Author Archives for Valerie S. Johnson
Spring Forward Early To Save On Electricity
It’s been a long, cold, rough winter in many parts of the U.S., but due to a new federal law, spring will be coming early this year. As part of the The Energy Policy Act of 2005, the U.S. will switch to Daylight Saving Time (DST) on the second Sunday in March (3/11/2007). This means [...]
Community Reinvestment Act Mortgage Loans
There is yet another shady deal going around with mortgage loans these days. If you receive an offer from a lender or mortgage broker under a “Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Program” endorsed by the Federal Reserve Board, raise that red flag right away. First and foremost, the Federal Reserve does not endorse or sponsor any [...]
Favors That Can Be Financially Fatal
At some point it’s likely that a friend or family member will ask you for a financial favor. When this happens, you may genuinely want to help or you may also feel pressured to do so. In either case, you need to take the time to look at the financial favor being asked and determine [...]
“Free School” At A Cost Of $10,000
This isn’t your typical school. Imagine a school where there are no grades, classes, tests, or homework. Instead, the students, who range from ages 5 to 15, can do whatever they want all day. And for letting the kids do what they want, the annual tuition cost reaches $10,000 although those who cannot afford [...]
Cell Phones: Compare Plans At A Glance
One of the many problems with getting a good cell phone plan that meets your needs is that there are a dizzying array of cell phone plans available. To make it even more confusing for the average person, the offers change constantly. The question becomes how to cut through all the static to find the [...]
Frequent Flyer Miles: Keep Them From Crashing
Frequent flyer miles was a fantastic and simple idea when it began a few decades ago. All you had to do was fly on your favorite airline and you could earn points for every mile you traveled. When you had amassed enough points, you could redeem them for free travel. And “free” is a golden [...]
Simple Resume Mistakes To Avoid
No matter where you stand with your job, even if you have just started, it’s in your best interest to always keep an updated resume handy if an opportunity arises. You never know who you might meet, when you may get laid off or when you stumble across something new that might interest you. In [...]
Check Scams – Don’t Fall For These
It’s the con artists’ job to try to part you from your money and they continue to practice their line of work in new ways. One of their latest ploy that is meeting with success and you should be on the look-out for involves sending you a counterfeit check to you for you to [...]
How Buying Mice Saved $15,000 Of Your Tax Dollars
You’ve likely heard of numerous stories in the past about the government spending ridiculously high amounts of money on basic items such as the $640 toilet seat, the $435 claw hammer and $7,600 for coffee makers.
In an effort to try to change these perceptions, the Office of Management and Budget recently upgraded its website to [...]
Health & Computers: 20 Fastest Growing Jobs Until 2014
If you are looking for areas where workers will be in high demand in the coming years, look to the computer and health industries. The Department of Labor estimates that jobs in these occupations will make up the bulk of the 20 fastest growing jobs for the period 2004-2014. More than 50% of these jobs [...]