Debt, Credit Card & Consolidation Current News Digest

How many times have you run into this scenario at work: you start a task that seems ridiculously inefficient or outdated, bring it up to your supervisor only to hear them say “that’s how we’ve always done it.” Sadly, it happens all too often and it’s the product of the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality that permeates almost every aspect of life. When was the last time you took a hard look at how you did things? Your commute to work every day, how you pay your bills, and how you set your thermostat? Probably not much, especially with all the other, more important, things you have to worry about right?

I totally get it because everyone does the same thing. There are a lot of things in our lives that we probably do the exact same way because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” It’s familiar. It’s comfortable. It has worked… but it could be better. And, just like at work, we’ve done it that way because while it may not be the best way, it worked and you have a million other things competing for your time and energy.

However, today I want to work with you to try to find some ways we may be leaking money. It’s hard to know where you might be losing your hard earned cash bit by bit because it’s hard to know what you don’t know, right? So, to help get our mindgrapes flowing, I listed a few common money leaks in the hopes that you could kick in a few leaks you may have found recently.

Not Using Billpayment Services

It’s the year 2010 and if you’re still putting a stamp on an envelope to pay your bills, you’re wasting your money. The stamp is going to cost you 44 cents and the envelope will run you a penny or two, making each bill cost you about forty five cents each. Pay five bills a month, twelve months a year, and you have $27 you could spend on a case of good beer (or something else you enjoy). That doesn’t consider how much you’d pay in fees if the payment gets lost in the mail, which happens infrequently but is more likely to happen with the mail than with the photos of the Internet. Finally, think about all the time you’re wasting on making out the check, writing the address of the company on the envelope, and walking to your mailbox. With a few clicks, online billpay takes seconds.

Don’t Review Your Fixed Monthly Expenses

You don’t go to the gym as often as you think you do. You don’t use Netflix as often as you think you do. You don’t watch as much TV as you think you do. If you think I’m wrong, that’s fine, there’s a pretty good chance that even if you do use one of those things often enough to justify the monthly cost, you don’t do all of them enough to justify each of their monthly fees.

Keep a log of how often you use certain services and calculate how much you’re paying per use. Pay $90 a month for a gym membership? Even if you go every single day, that’s $3 a day. Once you do the math, you might be better off paying per visit if they offer it. This applies to almost everything and you’ll be surprised how much you don’t use your monthly memberships.

Don’t Optimize Your Savings

How much money do you have in your checking account? How much do you actually need in that account? This is one leak I know we are currently suffering from and it’s such an easy fix, if we take the time to do it. Money in our checking account earns nothing, whereas money we transfer into our high yield savings account has the opportunity to earn at least a percent or two. We keep a bit of a buffer in our checking account but everything else goes into a savings account where we get a little something while we’re waiting.

Drive Fast, Brake Hard

If your morning commute is 20 miles, it’ll take you about 21 minutes and 49 seconds if you go 55 miles per hour. If you drive 60 miles per hour, you get there in 18 minutes and 28 seconds – or three and a half minutes faster. The difference? You can get pulled over for speeding if you are going 60 in a 55 and while it will probably not happen, it will suck really bad the one time it does. Plan your trips better and stop speeding. You avoid tickets, you improve gas mileage and tire lifespan, and you don’t sacrifice much. (if you drive 80 MPH, you still takes 15 minutes to get there…)

While you’re at it, use Google Maps and map out your daily commute. You can drag your path around to see if you’re really minimizing your total mileage or the number of red lights you hit.

Don’t Review Your Insurance Coverages

When was the last time you took a look at your insurance needs and adjusted your coverage? Here’s a scenario that probably happens all too often – you increase your deductible to lower your premiums (great move) but over the years your car has gone down in value and now it’s worth less than your deductible. It sounds obvious right but do you know the blue book value of your car? Ask your insurer what they think the value of the car is (chances are it’s less than blue book)… you’ll be surprised. Anyway, it’s not an intelligence test, sometimes we just keep doing what we’ve been doing because it made sense once and I’m telling you that you should review them. If things have changed in your life and you need less coverage or a different type of coverage, tell your insurer and get your policies adjusted to fit your current needs.

Don’t Find Ways to Trim Electricity

Finding ways to conserve electricity around your home is a nice way to plug a leak because you often only need to do something once and you reap the savings for months. I personally like CFLs, despite their up front costs, but there are plenty of ways to trim your electricity bill without much up front cost. For winter savings ideas, here a post on ten quick tips to winterizing your home. If you do a quick search on Google on how to conservation, you’re sure to find a lot of tips you can implement to start saving on electricity.

Don’t Review Your Mutual Funds

How has your mutual fund been performing? Are you happy with it? How much are you paying? Do you own the world’s most expensive index fund? (it’s the Rydex S&P 500 and it charges a 2.28% expense ratio!)

My point is that you should review your investments, especially your mutual funds, to see if your investments make sense. Index funds are easy to review because it’s as close to an apples to apples comparison as you’ll ever get and it really makes little sense to pay more for one fund over another (there are some differences, mostly dealing with the speed at which they match index changes, but they’re fairly nominal). You wouldn’t pay $20 for a gallon of milk, right?

I tried to run the gamut from leaks in your home to hard money leaks, like overpaying for an index fund, but I don’t know what I don’t know so I need your help. What money leaks do you see every day that most people don’t seem to catch? What about a leak you may have plugged lately?

(Photo: johnx62)

Find and Plug Your Money Leaks from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

You don’t have to ask too many of my friends, or my wife, to learn that I am not a fan of waiting. I hate sitting in traffic, especially if it’s just “congestion,” and I really hate waiting at the post office, where it seems as if there are always twice as many counters as there are people staffing the counters.

So that’s why, over the years, I’ve developed a few simple strategies to help me avoid waiting at the post office. The overall strategy is to deconstruct the post office experience and try to avoid needing counter service whenever possible. Here are some tips to help you reduce the time it takes to get your packages on their way.

Buy A Scale

Everything starts with the weight of the package or letter. With a scale, you can weigh the package yourself and make some important time versus money decisions. It can also save you money when you avoid overpaying for postage.

For letters, the standard postage is 44 cents for letters weighing an ounce or less. Bump it up to 61 cents if it’s 2 ounces or less, 78 cents for 3 ounces. With a scale, you can avoid putting too much postage on the letter.

For packages, review the first class mail prices but the all important tipping point is at 13 ounces. If your package is over 13 ounces, you will be required to go the post office. If it is less than 13 ounces, you can print postage online and drop it in a blue USPS box (or your own mail box).

