Arsenic in Your Juice (Consumer Reports).  Getting the best deals at the grocery store means more than finding the best prices.  It means finding the best prices on food that won’t kill you!

Christmas for Less Than $100 (MSN).  Regular readers know I’m not crazy about the word “frugal.”  But this writer does frugal well.

Black Friday’s Deals May Not Have Been The Best (New York Times).  Scientific research says the best deals are yet to come.

Holiday Shipping Deadlines: Time Your Purchase Right (Main Street).  Here’s what you need to know to make sure your gifts arrive on time.

How to Live Happily on Less (US News).  An ode to slowing down and enjoying some of life’s simple pleasures.

And from the blogosphere…

7 Small Gifts That Can Make a BIG Impact This Holiday (Money Ning).  You don’t have to spend big to make the recipients of your gifts smile big.

The Best and Worst Things to Buy in December (Wise Bread).  Some of this advice will help for this year’s holiday gift buying, some of it will help for next year.

MasterCard Launches Contactless Payment Wristwatch (Money-Watch).  In this case, time truly is money.

Where to Buy Cheap Checks Online (Dough Roller).  By now, checks were supposed to be so yesterday.  But lots of us are still writing them, so we might as well stop paying so much for them.

4 Things That Keep You From Your Goals (Pick The Brain).  Words of wisdom for all who like to set goals at the start of each New Year.  And if you’re really serious about achieving your goals, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of clarity.

Got a question or a response to any of the above?  Be sure to leave a comment.

Who else would benefit from this post?  Why not forward a link to my site? And if you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here.  Two or three times a week, you’ll receive ideas and encouragement for using money well.

Retirement Savers Who Didn’t Blink Saw Big Gains (via MarketWatch).  I know it’s scary to stay the course when the markets go crazy, but here’s a new report showing that such a strategy benefited those who followed it during the last downturn.

9 Best Ways to Get Free Stuff (via MainStreet).  It’s amazing what you can get for free when you know where to look.

Mortgage Rates Drop to Record Lows (via MarketWatch).  It sure is a good time to be a homebuyer, especially with other research showing that it’s become cheaper to own than to rent in many markets.  Now, if you could only sell your current home…

Have B-Schools Become Debtors’ Prisons? (via CNNMoney).  Many newly minted MBAs are carrying six figures’ worth of student loan debt, raising questions about the cost/benefit ratio.  In response to my recent post about how to pay for college, several people questioned whether even an undergraduate degree is worth it these days.

4 Networks Job Seekers Should Know About (via US News).  If you’re looking for work, make sure you’re using – and making the most of – these online tools.

From the personal finance blogosphere…

Money Lessons at Home: Our Family’s Allowance System (via ChristianPF).  It’s one of the most-debated topics among parents – how to do the whole allowance thing.  Here’s one family’s story.

10 Yard Sale Tips for the Best Return (via One Money Design).  Sure, summer’s almost over, but it’s not too late to clear out the garage, basement, or attic before winter hits.

Empty Your Closets, Fill Your Bank Account (via Mint).  Good ideas on how to sell your stuff without holding a yard sale.

5 Bills NOT to Automate (via Yahoo).  Automation can save time, but think twice before putting these bills on auto-pay.

Eat Healthy Foods for Cheap (via Bucksome Boomer).  “Healthy food” and “inexpensive” are terms that don’t usually go together.  Here’s a list of foods that are good for you and won’t break the bank.

Got some feedback on any of the above?  Be sure to leave a comment.

Know someone else who would benefit from this article?  Please forward a link to my site.  And if you haven’t done so already, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here.  Two or three times a week, you’ll receive ideas and encouragement for using money well.

We Americans are good at many things, but taking time off isn’t one of them. In part, that’s because we simply don’t get much paid time off.  According to a recent series of articles by CNN, employers in more than two-dozen industrialized countries are required by law to provide their workers with at least four paid weeks off.  In the U.S., there are no such rules and regs, and as a result, U.S. employers are among the stingiest with paid time off.

Still, our lack of R & R isn’t all our employers’ fault.  A recent poll found that just 57 percent of U.S. workers take all of the vacation days they could take.

Out of Sight, Out of a Job?

Especially in a tough job market, lots of folks fear that if they take a vacation they may return to find someone else occupying their cube.  But there’s something more at work here. Surveys have shown that Americans take more of their happiness from their work than Europeans, for example.  Europeans take more of their happiness from their leisure activities.

So, even when we do take time away from the office, we still work, missing out on opportunities to recharge and make memories with our family and friends.

How to Leave Your Work at the Office

I have to admit that I have a tough time completely unplugging from my work.  What helps is when I make it a to-do, putting it in my calendar so I can check it off as an accomplishment.  “Blueberry picking with the family.”  Check.  Afternoon at the beach.”  Check.  Probably not ideal, I realize, but it helps me.

