WalletPop Wire
Money College: Dump the 'Freshman 15' and fatten your wallet
It's sophomore year, and suddenly you're finding that your jeans don't fit like they used to? You're not alone. Although so-called "freshman 15" is an exaggeration, most students gain weight in college. Stress, a less-active life style, and those buffet-style cafeterias lead many students to pack on pounds. A Rutgers University study showed that if students keep up their freshman weight gain, they would gain 27 pounds by graduation.Help Barbie land her next job
Barbie is looking for a new job, and she's exploring several options: surgeon, architect, computer engineer, news anchor, and environmentalist. Barbie's latest career move will be decided by an online vote that ends Wednesday, Feb. 10, and will be unveiled Feb. 12 at the Toy Fair in New York. Given the job prospects for some of these career paths, let's hope voters choose wisely.
Lovers giving less this Valentine's Day
A new survey of by PayPal confirms that people are spending less on each other this year than they did before the economy took a crash but that doesn't mean they have stopped giving gifts altogether.
The majority of men who took part in the survey reported that they wished they could give more to their special someone this year which may be due to the fact that nearly half of consumers will spend less than $50 this year. Thankfully, only 28% of women reported that they would like to receive more on Valentine's Day, so for the most part couples should be able to enjoy each other's company on Feb. 14.
PayPal's Can't Buy Me Love survey also showed that George Clooney and Megan Fox topped the list of celebrities you would want Cupid to hit with an arrow. It's not all love though, Kanye West better work on a Valentine's Day auto-tuned hit otherwise he might be spending the day alone as he was voted the celebrity that people would least like to see on Valentine's Day.
Another interesting bit of information from the survey revealed the differences in valentine spending between single people and those in relationships which is shown on the graph below.
Man-up: Free pants from Dockers
Bonnie McCarthy
Feb 9th 2010 @ 10:00AM EST
Filed Under: Family Money, Shopping, Fantastic Freebies, As Seen on TV
Where I come from, traipsing around in underwear that possesses only a memory of elastic is referred to as doing the walk of shame. But maybe that's just me. In a message that manages to channel both Lady GaGa and the dudes from The Full Monty, Dockers debuted its newest ad campaign during Sunday's Super Bowl and Testosterone Fest aptly entitled, Men Without Pants.
Striding boldly up a grassy knoll, wearing nothing but tighty-whities and casual Friday separates, an a cappella group of regular Joe's sing an anti-pant anthem and provide a cheeky look at Docker's new message to Man-kind: it's time to take back masculinity and start "wearing the pants."
Inspired by the idea that somewhere between manscaping and metrosexuals, manhood has taken a hit, Jim Calhoun, president of Dockers Brand, said he hopes the campaign will spark a discussion about what it means to be a real man in the 21st century. In his words, one who can "change a tire and a diaper." Personally, I've got a cell phone and Triple A, if push comes to shove, I pick diaper. But then I'm not a guy.
Pointing to recently-released studies from the Pew Research Group (The Rise of Wives), an article in the New York Times (More Men Marrying Wealthier Women by Sam Roberts), and an NPR report (Human Male: Still a Work in Progress), Dockers says it is capitalizing on an emerging trend. Man-up guys, step away from the stonewash and get yourselves some serious anti-wussie wear: khaki pants. Or, do your laundry.
However, if finances don't allow, Dockers has got your back(side). It will be giving away 2,010 pair of free khaki pants at Dockers.com. (Insert chest bump, here) Nothing like a little wrinkle-resistant twill to put some swagger in a guy's step.
Real men who download Shazam software to their smartphones can also tag the ad and enter to win pants via mobile. (OMG, knuckles and a shot of Scotch neat).
Winners will find out instantly if they have scored a pair (of pants) and can enter daily until February 15. In the meantime, put down the quiche, and may the best man win.
WalletPop experts take on your questions, from capital gains to back taxes
The Internal Revenue Service collected $56.4 billion from "enforcement efforts" in 2008. Peter Pappas of The Tax Lawyer's Blog expects the figure for 2009 to be even higher. Don't be another auditing statistic. WalletPop experts are on hand to answer some of your burning questions, from capital gains on property sales to back taxes on a business.Question:
If my wife and I sold our two family houses of 25 years and had a rental 10 of those years, how much capital gains are we allowed to claim?