Media Mail vs. First Class
If you are mailing media (books, magazines, etc.), media mail is cheaper if it’s over 7-8 ounces (which books typically are). A media mail package under 1 lb. is $2.38 and all media mail packages must be taken to a post office, regardless of weight. First class packages, however, can be mailed without a trip to the post office, thus saving you time. Compare the actual prices of shipping media mail vs. first class and decide whether it’s worth it for you to make that trip to the post office.

If you’re mailing media and it weights less than 7 ounces, first class postage is always cheaper and you save yourself a trip.

How to Print Postage At Home

If you’re shipping something by Express Mail, Priority Mail, Global Express Guaranteed, Express Mail International, or Priority Mail International, you can print your postage online at USPS.com’s Print Shipping Labels page for free. You will need to register an account and sign in, but to reward you the system will remember your return address and credit card details (if you want) so you can save time entering that information.

You will save time on any packages you want to mail by Express and Priority Mail because instead of waiting in line at the post office, you can drop the package off in a blue USPS mail box as long as the package weighs less than 13 ounces. If it weighs more, you will still need to bring it to the post office. Your package gets free delivery confirmation.

First Class & Media Mail: For whatever reason, you can’t print First Class or Media Mail packages from USPS but you can print it from PayPal. Visit this link to enter the details and print out a label. The only “cost” is that you’re required to pay $0.19 for delivery confirmation.

Remember, if your package is over 13 ounces or you are shipping via Media Mail, you will still need to go to the post office.

Request Package Pickup

If you are shipping by Express Mail®, Priority Mail®, or International, you can request pickup service from the USPS. The 13 ounce rule applies if you use only postage stamps. Otherwise, if you print out an electronic label, the weight limit is 70 pounds.

For package pickup, the carrier will pick up your packages along with your regular mail and the service is free. You can schedule a pickup on demand, where a carrier comes in a specified 2-hour time frame, for $15.30 a trip.

Be Selective In Your Post Office

Each ZIP code has it’s own post office but the busiest ones are those found in residential areas. If you know of a very commercial area (lots of stores, warehouses, transport facilities), try that ZIP code’s post office instead. My experience with this has been very good because stores, warehouses, and transport facilities don’t send a lot of mail through the USPS. This theory is further corroborated by the size of post offices in more commercial areas, they are typically significantly smaller. The 21045 (Columbia MD, very residential) ZIP code’s post office has six counters, the 21090 (Linthicum Heights, MD, which is beside BWI Airport) has only two.

Go During Slow Periods

A USPS spokesperson told Real Simple that the best time to go to the post office is half an hour after it opens. You avoid the morning rush and hit that morning lull. I’d link to it but Real Simple has since taken it down but I agree with the recommended times. I’ve tested this myself, shipping books off to the winners of Bargaineering auctions and I try to go around around 10:30 AM, just before the people running lunch errands, mid-week. I avoid the days around major holidays too because that’s when the post offices are absolutely packed to the gills.

Also, the next time you go to your post office, ask them what the slow periods are. Your post office may not follow the same traffic patterns as the average, so learning specifics from the teller is crucial.

Do you have any suggestions for how to save time and money at the post office by avoiding it?

(Photo: houseofsims )

How to Save Time & Money at the Post Office (By Avoiding It!) from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Deb and Rick Franklin

For nine months, Deb Franklin said, she did exactly what JP Morgan Chase and President Barack Obama told her to do. She made her mortgage payments on time, delivered via Western Union, after they were reduced from $1,433 to $1,233 through Obama's Making Home Affordable program. After three payments, the mortgage relief was supposed to become permanent, but a maddening string of paperwork headaches landed her in limbo. Then, on the day after Christmas, a "bomb dropped" on her life.

A letter from a law firm representing Chase said the bank had begun foreclosure proceedings against her. 

"It was devastating, just devastating," Franklin said. "I ended up on the couch shaking so badly that my husband started piling blankets on me saying, 'Are you OK?' And I told him, 'I'm not cold, I'm scared.' "

The Franklins are exactly the kind of family the Making Home Affordable program was designed to rescue. They were trying to hang on to their primary home, had enough income to make significant monthly payments and their home’s  value was still within shouting distance of their mortgage balance. Home values in rural Airville, Pa. — just across the Maryland border, near Baltimore — never exploded like those in America's big cities, so market value of their modest split-level hadn’t fallen far.

But instead of hope and help, the Franklins say their 10-month odyssey through the Making Home Affordable program raised their mortgage balance from $187,000 to $207,000, ruined their credit score, leading to cancellation of their credit cards, and now — despite making all their payments — put them on the brink of losing their home.

Franklin has been told by bank representatives that the foreclosure notice was sent in error, but she doesn't buy it. On a single day in early January, she says, one Chase representative told her that the loan modification plan had been denied, another said it was approved and a third told her the foreclosure had been "suspended."

"I check my county auctions every Monday to make sure my house isn't on there,” she said. “I don't believe anything they say anymore."

Some 4 million American homeowners qualify for the Making Home Affordable program, and around 850,000 of them have been offered lower payments on a trial basis, according to the Treasury Department.  Enrollees see their mortgage payments reduced to 31 percent of their income through interest rate reductions, fee waivers and lengthening of mortgage terms.  Entrants are told that if they make three "temporary" modification payments on time, they will qualify for permanent relief. But as of December, only 66,000 had seen their mortgage permanently modified – a number dwarfed by the 2.8 million foreclosures completed last year.

Until the lower loan payments are made permanent, banks are entitled to continue with foreclosure proceedings.

Franklin is one of many homeowners who have enrolled in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), offered as part of Making Home Affordable, who later compared their experiences through the Web site LoanSafe.org. They found that many of them had similar tales of lost paperwork, surprise foreclosure notices and ruined credit.  Msnbc.com reviewed about two dozen such stories involving virtually every major bank. Franklin, who shared an extensive diary of events she said she kept during her attempt to modify her mortgage, is typical.

"I don't know if President Obama knows what's going on," she said, adding that she recently sent a long fax message to the White House chronicling her Red Tape nightmare. "I don't know what else to do."

The Franklins' home

The Franklins hadn’t suffered significant loss of income during the recession. Rather, health problems and family emergencies pushed them to the brink of financial ruin, placing the home they’ve lived in since 1984 at risk. When their adult child had a near-fatal car accident in July 2008, they emptied their bank account to help him and his three children through the ordeal. Soon, their $1,433 monthly mortgage payments were overwhelming their budget, and they began to dip into their retirement savings. So Franklin was one of the first in line last March after President Obama announced the Making Home Affordable program.

