I was in retail for three holiday seasons. I was never put on the schedule during a time I had family time. Maybe I was lucky, but I believe the vast majority of people who make out the schedules are considering others. Even if you get scheduled for a shift that is interferring with family then there is someone that will trade with you.

One of the ways I look at working a holiday, you may be giving a customer to a chance to share the day with others instead of sitting at home completely by themselves. Why don’t I hear complaints from Florida? They seem to work 365 days a year. One year I was visiting friends in Orlanda, FL for Christmas. On December 25, 1996, we went to McDonalds for breakfast and then headed off to Sea World. I never heard one of these employees complain about working the holiday.

Now, can we get back to why there is a holiday? Thanksgiving is when we should be thankful for EVERYTHING in our lives. We don’t have to have our turkey dinner on that exact day. Heck my extemded family has our Christmas celebration on the 26th every year. Every day of the year is what you make it to be.

The media is stunned and in an uproar over how this could have happened. After months of convicting this woman in the papers and on TV, a jury of her peers found her not guilty. How could this be? How could all these reporters and TV lawyers all have been wrong? Comparisons have immediately been made to OJ Simpson, and some have said this verdict was even more wrong than OJ’s.

Perhaps there is a very important point to all of this. Despite the fact that people, especially those in the media, like to judge others beforehand, the truth is that we are all innocent until proven guilty in this country.

Guilt was not proven in this case. We can sit here and judge Ms. Anthony’s character, or lack thereof, all day long. Is she a liar? Yes. Did she go out and “party like a rockstar” after her daughters disappearance? And you could go on. But is she a murderer? No, not according to the jury who looked at the evidence brought against her by the prosecution.

Why? Didn’t they have enough circumstantial evidence to convict her? No they did not. The jurors looked at the facts and came to the only logical conclusion you could have. There were no fingerprints, no DNA, no nothing. No video tape or incriminating evidence left on a personal computer. No eyewitnesses. The prosecution could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Casey Anthony murdered her daughter Caylee Anthony.

It amazes me how the media thinks they have all the answers and know whether someone is guilty or innocent before a trial has even started. But then there really is no “media” today. There are only agendas. And the agenda with respects to Casey Anthony was to convict her in the media and portray her as an evil human being.

Don’t you think she did have something to do with her daughters death? I can’t answer that because I simply do not know. You and I were not there. Only the murderer and Caylee know the true answer to that. What I do know for sure is, the media got it wrong yet again.

What are your thoughts on this?

While you can still give away your car and get a tax deduction, the limit is now set at $500 in most cases. To get a much larger deduction is where things have really changed.

If you give away a car, truck, or even a boat or airplane that is currently valued at $7000, you can not deduct $7000 on your taxes unless the charity sells it for that price. If they get $1500 for it, then that is the amount you can deduct.

In addition, you only have 30 days in which to get an IRS substantiation form from the charity when they sell the car, and it is your responsibility to get the receipt. The form is then included in your tax return when you go to file your taxes.

Why the changes to car donations in the tax code? It is mainly due to some individuals claiming their vehicles were worth far more than they really were. This got lawmakers attention and they changed the law to try an eliminate the abuse.

The big issue is in cases that the charity does not sell your donated vehicle right away, but uses it themselves in the course of their normal day to day operations. Examples would be like using it to take someone to medical appointments, or perhaps delivering food, clothes and other items to individuals or food pantries, etc.

Since this use would further reduce the value of the vehicle when the organization sold it, the IRS says you can then claim the higher value of the vehicle due to what they classify “significant intervening use”.

Before donating any vehicle that you plan on taking a tax deduction for, call your tax advisor first. Finally, check that the organization you are donating to is accepted as a tax qualified charity. The IRS has tried to make this part simple by having a directory list that you can check to make sure it is on the list. IRS.gov has everything you need to know.

With foreclosure filings going out to 1 in every 45 homeowners, it’s hard to imagine the problem getting any more severe, but it is. The high unemployment rate, weak economy, tougher new rules for refinancing, and continuing decline of home prices are all contributing to the rising number of home repossessions.

According to Rick Sharga, senior VP of RealtyTrac Inc., “2011 is going to be the peak.” RealtyTrac keeps tabs of all home default notices, as well as home repossessions and auctions.

