by Grace Chen
Don't be afraid to fantasize about earning six figures. Doctors and lawyers aren't the only professionals in the $100K club. In fact, there are quite a few well-compensated professions that are open to bachelor's degree holders.
Even if you don't quite reach those elusive six-digits, the following careers can offer a hefty paycheck without the decades of student loan payback that can come with a master's or doctoral program.
Best of all, if you're open to relocating, each of the five professions below holds the possibility of hitting that magic number--if you're willing to choose your zip code with care.
Police Supervisor
The Job: As a supervising police officer you'd be in charge of overseeing subordinate officers, keeping records of your force's activities, and assigning duties to station personnel. The ability to exercise good judgment in intense and high-pressure situations is crucial for this job.
You'll also have to be willing to work overtime as well as weekends and holidays to ensure the round-the-clock police coverage your community needs.
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Saturday, November 29, 2008
Are You Saving Too Much?
By Selena Maranjian
Some truly shocking stats suggest that far too many Americans have saved far too little for their golden years, and now face a gruesome retirement. But several financial experts are bucking this conventional wisdom. Surprisingly, they argue that we might be saving too much for retirement.
Don't pack that piggy bank
One of those experts is a financial columnist I respect, Scott Burns. In a recent book, he and co-author Laurence Kotlikoff objected to the standard rule of thumb that we should aim to replace 70% to 85% of our income in retirement.
They note that in retirement, our expenses are different. We're usually not supporting children, and we've probably paid off our mortgage and carry much less debt. Elsewhere, economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein point out that we all tend to think we're extraordinary, which can affect how we save and invest.
For example, while the average life expectancy for us Americans is around 78 years, we often save for a much longer life.
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Some truly shocking stats suggest that far too many Americans have saved far too little for their golden years, and now face a gruesome retirement. But several financial experts are bucking this conventional wisdom. Surprisingly, they argue that we might be saving too much for retirement.
Don't pack that piggy bank
One of those experts is a financial columnist I respect, Scott Burns. In a recent book, he and co-author Laurence Kotlikoff objected to the standard rule of thumb that we should aim to replace 70% to 85% of our income in retirement.
They note that in retirement, our expenses are different. We're usually not supporting children, and we've probably paid off our mortgage and carry much less debt. Elsewhere, economists Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein point out that we all tend to think we're extraordinary, which can affect how we save and invest.
For example, while the average life expectancy for us Americans is around 78 years, we often save for a much longer life.
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Life behind the bar
By Katrina Loh
By 5 on a Friday night, most IU students are finishing school and making plans for the weekend, but senior Clark Baker, 25, is just starting his day.“The hours aren’t bad,” he said. “But my sleep schedule is weird.”
Baker is one of the 25 employees that serve more than 500 customers that come to Kilroy’s Bar & Grill on a typical Friday night. Employees are assigned to either the Happy Hour shift that lasts until 10 p.m. or the later shift from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m.
Before the night can begin, the bartenders must set up the bar and restock everything from alcohol to napkin holders. But employees cannot begin serving drinks until they have paid their dues.
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By 5 on a Friday night, most IU students are finishing school and making plans for the weekend, but senior Clark Baker, 25, is just starting his day.“The hours aren’t bad,” he said. “But my sleep schedule is weird.”
Baker is one of the 25 employees that serve more than 500 customers that come to Kilroy’s Bar & Grill on a typical Friday night. Employees are assigned to either the Happy Hour shift that lasts until 10 p.m. or the later shift from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m.
Before the night can begin, the bartenders must set up the bar and restock everything from alcohol to napkin holders. But employees cannot begin serving drinks until they have paid their dues.
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Position Yourself in Tough Times
By Colleen Paulson
An announcement that the national unemployment rate is at 6.1% can't have come as a huge surprise to most of us, considering the breadth of dreary economic news these days. In addition to my work at the Fool, I also write professional resumes, so I am constantly pulling together polished documents for executives who are out of work.