She and her husband received a quick response after signing up March 2 on Chase’s Web site. They were told to call the bank two weeks later. Then, when they filed a 37-page packet with Chase later that month, they were told their application was “in underwriting. “ On April 22, they were told their modification was approved and a new payment of $1,233 was to be paid via Western Union beginning May 1.  If they managed to also complete payments on June 1 and July 1, their modification would be made permanent, Franklin said Chase employees told them.

The first sign of potential trouble came almost immediately.  On May 1, she said she was told during a phone call that her actual payment should have been $1,233.18 – so she was short 18 cents. If the 18 cents didn't arrive soon, her modification would be "canceled," she quoted the Chase employee as saying. She sent Chase a check for $1, to be safe, and on June 1 and July 1, she sent payment via Western Union for $1,234. Calls to Chase after each payment elicited the same response: "Everything is on track," Franklin said.

But in July, when the modification was to be made permanent, she said she was told that Chase's loan department was overwhelmed and that she would have to wait another 45 to 60 days. In the meantime, her log shows that Chase employees told her to keep making the temporary modified payments.

Things began to go south in August. She received a notice of default from the bank, which demanded $11,000 in late fees and unpaid mortgage payments to bring the loan current. A Chase operator told her to ignore the letter and to keep making modified payments.

Meanwhile, other parts of her financial life began to unravel.  Despite making the payments prescribed by Chase, the bank had reported her to the credit bureaus as having made only partial payments on her mortgage.  Her credit score plummeted from 660 to 444, and penalty credit card interest rates kicked in. In a short time, her cards rocketed from 8.99 and 14.99 percent to 29 percent. 

"They did not tell us that would happen when we entered the program," she said. "For many people, their credit is destroyed. I know people who say they never would have entered the program if they knew that."

(A Treasury Department official told the New York Times recently that many early applicants to the Making Home Affordable program did see severe credit score hits of “30 to 100 points.” But the official said that in November, banks developed a new way to report mortgage modification recipients to the credit bureaus that does not do as much damage to their credit scores.)

On Aug. 31, before making her next payment, Franklin called to check her status.  At this point, the operator said her paperwork was missing and told her to re-fax the entire 37-page application. She sent the documentation and submitted the payment.

On Sept. 29, she was told that her modification had been approved, but she still had to wait for some delayed paperwork — perhaps another 30 to 60 days.

On Oct. 10, she received a letter from Chase telling her to call immediately because her modification was at risk.  When she called, she said, an operator told her that the letters were "computer generated," and she should “disregard” them.

When a letter arrived on Dec. 7 from Chase warning her that "although we received a payment on your loan, it was not sufficient to bring the loan current," she was given the same advice by a Chase operator: "Disregard those letters." She was reminded that stable income and stable payment history were the most important factors in modification decisions. 

She was about to make her eighth trial payment when the nightmare letter arrived indicating foreclosure had begun.

“The law firm of Shapiro & DeNardo, LLC has been retained to initiate a lawsuit to foreclose the mortgage on your property,” it read. It indicated her loan balance was now $213,362.41 – more than $20,000 larger than when she’d entered the HAMP program. When she called the law firm, she was told that $13,235 was required to bring the loan current.

A call to Chase shed little light on the situation. 

"We were told the foreclosure process marches on even if you are in the modification," she said.

But an operator also told her that all her paperwork was in order, and she should receive her final modification within the week.  After a few more phone calls, a supervisor asked that she once again re-fax the application.

Two days later, a Chase operator who said he was in Florida called to say the modification had been denied, and demanded $13,235 to stop the foreclosure. A return call to Chase produced a different response: The family was approved for the permanent modification, the operator told her. A call to the lawyers’ office confirmed that the foreclosure was suspended.

But as of Monday, the Franklins were still awaiting final paperwork, and assurance that they will be allowed to remain in their home of 26 years. The most recent information, she said, came from a Chase operator, who told her there would be no new information until Feb. 1. On that date, Franklin will make her 10th modified payment.

“This whole thing just doesn’t seem like it makes sense,” she said. “Everybody is into the big political story here, but I think people are too wrapped up in that to know what’s really going on and try to deal with it.”

In a statement to msnbc.com Chase apologized for “incorrectly sending a foreclosure notice.”

Chase spokesman Tom Kelly said that the firm processed many other modification applications quickly, and had ramped up quickly to deal with an “unprecedented volume of customers” seeking mortgage help. He said the firm offered 600,000 trial modifications and approved 120,000 during 2009. Meanwhile, it added 5,000 employees to an existing staff of 8,000 who work with delinquent borrowers, he said. 

While Kelly declined to discuss most specifics of Franklin’s case, the statement placed some of the blame for delay on the family.

“We set up the borrower's trial modification payment using information the customer provided,” the statement read. “When we received the documentation, we learned that the family's income was significantly different.  As a result, we continue to review how we can best help the family.” 

So for now, Deb Franklin continues to scan the newspapers every week, making sure her home hasn’t been put up for sale.  She had a scare on Monday.

“I checked the sheriff's sale this morning and my heart sank when I saw a home on our road listed for auction,” she said.  “All I saw was the name of our road at first, but it was not us….Whew, dodged another one this week.”

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What would a world without secrets look like? Thanks to Facebook, we may find out. 

Privacy experts continue to watch in wonder as hundreds of millions of adults around the globe do things online that they would never do in person. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg created a stir recently when he offered a simple explanation: He suggested Web users now see privacy as quaint, and = Facebook  is creating a new social norm.

If you look at the data, he's right.  According to researcher Larry Ponemon of The Ponemon Institute, Facebook has hypnotized even the most private people , an elite group he calls "privacy-centric." They make up only 8 percent of the population.  These folks won't even sign up for supermarket loyalty cards, but they will post pictures and tell stories on Facebook. In fact, they are so mesmerized that, untrue to their nature, they don't even spend more time tweaking their Facebook privacy settings than regular users.

"People want to believe they are safe," Ponemon said.  There’s really no way to participate in Facebook without self-revelation – it’s baked right into the product, he points out.  Without stepping forward, posting pictures, making your identity searchable, and so on, there is no payoff on Facebook.  Because of that, Facebook even trumps personal Web pages – people put pictures and stories on Facebook that they’d never post on their own blogs, he said.  "(People) like the tool, so they convince themselves there really isn't much risk.”  

