Take this test and find out! – Despite the recession, some people are still shopping till they drop?whether they can afford it or not. Are you one of them?

The test below revealed that 9% of (mostly women) professors?out of a total of over 500?could be classified as compulsive shoppers. This is higher than the rate of 15 years ago, which is estimated to be between 2 and 8%–or even a more recent estimate of 6%.
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…as it secretly raises taxes – The US Congress yesterday defeated a seven hundred billion rescue passage for America’s financial system even as it let stand the Alternative Minimum Tax, meaning that twenty three million Americans will pay an average of $2,000 more in taxes next year. The tax will be extended to cover more average Americans than ever before. At the same time that our taxes are going up, if some effective rescue plan is not passed, the average small business and average individual is going to find it impossible to do things like renew lines of credit that are essential to running everything from stores to law firms and medical practices. Large corporations with high credit ratings will be first in line for any loans that are available.read more

In Whitley’s incredible new Journal, he writes: “What a week! We have seen the effective nationalization of the financial industry, and handed a bill to pay that will reach past a trillion dollars. More fantastically, our national wealth is to be spread among the horde of Wall Street bankrupts not by an impartial agency, but by contractors who will be working for a profit and will, essentially, be the same people who have gone broke, giving our money to themselves.”

Art credit: freeimages.co.uk

NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.read more

You’ll spend less if you pay cash, but in these tough times, you may not HAVE any cash, so what do you do? You barter!

A growing number of us are surviving the recession by trading?with our friends and neighbors and through websites. CNN.com quotes like Craig?s List spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best as saying, “When the economy turns unfriendly, Craigslist users become far more creative to get their everyday tasks done.”

CNN quotes Jessica Hardwick, the CEO of one barter website, as saying, “I think a few years ago it was more for fun, but we’ve seen a real shift in the last year, and especially an increase in the last few months, where I think people are really doing it to get by.”

Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
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