Friday, January 25, 2013
A fee of up to 4 percent of a credit card purchase could be added to your bill come Sunday.
Think twice when you pull out your credit card to pay for brunch this weekend. A controversial federal court ruling last year has given retailers the go-ahead to tack bank surcharges for credit card purchases on customer bills—starting Sunday. Bank fees between 2 and 4 percent of a credit card purchase had traditionally been covered by retailers making the sales, but smaller businesses without the backing of major corporations usually felt the brunt of these charges. Ten states prohibit passing fees on to credit card users, but Maryland isn't one of them, according to an announcement issued by the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. Customers can avoid the charges by paying with debit cards or prepaid cards. According to a Time…
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
How many of these Christmas gift mistakes did you make this year?
Christmas is my favorite holiday of all the holidays. I love the lights and the family time and the cookies. I love getting cards with photos of happy families and I love decorating Christmas trees by reliving the history behind each ornament. If I'm being honest here, I have to admit that I love the presents too. It used to be that I loved getting presents—and don't get me wrong, I still enjoy unwrapping thoughtful gifts—but now that I'm a parent, most of my excitement about presents involves sitting back and watching my kids' joy on Christmas morning. I've worked hard to teach my kids about gratitude and looking at gifts as an expression of love from the giver. I've also worked to help my kids understand how to give gifts themselves by …
Friday, November 23, 2012
Could you go cold turkey on consumerism for 24 hours?
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Holiday Weekend Sales, Pre-Christmas Sales, Post-Hanukah Clearance Sales, and Kwanzaa Clearance Events—it’s enough to make you go crazy as a consumer. One organization, AdBusters, has a solution to help you retain your sanity—“Buy Nothing Day.” The group’s website touts that “the journey towards a sane sustainable future begins with a single step” and sees capping your consumption for an entire day as that step. AdBusters, which also publishes a monthly anti-consumerist magazine, is also a proponent of the Occupy movement, and offers online and printable ads to help spread the word. The website also features guides to organized protests like a Credit Card Cut Up, Zombie Walk and Whirl-Mart. AdBusters claims …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Since when did finding clothes for my kids get so hard?
You know how there are those things about parenting that you assumed would be totally easy, but turned out to be anything but? Dressing three boys, who would presumably not much care what they wear, is one of those things. I bought my oldest son pants last week and he actually agreed to wear them. It was practically family newsletter-worthy information. The secret is that I took him to the store and let him pick out his own pants. Who would have guessed that would work? Also, I would never in a million years have chosen the pants that he did. It turns out that for that kid, age 10 is the magic number for when I had to stop buying pants I think are fun, comfy, and perfectly good pants and start taking him with me to let him pick out his own…
Employees of the retail giant hope to take advantage of one of the year's busiest shopping days.
Employees of DC-area Walmart and Sam's Club locations are joining a national strike effort this Black Friday to protest what they view as low wages, poor scheduling practices, and worker intimidation on the part of the retail giant. The campaign, organized by Making Change at Walmart and linked with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, is planning demonstrations outside dozens of stores nationwide on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. In the DC area, Nov. 23 protests are scheduled for Walmart and Sam's Club locations in Laurel, Hyattsville, Bowie, Gaithersburg, Woodlawn, Severn, Clinton, Abingdon, Alexandria, and Fairfax. (Both chains are owned by parent company Walmart Stores, Inc.) The strike action …
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Check out which items on which you can save 6 percent during Maryland's tax-free shopping week.
You may want to wait a couple more days to buy that new pair of jeans or go back-to-school shopping. Sunday, Aug. 12 through Saturday, Aug. 18, you’ll be able to save 6 percent on some clothing and footwear items during Maryland’s tax-free shopping week. Items that will be exempt from the 6 percent sales tax include clothing and footwear priced less than $100. Accessories, ranging from bowties and bracelets to purses and watches, are not exempt, according to the comptroller of Maryland. For a full list of taxable and tax-exempt items for the week of Aug. 12-18, check out our attached PDF. School starts on Aug. 20 for Prince George’s County and Aug. 27 for Montgomery County students, so next week is the perfect time to do all your back-to…
Monday, May 28, 2012
See what more than a million dollars can buy in Montgomery County this week.
Location: 1111 Mcneil Lane, Silver Spring, MD 20905 Price: $1,400,000 Estimated Monthly Payment (with 20% down-payment): $5,320.00 per month. Description: Outstanding Features: To find out more about this amazing home, check out the official listing and contact Craig Brown at (301)-807-5636.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Attention, shoppers! Get deals, addresses and hours.
Memorial Day is about honoring fallen heroes. For retailers, the long weekend means armies of shoppers will be coming in on their days off. Where are the sales and when should you go? Here are some ideas: Mall in Columbia 10300 Little Patuxent Pkwy.; Columbia, MD 21044 Friday, Saturday, Monday—10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday—12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Arundel Mills 7000 Arundel Mills Cir.; Hanover, MD 21076 Friday, Saturday, Monday—10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday—11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Your guide to getting around Colesville this December 25th.
- HOLIDAY GUIDE
- Ben Gross
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
Where to Worship in Colesville Christmas Day - Worship, 11:00 a.m. Good Hope Union Methodist Church Christmas Day – Worship Service, 11:00 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Christmas Eve – Two masses at 5:00 p.m., one at 7:00 p.m., and midnight Christmas Day – Masses 7:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12 noon First Alliance Church Christmas Day – Worship, 11:00 a.m. Colesville United Methodist Church Christmas Eve – Family Service, 6:00 p.m. Candlelight Service, 8:30 p.m. Christmas Day – Worship, 10:00 a.m. Grace Community Church of Silver Spring Christmas Eve – Potluck Dinner, 6:00 p.m. Christmas Day – Worship, 12:30 p.m. Colesville Baptist Church Christmas Eve – Worship, 6:00 p.m. Christmas Day – …
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Need a truly last-minute gift? Forget something for Christmas dinner?
While many Silver Spring businesses will be closed, others will be open part of Christmas Day. We’ve put this guide together to help you have a happy holiday!
- HOLIDAY GUIDE
- Ben Gross
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Business Christmas Eve Hours Christmas Day Hours 7-11 (16th Street, Fenwick Lane and Colesville Road) Open 24 hours as usual Open 24 hours as usual. Adega 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Closed Ann Taylor Loft Closed Asian Bistro 12 p.m. – 11 p.m. 12 p.m. – 10 p.m. AT & T 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Closed Austin Grill 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Closed Baja Fresh 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Closed Cake Love 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Closed Chick-fil-A 6:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. Closed City Sports 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Closed Cold Stone Creamery 12 p.m. – 11 p.m. Closed Color Me Mine 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Closed Copper Canyon 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Closed CVS 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. DSW 8 a.m.– 6 p.m. Closed Eggspectation 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. Closed Family Dry Cleaners 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Closed Fuddruckers 10…
Bob
6:12 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2013
So you can be charged up to 4% for using a credit card, which is on top of any interest you may accrue on the charge. Your alternatives are a debit card, which has a fee, or a pre-paid card, which already has a fee (I've seen more than 6% on a $100 card). Use a check, which has its own fees. There are no other-than-cash alternatives, although probably there are some retailers who will also charge… more ›