Privacy and behavioral economics expert Alessandro Acquisti, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, agrees that Facebook seems to be eroding even skeptics’ concerns about being overly exposed.  But he disagrees with Zuckerberg.   There's no new social norm, Acquisti said.  There's just a grand illusion.

Facebook has managed to convince users of something economists call an "illusion of control," Acquisti claims. Consumers who think they have power over the outcome of a transaction will naturally be overly self-confident.  The effect is most obvious in gambling, where a craps player might believe he or she can roll snake eyes just by tossing the dice a little softer, and thus bet a little more.  Human beings are easy to sucker into an "illusion of control."

The illusion at work
Here's how it works in the privacy realm: When consumers believe they can control what happens to their personal information, they don't fret about divulging it.  Facebook and other so-called Web 2.0 sites, Acquisti says, has given people a false sense of security about the availability of their personal information to others.

How? By standing by while consumers confuse two different privacy issues – divulging information, and controlling the information after it’s divulged. Facebook users indeed have great control over what information they submit to the service - they have complete controls over what they post in their profile, for example (ignoring, for now, the imposter threat).   But they have little control over how the data will be used after it's posted to the site.  In a recent yet-to-be published paper on the subject, the distinction is described as control over publication vs. control over access.

"People seem to conflate he two issues, so on a psychological level they feel better because they feel they are in control," Acquisti  said. "They underestimate the risks of how the data will actually be used."  In an experiment, students who had few qualms offering up very personal information  – such as how many sexual partners they had — for a Facebook-like service showed far more reticence when told  random researchers would be creating a profile for them.  While the end result would be the same, the idea of a human handling the information - gave the students pause.  Acquisti and fellow researchers Laura Brandimarte and George Loewenstein attribute the cause to losing control over the actual act of sharing the information.

One other possible explanation, however, would be second thoughts because of human involvement.  One college technology professor I know asks students on the first day of class to stand in front and show their Facebook page on a large screen to the rest of the class. No one ever does. Students share things online they don’t want to share in person.

Don't mean what they say?
Acquisti’s “illusion of control” theory is one reason for Facebook users’ seemingly incongruous behavior – so many say they are concerned with privacy, but fail to act as if they are concerned. This privacy paradox, however, is best understood through the simplest explanation.  Privacy transactions are notoriously difficult to judge.  The payoff from sharing a little information today is obvious; the punishment that may happen in the future is not.  Giving a supermarket your phone number today might net you a 50-cent coupon on a gallon of ice cream; that’s an obvious benefit. But what is the cost?  Reams of junk mail in the future? A health insurance premium surcharge because your grocery store reveals your bad eating habits? It’s nearly impossible to say.  And so it is with Facebook – a picture that looks like fun at 22 could be a career-killer at 32.  But people rarely make good choices about vague possibilities 10 years away.  If we did, there would be no French fry industry.

Sure, Facebook site settings offer some ways to manage who can see the information. But the settings are easy to evade or hack, and Facebook's terms of service can be changed at any time. Not long ago, Facebook friend pictures ended up in personal ads without the users' permission.  The ads were pulled, but they represent a small window into big possibilities.

But even if Facebook privacy settings were completely trustworthy, Acquisti argues that a fundamental usability problem skews the service – and all social networking tools - toward privacy-risky behavior.  Two years ago, he did research which showed that only 1 percent of Facebook users had even touched their privacy settings.   Facebook says that number has now grown to 20 percent, but still, there is an obvious flaw.  It’s far easier to share than conceal. It is an order of magnitude easier to upload photos, for example, than it is to hide them from sets of potential viewers using privacy settings.  As a result, site users will always overshare.

"Technology has vastly enhanced our ability to disseminate information, but we still lack controls on how that information will be used," Acquisti said. "It’s like we have made faster cars but have been much slower to develop new brakes."

Nothing to hide? Really? How about…
So what? So what if an ex-girlfriend will occasionally bump into a picture of you bumping and grinding your new beau?  What, really, is the harm?

Acquisti, like many psychologists, is convinced of the power of secrets – and he’s not anxious to live in a world without them.

"I do believe that inside each of us is an innate need for privacy, and there is a need to share. Right now, technology is much better at making us reveal than helping us maintain privacy," he said.

The human need for privacy is real.  While some elements of privacy are relatively recent human developments, fundamental privacy needs have always existed. Nowhere on the planet do humans regularly make love in public, notes anthropologist Helen Fisher in a recent Psychology Today article.

No normal adult shares the same level of intimacy with their spouse, their friends, their colleagues, and strangers on the bus.  It’s unhealthy – or just plain strange – to act otherwise, as anyone who’s ever uttered the words “too much information” can attest.

Meanwhile, the ability to keep secrets is a natural part of maturation.  Children tell each other secrets to establish friendships.  Adults keep secrets to gain advantage in business dealings.  Journalists only gain the trust of sources by proving they can be trusted with secrets.  Corporations often count secrets – intellectual property – as their most valuable asset.

And yet, the message implicit in avid use of Facebook is the credo of the 30 percent of adults who are privacy complacent by Ponemon’s scale – “I’ve got nothing to hide, so who cares?” 

Privacy researchers spare no time in conjuring up doomsday plots in an attempt to make people care. 

It’s easy to imagine an Internet predator using details left by kids to attack them (“Hey, I went to Riverdale Middle School, too!  I’m sorry you are having a fight with your best friend…”)

Even sharing seemingly harmless details could have some future consequence.

Telling the world that your favorite rock band is the Beatles or Coldplay might seem innocuous enough, but what happens when an employment background firm shows that Coldplay fans who also like 60s music tend to come late to work? No law prevents that.

A slightly less ominous effect of lost privacy, something called “price discrimination,” is already a reality.  Retailers have run numerous tests to hone the fine art of overcharging people who say they like something. For example: die-hard Coldplay fans are almost certainly likely to pay more for a new album than casual fans.  Most won’t notice when their music retailer of choice slips in a $1 or $2 fan premium.

Data mining for everyone
Until now, practicality has limited these kinds of scary possibilities, says Hugh Thompson, chief security strategist at People Security.  Pulling together that much disparate information left all around the Web was a chore only government agencies would attempt. But that’s not true anymore. A host of new software programs aimed at small-time data mining are slowly becoming available. They scour the Web and create dossiers on target subjects in seconds.  One, named Maltego, even provides visualizations of data points that connect people and things online.

“The critical barrier is it hasn’t been easy. It is now,” he said.  “What was a ‘data wasteland’ is now the richest environment in human history for backgrounding people. “

It’s easy to see risks here. Few would argue with the need to keep medical conditions private, for example. Even exposed salary information, which sometimes is shared widely, can cause serious problems for the victim.  Those with high incomes become an easy target for criminals.