Don't think that you're immune from job cuts: August's layoffs have ranged across all industries and job classes. Here are just a few of the companies that have recently announced job cuts:
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An announcement that the national unemployment rate is at 6.1% can't have come as a huge surprise to most of us, considering the breadth of dreary economic news these days. In addition to my work at the Fool, I also write professional resumes, so I am constantly pulling together polished documents for executives who are out of work.
Don't think that you're immune from job cuts: August's layoffs have ranged across all industries and job classes. Here are just a few of the companies that have recently announced job cuts:
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Retire With a Real Million Bucks
By Chuck Saletta
A million dollars is still a lot of money. And if your house is paid for and your kids are on their own, it's enough for you to retire on and live out your golden years comfortably on the $40,000 or so a year you could pull from it.
That -- and the fact that it's a nice round number with a brand new comma in it -- makes $1,000,000 a great target for retirement savings. There's only one small problem: A dollar doesn't buy nearly as much as it used to, and the more times goes by, the less each greenback is worth.
While today's million might generate enough income for a comfortable lifestyle, that same million 20 years from now probably won't.
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A million dollars is still a lot of money. And if your house is paid for and your kids are on their own, it's enough for you to retire on and live out your golden years comfortably on the $40,000 or so a year you could pull from it.
That -- and the fact that it's a nice round number with a brand new comma in it -- makes $1,000,000 a great target for retirement savings. There's only one small problem: A dollar doesn't buy nearly as much as it used to, and the more times goes by, the less each greenback is worth.
While today's million might generate enough income for a comfortable lifestyle, that same million 20 years from now probably won't.
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White wines buoy up clam chowder
By Bill Daley
Whether your idea of clam chowder is Boston's bowl of creamy goodness, Manhattan's tomatoey brine or Connecticut's vibrant clear broth, team this classic dish with a glass of chilled white wine.
A white wine will give you the refreshing crispness to stand up to the full-throttled clam flavor, while a sense of fruitiness--a touch of sweetness, even--will flatter the chowder's innate saltiness.
The one variable that may change is the wine's weight or profile, as noted by Natalie Maclean, the Canadian wine writer who offers food and wine pairing suggestions on her Web site, nataliemaclean.com.
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Whether your idea of clam chowder is Boston's bowl of creamy goodness, Manhattan's tomatoey brine or Connecticut's vibrant clear broth, team this classic dish with a glass of chilled white wine.
A white wine will give you the refreshing crispness to stand up to the full-throttled clam flavor, while a sense of fruitiness--a touch of sweetness, even--will flatter the chowder's innate saltiness.
The one variable that may change is the wine's weight or profile, as noted by Natalie Maclean, the Canadian wine writer who offers food and wine pairing suggestions on her Web site, nataliemaclean.com.
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Monday, November 24, 2008
Want to Get Rich and Stay Rich?
By Bill Mann
In 2003, my wife and I refinanced our Virginia home. We'd put a large down payment on the house when we bought it, and it had tripled in value. Mortgage rates plunged, so we refinanced. We dumbfounded our Wells Fargo banker by refusing to take equity from the house, and opting to use a fixed, rather than a variable-rate, loan.
I asked him how many people in our position had done the same thing, and he said, "I can't remember the last one." One more quick story: We needed a larger car for our growing family, so we went to the dealership and bought a Volvo for my wife. When we agreed on a price, I pulled out a checkbook to pay for the car, using money we'd set aside for that purpose.
"Don't you want to use leverage?" asked the dealer. We insisted we did not. Notably, the dealership's transaction system was unable to accept full payments for cars. They ended up having to "finance" the car at 0%, and then have us immediately pay off the "loan" in full.
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In 2003, my wife and I refinanced our Virginia home. We'd put a large down payment on the house when we bought it, and it had tripled in value. Mortgage rates plunged, so we refinanced. We dumbfounded our Wells Fargo banker by refusing to take equity from the house, and opting to use a fixed, rather than a variable-rate, loan.
I asked him how many people in our position had done the same thing, and he said, "I can't remember the last one." One more quick story: We needed a larger car for our growing family, so we went to the dealership and bought a Volvo for my wife. When we agreed on a price, I pulled out a checkbook to pay for the car, using money we'd set aside for that purpose.
