Personal Finance News

Weddings are expensive. So are engagement rings and honeymoons and everything else peripherally associated with your nuptials. Valentine's Jewelry in Harrisonburg, Va., is trying to help you keep costs down. The jeweler has teamed up with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines to put together a really awesome offer.

Starting Sept. 1, customers who purchase engagement rings from Valentine's will be given a certificate for a free, 8-day, 7-night Caribbean cruise for two with either of the two cruise lines, to be redeemed within one year.

Rings must be at least 14K gold or platinum, with at least a 0.60ct G SI2 diamond. Valentine's will pay for the cruise, and you just pay port fees and taxes. The store is located in Virginia, but online purchases count toward the promotion as well.

For the second time in as many years, Nautilus has issued a recall on its Bowflex Ultimate 2 Home Gym, this time due to reports of a faulty seat fastener.

The seat is designed to be latched in a vertical position for storage, but the fasteners that hold it in place don't always work, and there have been almost 20 injuries -- often some sort of laceration -- reported when the seats have unexpectedly come unfastened.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it is still safe to use the $2,300 machines, just not safe to store the seats in their intended fashion -- so don't think you have an excuse to take a day off your fitness program now! Nautilus is shipping repair kits to all registered Bowflex owners to fix the issues with the seat.

I'd be pretty annoyed if I shelled out thousands for a fancy home gym only to have it recalled, and then have to fix the problem myself, even. This recall certainly is a turnoff for anyone considering an investment in home gym equipment. But you don't need expensive machines to stay fit -- remember that pushups, squats, and crunches are three of the most efficient and effective exercises you can do, and all you need to do them is a little bit of floor space.

It's a well known fact that when you walk into a high-end retail store, you have to look the part of the high-end retail customer to get any service -- nice clothes, expensive accessories, wallet full of cash. At least, that's how it used to be. Maybe sales associates everywhere are just getting nicer, but we don't think that's it... In any case, commission-paid salespeople have learned that they can't afford to ignore any potential sale in this economy, even if it's a customer that would've previously been shooed out of their stores.

New York Times reporter Eric Wilson recently tried a little experiment on Madison Avenue to test just how tolerant these once snooty retailers could be. He walked into several of the most exclusive shops in Manhattan dressed like a typical college kid straight out of the classroom. At Chanel, Emanuel Ungaro, Ralph Lauren, Prada, and Tom Ford, Wilson was greeted kindly by enthusiastic clerks who were pleased to show him and attempt to outfit him in some of their finest merchandise. My, how the times have changed!

If employee attitudes are a sign of financial desperation, then only Gucci must be handling the recession -- salespeople there were not at all welcoming, and were in fact quite condescending. So if you want to see what it's like to be treated like the rich and famous, try stepping into one of these shops on Madison Avenue -- but if you're going into Gucci, you'll still need to dress the part.

If the only way to get credit is to have credit, it can be hard to break into the realm. Maybe you don't care about having a credit card (good for you if you can live without one!), but what happens when you want a loan for a new car, house, or even just need some credit references for a new apartment or cell phone plan? You may not need credit cards, but you've got to have credit, and it can be tough to get your foot in the door, especially for a young adult.

Lenders are more wary than ever, so you'll want to have a good, solid credit history before you ask for a loan of any kind. One of the simplest ways for a young person to establish credit is to piggyback on his or her parents. A parent with established credit can add a child as an authorized user on a credit card. The credit company won't require a credit check on the child, as long as the parent remains the primary cardholder, but having the child's name on the account will establish a credit history.

Parents need to establish some ground rules here, though. As the primary cardholder, the parent will ultimately be responsible for all the charges. If you don't want to give your kid free rein with your money, insist that they pay for what they charge, and keep the limit low just in case. Use the card regularly and pay it off each month to establish a good credit history. It's best to start early with cards like this so kids can have a well-established credit history by the time they are ready to take out loans in their own names.

Piggybacking on parents is a great way to get started with your own credit history, but keep in mind that lenders will be wary of those who piggyback on just anyone. If your credit history begins with your parent or spouse's credit cards, fine, but when it's someone who's not closely related to you, that can raise red flags.

Most people would probably say that the recession has put the brakes on their social lives. It's hard to justify spending $20, $50, $100 or more on an evening out when you know you're just adding to credit card bills that you can't pay off any time in the foreseeable future. And we can forget about pampering ourselves with the small luxuries we used to enjoy in better times, right?

