101 Best Web Freebies

While they assuredly won't help you grow your nest egg, or retire early (for the most part), there are a lot of useful free goods and services you can score online. BusinessWeek has done some of the leg work for all of us by compiling a list of the best freebies you can get on the web. It's not presented in the most reader friendly manner, but you can check the list out here. The list is almost exclusively software or web based services and I have listed a few samples of the items on the list below:

Operating Systems - Ubuntu
Anti-Virus Software - AVG
Free Phone Calls - Skype
Accounting Software - Mint
Tax Software - TaxAct
Business Cards - VistaPrint
Remodeling Software - Google Sketchup

Read the entire article BusinessWeek.

Holiday Tipping Hell

I don't mean to sound like a miser, but does it seem like the suggested tips that I keep hearing so much about on the news consume a month's salary for the common man? It could be because 1) I'm cheap, 2) I don't make gobs of money, 3) I live in the midwest and not NYC, or a combination of the three... but seriously now.

Let me first say that a very large percentage of the work force is employed in the service sector (me included), and it benefits everyone to reward outstanding service with a token gift over the holidays. Especially since most service employees don't make the most robust salary and tips put food on the table. However, some of the "suggested" tip amounts that I have heard recently are a little rich for my blood. Below are the suggested tips to give various service professionals that recently ran on CNN.

CHILD CARE
Nanny	1 week's to 1 month's pay + small gift from child
Daycare providers	$20-$70/each + small gift from child
Child's teacher	Gift (but check school's policy to see if it's allowed)
Coaches, tutors, music teachers, ballet instructors, etc:	A small gift from the child

HOME/CAR CARE
Housekeeper											1 week's pay or more (depending on length of service)
Trash collectors											$15-$20 each
Parking attendants											$10-$35 each or up to half a month's parking bill for the group if they regularly provide extra service
Gardener											$20-$50. If the gardener's last job before spring is a fall clean up, it's best to tip in the fall

APARTMENT SERVICE
Doormen	$25-$100 each (those who provide the most service for you should get more than those whom you barely see)
Superintendent/custodian	$50-$300 (tip more if there's no doorman and the service has been particularly attentive, but tip less if you tip throughout the year)
Porters/handymen	$10-$50 each
Elevator operators	$15-$40 each

PERSONAL CARE

Hairdresser

Cost of 1 cut (or $20-$100) if you go frequently + small gift

Manicurist

Cost of 1 session (or $10-$50) + small gift

Personal trainer

$25 up to 1 week's pay (or cost of 1 session)

Massage therapist

$50-$100 or cost of 1 session

PET CARE
Dog groomer									Small gift + 1/4 to 1/2 the cost of 1 session
Dog walker/regular dog sitter									Cost of 1-2 week's pay (as with a nanny, a small gift is optional)

DELIVERY SERVICES

U.S. mail carrier

Gifts under $20* (civil servants can't accept gifts exceeding $20.

UPS

Company policy discourages drivers from accepting tips, but they can accept something of nominal value. Tipping guides offer $15 as a guideline, but the amount and choice of gift are up to you.

FedEx

Company policy does not permit cash tips, but a gift worth up to $25 is okay.

Paper carrier

$15-$25 for daily delivery ($5-$15 for weekend delivery)

Does anyone actually tip the FedEx guy or the Dog Groomer? The thought never crossed my mind. Anyone out there that thinks the same way as I do, or am I alone in being cheap?

Low Cost Employee Perks

Looking for a way to reward employees without breaking the bank? I recently came across a (somewhat dated) list of 20 ways to reward employees without breaking the bank on Entrepreneur.com. Below the Entrepreneur's list has been summarized, although I think some of them would end up costing a business more than expected. Would any of them appeal to you as an employee or manager?

1 - Work from home days
2 - Family days
3 - Yoga classes
4 - Community service days
5 - Pizza Fridays
6 - Movie days
7 - Reward a top employee with vacation days
8 - Pass discounts on to employees
9 - Bring your dog to work day
10 - Free car washes
11 - Give employees discounts on what your business does
12 - Swap services with another local business
13 - Games in the break room
14 - Health club discounts
15 - Flex hours
16 - Bonus for referring new hires
17 - Continental breakfasts
18 - Pass on company perks
19 - Free seminars
20 - Holiday family parties

Personally, for employees that have to stay at work until the work is done and can't clock out at 5:00 if it's not. I think that anything that keeps people at work and away from their desk will cause problems no matter how fun or beneficial it is (so #3, 4, 6, and 13 probably wouldn't work for my business). The bring your dog to work probably isn't practical for 99% of the workforce. So, we have food, free stuff, and vacation. All pretty good options.

While most of the working world has switched over to business casual, not everyone has. If you work in a formal setting, a dress down day or two is always a welcome change of pace for most people. I think the swapping services with another business is a very good and cost effective perk as well that every business can stand to benefit from. It exposes other people to your business and lets you offer a reward to your employees for pennies on the dollar.

Do you have any favorites or ones that should be added to the list?

Read the whole story at Entrepreneur.com

Price Drop After You Bought an Item? Get Your Money Back

I know that many stores have policies that if they drop their prices after you make a purchase you can get the difference refunded to you. Unfortunately, these policies are not particularly valuable to me because 1) I don't have the time to keep tabs on prices after I buy something and 2) usually the hassle of running to the store and claiming my refund isn't worth the $5 to me, especially if it's far away. I would guess I'm not the only person who thinks this way - precisely whey stores have this policy - they don't get taken up on it much.