"Don't you want to use leverage?" asked the dealer. We insisted we did not. Notably, the dealership's transaction system was unable to accept full payments for cars. They ended up having to "finance" the car at 0%, and then have us immediately pay off the "loan" in full.
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Free Stuff: Jobs with the Biggest Perks
by Gabby Hyman
Perks! You've heard about them and you want them. C-level managers at corporations enjoy a lot of them including concierge service, routine massages, exclusive parking spaces, company limos, and jets. But CEOs are not the only workers with extras that make stress tolerable and add value to your overall compensation package.
Products and services managers often have company cars, employer-paid cell phones, supplemental health and life insurance, laundry and daycare service, and tuition reimbursement.
Many of today's employers are offering subsidies or other financial incentives to buy hybrid cars or energy efficient homes.
Today's dot-com employees expect relaxed dress codes, free lattes, subsidized meals, and employee gym privileges. Some even bring their dogs to work. If you're looking for hidden perks that add compensation for on-the-job frustrations, here are a few careers with built-in benefits.
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Perks! You've heard about them and you want them. C-level managers at corporations enjoy a lot of them including concierge service, routine massages, exclusive parking spaces, company limos, and jets. But CEOs are not the only workers with extras that make stress tolerable and add value to your overall compensation package.
Products and services managers often have company cars, employer-paid cell phones, supplemental health and life insurance, laundry and daycare service, and tuition reimbursement.
Many of today's employers are offering subsidies or other financial incentives to buy hybrid cars or energy efficient homes.
Today's dot-com employees expect relaxed dress codes, free lattes, subsidized meals, and employee gym privileges. Some even bring their dogs to work. If you're looking for hidden perks that add compensation for on-the-job frustrations, here are a few careers with built-in benefits.
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Bartending requires a mix of many skills
By Carmen Cheung
Entering the industry years ago through his father's cafe-bar business, Len Fragomeni sees his path to becoming a bartender as a natural transition.
"Once you get a taste of it, some people get out of it, other people become lifers," he says. Having worked his way up from being kitchen staff, to becoming a bartender by the age of 18, at the age of 35 he is now the founder and president of the Toronto Institute of Bartending (TIB).
In other words, Len Fragomeni is a lifer. Though it is possible for bartenders to make the jump from being behind the bar directly into opening bartending schools, Fragomeni's approach was a little different. "I wasn't a bartender that had this crazy idea to start a bartending school," he says.
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Entering the industry years ago through his father's cafe-bar business, Len Fragomeni sees his path to becoming a bartender as a natural transition.
"Once you get a taste of it, some people get out of it, other people become lifers," he says. Having worked his way up from being kitchen staff, to becoming a bartender by the age of 18, at the age of 35 he is now the founder and president of the Toronto Institute of Bartending (TIB).
In other words, Len Fragomeni is a lifer. Though it is possible for bartenders to make the jump from being behind the bar directly into opening bartending schools, Fragomeni's approach was a little different. "I wasn't a bartender that had this crazy idea to start a bartending school," he says.
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Working at Home through the Internet: How to Find Online Jobs
By: Mark Salter
Getting a job can be very tough. Getting a job with good pay is even tougher. But with the help of the Internet, there is a wider range of job opportunities that you can choose from. Now, you can work at home online freelance or even permanently. Here's how.
Job hunting
What better way to look for an online job than to search online. Access a search engine and enter terms such as online jobs or work at home jobs There will be a lot of results to choose from. You will just have to follow the link that interests you.
Another way is to go to a website that is designed for job seekers. You may filter out your preferences through these sites. Subscribe to their newsletters for updated job postings. You can also use your personal network to search for an online career. You might be surprised to learn that one of your friends knows a good job for you.
Potential online careers
There are a lot of careers you can get online. You can become a writer, whether a journalist, and editor or a copywriter. You might want to be a software or an application programmer. Web designers are also in demand these days.
Of course, there are careers such as a consultant, researcher, translator and an online tutor will definitely bring home the bacon, without even having to walk out your home. You'll just have to choose what job you are interested in and what you are qualified for.
