 9 ½ hours a day. And despite the ability to watch video online, most people still prefer to watch video from their television. What about you? Do you prefer watching from your television or your laptop or your phone? Have a guess on how much time you spend in front of a screen? Let me know by adding your comments below.
If you've got hail damage you may want to check out What Happens Now or the Institute for Business and Home Safety's Disaster Safety.org. site. These are some of my favorites because they are designed to help people pick up the pieces after life changing events. They also offer terrific tips to consider before something happens. For instance, What Happens Now not only talks about the need to have a home inventory, it literally has lists for each room in your home so all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Car Damage What Happens Now has an entire section on how to document the damage. These tips are helpful whether you've got damage to your car or your home. Home Damage One of the most helpful sections may be the one that offers tips on how to file an insurance claim. There is another section that addresses home insurance questions. Other helpful and interesting links Interested in seeing what is being done to improve building standards? Check out this video.
You may want to check the seat your child uses at the kitchen table. Fisher-Price is recalling 24,000 high chairs. According to the company the seat can fall backwards from the frame if the booster seat release is unlatched. One child suffered a skull fracture after falling. The 3-in-1 High Chair to Booster converts from a high chair to a toddler booster seat and includes a removable tray. Target sold the chairs from December of last year through March 2009 for about $100.
If you bought one, the company asks that you stop using it and call the company at 1-800-432-5437 for a free repair kit. You can also get more information on the company's website.
California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois are the five states with the most in unclaimed refunds. In Texas there are 103,000 people who qualify and the average person is owed $624. You can see the complete state by state list here. You have until April 15th to file or the government gets to keep your cash. Here's a link to the 1040 tax form from 2005. Remember there is no penalty for filing late if you are due a refund. However if you ran up an IRS bill that you didn't pay or you owe another debt like child support or a student loan you may not get all of your 2005 refund. In those cases the refund would be applied to those outstanding charges before the remainder is refunded.
Now the site is doing the same for hotel rooms. You can track most of the major hotel chains even a few of the Disney Resorts. Here is what the new hotel service on the site allows you to do:
The Wall Street Journal today reported that one of those companies is San Antonio based USAA. The "financial-services provider, in January began offering a subsidized concierge service, which picks things like prescriptions for employees work. The company also recently began sending masseuses to employee's desks for stress-relieving massages." Discovery Communications in Maryland recently opened up a child care center. These companies say the benefits cost relatively little, but will help companies retain good employees. "The cost is so small in comparison with the lift we get in employee morale," says Jeff Weiss, USAA's senior vice president of benefit programs. The Wall Street Journal says, " Intel, Discovery Communications, Brown-Forman, USAA, Yum! Brands and Cardinal Health have unveiled such new benefits for the rank and file as child-care centers, backup child care, scholarships for employees' kids, concierge services, adoption benefits and expanded health care." Reuters says it obtained a memo from Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke which says the retailer is awarding roughly $2 billion to U.S. hourly employees. This includes $933.6 million in bonuses, $788.8 million in profit sharing and 401(k) contributions, millions of dollars in merchandise discounts and contributions to its employee stock purchase plan. A study cited last year in Harvard Business Review said even a small layoff shocks and demoralizes survivors so much that many walk out the door at the first opportunity, raising voluntary quit rates an average 31% above previous levels. What do you think? If your company was doing well would perks like these encourage you to work harder? Or stay with a company? Let me know what you think by adding your comments below or join the conversation on the KVUE insider on Facebook. How would you like to get five magazines in one subscription? Time Inc. is putting together a new magazine called Mine. It's an experiment that will allow you pick five of the following magazines--Travel and Leisure, Golf, InStyle, Money, Real Simple, Sports Illustrated, Time or Food and Wine. They will put content from those into one publication. You can choose to receive the information online or get a paper copy. Here's the cool part--the first 200,000 people get to try the online version free, the first 31,000 get to try the printed publication free. It reminds me of The Week. This magazine combines some of the biggest news headlines into one weekly magazine.
Food • Continental Airlines has some super low airfares to the Caribbean including San Antonio or Dallas to Puerto Rico for around $130 one way. You can get from Houston to the Grand Cayman Islands for $180 one way. Even better check out the European airfares. You can get from Houston to London for less than $200 one way.
"Last year, for the first time in at least 10 years, the average square footage of single-family homes under construction fell dramatically, from 2,629 in the second quarter to 2,343 in the fourth quarter, Census data show. " Yet the self storage industry paints a different picture. Business for many of those places has never been better. One man says, "Occupancy has always been above 90 percent in the 15 years he's worked here." A few years ago a study found one in 11 American households owns a self storage space. So when people fall behind on their payments those storage companies to auction it all off. What are you doing to live on less? Add your comments below.