But Acquisti conjures up even more fundamental concerns about lazy attitudes towards privacy.  Information, he notes, is power. 

 “The minute someone knows something about you, they gain a measure of control over you,” he says. This is obvious in the case of an affair: If someone learns about your secret lover, they can hold a wide measure of control over your future.  In a less obvious way, a future employer who knows that embarrassing Facebook photos from the past are hurting your job prospects can easily gain an upper hand in salary negotiations.

Worse still, the agency which might exercise that power someday might be a government, Acquisti notes.  It would not be hard to use Facebook to determine who voted for McCain or Obama in 2008, even who is Republican and who is a Democrat. Maybe that’s okay; but if databases begin to erode the notion of secrets in politics, the election system could erode with it.  Secret ballots are essential to a functioning democracy. 

And perhaps the political threat won’t come in the United States. Perhaps, someday soon, foreign governments will screen travelers based on political positions mined from social networks.

“I’m worried about control in the future,” Acquisti said.  “I feel that we are more and more getting adjusted to the idea that so much of what was done in private in the past is now done in public.  I won't be surprised when corporations or governments make more and more claims on data.  We are doing things today that 40 years ago we would have reacted by rioting, but now it is business as usual. By accepting these deals now we are paving the way for even more in the future. That’s why people who say they have nothing to hide…that argument is completely wrong.”

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American Express announced today that you could pay your tax bill using Membership Reward points. For every 200 points, you could pay $1 in taxes through Pay1040.com or OfficialPayments.com. You’d be assessed transaction fee but you could pay for that fee with points as well.

While it may sound appealing, 200 points for every $1 values each point at half a cent each. If you remember from my review of the American Express Membership Rewards program, half a cent per point is remarkably low. While there is no cash option for AMEX points, their recent “everyday expenses” program lets you pay everyday expenses using points that value them at 0.60¢ per point.

Official Payments charges a 2.35% fee for federal tax payments with a credit card, with a minimum of $3.95. Debit cards are charged a flat $3.95 fee.

I think this is mostly a PR move, considering the conversion rate is so low, but if you were contemplating this, consider another option.

Don’t Pay Taxes with American Express Points from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

This article is by staff writer Adam Baker. Baker is a founding member of Untemplater.com, a new multi-author blog focusing on personal finance, entrepreneurship, and life design for people in their 20’s and 30’s.

Americans have been fairly resistant to the introduction of a coin form of our dollar currency. We have them in circulation, of course: The Presidential Series and the Sacagawea gold coins are both currently being minted. You can also occasionally bump into a Susan B. Anthony silver dollar or, if you’re really lucky, an Eisenhower Dollar. (For some reason, it seems like this rare sighting almost always occurs in small-town gas stations and grocery stores. Don’t ask me why.)

Despite several attempts to introduce a popular dollar coin, the dollar bill continues to enjoy its position as the dominant $1 currency.

Since traveling overseas, I’ve realized the story is a little different elsewhere. Both New Zealand and Australia have not only $1 coins, but $2 coins as well. And the dollar bill? Well it’s non-existent. The smallest paper note is the $5 bill.

Coins are just dying to be spent
At first, the difference seemed negligible. Who cares if it’s a coin, a paper bill, or a credit card?  Ignoring exchange rates, a dollar should be spent the same regardless of material, right?

Sounds good in theory (at least in my head), but after several months of purchasing tram tickets, bottles of water, and Mrs Higgins cookies with small bills and coins, I noticed a difference. Magically, it seemed like I had a much easier time spending a handful of coins than I did a small wad of bills.

In the States, Courtney and I generally ignored change altogether. In fact, when we had something like a $3.79 charge, we’d simply record it as $4 spent to help simplify our tracking. This meant that in rare cases where we paid for a small purchase with only pocket change, we usually didn’t track it at all.

However, we found the system we’d grown accustomed to in the States was a little more expensive to operate overseas. A small handful of change could easily be six or seven bucks!

Ditching the penny once and for all
The Australian and New Zealand currencies are also void of any pennies (although the New Zealand ten-cent piece looks like a penny). Electronic payments, including credit and debit, and still processed down to the penny in most cases; however, when paying in cash, they round the transaction to the nearest $.05 (or $.10 in New Zealand).

It wasn’t until experiencing a penniless system that I realized how pointless (and annoying) the one-cent coin can be. Ironically, a 2008 New Yorker article points out that “primarily because zinc…has soared in value, producing a penny now costs about 1.7 cents.” Yikes!

You don’t have to travel across an ocean to realize that fighting to keep the penny in circulation is a losing battle. And in my opinion, the widely-popular dollar bill won’t outlast the penny very long at all.

And you know awhat? Although Courtney and I found ourselves much more willing to splurge with the increased coinage, I still favor the system from a  usability standpoint. The question left to ask is:

Why are we fighting so hard to resist this change?

It seems like a logical shift. I don’t get it! Are you ready to ditch the dollar bill and the penny?

Sacagawea coin photo by flower beauty.

—
Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• Dollar-Bill Origami: Turn Your Money Into Art
• Prompting Americans to Save
• links for 2007-02-08
• An Introduction to Financial Archaeology
• Thank You for Supporting Blogathon!

We recently received a new Privacy Notice from Citi for 2009, which looked a lot like this online form, and never really appreciated how marketing happens behind the scenes. I implicitly understood that there was some marketing involved but when it’s all spelled out in a privacy document it can be a little disconcerting because the document pretty much covers every potential type of marketing, not the ones they actually do.

For example, they talk about sharing information with other companies in the Citigroup family thought I’ve never received a solicitation from another company at Citi. They also talk about third party nonaffiliated companies, but I’ve also never received anything there (probably because I opt out of junk mail as part of our do it yourself identity theft protection)

Regardless, since we want to reduce all of our junk mail for both environment and identity theft reasons, we wanted to opt out of all this marketing. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a way to do this online (at least in the fifteen minutes I spent looking) so we can either fill out the form or call customer service. Since the form would take 30 days and a 44 cent stamp, we’ll be calling 1-888-214-0017.

Citi isn’t alone, this is a standard industry practice, here are a few more privacy statements including how to opt out of the marketing:

• American Express: Internet Privacy Statement, call the number on the back of your card
• Bank of America: Privacy Policy for Consumers, call 1-888-341-5000 to indicate your preferences.
• Capital One: Capital One Privacy and Opt-Out Notice, call 1-888-817-2970 to change your opt-out choices.
• Chase: Privacy Policy, call 1-888-868-8618 to change your options.
• Discover: Discover Card Privacy Policy, call 1-800-225-5202 to change your preferences.

If your credit card issuer isn’t on the list, just type “[credit card issuer's name] privacy policy” into Google and it should be one of the first few results. Then look for “opt-out” or “preferences” in the document, it should give you instructions on how to change your preferences.

(Photo: loopzilla)

Opt Out of Credit Card Internal Marketing from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

 

Bridget Newberry posted this eBay ad recently, hoping someone would help her buy Christmas gifts for her children. 

Not every eBay.com auction listing offers something concrete for sale.  A new kind of listing that's appeared on the Web site seems be selling only Christmas hope.

Nestled in among the Holiday-themed eBay listings for items like Razor Scooters, Transformers and Webkinz, you'll find listings that ask users to buy Christmas presents for a stranger's children.

Perhaps it's a sign of the times, the predictable consequence of a nasty recession and the proliferation of technology. But eBay.com is now teeming with such auctions.  

“Donate for holidays to family of 4 in need," said one listing viewed by msnbc.com on Wednesday, one of several dozen similar auctions easily found.

Parents who use eBay.com at Christmas are generally engaged in a frantic search for this year's Beanie Baby or Tickle Me Elmo doll, but these families say they are scrambling to give their kids anything at all this holiday season.

"Our family is in need of some help this holiday. With both parents out of work and back in school, our kids may not have a Christmas this year," writes Bridget Newberry, a 28-year-old mother of two from Lawrenceburg, Ky.  The photo on the listing shows Bridget and her husband, Alan Rice, with their two children. "I will send you a hand-written thank you note for any donation, as long as you include your address & name. Thank you and God bless you."

Another “item” for sale came from a poster who said she is a single mother of two.

"I am a single mom with a 9-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy. I work part time at a gas station and I don’t get much for help. I usually plan everything ahead but this year has not left me with many options. My car broke down 4 weeks ago and the repairs are quite high," she writes. The ad includes a picture of a humbly decorated Christmas tree."Please contact me if you are willing to donate a present for my kids. If you do not have time, I made a ‘buy it now’ in another auction for presents. I would love to see them have a nice Christmas."

And still another from a man who’s asking for help in Chico, Calif., under the listing: “Help make Christmas Possible for two Children.” 

“Single dad raising two children. Just spent all our money to get an apartment. We are asking for a little help to make Christmas possible this year for my two children. I don’t work right now. My son was born premature with chronic lung disease and requires 24/7 care. We are asking for donations. Anything is appreciated.  Thank you.”

Because eBay’s system requires that something is listed for sale on every auction, many listings offer worthless electronic books or other digital items for sale at 1 cent or 99 cents, but encourage higher bids.

Others include more obvious listings for items the children want as gifts.

The ads have spurred a debate among eBay users that echoes the discussions you'll hear about real-world panhandling.

"eBay is a marketplace … not a place for someone to put up pictures of their family … and BEG for money," said one experienced eBay power seller who thinks "eBay panhandling" is bad for the site.  She complained that eBay had not removed the auctions when she notified the firm about them.  "It just cheapens the marketplace when such things are allowed to occur and takes away from some really good charity auctions that are sanctioned and within eBay guidelines."

Most of the “Christmas donation" auctions contain a smattering of critical comments from other eBay users, telling posters that they should look to local charities for help. And there's no way to verify the authenticity of a person who lists such an auction — scammers could easily post fake pictures and manufactured tales of woe.

Terms of service violation
The ads, meanwhile, appear to run afoul of more mundane concerns: eBay's terms of service, according to the firm.

"EBay does not allow listings that have no item or service for sale," the company said in a statement to msnbc.com.  "Additionally, while we do allow listings that will benefit a charity, sellers must be soliciting on behalf of recognized, tax-deductible charitable organization."

The firm also recommends that eBay users donate to recognized charities rather than individual eBay listers.

The eBay phenomenon appears to parallel another more direct form of cyberbegging. Numerous sites like CyberBeg.com and DonateMoney2Me.com allow users to post their stories and ask for help via PayPal. But those sites don’t attract nearly the audience that eBay does.

Newberry, a long-time eBay user, said she got the idea for her ad when she sorted all eBay auctions by lowest price, looking for inexpensive holiday presents.  When she did, she found many other families listing items for $0.01 so they could be found easily by people looking for bargains.

"So I figured it was worth a try," she said.

Both Newberry and her husband are currently in school, she said — he's studying fire science to become a firefighter while she is studying clerical and computer skills so she can get an office job. Newberry said she had worked at a nearby factory, while her husband washed dishes in a restaurant, but both lost their jobs in the past 15 months.  They moved last year from their apartment into a relative's basement apartment, she said.

"It's a really hard time, but that's life," she said.

Neither child "had much of a birthday," but Newberry is holding out hope for a better Christmas. Her daughter wants an iPod, but Newberry said she wouldn't oblige even if she had the money.  A giant stuffed horse they saw recently at a store is a more likely gift.

"But it's $50. Fifty dollars for a stuffed horse?  Incredible," she said.

Like many young boys, her son wants Bakugan Battle Brawlers accessories — so he can play the card/action figure game based on a Japanese cartoon show with friends.

But right now both gifts appear out of reach, she said. And her online pleas seem to be a dead end.  So far, she hasn’t gotten a penny from her eBay donation request.

"All that's happened is I'm out the 65 cent listing fee," she said.

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If you follow me on Twitter, you know that between writing chapters for Your Money: The Missing Manual I’ve been wrestling with eBay “customer service”. Note the quotes. It’s difficult to tell the full story in 140-character chunks, though. Since Robert started the day with a post about his adventures on Craigslist, let’s end it with with one about my adventures on eBay.

I’ve been using eBay since September 1998. I’ve bought and sold items of all shapes and sizes. (I’ve even sold two laptop computers.)

In 11+ years, I’ve never had a problem as a seller. People have always paid promptly, communicated well, and been easy to work with. I’ve had a couple of glitches as a buyer, though, and have had to leave negative feedback a few times. But I’ve never had trouble like this before.

