Day: November 21, 2011

Let’s face it – the best gift at the holidays is money. But, that doesn’t mean you should be doling out an impersonal wad of cash to all of the caregivers in your life at years’ end. Cash is often a welcome gift. But for some, a personalized gift is more polite. And for a select few, it’s not appropriate to give anything at all. One thing is for certain though, the people who care for you and your family deserve a thank you — no matter the size. Here’s your guide to knowing when to tip, when to gift and how much you should be budgeting for the caregivers in your life.

Ready or not, the holiday season is upon us. For many, that can only mean one thing: the endless list of holiday shopping. Outside of family and friends, there are a lot of caregivers to consider. From your child’s teacher to your weekly house cleaner, this is the time to show your thanks. But who gets what? Should you be tipping or gifting? And are there times when a thoughtful note is best? Stress no more. Follow this guide to know when to tip, when to gift and how much to spend. Happy giving!

Each year, millions of seniors are able to enroll into a new Medicare prescription drug plan (PDP), and the vast number of available options can make this a daunting task. Choosing a Medicare prescription plan can seem confusing, so the more you know, the easier it will be to find one that makes the most sense for you.

The holiday season is a great time to show the ones who take care of you and your family how much you appreciate them. But what’s an appropriate present – and how much should you spend? Depending on the caregiver’s role in your life, the answer might not be so clear.

This year, millions of Americans will be hitting the roads and facing cold temperatures, along with the snowy and icy conditions winter weather brings. These factors are not only a nuisance, but at times, very dangerous, even for the most confident and experienced drivers. To prepare vehicles for the winter months ahead, here are some simple tips to help you arrive safely at your destination.

Do you constantly feel like you “gotta go”? When you leave the house, do you always look where the nearest bathroom is, just in case? Bladder control problems are more common than you might think. Having an Overactive Bladder can affect your quality of life, and 16 percent of the adult population, or about 33 million people, have this condition, according to the Journal of Urology.

When you think of high-design interior design, you might automatically associate it with a certain type of home – one made with sleek glass, concrete and metal details. But truthfully, the world of home decor design is far more diverse than that. You don’t need an ultra-minimalist home to incorporate design classics. You can choose from a wide variety of styles, or simply make your own creative interpretation of a time-honored design.

Black Friday is days away. Considered the first day of the holiday selling season, it usually ranks as the year’s biggest shopping day. Black Friday earned its name from retailers who greeted it with relief as the annual surge in revenue pushed them into the black, the point at which they first began to turn a profit for the year. The more recently minted Cyber Monday follows, named in the not-so-distant day when shoppers with no Internet service at home headed back to wired workplaces to search (discreetly) for online bargains.

Group living – whether in a condo or co-op building or home community – often involves delegating responsibility to a board. Under ideal conditions, members take their leadership seriously and oversee the physical and financial safety of the structure and people living in it within – during routine and emergency time – and the well-being of their shared common areas.

Out of nowhere my company has decided to downsize. I will go from 40 hours a week with benefits and frequent overtime to 32 hours per week with far fewer benefits and no overtime. How does this impact my mortgage?

With the housing crash in the wake of the financial industry meltdown, gone are the days when most homebuyers could squeak by with a tiny down payment. Today, many lenders require a minimum down payment of at least 20 percent – which begs the question, where are buyers getting the extra funds needed nowadays?

LOS ANGELES — Rains pounded the Los Angeles area as a weekend storm passed from the Pacific Ocean into Southern California, flooding streets and highways and prompting concerns about possible landslides.