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Getting a job can be very tough. Getting a job with good pay is even tougher. But with the help of the Internet, there is a wider range of job opportunities that you can choose from. Now, you can work at home online freelance or even permanently. Here's how.
Job hunting
What better way to look for an online job than to search online. Access a search engine and enter terms such as online jobs or work at home jobs There will be a lot of results to choose from. You will just have to follow the link that interests you.
Another way is to go to a website that is designed for job seekers. You may filter out your preferences through these sites. Subscribe to their newsletters for updated job postings. You can also use your personal network to search for an online career. You might be surprised to learn that one of your friends knows a good job for you.
Potential online careers
There are a lot of careers you can get online. You can become a writer, whether a journalist, and editor or a copywriter. You might want to be a software or an application programmer. Web designers are also in demand these days.
Of course, there are careers such as a consultant, researcher, translator and an online tutor will definitely bring home the bacon, without even having to walk out your home. You'll just have to choose what job you are interested in and what you are qualified for.
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Where to Find the Best Yields Now
By Dan Caplinger
Investors have fled to the safest investments they can find. Yet while supposedly safe blue chips like AT&T (NYSE: T) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) have felt the pain just like the rest of the stock market, one surprising area of the financial markets has lost investor confidence as well -- driving yields up to incredibly attractive levels.
The once-quiet world of money market mutual funds has turned upside down. Once relied upon as a no-risk safe haven, money market funds have hit the headlines, as the credit crisis has revealed that some funds have more risk than others.
Although returns for various money market funds used to track each other pretty closely, you can now see huge differences in yields, depending on which type of fund you own.
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Investors have fled to the safest investments they can find. Yet while supposedly safe blue chips like AT&T (NYSE: T) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) have felt the pain just like the rest of the stock market, one surprising area of the financial markets has lost investor confidence as well -- driving yields up to incredibly attractive levels.
The once-quiet world of money market mutual funds has turned upside down. Once relied upon as a no-risk safe haven, money market funds have hit the headlines, as the credit crisis has revealed that some funds have more risk than others.
Although returns for various money market funds used to track each other pretty closely, you can now see huge differences in yields, depending on which type of fund you own.
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An Introduction To Bartending
by Nicholas Tan
Setting up your own bar is actually quite easy to do. There are however, a few things that good bartenders need to know to run a bar efficiently. In order for a bar to succeed, you’ll need to have the basic wines, liquors, and spirits - along with the right equipment.
Although these things are essential, bartenders also need the proper technique for mixing drinks and cocktails as well.With bartending, the location of the bar is very important. The bar should be placed in an area that is easy to reach and provides plenty of space behind it.
There should be plenty of room for glasses and drinks, along with a chair or two as well. The bartender has to learn the area behind the bar, and know everything about it. Bartenders need to know their area well - and how to perform their mixing duties when business heats up.
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Setting up your own bar is actually quite easy to do. There are however, a few things that good bartenders need to know to run a bar efficiently. In order for a bar to succeed, you’ll need to have the basic wines, liquors, and spirits - along with the right equipment.
Although these things are essential, bartenders also need the proper technique for mixing drinks and cocktails as well.With bartending, the location of the bar is very important. The bar should be placed in an area that is easy to reach and provides plenty of space behind it.
There should be plenty of room for glasses and drinks, along with a chair or two as well. The bartender has to learn the area behind the bar, and know everything about it. Bartenders need to know their area well - and how to perform their mixing duties when business heats up.
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Friday, November 14, 2008
The SEC Has Let Us Down
By Alyce Lomax
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Christopher Cox has been in the limelight lately -- and not in a good way. The recent short-selling ban looked suspiciously interventionist and downright anti-free market to many of us who don't have too much sympathy for those "poor" companies that screwed up.
There were plenty of rational reasons for sagging stock prices beyond some conspiracy theory about short sellers. (Meanwhile, the short-selling ban didn't even work.) However, this isn't the first time you could reasonably suspect that while the SEC, particularly under Cox, may be looking out for somebody, it sure as heck isn't investors.
