| Reducing personal debts can be gift that pays | | Posted Tuesday, February 06, 2007 1:13:45 PM by Blog57 Team | | In December, I had a discussion with Bob's parents about gifting money to their kids. I suggested that Christmas would be a good time to make such a gesture. Last week, my fictitious, middle-aged investor phoned to advise me that his parents had decided to give each of their kids a Christmas gift of $25,000. I could tell by Bob's voice that he was interested in knowing how he could turn this gift into a fortune. "If you buy a lottery ticket and win, your $25,000 would quickly turn into millions. The catch is picking the correct numbers,'' I told Bob. "Another way I know to turn a little money into a lot in a short period of time is to bet everything on one number on the roulette wheel at Casino Regina,'' I said. "If the wheel hits your number, the pay-out would be 36-to-one or $900,000.... | |
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| | | Cybertrips: Give your kids an out-of-the-ordinary vacation for ... | | Posted Sunday, November 19, 2006 1:12:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | (AP) - With the holidays coming, are you looking for some really special gift to reward your kids for being extra good this year? Instead of buying them a pile of new toys, why not pack their bags and take them someplace different for a really special Christmas. Join the crowds in New York City and take the kids of all ages to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and go ice skating at the rink below the tree if you can tear yourself away from the city's Christmas shopping. Click on "See & Do" and "The Tree" at http://rockefellercenter.com. The website has links to information about tours of Rock Center, NBC Studio and Radio City, and the Radio City link will tell you all about the annual Christmas Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall, just a block west of the tree.... | |
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| | | Holiday season captures autumn; summer may be next | | Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 7:13:41 AM by Blog57 Team | | Some snack-sized candy bars remain in the pantry and the pumpkin is holding up well on the front porch. But as we pack up the Halloween decorations, "Silver Bells" and "Jingle Bells" can be heard over the radio. The holidays are magical and warm. It's just that they used to be "days." We prepared for them as they arrived. We celebrated them one at a time, with special family and cultural traditions for each. Then a major department store decided to sponsor a Christmas parade on Thanksgiving Day. By the time I was a child, Santa's cameo appearance at the end of the parade officially opened "the holiday season." While there were a few "Christmas in July" sales as the years passed, I never thought much about them because I was otherwise distracted with beach vacations and baseball games. And everyone knew the big holiday sales would be the day after Thanksgiving.... | |
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| | | Helping seniors | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 7:43:11 AM by Blog57 Team | | Mentioning the Willow Foundation Spirit of Giving campaign while dining at Boston Pizza this month and next will help seniors in need. Established in 2000, the Willow Foundation -- formerly the Allendale Foundation -- raises funds for three Halton seniors' residences: Creek Way Village in Burlington, Post Inn Village in Oakville and Allendale in Milton. The organization notes that many seniors who contributed significantly to the quality of life enjoyed in Halton today no longer have the means to support themselves. Funds received by the campaign sustain initiatives for seniors including Christmas parties, mini-vacations and the building of a gazebo. Mentioning the campaign while dining at Boston Pizza through December will result in a donation equal to 10 per cent of your tab.... | |
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| | | Monday November 06, 2006 - 16:12 EST | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 7:20:20 PM by Blog57 Team | | LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but unfortunately a lot of business organizations are going to get lumps of charcoal in their holiday stockings. That's especially true for cash-strapped nonprofit organizations. Many rue the Nov. 1 closing of the Stardust. Not only are alternative sites generally less convenient, but most hotel-casinos, even off the Strip, charge as much as double the price for an event. Many charge even more, and some are gouging with charges for microphones, speakers and the like they've never charged for before. Out-of-town organizations that plan holiday meetings seem much less affected. They never had a bargain back home with quality meeting rooms and staffing like the Stardust anyhow. Rumor has it MGM Mirage Chairman Terry Lanni will move into one of the penthouse suites in the Mandarin Oriental as soon as the $7 billion Project CityCenter opens in 2009.... | |