The company says the bonuses are part of contracts that were made at the beginning of 2008 before all of the financial trouble began. The CEO says failing to pay out these bonuses could result in more legal trouble for the company. According to the Wall Street Journal, "The $121.5 million in bonuses for 2008 will largely be paid in March. The top seven employees at the company won't get bonuses, and another 40 high ranking executives will get the bonuses in part in March and in part later in the year. Those payments will be linked to AIG's performance in meeting certain goals, such as implementing parts of the restructuring of the company announced in early March. The 2008 bonuses are distinct from the $619 million in retention payments that AIG is making to 4,200 employees. Those payments range from $92,500 to $4 million." So what do you think? Should companies that accept bailouts be unable to pay bonuses? If you were supposed to get a bonus would you take it? Add your comments below.
So Noelle shared with me last night this study released just this month called the The Quiet Crisis. It shows charities across the country struggling. It's no surprise when businesses are doing poorly, charities suffer. Many companies have cut back on their sponsorships and donations. This study highlight the need for all of us to do what we can to help. According to the research, "54 percent of charities (respondents) have three months or less of operating reserves and 74 percent have less than six months of operating reserves." I thought this was interesting too. With 9.4 million employees and 4.7 million full-time volunteers nationwide, non-profits constitute 11 percent of the American workforce--that's greater than the auto and financial industries combined. How you can Help The federal government has set up this site to help people find volunteer opportunities across the country. If you're looking for a way to give back here in Central Texas, check out this city of Austin web site devoted to places that need volunteers. Between the layoffs and the stock market news, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to offer some help. So here's the deal: I'm looking for a family in the Austin area who wants help. I'll match you up with a financial advisor. All you have to do is be willing to be honest about your finances, be willing to be featured in a future story and be willing to let us see how you do with the advice. If you're interested send me an e-mail. For those of you do-it-yourselfers, I found this great budgeting tool from one of my favorite magazines--Kiplinger. I feel fortunate that my dad was an accountant, so he instilled in me the importance of having a budget. If you don't have one, this tool will help you get started.
• There are all kinds of free events associated with SXSW including a free youth film making seminar. To see the complete list go here. • A bunch of restaurants in Austin are teaming up with Yelp to offer half price meal deals during SXSW. You can find the list here. • Then lots of restaurants and bars offer free food and drink deals during the festival. You can find the list sorted by the days and times here. • Thanks to Jo Ann for letting me know about this deal. Active Life Wellness & Healthcare Center at 809 South Lamar is offering free chair massages to SXSW patrons. For more information call 512-474-life (5433). Food Deals Joining some of these lists can help you be the first to know of some of the deals. However, a couple of warnings many will send you e-mails on a regular basis, some call you. Each time I click on the Cruise Deals I get sent to my e-mail box, a travel agent calls me. So make sure you put a phone number you don't mind them calling. •Restaurant.com is once again offering 80 percent off their gift certificates. All you need to do is type in the word MENU in the discount code box. So the $25 gift certificates will only cost you $2. Travel Deals • Earlier this week Jet Blue announced some incredible air fare deals out of Austin. You'll still find some pretty good savings to places like Orlando, but be sure to check for the best prices on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. •Southwest Airlines has another airfare sale going on right now, including some fares as low as $39 one way. •Continental has some airfare deals to Florida too. •Carnival Cruise has some four day Bahamas or Mexico cruises starting at $399 a person. Grocery Benefit A New Coupon Site This is not something you hear everyday, but 1.6 million refrigerators are being recalled because they may be a fire hazard. Maytag has received 41 reports of problems with the refrigerator relay ignitions. There have been 16 cases of property damage from smoke damage to extensive kitchen damage. The refrigerators were sold under these names: Maytag®, Jenn-Air®, Amana®, Admiral®, Magic Chef®, Performa by Maytag® and Crosley® brand refrigerators. They include side by side and top freezer refrigerators. The affected refrigerators were manufactured in black, bisque, white and stainless steel.
Refrigerators with freezers on the bottom are not included in this recall. The refrigerators were sold at department and appliance stores and by homebuilders nationwide from January 2001 through January 2004 for between about $350 and $1600. Consumers should immediately contact Maytag to determine if their refrigerator is included in the recall and to schedule a free in-home repair. Call Maytag at (866) 533-9817 anytime, or visit the company's website.