Experts quoted by CNN say that if you have a tough time disengaging from your work, try structuring your vacation around not working.  Leave your laptop at home or intentionally choose a vacation spot with a bad or non-existent Internet connection.  As with other goals, I also believe it helps to make a commitment and tell someone else about the commitment, asking them to help hold you accountable.

If you didn’t fully take a day off on Memorial Day, start thinking ahead toward any vacation time you have planned this summer, and see if you can arrange to truly take a vacation.  You’ll be healthier and happier that you did, and your family will be happier as well.

What have you found helpful in truly taking time off?

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Troubling News About Water Safety

But then I read a disturbing article about the Chicago suburb of Crestwood, where village officials are accused of knowingly supplying residents with tainted water, all the while sending notes with water bills touting the safety of the village water supply.

That was followed by news about a study commissioned by the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) that found hexavalent chromium in the drinking water in 31 out of 35 U.S. cities tested, including Chicago.  Hexavalent chromium is the carcinogen made famous in the film “Erin Brockovich.”

While there are some who feel the dangers highlighted in the EWG study are overstated, in our family we’ve heard enough to convince us to filter the water we drink.

Which Water Filter is Best?

Of course, there are many different types of water filters, along with a range of benefits and price tags.  The EWG offers a good comparison of the various types on its site.

The research we’ve done has led us to use water filtered with reverse osmosis.  Reverse osmosis seems to be the filtering process that removes the most contaminants, including hexavalent chromium.  It also removes most of any fluoride that’s been added to the water.  But that may be a good thing since the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently recommended lowering the amount of fluoride in public water systems, noting that people are likely to get all the fluoride they need from other sources and too much fluoride can cause a condition called dental fluorosis.

Reverse osmosis not only appears to be the most effective water filtration system, it’s also relatively inexpensive.  We pay 49 cents per gallon for water dispensed by a grocery store machine into reusable containers.  If we run out temporarily, we use water filtered by an under sink dual filtration system that was already installed when we bought our house.

As a personal finance writer and speaker, I’m all about finding cost-effective options for the things we buy.  But this is just one more example of something I believe very strongly: the lowest cost option is not always the smartest option.

What type of water do you drink and why?  Leave a comment below.

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As a self-employed person who pays a fortune for health insurance and uses a Health Savings Account to derive what savings I can, I’m not at all happy about these changes.  How about you?

I once had a job where I commuted one day a week with someone I knew from church.  We both lived and worked close to each other.  That once a week shared ride did more than save us both a bit of money and stress.  It led to a great friendship that has now lasted more than 20 years.

Do you carpool?  If not, what are the possibilities of finding a colleague who lives close to you and suggesting that you give it a try for at least a day a week?

I hurt one of my feet almost two months ago.  Finally realizing that it wasn’t going to heal on its own, I asked my primary doctor for a referral and made an appointment with one of his recommended podiatrists.  I checked with my insurance company before going on the appointment to make sure such a visit would be covered.  Once there, I received good news that there was no stress fracture, which I was concerned about, and was given a prescription for an anti-inflammatory medicine.  Then, almost as an afterthought, I was told that a set of custom shoe inserts would help the problem from recurring.

Since it all happened so casually, I didn’t think anything of it when they started making a custom mold of my feet.  It was only when I was checking out that I was informed of the outrageous price and that it may or may not be covered by insurance.  I would have 24 hours to contact my insurance company and, if need be, cancel the inserts. Regardless, another sizable fee had already been generated by making the molds.

Later that day I found out that the work would be covered by insurance. If it wasn’t, it’s likely that I would have cancelled the order.  However, I would have been stuck for the full price of the molds.  Lesson learned: get all fee information up front, whether renting a car, ordering phone service, or having a medical procedure.

The APA recommends that parents look for signs of stress in their children such as sleep or appetite changes, nightmares, or avoidance of situations or people.  It also recommends age-appropriate communication. Adolescents may be able to handle more details of their family’s situation, whereas younger children may perceive situations to be worse than they are and mostly need reassurance that their family is going to be okay.

Tough economic times can provide great opportunities to teach children about budgeting, using coupons, making trade-offs, and more.  One of my favorite resources for teaching age-appropriate lessons about money is this document from the National Endowment for Financial Education.

There is some especially helpful guidance at the very end of the Consumer Reports article, including the non-intuitive advice to stay off the U.S. Postal Service’s national change of address database.

In addition to the warnings sounded by the article, it also highlighted some information services you might want to utilize. For example, if you’re planning to buy a house, you can purchase – or ask the seller to provide – a five-year insurance loss history for the property. Such a report may reveal hidden problems, such as a susceptibility to flooding.

A few years ago, Consumer Reports also put together this helpful report showing its recommendations for which foods are worth the added cost of buying the organic versions.