Past indignations
Almost a year ago, I was outraged that the SEC had passed a ruling that allowed companies to block shareholders from putting their own director nominees on proxy ballots. The SEC got flooded with 34,000 letters commenting on the topic, but the commission's ruling basically sent the message that investors should put up and shut up.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission's Christopher Cox has been in the limelight lately -- and not in a good way. The recent short-selling ban looked suspiciously interventionist and downright anti-free market to many of us who don't have too much sympathy for those "poor" companies that screwed up.
There were plenty of rational reasons for sagging stock prices beyond some conspiracy theory about short sellers. (Meanwhile, the short-selling ban didn't even work.) However, this isn't the first time you could reasonably suspect that while the SEC, particularly under Cox, may be looking out for somebody, it sure as heck isn't investors.
Past indignations
Almost a year ago, I was outraged that the SEC had passed a ruling that allowed companies to block shareholders from putting their own director nominees on proxy ballots. The SEC got flooded with 34,000 letters commenting on the topic, but the commission's ruling basically sent the message that investors should put up and shut up.
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Ugly Markets, Bountiful Opportunities
By Nathan Parmelee
To say it's been a tough year for investors is like saying Tom Brady's season-ending knee injury was a minor blow to the New England Patriots' season. You probably won't be surprised to hear that the S&P 500 is 34% off its high, but you might be shocked to hear that 159 companies in the S&P 500 are 50% or more off their 52-week highs.
That's some serious pain -- and not all of the companies are financials or in the recently battered energy complex, either. Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI), NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA), and other consumer names have been beaten up, too.
The flight from global markets It's been tough here at home, but it's been worse just about everywhere else -- and the past few days are only continuing that trend. The MSCI EAFE Index, which tracks foreign large-cap companies, is off 42%. This sampling of some major market indexes from around the globe gives an even better sense of the declines:
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To say it's been a tough year for investors is like saying Tom Brady's season-ending knee injury was a minor blow to the New England Patriots' season. You probably won't be surprised to hear that the S&P 500 is 34% off its high, but you might be shocked to hear that 159 companies in the S&P 500 are 50% or more off their 52-week highs.
That's some serious pain -- and not all of the companies are financials or in the recently battered energy complex, either. Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI), NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA), and other consumer names have been beaten up, too.
The flight from global markets It's been tough here at home, but it's been worse just about everywhere else -- and the past few days are only continuing that trend. The MSCI EAFE Index, which tracks foreign large-cap companies, is off 42%. This sampling of some major market indexes from around the globe gives an even better sense of the declines:
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Barware Takes the Strain Out of Bartending
Bartenders have relied on barware to help create alcoholic drinks for spirit lovers in the United States for hundreds of years. The occupation of bartender really began in this country in 1832 when Congress passed the Pioneer Inn and Travel Law, which made it legal for innkeepers to make fine spirits available to people without requiring them to spend a night at the inn.
With this law, the bar scene was born, and barware would never be the same from there on out.What really helped the American tavern and its barware take off was the Revolutionary War. Immigrants from everywhere poured onto the shores, bringing with them their exotic drinks and the know how to mix them.
The race to find and use the best of barware was now on. Everyone knows of the dozens of different types of glasses, the shakers, the knives and cutting boards for the fruit, the corkscrews, and lets not forget the towels that are used in bars and clubs. However, bartenders also use strainers, which get very little billing when it comes to outsiders thinking of the bar scene.
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With this law, the bar scene was born, and barware would never be the same from there on out.What really helped the American tavern and its barware take off was the Revolutionary War. Immigrants from everywhere poured onto the shores, bringing with them their exotic drinks and the know how to mix them.
The race to find and use the best of barware was now on. Everyone knows of the dozens of different types of glasses, the shakers, the knives and cutting boards for the fruit, the corkscrews, and lets not forget the towels that are used in bars and clubs. However, bartenders also use strainers, which get very little billing when it comes to outsiders thinking of the bar scene.
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Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thanks, but No Thanks, for the Bailout
By Matthew Argersinger
I'm on the hunt for companies that won't end up on the public welfare rolls as part of this massive $700 billion bailout measure. That's why I own shares in PICO Holdings.