The numbers may have been higher, but the last two months of 2010 saw banks putting a temporary hold on new foreclosures so that they could review their paperwork process. This was due to the allegations of improper evictions.

Sharga now says that this has passed and lenders are beginning to resume foreclosures. The first quarter of 2011 is expected to show much higher numbers again.

Sharga has also said that we have not reached the bottom yet on housing prices. He is saying we can expect to see another 5 percent decline nationally this year before finally hitting a bottom point. One in five homeowners with a mortgage now owe more on the loan than what the home is worth, and this additional decline will only inflate that figure.

Where are foreclosures the worst? It continues to be in the same states that have been hit the hardest, California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. Illinois and Michigan are also among those in crisis due to the severe economy. In Illinois, the new tax hike recently approved will further flame the problem.

Nevada has the dubious distinction of leading the way in 2010 with the highest foreclosure rate. One out of every 11 homes in Nevada had a foreclosure filing posted on their door. Arizona and Florida round out the top three.

No, that is not a typo. I just recently got an offer in the mail from First Premier Bank to apply for their MasterCard with an interest rate of 59.9%. That is beyond outrageous, and it should be criminal. I thought the government passed a new credit card “reform” that was supposed to stop this from happening?

Any time the government gets involved in reforming anything you can expect problems. Their good intentions of reducing fees and making the terms more transparent has unexpectedly opened the door to other issues.

The bill never addressed one of the single most important issues of all… limiting the interest rates a credit card company can charge consumers who open new accounts.

According to industry analysts, credit card interest rates now average 14.72%, which is an all-time high. And this comes at a time when interest rates on loans and mortgages are at all-time LOWS. Does this even make sense? To me it is legalized theft by the finance companies. Although you should always know that when congress eliminated fees in one area, companies would find a loophole and raise them to make up for in a another area.

Obviously, the better your credit rating, the lower the fees will be on your cards, but for those with credit scores over 750, they are still getting rates that are much higher than they were a year ago.

Interest rate caps have been proposed by some in congress, but nothing has moved on it. There will have to be a major outrage before they will do anything.

Analysts say that those who have credit scores below 599 are seeing a huge hike in interest rates. In fact, you’re looking at 25-30% APR’s, and that is if you can even get a card. But with rates like that… who really wants one? Carry any kind of a balance and you’re looking at simply throwing money away in fees and rates.

Come to find out, First Premier apparently LOWERED their 59.9% APR for those with credit issues from an original rate of 79.9%!

I wonder how many will take a card like that and run out and charge up that new iPhone or big screen 3-D HDTV? Or even worse, use it for video games or a trip to McDonalds? Imagine paying 80% interest on that Big Mac meal, or that new electronic gadget?

So what’s the answer then? The first thing I would advise is to just say NO. Don’t take out a credit card with interest rates like this. Be smart and toss it in the trash. Ask yourself if you truly even need a credit card?

Next, I would look into getting a secured credit card. By secured I mean one in which you make a cash deposit and use the balance to charge items you need. It not only helps you in rebuilding your credit, but you will not have the high APR like some of these other offers.

Once you begin getting your credit re-established, then you can apply to a credit card with a much more manageable APR. Yes, it will take a little time to get back to where you once were, but with time, patience and a bit of discipline, you can do it.

Let me know your thoughts and if you have been receiving offers with sky high APR’s.

The funny thing is, just try finding one of the various models of roof rakes. They have been flying off the shelves. Amazon is about the only place to find one, but that doesn’t help when you need one now.

I know some may think this is kind of funny, but if you have ever witnessed a roof caving in due to a blanket of deep, heavy wet snow, then you wouldn’t be laughing. In fact, a good friend of ours had his roof collapse a couple of years ago due to snow.

A snow roof rake is very easy to use. It is sort of like a snowplow on a pole. It stretches out up to around 20-30 feet and lets you clear much of the snow off the roof.

Beyond this issue, how about all the missed school days now for the kids? It seems like it was well before Thanksgiving since the kids went to school for a full week. All of the snow days have been used, and now we are looking at school running into June before letting out for the summer.