Down the rabbit hole
One of the joys of eBay is finding listings from those spelling- and grammar-impaired folks Robert mentioned earlier today. Some people use tools like FatFingers to find these hidden gems. I like to stumble on them randomly. I found one such auction in the middle of October. The title read: “HUGE LOT,MARVEL,DC,ECLIPSE,DELL,COMICS,FROM 1950-1980′S” and this was the description:

OVER 600 COMICS,THIS COLLECTION HAS BEEN STORED AWAY FOR OVER 20 YEARS.THEY ARE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION FROM 1950 TO 1980′S A WIDE VARIETY OF MARVEL(MAJORITY)DC,ECLIPSE,DELL,THIS COLLECTION CONTAINED #1-#50 X MEN WICH HAVE BEEN SOLD ALREADY.SORRY THEY DO NOT COME WITH THIS AUCTION.THE REST OF THE COLLECTION IS UP FOR GRABS EVERY LAST COMIC I HAVE,I AM OFFERING THEM AT WHOLESALE COST I NEED TO SELL FAST AND WOULD LIKE TO GIVE THE YOUNG COLLECTOR THE SAME COST AS A DEALER AT FRANK AND SONS.IN THIS LOT U HAVE TOM AND JERRY,X MEN,KID COLT,GI JOE,NAM,PUNISHER#1,CAPTAIN AMERICA,GHOST RIDER,FANTASTIC 4,CONAN,SHEENA,RAWHIDE KID AND MORE,DC COMICS,SUPERMAN,GREEN LANTERN,JUSTICE LEAUGE,BLACK HAWK#1,WONDER WOMAN,FLASH,LAUREL AND HARDEY#1,HUGE SELECTION OF ARCHIE,BETTY,KATY KEENE AND MANY LOVE COMICS, THIS IS A GREAT COLLECTION AT A GREAT PRICE. GOOD LUCK THE BUY IT KNOW IS AVERAGING TO A QUARTER A COMIC YES .25 CENTS!

I don’t expect you to read that (well, except the part I bolded). I could barely read it myself. Instead, I took a look at the two photos that went with the auction. With some clever detective work, I was able to figure out that the comics I could see were probably worth around $200. Since there were many more unseen, I figured like this might be a good deal. Factoring in the seller’s low feedback (they were new to eBay) and the $80 shipping charge (comics are heavy), I decided to place a bid of $120 — which would have given me the lot for $200 or less if I won. Which I did.

Then things got hairy:

• I paid for the comics on October 21st using Paypal. The seller didn’t respond.
• I contacted the seller through the eBay messaging system on October 29 and November 3 but received no response.
• I sent personal e-mail on November 5, and the seller replied at last, saying the item would be shipped on November 6.

The item shipped on November 9 and reached me on November 12. I felt relieved when I saw the box on the porch. But that only lasted for a moment. It was much, much too small to contain the promised 600 comics. Sure enough: The box contained exactly 120 comics, most of which were in mediocre to lousy condition. What’s more, they were the dregs of the lot, stuff nobody would want.

I immediately sent the seller e-mail. I received no reply, of course.

Down the rabbit hole
On November 13, I began the process of trying to get my money back. PayPal and eBay trumpet their buyer protection, trying to make the user feel secure that if something like this happens, it’ll be a piece of cake to get a refund. Hahahahahaha! That’s not the case.

The first sign of trouble came when I followed the link about PayPal buyer protection. That all seems easy, right? Well, click on the link for the “dispute resolution process” and this is what you get: a frickin’ legal agreement. That thing is 24 pages long when printed. Right or wrong (and I suspect it’s “wrong” in this case), I opted to use the eBay dispute resolution process instead. (PayPal is a subsidiary of eBay, so I figured it didn’t make a difference which site I used.)

I opened a “case” describing the process and saying I wanted a full refund. eBay sent an automated message that told me to wait for a week so the seller could respond. On November 20, eBay sent me another e-mail that said “the seller should have responded by now”. Yes, they should have — but they hadn’t. I asked eBay to make a final decision. Their reply?

Since you’ve asked eBay Customer Support to handle this case, you don’t need to take any more action. Please wait for Customer Support to make a final decision on this case. We’ll get back to you within 48 hours.

Awesome, right? Well, not really.

I waited 48 hours. And another 48 hours. I waited some more.

I sent e-mail asking why I hadn’t heard from them. No reply. I dug around the eBay site until I found a phone number for customer service. But following the phone tree to the thing I needed always caused me to be disconnected. I went into “live chat” with what might have been a real person (but seemed like a bot, to be honest), who gave me another number to call. I called that number, and at long last has a real person to talk to.

I gave the customer service rep all of the info about the case, including the item number, and the fact that it had been stalled in “case resolution” for two weeks. She asked me to describe the problem. ¿Que? Couldn’t she see the problem there on her computer? Well, no. So, I described the problem. She asked me what I wanted her to do. By this time I was very very tense. “I want my money back,” I said as calmly as I could. “I’m very frustrated because it’s been impossible to get any sort of service on this, and I just want the process to be done.”

“I understand, sir. Let me see what I can do to help,” she said. What she could do was e-mail a shipping label so that I could return the comics to the seller.

“You want me to send the item back to the seller before I get my money back?” I asked.

“Yes sir,” she said. I sat silent. It didn’t make any sense to me. I’ve shown that I can be trusted, but the seller hasn’t. So I am the one who has to take additional risk? The CSR talked on, trying to explain eBay’s reasoning, but it didn’t matter. I’d given up. I didn’t want a box full of “love” comics. It wouldn’t cost me anything to return them. And the sunk cost was irrelevant, right? I mean, I’d already paid the money, so it’s not a factor in the equation anymore.

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll ship them back.” And I did. After I got off the phone (and tweeted my complaints), I drove to the post office and shipped the comics back to the seller.

And you know what? eBay still won’t automatically return my money. I have to call them back — wading through the terrible phone system again — after five days have elapsed. They say that after the seller receives the package, eBay will refund the purchase price (including shipping). I’ll believe it when I see it.

The end of a very long story
Yes, I know I sound like Ranty McRantsalot here, but I’m a frustrated fellow. You know how it is. In the grand scheme of things, $174.49 (which is what this cost me) isn’t going to break the bank. Mostly I feel embarrassed for doing some dumb things. There were plenty of warning signs that this deal could sour, but I ignored them because I thought I was going to score 600 comics for a fraction of their value. Instead, this has consumed several hours of my time and I have nothing to show for it (except this blog post).

Stuff like this is why I prefer to deal with small businesses that have real human beings I can talk to when something goes wrong.