I can't give you the secrets to living like a millionaire on a pauper's income, but there's no reason you can't still go out just as much, or treat yourself just as much as before the recession made everything seem impossible -- it just takes a shift in perspective. There are plenty of enjoyable activities, both of the social and personal pampering varieties, that are not only free but could even save money or create a little bit of income, if you're the crafty type.

First of all, get away from the idea that you have to go out to have a good time. Hobbies like gardening and cooking can be incredibly fulfilling. You can share the fruits of your labors with your friends, and the money saving possibilities are many. Obviously if you grow your own veggies, that's less you spend at the store, and if you serve dinner at home, that's money saved on restaurant tabs. Pot luck dinners are a great way to get a group of friends together without spending very much money.

Following the recent nationwide salmonella outbreak, the Food and Drug Administration inspected the Peanut Corp. of America (PCA) plant in Blakely, Georgia. The FDA's findings are more than a little disturbing.

When you get lazy about your health, you cost yourself a lot of money. But that's just the start of it. You cost your employer a pretty penny, too, in lower production, paid sick time, and higher insurance premiums. Savvy businesses know that healthy employees are the most productive employees, and that's why more and more companies are starting to invest in employee health incentives.

Many companies offer small rewards for simple steps. For instance, Affinia Group gave its employees $10 Wal-Mart gift cards when they took free high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes tests. Often, individuals don't realize their risks until they've already faced serious health problems or emergencies. By testing and detecting risks early, many of those at risk get the motivation to make healthy changes before it's too late.

Some employers are going above and beyond simple early detection testing. As health insurance premiums rise ever higher, it is worth it for employers to invest lots of money in workers' health. Disease management programs have become popular in recent years, where employers will offer discounts on treatments as long as employees work to reduce their risks, either by attending counseling sessions or working with health professionals to manage risk. Other companies pay for employees' membership in weight loss programs and/or gyms.

If you're lucky enough to have an employer offer to cover these costs for you, you should absolutely take advantage of this! Getting healthy can cost a lot of money, but if someone else is footing the bill, why wouldn't you try it? Staying unhealthy is expensive, too. More and more companies are offering up rewards for the things we should be doing anyway. How much more motivation do you need?

Losing weight is an expensive endeavor, but once you reach your goals, you'll see that investment pay off in so many ways that you'll never wonder if it was worth it.

First, there's the emotional benefit. Fifty-seven pounds ago, if you'd told me I could fit into the pants I'm wearing now, I would've given just about anything. But I did it without selling my car or my house or my soul, and the confidence and happiness that come with that are priceless.

I joined Weight Watchers to break through my last plateau and meet my final goals. Now that I've met those goals, I'm a Lifetime Member, which means I don't pay for the meetings and online tools anymore. Weight Watchers was a huge part of my personal success, and knowing I have access to those services for the rest of my life makes the idea of weight maintenance a lot less terrifying. And hey, now it's free! Of course I'm going to keep using the program. There's $35 a month that my weight loss is now saving me.

I recently wrote about the financial cost of putting on weight. Weight gain is like a slow-moving train. You barely notice it until it's built up enough momentum that it's nearly impossible to stop.

Everyone has a breaking point, though, where you make up your mind that you will do whatever it takes to turn it around. My breaking point was both emotional and financial. After gaining 50 pounds, it was depressing to be so dissatisfied with my appearance and my fitness, and I couldn't bear the thought of spending my hard-earned paycheck on plus-size clothes I didn't even like because nothing else in my closet fit me.

Over the course of the two years it took me to pack on 50 pounds, I determined that my weight gain cost me about $10,000. Yikes! Finding a way to reverse that trend was like giving myself a $5,000-a-year raise. Think about that next time you lack motivation!

But it costs money to lose weight, too. Many of these costs are optional, but you're still going to spend at least a little bit. Here's a breakdown:

They say weight loss is an investment. Perhaps that's intended as some sort of uplifting figure of speech, but finances really do play a large role in weight management and fitness.

Believe me, I know. I've spent the last three years trying to lose the 50 pounds I put on while I was in college. It was a long, frustrating seesaw, but now I've lost those 50 pounds (and seven more), and I'm in the best shape of my life. I've also spent literally thousands of dollars getting to this point. No surgeries or expensive prescriptions -- just all the little expenses that come with the journey and add up over time.

Sure, losing weight is an investment, but it costs a lot to gain weight, too. Let's look at the costs of some unhealthy habits: