Business & Finance World News

Do You Really Need a Four-Year Degree for a Good Job?

April 26th, 2010

When my dad was growing up on a farm, my grandfather made him and all my uncles work at the nearby sugar factory. The pay wasn’t that great, and the work was dirty and difficult. My grandfather had a motive for sending them to participate in this job.

“Do you like working there? No?” he asked. Then he continued, “Get an education. If you want a good job, you need to go to school and get a college degree.”

As a result, my dad and his brothers all have excelled in education and earned advanced degrees with little surprises.

But, as my husband nears the end of his Ph.D. work, and as I stare at the Master’s diploma on my wall, I wonder if an advanced degree is really worth what you pay to get it. How cost ef

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HostMonster Review: Top Web Hosting Service

April 25th, 2010

If you’re thinking of starting your own blog or online business, chances are that you’ll need a web host. Especially if you’re thinking of becoming a problogger one day! So today, I’ll take a look at a popular web hosting service which is also my personal choice: HostMonster.

Starting and maintaining a website can involve the use of a few tools, and HostMonster has a lot of options for all of its hosting accounts. Benefits include unlimited web hosting space, a free domain name, the ability to host an unlimited number of domains, plus it also supports international domain names.

There’s also an unlimited number of site transfers available. If you wa

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Get Frugal on Gas to Save Cash All Year Long

April 22nd, 2010

There is no way to avoid fueling up from time to time. How much you pay and how much you use is a variable dependent upon things like the time of year and how well you plan your excursions. Ensuring that your tires are properly inflated, your car is in good operating condition, and that you stay within the speed limit all help reduce your fuel usages. When combined with other basic strategies you should see some significant savings. Here are some more tips on a much needed topic: How do I save on gas and use less money?

Seasonal Fluctuations and Full Priced Gas

As we all know, the gas companies like to stick it to the driver by raising prices just when we are about to hit the road more.

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Rent or buy?

April 20th, 2010

GOING into the housing bust, I would have accepted David Leonhardt’s general framing in this piece: that the decision to rent or buy one’s home is primarily about the relative costs, and that most people should at least consider buying if the price to rent ratio hits a certain threshold. These days, I think that’s not at all the right way to think about the choice. Homeownership, let’s recall, is in most cases a highly leveraged, undiversified, relatively illiquid bet, with a return that is highly correlated to local labour market conditions. In general, responsible financial planners would warn their clients away from such an investment.

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Transpower outage cuts power in Wellington

April 20th, 2010

April 22 () – A fault on the national grid caused a power outage affecting 84,000 Wellington customers for approximately one and a half hours this afternoon.

The fault occurred in the Wilton sub-station, where “vital maintenance” was being undertaken on one of the “buses” delivering a power feed to central Wellington, grid operator Transpower said.

Another bus at the substation, which was carrying load instead, failed, removing the back-up that is always supposed to be available while maintenance is occurring.

Power was restored just before 4.30pm.

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5 Ways to Ask Your Boss for a Raise

April 19th, 2010

Improving your finances doesn’t always have to be a question of saving money. Taking steps to increase your income is a legitimate option, and can make the books much easier to balance in the end. One of the most important strategies is to ask your boss for a raise: the worst that can usually happen is a “no”, but with proper preparation, you may be able to convince your boss to say yes. Here are some easy ways to improve your odds.

1. Ask for it: If you haven’t had a raise in a while, asking for one may just be the motivation your boss needs. Take a good look at your personnel file and see how you stand out from the crowd — be prepared to win over your boss. If you ca

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