I thought I was lucky when I found a crumpled and forgotten $1 bill in my jeans pocket this week. But not quite as lucky as Gordon Carnese, who discovered a lotto ticket worth $2.6 million in his car's glove box.

Instead of a lump-sum, Carnese opted to take 25 yearly payments of about $70,000 after taxes -- not a bad decision. Also not a bad decision: Checking your lottery tickets more frequently, Carnese.

That reminds me, I have to claim my $3 from a scratch-off ticket I picked up on a whim the other evening. Because that's a smart way to be spending money.

Continue reading Spring cleaning nets man wrappers, receipts - and $2.6 million lotto fortune

Spring cleaning nets man wrappers, receipts - and $2.6 million lotto fortune originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Wed, 13 May 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last week I blogged about the value of buying whole chickens at the supermarket instead of the boneless, skinless breasts that come prepackaged and cost more. Turns out there's a growing movement of people who are taking it a whole step further by raising their own chickens in cities across the country.

The Urban Chicken Movement, the Kansas City Star reports, is gaining ground in places where it's legal to own chickens, like New York, Chicago, Portland, Seattle and Madison, Wisc. But even in spots with laws against it -- like Kansas City, where chickens must be kept at least 100 feet from the nearest home or business -- folks have hen-pecked their way above the law, raising the poultry for eggs, meat and pets. The website BackYardChickens.com has 30,000 members and adds 100 more every day. "There's nothing better than a fresh egg," an animal control worker told the Star.

In Miami, I haven't heard about many people raising city chickens for foodie or budgetary reasons. But urban chickens are such a nuisance here that the city has a whole team assigned to rounding them up. It's quaint to be awoken by the sound of a crowing rooster, if you live on a farm...in a city, not so much.

Continue reading What came first, the recession or the chicken eggs?

What came first, the recession or the chicken eggs? originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Wed, 13 May 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I'm about to take a little hiatus from here to go get married and then for a quick honeymoon. It's been a hectic time, planning for the wedding (my fiancée, thankfully, has handled the lion's share of it, but there's always consulting to be done), so I've kept my sanity by focusing on our upcoming honeymoon in Spain. Lately, I've found myself obsessively checking Google for the latest euro-to-dollar exchange rate, trying to figure out how far I we can stretch my -- sorry, our -- cash in Europe.

When I started booking the trip in August, I locked in some early-bird euro rates at hotels. But the dollar was weak, at $1.50 to the euro. So imagine my joy to watch the dollar's value steadily improve against the euro these past several months. I was totally geeked out reading this Bloomberg article about a 0.4% rise in the dollar by the end of trading yesterday. The current rate is about $1.36 per euro, which should save us quite a few bucks between hotels, restaurants and shopping.

Continue reading My wedding gift from Uncle Sam: a strong dollar for my Spanish honeymoon

My wedding gift from Uncle Sam: a strong dollar for my Spanish honeymoon originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Tue, 12 May 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How are teens getting ready for, like, the biggest night ever? Prom? During this, y'know, recession or whatever? The Miami Herald reports that South Florida high schoolers are trimming their budgets without sacrificing the importance of being trendy.

Education reporter Hannah Sampson spoke to one well-connected student, a class president, who took advantage of a Men's Wearhouse deal by referring enough friends to earn himself a free tux. Other teens are pooling their gas money and renting cars, not white stretch-limos with hot-tubs in the back. One thrifty senior even says she'll be reusing the shoes she wore to homecoming. (OMG, CALL THE FASHION POLICE, LOL!!!!) Seventeen editor-in-chief Ann Shoket tells the Herald that teenage girls who cut spending on nonessential items don't have to skimp as much on hair, makeup or a dress. "It's a real teaching moment for teens to talk about financial responsibility."

Continue reading Teens strip down budgets like a spaghetti-strap chiffon dress on prom night

Teens strip down budgets like a spaghetti-strap chiffon dress on prom night originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 11 May 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Erik Slye really didn't want to miss work earlier this year when he was called to serve on a Montana jury. The 36-year-old man sent a notarized affidavit to the court, writing, "I CANNOT take time off from work. I'm not putting my family's well-being at stake to participate in this crap," according to The Smoking Gun.

Problem is, Slye's handwritten rant went on to call the justice system a bunch of "morons" and included a reference to his dog's testicles. An irate judge summoned Slye to court, where The Smoking Gun reports he apologized for the affidavit, and the judge excused him from jury duty.

I've never been picked for jury duty, nor have I ever heard of such a bad way of trying to get out of it. Legally, Slye's employer couldn't have fired him for taking time off to serve on a jury, but companies usually aren't required to pay workers while they're doing their civic duty. So the only income he might have seen would have been the meager $15-$40 a day that most courts pay jurors.

Getting out of jury duty the hard way originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 11 May 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The results of the buzzworthy Bank Stress Test, released Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern, say 10 out of the 19 biggest U.S. financial institutions need a combined $75 billion to stay afloat through the financial downturn.

My bank, Bank of America, was found to need the most cash -- almost $40 billion. But the bank I'm soon leaving it for, US Bank, was one of the eight, TheStreet.com reports, that doesn't need an additional infusion of money to survive.

I'm feelin' right now like I made a pretty good choice.

Banks still broke: Stress Test results say another $75 billion needed originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Thu, 07 May 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After reading on WalletPop this week that Kraft jacked up the prices of its mac & cheese despite a 10% first-quarter profit increase, it got me thinking: What do I have in my pantry that shows a culinary belt-tightening?

My days of splurging on exotic salts and hand-crafted butter are over, for now. Like many Americans, I've made way instead for more down-to-Earth staples that are both cheap and satisfying.

Exhibit A: Pasta. My supermarket has a great two-for-one section when you first walk in, and it always has some sort of dry pasta on the shelves there. Last time I went, I scooped up four boxes in fun shapes (Fusilli Jerry, anyone?) that I can dress up with a simple tomato sauce or some olive oil, garlic and (supermarket brand) Parmesan.

Exhibit B: Coffee. I used to love me some $3 java in the morning from a certain Seattle-based chain you may have seen once or twice. But it depleted my checking account, so now I invest more wisely in my caffeine needs and buy the beans myself from Dunkin' Donuts or Eight O'Clock, depending on which is offering the best sale. This saves me some major bucks and makes my apartment smell delicious -- a win-win.

Continue reading Recession got you down? Eat at home

Recession got you down? Eat at home originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Thu, 07 May 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Only 631,000 Americans filed first-time unemployment claims last week. I say "only" because that's fewer than the 645,000 who filed claims the week before.

I should know: I'm one of them.

I filled out an application today through Florida's Agency for Workforce Innovation website. It asked me for some pretty basic information -- SSN, driver's license, how much I made last year, what happened to my job -- and, at the end, said I qualified. Count me as one of the 6.27 million U.S. residents on unemployment.

I took a voluntary buyout from my newspaper job, leaving last week after five years covering hurricanes, crime, food and whatever else came my way. Rules vary from state to state, but in most cases, people qualify for unemployment if they are fired, take a buyout or even just quit.

You have to be actively looking for a job in order to file a claim and collect unemployment insurance, which is typically about half your previous week's pay. So while I string together a few freelance assignments (thanks, WalletPop!) and look for a full-time gig, I figure being on unemployment can only help.

Continue reading Unemployment claims: I filed mine. Have you?

Unemployment claims: I filed mine. Have you? originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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