Just read this straight talk from PICO's CEO John Hart on the company's latest quarterly earnings release: "In an environment where many have learned the downside of excessive leverage in an attempt to maximize short-term earnings, and are now looking to the federal government, sovereign wealth funds, and their own shareholders to bail them out, we continue to manage the company and our assets conservatively."
Love it! Besides the refreshing forthrightness of its management, PICO also sports a robust balance sheet, owns some seriously valuable assets, and has a proven track record of sound investing. Good stuff.
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I'm on the hunt for companies that won't end up on the public welfare rolls as part of this massive $700 billion bailout measure. That's why I own shares in PICO Holdings.
Just read this straight talk from PICO's CEO John Hart on the company's latest quarterly earnings release: "In an environment where many have learned the downside of excessive leverage in an attempt to maximize short-term earnings, and are now looking to the federal government, sovereign wealth funds, and their own shareholders to bail them out, we continue to manage the company and our assets conservatively."
Love it! Besides the refreshing forthrightness of its management, PICO also sports a robust balance sheet, owns some seriously valuable assets, and has a proven track record of sound investing. Good stuff.
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The Ten Best Places to Live
These ten places are each special in their own way. The only downside may be that it's hard to keep a secret, so most of them have seen considerable increases in home prices over the last couple of years.
Charlottesville, VA
Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, most areas of this idyllic city are accessible by foot or bicycle. Charlottesville enjoys clean air and water, and pleasant weather year-round, highlighted by especially beautiful fall foliage. Nearby Shenandoah National Park offers a wealth of recreation opportunities.
Charlottesville is home to the University of Virginia, which strengthens the area's healthy economy by providing steady jobs and a wealth of amenities and entertainment. Homes are not cheap (median home price $225,000), but the cost of living is manageable.
The city's low unemployment rate and significant recent job growth promise continued prosperity. As more and more people learn about this year's best city, Charlottesville may find staying affordable and sprawl-free is its greatest challenge!
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Charlottesville, VA
Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, most areas of this idyllic city are accessible by foot or bicycle. Charlottesville enjoys clean air and water, and pleasant weather year-round, highlighted by especially beautiful fall foliage. Nearby Shenandoah National Park offers a wealth of recreation opportunities.
Charlottesville is home to the University of Virginia, which strengthens the area's healthy economy by providing steady jobs and a wealth of amenities and entertainment. Homes are not cheap (median home price $225,000), but the cost of living is manageable.
The city's low unemployment rate and significant recent job growth promise continued prosperity. As more and more people learn about this year's best city, Charlottesville may find staying affordable and sprawl-free is its greatest challenge!
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How to Become a Great Bartender
We aren’t going to lie to you and suggest that bartending school will turn you into a great bartender overnight. That doesn’t happen at this school. It doesn’t happen at colleges, doesn’t happen when you go to school to learn auto mechanics, and doesn’t happen after you get out of Harvard Medical School. I deffo wouldn’t want a new grad from Harvard Med school to perform brain surgery on me….no matter how much I may need it.Experience really works. Watch others.
Trade stories with other bartenders. Ask other bartenders how they would handle situations. Practice, practice, practice. We also know there is a world of great information out there. Its especially available throughout the web. Our goal is to collect as much great information as possible and pass most of it on to our students and a large part of it on to readers.
We’re starting a blog roll with sites that offer excellent tips and insights into the industry. Here is one we found that offers the insights from someone with decades of experience in the food and beverage industry. We’ve been reading through posts and comments. Its getting a lot of commentary from others with lots of experience.
Try out http://waiterextraordinaire.blogspot.com/ . The author, Steve Nicolle has over 25 years in the industry, has worked throughout the front of the house, teaches bartending, and describes the ins and outs of great customer service. It applys equally well behind the bar, serving tables, or for being the manager.
Evolving from a bartender to a great bartender takes years of work, as with any work or profession. Lots of luck ….and make those tips!!!!!
Trade stories with other bartenders. Ask other bartenders how they would handle situations. Practice, practice, practice. We also know there is a world of great information out there. Its especially available throughout the web. Our goal is to collect as much great information as possible and pass most of it on to our students and a large part of it on to readers.