I've been playing around with Price Protectr the last few days and though it might be helpful to others out there. The site supports 72 stores currently and many are the largest online retailers (like Best Buy and Amazon). You simply copy and paste the item URL into a box on the Price Protectr webpage and your email address. If the price drops during the protection period, the site will email you to let you know. Then you can take over and fire off an email or phone call to the retailer to claim your refund.

Anyone else use this service or other similar ones? Now if someone could just figure out something like this for traditional brick and mortar stores I'd be in business.

Dollar Rises On Inflation Concerns

The dollar edged up against the Euro today on stronger than expected Consumer Price Index data. The data showed that there have been higher than expected gains in consumer prices and consumer spending. The Euro fell about 1.5% through this afternoon based on the report today and other economic reports that were released this week. It's likely the major news outlets will shift from "are we headed towards a recession" headlines to "is inflation on the move." Either way it doesn't look like another fed rate cut is too promising.

Read more about the CPI data at Reuters.

Top 20 Entrepreneurial Quotes

The cheap revolution has a nice list of inspirational quotes from entrepreneurs that motivate him. I have listed the top 5 from his list below. I'm partial to #15, myself.

1. I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work - Thomas Edison, inventor and scientist
2. The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary - Vidal Sassoon, entrepreneur
3. Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't - Anonymous
4. A good idea is ten percent implementation and hard work, and luck is 90 percent -€“ Guy Kawasaki, entrepreneur, investor, author
5. Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory - Mahatma Gandhi, political and spiritual leader
6. Failure defeats losers, failure inspires winners - Robert T. Kiyosaki, author, entrepreneur, investor

Do you have any favorites? You can read the whole list over at The Cheap Revolution.

Should You Offer a 401(k) in Your Small Business

Aside from fostering goodwill among your employees, should your small business consider starting a 401(k) plan for employees? Entrepreneur.com has a list of 5 good reasons every small business should offer a 401(k) plan:

1) It's more affordable than you think.

2) It strengthens your business by attracting and retaining high quality employees.

3) Minimal administrative burden.

4) Most small business plans are web-based and have eliminated much of the paperwork.

5) It can help secure your own retirement.

So readers, what do you think? Business owners, are the extra costs justified for small businesses? Employees, is it a deal killer if a small business doesn't have a 401(k) plan?

Holiday Discount Codes Aplenty

Everyday Finance has dozens of holiday discount codes for those of you who may not have purchased everything during black friday / cyber monday. Below is a list of retailers on his list. If you shop at any of the retailers online or at the brick & mortar store it is probably worth a click over to Everyday Finance

Alloy
American Eagle Outfitters
Ann Taylor
Armani Exchange
Banana Republic
Bare Essentials
Barnes & Noble
Bath and Bodyworks
Bed Bath Store
BeBe Sport
Bloomingdales
CCO - Closeout Catalog Outlet
Children's Place
Cloud Veil
Crazy8
Designer Linens Outlet
Disney
Eastbay
GameStop
Golf Smith
Eastern Mountain Sport
Guess
Hasbro
HP
Illuminations
J. Jill
JC Penny
Joann.com
Levis Store
Limited Too
Linen & Things
Liz Claiborne
Macy's Coupon
MetroStyle
New York & Company
Nike
Overstock
Ralph Lauren
Red Envelope
Eestaurant.com
Sharper Image
Snap Fish
Speedo Coupon
Sports Authority
Suds Gear
Timberland
Toys 'r' us
Ulta
Victoria's Secret
Warner Bros Coupon Code
WinkFlash
Yankee Candle
Zales

Best Countries For Business

Which countries are the "best" for business? Time magazine in conjunction with the World Economic Forum have released their list of the top 50 countries for business. The study was based on 113 factors ranging from quality of roads, to the independence of the country's judiciary. Below are the top 50:

1) U.S.
2) Switzerland
3) Denmark
4) Sweden
5) Germany
6) Finland
7) Singapore
8) Japan
9) U.K.
10) Netherlands
11) S. Korea
12) Hong Kong
13) Canada
14) Taiwan
15) Austria
16) Norway
17) Israel
18) France
19) Australia
20) Belgium
21) Malaysia
22) Ireland
23) Iceland
24) New Zealand
25) Luxembourg
26) Chile
27) Estonia
28) Thailand
29) Spain
30) Kuwait
31) Qatar
32) Tunisia
33) Czech Republic
34) China
35) Saudi Arabia
36) Puerto Rico
37) United Arab Emirates
38) Lithuania
39) Slovenia
40) Portugal
41) Slovak Republic
42) Oman
43) Bahrain
44) S. Africa
45) Latvia
46) Italy
47) Hungary
48) India
49) Jordan
50) Barbados

Is anyone surprised by the rankings (or the fact that the Swiss are #2)?

You can read the whole story in the Nov 26, issue of Time.

Charitable Checking Accounts

There is a trend towards people setting up charitable checking accounts in lieu of a charitable foundation to give away money.

The accounts administered by companies like Fidelity and Schwab allow investors it contribute assets and determine when and where to make distributions. Fidelity lowered the minimum investment to open an account to $5,000 - but many are in the $10,000 range, so they are now within reach for the average investor. If you contribute to a small handful of 501(c)(3) organizations the donor-advised checking accounts can offer lower fees and the money in the fund can grow tax free until distributions are made. The fees are generally in the 1% range and you can take a tax discount on contribution to the account the year they are made. Then again you could make the contribution outright and not pay Fidelity 1% to hold it in a special account.

For people looking to stroke their own egos, it's possible to name your CCA something like the "John Smith Charitable Foundation" and make it seem like you have a charitable foundation set up for yourself without the legal costs and paper work.

Read the whole article at about Charitable Checking Accounts at YahooFinance or read the better article on Starting a Charitable Checking Account at MSN.