A two-family home can be treated as one or two separate properties for purposes of a sale, depending on the facts. This is important, because only a home used as your principal residence for at least three of five years before the date of sale can qualify you to claim an exclusion of up to $500,000 of gain on the sale (a $250,000 limit applies to singles). If rental use was longer than three years within this five-year period, then any gain related to this portion of the home will be taxable and won't qualify for the home sale exclusion. Any depreciation claimed on the rental portion of the home after May 6, 1997, is subject to "recapture," which means this amount is taxed at a 25% rate; the balance of your gain is taxed at a 15% rate. And even if rental use during the five years doesn't exceed three years, any gain related to rental use after 2008 won't qualify for the home sale exclusion.
Target lets you carry gift cards on your cell phone
Whether you like them or not, gift cards remain an incredibly popular gift idea, which is why the new Target Mobile Gift Card program is incredibly cool. The new feature allows you to convert any Target gift card into a digital barcode that can be used from any Internet connected cell phone -- no extra fees involved.Turning your plastic gift card into a digital barcode is a snap, just visit Target.com from a mobile browser, register for an account with your phone number and a PIN, then key in the information from your plastic gift card and you're done.
Now, instead of adding yet another gift card to your wallet, you'll have those cards in your cell phone. (just don't forget your phone.)
Having your gift cards in your phone is cool for more than one reason. For example, when you add a gift card, you can label it so that you know who you received it from. You can also pull up multiple gift cards at the store with no fumbling. But, perhaps the best part about the way Target chose to use mobile gift cards is that there's no app to download, no iPhone required, all you need is an Internet connection.
Given the estimated $30 billion "unredeemed gift card economy" having your gift card with you instead of taking up space in your sock drawer is a huge convenience.
10 ways to maximize your tax deductions -- without itemizing
Too often, taxpayers are led to believe that if they don't itemize, then there are no real deductions available to them beyond the standard deduction. In reality, there are a number of deductions that a taxpayer can claim without itemizing. Here are 10 ways to maximize your tax deductions -- without going through the trouble of itemizing:
Does Toyota's global Prius recall affect you?
Japanese automaker Toyota is recalling nearly a half million of its Prius and other hybrid cars for braking problems, sure to further shake consumer confidence in the carmaker. The recall covers a total of 436,000 units globally, including the 2010 Prius, Sai, Prius PHV (plug-in hybrid) and Lexus HS250h.
The gas-electric Prius cars were sold from May last year through January. Toyota says a software glitch is behind the problem.
Toyota says it will begin mailing letters to Prius owners included in this recall next week and HS 250h owners within the next few weeks, to let them know when to bring their vehicles into a dealership. Owners will only receive a letter if their vehicle is involved in the recall.
Feds looks into debt-collection practices
We told you about the debt collection hassles endured by people shouldering a large amount of credit-card debt. Then we invited debt collectors to tell their side of the story. Both sides had a lot to say about just what goes on in the debt collection industry, but one assertion -- by the head of a collections industry trade group -- that debt collectors were courteous and professional raised many eyebrows. Many of you vociferously disagreed with this in the comments section.As it turns out, government watchdogs agree with you. A new report has led to the Federal Trade Commission stepping up its enforcement of debt-collection abuses.
"I'm pleased the FTC is cracking down on debt collectors, and has identified harassment and targeting the wrong debtors as examples of what's wrong in the industry," Linda Sherry, director of national priorities for Consumer Action, a consumer advocate group, told WalletPop via email.
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SHOPPING FROM SMARTMONEY
Man-up: Free pants from Dockers
February 9, 2010
Free subscription to Surfer magazine
February 9, 2010
Denny's free breakfast, if you can stomach the line
February 8, 2010
Friday Freebies: breakfast, diapers, biz cards, lotion and more
February 5, 2010
Free e-book for Kindle, iPhone, and more
February 5, 2010
Free lotion sample from PerriconeMD
February 4, 2010
Vista Print offering free business cards, mug, address labels
February 3, 2010
Free emergency food stash
February 2, 2010
Free sample of Pampers Cruisers diapers
February 1, 2010
Denny's Superbowl freebie again
February 1, 2010My Investments
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