We’re starting a blog roll with sites that offer excellent tips and insights into the industry. Here is one we found that offers the insights from someone with decades of experience in the food and beverage industry. We’ve been reading through posts and comments. Its getting a lot of commentary from others with lots of experience.
Try out http://waiterextraordinaire.blogspot.com/ . The author, Steve Nicolle has over 25 years in the industry, has worked throughout the front of the house, teaches bartending, and describes the ins and outs of great customer service. It applys equally well behind the bar, serving tables, or for being the manager.
Evolving from a bartender to a great bartender takes years of work, as with any work or profession. Lots of luck ….and make those tips!!!!!
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Hardest And Easiest Places To Sell A Home
By Francesca Levy
As the dismal U.S. housing market slides further downhill--home prices in July posted a 16.3% annual drop--some sellers are unloading their homes to bargain-hunters.
But in cities like Seattle, Jacksonville, Fla., and St. Louis--the hardest major cities in which to sell a home--even sellers who have substantially lowered their prices aren't finding it easy to move their houses.
In others, including Philadelphia, Sacramento, Calif., and Las Vegas, plummeting home prices spurred by high foreclosure rates have added more reasonably priced houses and condominiums to the market and sparked a rise in buying and selling.
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As the dismal U.S. housing market slides further downhill--home prices in July posted a 16.3% annual drop--some sellers are unloading their homes to bargain-hunters.
But in cities like Seattle, Jacksonville, Fla., and St. Louis--the hardest major cities in which to sell a home--even sellers who have substantially lowered their prices aren't finding it easy to move their houses.
In others, including Philadelphia, Sacramento, Calif., and Las Vegas, plummeting home prices spurred by high foreclosure rates have added more reasonably priced houses and condominiums to the market and sparked a rise in buying and selling.
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Money crisis: 3 safe places to stash your cash
With stocks and bonds in turmoil, and the housing market still in the dumps, you're probably wondering: Are there any safe places to stash your money in this market? It may not seem like it, given that some of the most conservative vehicles, including money-market mutual funds, have come under pressure in this financial crisis.
For example, The Reserve, the nation's first money fund firm, announced in mid-September that investors in its Primary Fund would lose value. This marked the first time in more than a decade that a money fund has handed its investors losses.
Savers who tried to eke out a little extra yield than money funds provide experienced their own set of chills recently. Ultra-short-term bond funds invest in debt with maturities ranging from three months to a year - and are therefore supposed to be just one notch higher than money funds when it comes to risk.
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For example, The Reserve, the nation's first money fund firm, announced in mid-September that investors in its Primary Fund would lose value. This marked the first time in more than a decade that a money fund has handed its investors losses.
Savers who tried to eke out a little extra yield than money funds provide experienced their own set of chills recently. Ultra-short-term bond funds invest in debt with maturities ranging from three months to a year - and are therefore supposed to be just one notch higher than money funds when it comes to risk.
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Abc Bartending Schools
For every party you can usually find lots of drink being served. These drinks can be the alcoholic variety and the non alcoholic type. For the non alcoholic type of drink all that you need to do is just serve the drinks as the guests like.
For the alcoholic drinks you must know something about these drinks or you should get a professional bartender. The best bartenders today are trained at the ABC Bartending School.
This school teaches various people how to be top class bartenders in real life situations.
There are many new classes that are being taught at the ABC Bartending School every week. At all of these classes students are given practical lessons in bartending and mixing drinks. The students learn the art of bartending behind a bar. Here they are faced with all of the implements that a bartender needs.
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For the alcoholic drinks you must know something about these drinks or you should get a professional bartender. The best bartenders today are trained at the ABC Bartending School.
This school teaches various people how to be top class bartenders in real life situations.
There are many new classes that are being taught at the ABC Bartending School every week. At all of these classes students are given practical lessons in bartending and mixing drinks. The students learn the art of bartending behind a bar. Here they are faced with all of the implements that a bartender needs.
