When I was a child, my mother worked for Thrifty Drug. There was no better treat than when she brought home a half gallon of Mint Chip ice cream. Thrifty was purchased by Rite Aid in 1996, but the Thrifty brand of ice cream lives on there.

I mention this because I just found a press release in my inbox letting me know that Sunday, July 17th is National Ice Cream Day.

How can your company use the ice cream holiday to promote itself?

One of my sons recently had his first visit to the optometrist. There was no surprise that like his mother and father he needed glasses. What was a shock though was the price the local optometrist wanted for glasses for an eight year old: $400! Were they serious? Have they never seen how eight-year old boys treat their possesions?

Luckily, Im a big fan of the super cheap eyeglasses you can find online. Read more…

As a rule, we expect reasonable service from service providers, from the company that handles our internet service to the guys that mow our grass. We don’t expect the greatest service in the whole wide world (whether or not we wish we got it), but we do expect that things hum along and that we get the services we pay for.

When we don’t get what we expect, the obvious temptation is to change service providers — and fast. If the guy or the company that you’ve been paying can’t give you what you want, it’s natural to immediately want to go elsewhere.

Taking a minute to step back can be a good choice, however. It may be e

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It’s not easy for me to save money when I’m bored. As many times as my mother told me to find something to clean when I don’t have anything else to do, I’m sorry to say that I never really fell into that habit and tend to want to go out and have fun when I have some down-time.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to go out and have a good time. In fact, a bit of recreation can help you be more disciplined in other areas as you won’t feel deprived. The key is to plan ahead and find ways to have fun without busting your entertainment budget.

Here are a six of my favorite free and low-cost ways to enjoy my free time. 1. Free events

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July 12 – Start-up software company Diligent Board Member Services’ shares jumped 4.2% ahead of it reporting second quarter sales tomorrow.

The shares rose 5 cents to $1.25. The shares showed a similar flurry upwards ahead of its first quarter sales report in mid-April and continued rallying as high as $1.30 ahead of the first quarter profit announcement but then drifted down to $1.01.

The stock was the best performer on the NZX last year, surging 152%, and it has climbed almost 74% since the start of 2011.

Diligent’s first quarter sales rose 70% to just below US$3 million. Its n

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This morning, the markets have bounced back from earlier lows of fears of the Euro debt crisis have exploded as the market has turned its eyes toward Italy, the EU’s third largest economy. Yields on bonds in both Italy and Spain have risen dramatically, and while though not quite at Greek or Portuguese levels, this is a serious development.

Right now there is tug-of-war taking place between the perceived risk taking place in the EU, and the markets here in the US. S Read more…

July 8 – Finance Minister and Facebook page-owner Bill English didn’t get the presumably intended answer when he asked visitors to the page whether they supported the Labour Party’s proposal for a capital gains tax.

When last looked, at 4.15 p.m., 314 people had voted 88% in favour of a capital gains tax.

Only 40, or 13%, of those had voted against it.This may indicate unexpected support among economic rationalist National Party supporters for the proposal to slap a 15% tax on all appreciating capital assets other than the family home.

The issue has arisen because it is a central plank of the Opposition Labour Party’s election manifesto, leaked to the media though not officially to be announced until next Thursday, by Labour leader Phil Goff.

The Green Party has consistently advocated a capital gains tax, but such a change by Labour represents a monumental political shift. A preva

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