Summer? Oh yea, I remember what that was like. I keep telling myself that it will come again soon… as I shovel another 10 inches of snow off of the sidewalk. How is your winter going?

As of Friday, AAA said the national average price for regular unleaded gasoline stood at $3.12 a gallon. That makes it 12 cents a gallon higher than just a month ago. Compared to this time last year, gas has gone up 38 cents a gallon.

The current prices could be a real bargain according to what analysts are saying, with prices rising to $3.75 or more per gallon.

They point to world demand as one of the big reasons for the jump, with China leading the way in increased demand. Typically, prices fall here in the U.S. during winter driving season, but that is not the case this year. Even with gasoline supplies well over their five year average, and a much slower economy, prices continue to climb.

Another reason for the coming jump is world unrest, particularly in Egypt and Jordan. In fact, prices jumped over $3.00 a barrel yesterday alone.

Summer driving season normally sees a much higher demand to go with higher pump prices.

Currently, drivers in places like St. Louis and Salt Lake City are seeing prices hovering under $3.00, but for drivers in CA or HI, prices are already at $3.50 or more already.

Gary King, New Mexico Attorney General recently set an order to force collection agencies to disclose whether or not the debt they are trying to collect has passed the statute of limitations for collection, which is four years in the state.

While all states have differing lengths of time that a personal credit card debt can be collected on, agencies often try to collect on debts from 5, 10 and 15 years or more after the debt was established. What can be frustrating for consumers is the fact that if you pay even one dollar against an old debt, you have reaffirmed the debt and it becomes new again.

In industry speak, a debt that has passed the statute of limitations becomes time barred.

The new rules set in place by New Mexico, and New York City, make it mandatory that the collection agency tell debtors that the debt is time barred. The Federal Trade Commission is also looking into debt collection agencies to see if they can also put new rules in place to better protect consumers. At the moment they are asking other states to adopt the same type of rules.

According to an FTC statement, “Consumers are not aware that collectors cannot lawfully sue to recover on time-barred debt. To prevent deception, collectors who seek to collect debt they know or should know is time barred should disclose that they cannot lawfully sue the consumers.”

Debt collection companies argue the new rules will make collecting debts much more difficult, and being told the debt is not legally enforceable in court will see more people skip out on paying their debts.

The new law has created more transparency in that consumers now have the right to see all of the various fees being charged on their accounts, but it comes with a price. While in the past you may have used your debit card to make a purchase and mistakenly went over the amount that you had in your account by just one dollar and then been charged a $45 overdraft fee, that is no longer the case. But even as the law reduces, or in some cases eliminates, the high fees and ridiculous terms, many of the nations banks have simply passed them onto the customer.      

Chase now charges a $6 or $12 a month fee for their personal checking accounts. Some banks have attempted to come up with new programs designed to help ease the pain for consumers. Bank of America has a new program out that offers free checking provided you only do your banking online or use their ATM machines. You can not go through a bank teller in person.  

For customers like Peggy Roberts, they are turning to online banking exclusively. “I don’t have the ridiculous fees every month”, says Roberts. She went on to say, “I can also do all of my bill paying online and monitor my account on a daily basis. I feel much more in control of my finances, and I believe it is safer too.”

It’s too early to tell what the results of these new regulations will eventually bring, but many opponents of these new fees are saying that it will force people to close accounts and find others ways to pay their bills.

How has this affected you and your finances? Are you seeing more fees or higher fees on your bank and credit card accounts?

In a prepared statement the company tells fans that you can expect to hear all of the old classics.

Who doesn’t love hits such as:

• Main Street
• Old Time Rock & Roll
• Night Moves
• Still The Same
• Against The Wind
• Shakedown
• Hollywood Nights
• Katmandu
• Her Strut

and so many more of his hits that dominated the airwaves in the 70′s and 80′s.

There was no word yet on specific tour stops or dates, but March is supposed to be the start of the tour. There will also be a brand new album coming out as well.

Once an assembly worker at a major car manufacturer in MI, Seger has been a Grammy award winner and was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Do you plan on going to see the band tour in your area? I think it will be very interesting to see how well this concert tour goes and if he can perform as well as fans would like.