For useful info on making the most of eBay, check out the following articles:

• Get Rich Slowly: My eBay method: 13 steps to more profitable auctions
• Get Rich Slowly: How to list an eBay auction for maximum profit (a guest post from Mike P.)
• Get Rich Slowly: How to find great deals on eBay (a guest post from my friend Lisa)
• Cribnotes: How to sell on eBay
• New Scientist: Use sniping to win on eBay

And that, my friends, is the end of Cranky Old Man Day. Robert shared his Craigslist woes and I shared my frustrations with eBay.

There are a lot of knuckleheads in this world who seem to get a kick out of screwing things up for the rest of us. Their petty victories gum up the system. That’s just one more reason I love the GRS community: I like to believe you folks are the opposite of knuckleheads. Thank you.

—
Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• Gift Card Tips and Tricks
• How to Sell on eBay
• Frugality in Practice: Small Victories
• On Meeting and Resisting Temptation
• How to Get (Nearly) Free Stuff from eBay

For some people, Thanksgiving is as fun as attending a four-day-long paint drying convention. Maybe they despise the work (and pressure) of having to prepare the perfect meal. Maybe they dread the thought of hearing their uncles argue endlessly about things they have no clue about. Maybe they just want something more than the anticlimactic comas everyone slips into after the big dinner. Whatever the case may be, the Thanksgiving holiday is a prime opportunity for Adultitis to take over and ruin the party.

But have no fear, there are a number of ways to bring a little childlike fun into this classic holiday. With a small amount of effort and a willingness to be a little silly, you can transform your family’s Thanksgiving into something truly remarkable.

Here’s how:

1. Name That Bird
   Speaking of silliness, be sure to name your turkey (Tom is not allowed!). This is a playful way to add some fun throughout the preparation, as you refer to the bird by his/her given name. Middle names are also encouraged. If you have a super large family, have a small group come up with a list of five suggested names. Put them on a piece of paper and invite all arriving guests to put a tally mark next to his/her favorite, to make sure everyone gets a chance to contribute. Take it to another level by sharing anecdotes about your turkey’s life. Create a worthy legend that ensures Magnus T. Wrigglefeather was not sacrificed in vain.




2. Be A Fashionista
   Kids love to dress up according to a theme. Clothes are an easy way to express enthusiasm for the moment at hand. If you’re on the conservative side, now’s the time to splurge on those 99-cent turkey socks or dig through the closet to find autumn-colored clothes. On the other end of the spectrum, you could pick up a turkey hat or rent a pilgrim costume. Don’t miss the chance to show your true colors. Could it get a bit ridiculous? You betcha. Would you arriving as Squanto be a memory your family will talk about for years to come? Guaranteed.




3. Kitchen Cooperation
   Don’t leave the cook out on an island. Seize the opportunity to build relationships by cooking together. Some of the best conversations and memories are made while stirring gravy and mashing potatoes. If there are kids in the mix, invite them to learn some new cooking techniques and have fun letting them put their spin on them. Above all, don’t worry about everything having to be perfect. Remember this is a holiday about family and thankfulness, not a contest to see if you can make Martha Stewart jealous.

   The last thing anybody’s Thanksgiving needs is a jealous Martha Stewart on the warpath. For more ideas on keeping the stress out of hosting, be sure to check out these tips.




4. Have Your Very Own Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
   Create an homage to the beloved Peanuts classic with an untraditional appetizer. Make up some tall stacks of buttered toast and serve up pretzels, popcorn and jelly beans. Just because Peppermint Patty didn’t appreciate Snoopy and Woodstock’s creative take on the traditional meal doesn’t mean you can’t. I’m betting the jelly beans will be gone before you can say, “You’re a blockhead, Charlie Brown.”
5. The Giving Thanks Part
   Be sure to “have a moment” at the beginning of the meal to offer up a simple prayer or reflection. Remember those who are no longer with you and welcome those who are new to the crew. Perhaps everyone can take a turn to say one thing they’re especially grateful for. This is a heartfelt, sincere and ultimately childlike way to bring everyone to a similar mindset as you gather together. Ignore the eye rolls and enjoy the moment.




6. Wish Bone Whimsy
   Don’t let the day pass you by without partaking in the ever-so-childlike tradition of breaking the wish bone. A bit barbaric, but always enjoyable. Drawing names out of a hat is one simple and fair way to handle it. Or you could play a fun family trivia game to determine the top two challengers to face off in front of everyone. If you get to be one of the finalists, be sure to wish for something important, like world peace or a Wii.




7. Spice Up The Sides
   It’s hard to argue with the traditional menu of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberries. But that’s not to say you can’t start a new tradition by adding a playful side dish that you would normally not see on your Thanksgiving dinner table. Try to pick something that will bring a smile to the faces of unsuspecting family members. Here are a few yummy ideas: fried cheese curds (a Wisconsin favorite), Oreos, french fries, rainbow Jell-O, guacamole or gourmet mac and cheese. If nothing else, you’re creating a conversation piece, allowing people to talk about something else besides religion, politics, and that thing growing on Grandma’s neck.




8. Pass the Pie Please
   Surprise everyone by having dessert first. Kids everywhere promise to themselves that one day, when they’re calling the shots, they’ll have desert first whenever they want. But before long, Adultitis sets in and those pledges fade away. One thing’s for sure: you’ll definitely be able to sort out who has Adultitis and who doesn’t. If you’re outnumbered by the curmudgeons who can’t get beyond the tradition of having dessert last, go ahead and enjoy your pie without them. Don’t you worry, there will be at least a few kids to joining you. Admittedly, this one may result in Aunt Gladys having a conniption fit. But then again, maybe that’s not altogether a bad thing.
9. Open Up The Playbook
   Football is a big part of the Thanksgiving tradition for many families. But you don’t have to leave all the fun to the pros. Invite folks to play a big family game, something that crosses generations and involves everyone. A few favorites to think about are spoons, flag football, kickball, hot potato, Pictionary, bingo, Apples to Apples or projectile spitting. If your group is just too ginormous to pull off playing all together, have a number of different games going on so people can go from one thing to the next, based on their interest. If your family loves to play cards, set up a number of tables and have a big tournament. The winner gets to bring home the leftover desserts.




10. Movie Magic
    Once the turkey coma has set in, watch a movie together as a group. Pick one that will appeal to all ages and will be entertaining and fun. Like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. (Kidding.) Anything by Pixar works well or there’s typically some sort of family movie on television that was released the year before. There’s nothing more fun than laughing and there’s nothing more heartwarming than sharing laughter with family…and making fun of Uncle David snoring in his chair.

With all the negativity in the news, your family needs fun now more than ever. Implement just a few of these tips and I’m sure your family will be thankful for the permission to be a little silly and grateful for the memories you’ll create together.

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