Click Here to Continue Reading This Post
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Retiring Where the Jobs Are
by Anne Fisher
With more people planning to work in their retirement years, choosing where to live increasingly means checking out the local job market. A new AARP job site can help. Rich Ortiz, 60, has spent the past 30 years training and certifying technicians, including the team at Rocketdyne that developed the space shuttle.
He now teaches 26 different technical certification courses at aerospace and defense giant Pratt & Whitney in Los Angeles. Ortiz won't be an Angeleno for much longer, though. In about two years, he plans to retire and move to Oak Ridge, Tenn. Really?
Why Oak Ridge? "My wife Priscilla and I sat down and made a list of everything we really wanted in retirement -- a temperate climate, good health care facilities, low property taxes, not too much crowding or traffic," explained Ortiz.
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With more people planning to work in their retirement years, choosing where to live increasingly means checking out the local job market. A new AARP job site can help. Rich Ortiz, 60, has spent the past 30 years training and certifying technicians, including the team at Rocketdyne that developed the space shuttle.
He now teaches 26 different technical certification courses at aerospace and defense giant Pratt & Whitney in Los Angeles. Ortiz won't be an Angeleno for much longer, though. In about two years, he plans to retire and move to Oak Ridge, Tenn. Really?
Why Oak Ridge? "My wife Priscilla and I sat down and made a list of everything we really wanted in retirement -- a temperate climate, good health care facilities, low property taxes, not too much crowding or traffic," explained Ortiz.
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Tuesday, November 04, 2008
We All Just Learned an Expensive Lesson
by Terry Savage
Where did all the money go? That's the plaintive cry as investors check the balances in their 401(k) plans or IRAs. Strangely, they never asked how the money landed in their account as stocks moved higher. That was taken for granted. Well, don't look around now to find out who has "your" money.
It disappeared as magically as it arrived. It's gone to "money heaven"! We've turned ordinary Americans into portfolio managers of their own retirement plans, many of whom don't have the knowledge, perspective or self-discipline to make wise decisions.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that, as prospects for the economy dim, fewer people want to own the businesses that those stocks represent. When investors rush to sell, prices go down -- and the money represented by those stock prices simply disappears.
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Where did all the money go? That's the plaintive cry as investors check the balances in their 401(k) plans or IRAs. Strangely, they never asked how the money landed in their account as stocks moved higher. That was taken for granted. Well, don't look around now to find out who has "your" money.
It disappeared as magically as it arrived. It's gone to "money heaven"! We've turned ordinary Americans into portfolio managers of their own retirement plans, many of whom don't have the knowledge, perspective or self-discipline to make wise decisions.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that, as prospects for the economy dim, fewer people want to own the businesses that those stocks represent. When investors rush to sell, prices go down -- and the money represented by those stock prices simply disappears.
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20 Ways to Save Money on Getting Drunk
Posted by admin under Frugal Blog & Money Saving Ideas
If you sit down and make a list of the things in your life that you don’t need to have and then rank them by how much they cost you, there’s a good chance that you’re going to find “alcohol” somewhere on the list. None of us really needs to drink.
But most of us like to drink at least now and again. Whether it’s the occasional glass of wine with dinner or the weekend-long beer binges with friends, drinking ends up usually costing us a pretty penny.
You can save yourself a lot of money just by giving up the alcohol but what fun would that be? Instead, use these twenty different methods of getting drunk for cheap:
Become a fan of art. The best place to get your drink on at no cost is art gallery openings. Artist’s receptions almost always offer free wine.
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If you sit down and make a list of the things in your life that you don’t need to have and then rank them by how much they cost you, there’s a good chance that you’re going to find “alcohol” somewhere on the list. None of us really needs to drink.
But most of us like to drink at least now and again. Whether it’s the occasional glass of wine with dinner or the weekend-long beer binges with friends, drinking ends up usually costing us a pretty penny.
You can save yourself a lot of money just by giving up the alcohol but what fun would that be? Instead, use these twenty different methods of getting drunk for cheap:
Become a fan of art. The best place to get your drink on at no cost is art gallery openings. Artist’s receptions almost always offer free wine.
Click Here to Continue Reading This Post
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