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For-profit colleges rake in federal funds: Don't participate!

Zac Bissonnette Dec 1st 2009 @ 3:30PM EST Filed Under: College

The Associated Press reports that huge for-profit college chains are raking in huge sums of federal student loan dollars.

According to the AP, "Last year, the five institutions that received the most federal Pell Grant dollars were all for-profit colleges, collecting more than $1 billion among them. That was two and a half times what those schools hauled in just two years prior, the AP found, analyzing Department of Education data on disbursements from the Pell program, Washington's main form of college aid to the poor."

The problem isn't that for-profit colleges are evil: it's that they're at a huge competitive disadvantage. Non-profit public colleges benefit from state funding, endowments, and they don't have to pay taxes.

Continue reading For-profit colleges rake in federal funds: Don't participate!

Nutcracker sales plunge on strength of Euro

Zac Bissonnette Dec 1st 2009 @ 3:15PM EST Filed Under: Shopping

Traditional German nutcracker manufacturers are having a miserable holiday season thanks to a combination of the recession and the strong Euro.

German manufacturers of nutcrackers and similar traditional Christmas decorations have seen their sales plunge by an astounding 50% thanks to reduced demand in the United States because of a weak dollar and a generally conservative holiday spending environment.

While manufacturers of cheaply made imported products have been able to slash prices to spur demand, high-end German nutcracker vendors don't necessarily have that option, and the weak dollar has made it hard for them to stay competitive on price.

However, there are some good deals on nutcrackers to be had. Take for instance this absolutely amazing limited edition signed Yoda Steinbach nutcracker can be had for $389.98 from Nutcrackers.com -- 56% off the retail price, and really: what price is too high for a Yoda nutcracker?

If high prices on high-end nutcrackers have you down, you can always check eBay for great deals on vintage nutcrackers.

Top 10 tips for shopping for online loans

Janean Chun Dec 1st 2009 @ 3:00PM EST Filed Under: Credit, Debt, Personal loans, Mortgages, 101 mortgages

This isn't your father's banker. Your father's banker was probably human. Today, you can get online loans without ever stepping into a bank -- actually, without even leaving your home. But that facelessness can be either convenient or dangerous. You need to be cautious when shopping for online loans, so you find a legitimate online loan provider and not a scam artist trying to take rather than give you money.

Here are the top 10 tips for getting online loans.

Online Loans Tip #1: Make the most of online advantages. One of the biggest benefits of shopping for online loans is you can easily compare rates and offerings and get qualified and approved quicker than from traditional banks.

Continue reading Top 10 tips for shopping for online loans

Podcast: Making the most of shopping online

Lan N. Nguyen Dec 1st 2009 @ 2:45PM EST Filed Under: Bargains, Shopping

WalletPop's Lan Nguyen chats with Jennifer Jolly, bargain mommy blogger of GoodIdeaGal.com, on how to shop on the Internet efficiently and effectively. For year-round savings that won't take up over your life, pick your favorites and check out mall-like sites like Bing.com, Amazon.com and ExtraBux.com. Other favorite sites include CouponShack.com for coupons, Overstock.com for furniture and ShopItToMe.com for clothes.

Zappos offers free overnight shipping for life, but today only

Julia Scott Dec 1st 2009 @ 2:30PM EST Filed Under: Bargain Babe

In a sign that pressure is mounting for retailers to offer free shipping, online shoe seller Zappos is offering free overnight shipping for your lifetime when you register to become a VIP today only.

Standard shipping is free both ways on Zappos. Sign up to become a Zappos VIP here.

Joining is free and requires you to share an e-mail address, name, and create a password. The offer expires at midnight PST Dec. 1.

Here's a pair of Seychelles gray shorty boots that I'd like to own. Zappos has them for $114 and with my new VIP status I could try them on tomorrow.

Bargain secret: Zappos sells its overstock at 6pm.com.

Caveats: not available for shipments to Hawaii, Alaska, U.S. Territories, P.O. Boxes or AFO/FPO addresses. Orders placed before 1 p.m. Pacific time (4 p.m. Eastern time) on a business day will be delivered the next business day but orders placed after 1 p.m. PST will be delivered in two days. For example, orders placed prior to 1 p.m. Pacific time on Monday will be delivered on Tuesday, while orders placed after 1 p.m. Pacific time on Monday will be delivered on Wednesday. Orders placed on Friday after 1 p.m. Pacific time, Saturday or Sunday will be delivered on Tuesday. Business days do not include holidays.

Early Toys R Us shoppers get worm: 2 charges for purchases

Sarah Gilbert Dec 1st 2009 @ 2:15PM EST Filed Under: Banks, Shopping, Black Friday, Credit cards

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I swiped my debit card to get on the light rail and was billed for a bus ticket the machine wouldn't give me. I had to pay $1.50 again to get my oldest son onto our next connection. I know! Frustrating.

As someone who's always living on the very edge of black in her checking account, I know too well the dangers of unexpected transactions, and for me they come in $29 overdraft increments. Customers at Toys R Us this weekend, shopping before regular store opening hours during Black Friday, experienced a similar and far more account-balance-deadly problem: double billing.

Keith Bossey, a marketing and strategy consultant in New York City, may not be at the edge of his bank account, but he just found out today he was double-billed for his purchase.

Continue reading Early Toys R Us shoppers get worm: 2 charges for purchases

Leasing makes a comeback: Run for your lives!!!!

Zac Bissonnette Dec 1st 2009 @ 2:00PM EST Filed Under: Transportation

A spectre is haunting America -- the spectre of car leasing.

The credit crunch led to a massive decline in the ability of car manufacturers and dealers to offer leasing to customers, but as credit markets have begun to function more normally, leasing is making a comeback.

Continue reading Leasing makes a comeback: Run for your lives!!!!

How to make $1 million, 99¢ at a time

Jason Cochran Dec 1st 2009 @ 1:45PM EST Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Extracurriculars, Technology, Career, Wealth

Despite the recession, it's still possible to make money fast. In fact, you can make millions in a matter of months. It starts when you turn on an iPhone.

Apple's genteel TV ads would have you believe that the little programs you can buy for the iPhone or the iPod Touch, called "apps," are sober-minded, highly constructive tools. In truth, though, some of the biggest profits for the people who make those little programs are pointless time-killers. Invent the right one, and you can take boredom to the bank.

Continue reading How to make $1 million, 99¢ at a time

Tourists' cash is going straight to Broadway's big shows

Megan Angelo Dec 1st 2009 @ 1:30PM EST Filed Under: Extracurriculars, Shopping

When it comes to big-ticket musicals, it looks like theatergoers want Broadway to play it again, Sam -- and again, and again, and again.

Gawker reports that New York City tourists spent a record amount on shows this Thanksgiving weekend -- but that most of the cash was pooled around longtime heavyweights like The Lion King, Wicked and Jersey Boys, all of which brought in $1 million or more at the box office. (Wicked, the biggest winner, made a lot more than that -- click here to read about that smashed record.)

Unfortunately, a boom for the big shows spells doom for the small ones. When critically hailed original musicals like In the Heights can't turn out decent profits, potential theater backers are less inclined to fund the production of new musicals, which are the real lifeblood of Broadway -- ever heard of an offbeat, no-budget musical called Rent?

Continue reading Tourists' cash is going straight to Broadway's big shows

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