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| | | Persistence pays off for local athlete | | Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 3:12:52 PM by Blog57 Team | | John Biasotti can't remember why in the fall of 1998, as an assistant football coach at Arlington High School, he agreed to cut a short, chubby, Jordanian freshman from the team. But he thinks the short and chubby part had something to do with it. "He was a late bloomer," said Biasotti, now head coach. "At Arlington, with the numbers we have, we cut kids every year. He hit a growth spurt as a sophomore or a junior and worked his body and filled out." Eight years later, he and Jawad "J.J." Nesheiwat, now the starting tight end at Syracuse University, still joke about it. "When I talk to kids about J.J., I use him as an example of kids who got cut and went back to the weight room and made it back as a player," Biasotti said. Setting precedents and bucking convention seem to be in Nesheiwat's nature.... | |
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| | | Recipe for a long life This month's cook has always eaten her veggies | | Posted Thursday, November 02, 2006 7:19:56 PM by Blog57 Team | | I must look hungry and thirsty to Mary Fernino as I trace her steps into the kitchen. This month's 92-year-old Cook du Jour, who lives in Darien with her family, offers me sustenance even before I sit at the kitchen table. No sooner do I accept the freshly brewed cup of coffee, then she follows it with a stuffed pepper sandwich on homemade bread. "You'll love that pepper, but I'm not telling you the recipe," she says with a straight face. "You'll open up a restaurant. You'll be rich, and I'll be poor." .... | |
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| | | Bazaars | | Posted Monday, October 30, 2006 7:29:24 AM by Blog57 Team | | THE UNITED METHODIST WOMEN OF OTTERBEIN UNITED METHODIST CHU-RCH, 1128 State Road, West, in Champion, is sponsoring its annual Craft Show from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. The shops will be Christmas, Gift, Harvest, Baked Goods with soup by the quart. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be grab bags for the first 40 buyers. THE WOMENS GROUP OF BRACEVILLE UNITED METH-ODIST CHURCH in Braceville, will hold its annual Bazaar and Turkey Dinner today. The dinner will be served from 4 to 6:30 p.m. The bazaar will be open from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tables consist of: Homemade Kids clothes, Christmas Decorations, Baked Goods, Childrens Toys and Games, Arts and Crafts, Homemade Rag Rugs, Handiwork Items, Homemade Candies, Knives and Commemorative Throws.... | |
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| | | Cruise Lines Set Sail With Hot Holiday Vacation Prices | | Posted Saturday, October 28, 2006 3:57:35 PM by Blog57 Team | | DES MOINES, IA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- October 27, 2006 -- This holiday season, Santa is making a wish list and checking the prices twice. Considering the great deals on cruise vacations this November and December, he could be parasailing on Christmas Eve rather than riding a sled. According to CruiseCompete.com, some seven-night vacations can be booked for well under $1,000 per person, including Thanksgiving cruises, Christmas cruises and New Year's cruises. In addition to stretching your gift budgets further, the following are some more great reasons for cruise vacationing during the holidays: .... | |
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| | | Skipping payment will cost you later | | Posted Thursday, October 26, 2006 7:10:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | Get a load of the "gift" that reader Julie W. got in the mail from her bank several months ago: "Dear Julie: Summer is the time for great vacations. So start with a vacation from your loan payments, with Skip-a-Payment. Three easy steps put extra cash in your pocket! 1. Mail the attached Skip-a-Payment coupon in the enclosed envelope. 2. Include a check for $60 to extend your payment. 3. Please be sure to write your loan number on your check. That's all there is to it! Instead of sending us your usual loan payment, use the money for a vacation getaway, a new gas grill, graduation or wedding gifts, plants and gardening supplies - whatever you want! Skip-a-Payment puts you in control! With Skip-a-Payment, you have more financial options and the flexibility you need to handle life's opportunities - and emergencies.... | |
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