• Unadvertised Deals There's also a great section here that lists the best fares of the day. It's great to check here. One year there was roundtrip airfare from New York to London for less than $200 roundtrip. • Start Searching Saturday morning. Some airlines drop fares if they have trouble filling seats and because many airlines won't match prices over the weekend. • Other Times Flight Prices Tend to Change • Search outside the City • The Rule of 7's • Keep Checking If you don't have time to check--sign up for a free e-mail alert at yapta.com. Farecast.com offers a similar deal. This is a service that offers some protection from rising and falling airfare over a period of 7 days. You pay $10 for this service. It works two ways: 1- by allowing you to track a specific fare you may be interested in purchasing later; or 2- by offering you some protection that if the fare drops within 7 days of your purchase you can get a refund. They also have a section that shows you the likelihood the airfare will drop. The site claims it is nearly 75 percent accurate with its predictions. • Score better seats for cheap Cheapest days to Travel Most expensive days to Travel Other sites worth checking out:
Six of the world's largest baby bottle manufacturers have agreed to stop selling bottles with BPA or Bisphenol-A. The chemical has been linked to a series of health problems. The companies include: Avent America, Inc; Disney First Years; Dr. Brown; Evenflo Co.; Gerber; and Playtex Products, Inc. Environmental groups argue that even small amounts of BPA can damage reproductive, neurological and immune systems. They say experiments have linked even low levels of BPA to serious health problems, including prostate and breast cancer, early onset of puberty, obesity and diabetes. The Food and Drug Administration says minimal amounts of BPA will not harm humans. Last April Wal-Mart pulled all baby bottles that contain BPA from its shelves. Periodically police and government agencies auction off items they've collected during various investigations or seizures. This weekend there's a big auction at the convention center in Arlington, TX. The U.S. Marshal's Office is auctioning off forfeited jewelry. There are all kinds of items including a Rolex watch, belt buckles, necklaces and more. The auction starts Saturday, March 7th at 9 a.m. but you don't have to show up to participate, you can bid online. There are lots of places to find auction items. Lone Star Auction is one of the biggest in Texas. They auction off items from schools, police agencies and the state. In fact, the state of Texas is auctioning off all kinds of items in April, even a snow plow. You can find a complete list of auctions here. Here are a few other auction sites worth checking out:
You can bring your resume in on paper or in digital form and print 25 black-and-white copies free. To find a location near you go here.
According to the Peace Corps, applications have risen 16 percent. That's the biggest jump in nearly five years. Projects Abroad, the largest commercial volunteer service abroad organization internationally, have seen a 15 percent increase in the number of American volunteers. People who are out of work are looking for ways to pass the time. They are also looking to boost their resumes and make job connections. There's another good reason to volunteer-- many businesses are cutting back their sponsorships and charity contributions this year. The federal government has set up this site to help people find volunteer opportunities across the country. If you're looking for a way to give back here in Central Texas, check out this city of Austin web site devoted to places that need volunteers.
Free Museum Pass Coffee Deal Book Deals This same site allows you to swap DVDs or swap CDs. SXSW Deals • Sandi also wanted to let me know that the Rodeo is taking place at the same time as SXSW this year, so guests may notice prices at hotels are a little more expensive than they are accustomed to because of the additional traffic. So the Holiday Inn Express at 8500 N I H 35 in Austin near the intersection of 183 and 35 is offering rooms for a $115 a night. If you want tickets to the Rodeo you can get a package deal which includes 2 box seat Rodeo tickets with 1 night hotel accommodation for $159.99. That deal is on a first come first serve basis. Gym Deal Travel Deals • Southwest Airlines is having an airfare sale. Some airfare is as low as $39 one way. The deals are good for travel through May 20th. • AirTran is offering its own March Madness sale. Some fares are as cheap as $39 one way. Most of the ones in and out of Texas are around $100 one way, but there are a few including one from San Antonio to West Palm Beach starting at $59 one way. You've got to book by tomorrow, March 5th.
The Austin based company has lots of Twitter accounts and it's not alone. Companies like Best Buy and Amazon.com are setting up bargain accounts. The idea is to give their most loyal customers access to deals first. Increasingly more businesses are also logging onto to Twitter to find people who are having problems. So someone complains about a particular company and that company can help resolve those issues more quickly. An example, Time Warner created a Time Warner cares link. Some people report getting their issues resolved faster thanks to this connection. Send me an e-mail to let me know what you're using Twitter for these days.
There are a few catches: of course your mortgage must be owned and serviced by CitiMortgage; your loan must be for $417,500 or less; you must show proof that you are unemployed and promise to let the company know once you've found a job. The company says it will be reaching out to 500,000 homeowners. The federal government has been putting added pressure on mortgage companies who've received federal bailout money to prove how they are helping people. If you need help you can go here to learn more. This week and next week you have the chance to try out some amazing restaurants and support a good cause. Restaurant Week in Austin began Sunday and runs through March 4th and then again March 8th through the 11th. It's your chance to try 40 of the best restaurants in the area for set prices of $25 or $35. There are a few that offer lunch specials. You will need to make reservations. You can call the restaurant directly or book through Open Table.com. There's another good reason to take part-- a portion of the proceeds benefit the Capital Area Food Bank. Cities across the country hold these events each year. Here's a list of all the restaurant weeks across the country and in Canada and Mexico. |
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Terri Gruca anchors KVUE's 6 and 10pm newscasts. She brings you the latest consumer news and tells you where to find the best deals.
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