If you have ever seen "Say Yes To the Dress" on TLC you know how time consuming it can be picking out the right wedding dress. Since we all know that time is money it means that the shop employee may be tied up for a lengthy period of time. This is why some wedding shops have begun charging "try-on fees". How much, you ask?
The role of women on the farm has traditionally been that of helpmate to their husbands or other male family members. That role has been steadily changing over the past three decades with the USDA now reporting that the number of farms run by women has nearly tripled. The report states that if secondary operators are included women account for 30% of American farmers. There are some differences between farms run by men and those run by women.
They say that "where there's a will, there's a way" and apparently some wealthy New York City area moms are pretty strong willed. They have found a way around the long lines at Florida's Disney World by hiring disabled tour guides to accompany them and their kids to special entrances to some of the most popular rides and attractions.
There are a few stores we all seem to frequent fairly regularly. We have our favorite retail outlets and fast food restaurants that we find ourselves drawn to on a weekly--if not daily--basis. A new survey tells us which ones receive the most customer traffic.
There are signs that the economy is picking up after a few tough years. However the improvement is far from universal. There are still people who are having a rough go of it and if they have a pet it is even more difficult. You can buy Coke with food stamps but not pet food, a questionable call. Now a former Wall Street stockbroker has started a service called "Pet Food Stamps" to help ease the burden.
Most of us spend a fair amount of time complaining about how much--or how little--money we earn. If this includes you be prepared to be surprised at just how well off you are as compared to people in other parts of the world. GlobalRichList.com did the computing for us with these results.
If you are going car buying in Singapore make sure you're ready for some serious sticker shock. A VW Golf that would cost an American buyer about $23,000 goes for $110,000 in that Southeast Asian country. That's just one example of everyday purchases that are outrageously expensive in other countries. A cup of Starbucks coffe in Norway? Brace yourself.
The price of gold has been dropping recently, not good news for speculators but great news for gold jewelry buyers. Gold hit a record price of $1930.20 per ounce in September, 2011 and has trended down ever since. The current price,according to Reuters, is $1351.35 per ounce. How and when will this effect gold jewelry?
We certainly pay our share of taxes here in New York State but most of them are fairly standard, There are income taxes, sales taxes and taxes that are often disguised as "fees". Believe it or not it could be worse. Just think how much the boys in ZZ Top would have to pay if the old "beard tax" were still in play. Check out these bizarre taxes that were at one time levied on citizens in other parts of the world.
The housing bubble of a few years ago mostly bypassed Central New York where in the midst of a stagnant economy homes had only modestly increased in value, thus, prices only decreased slightly when the downturn hit. Now the New York State Association reports that January home prices and sales in Oneida and Herkimer Counties have seen significant increases. The figures may surprise you.
