Category: Frugal Living, Saving Money & Life Hacks
The 9 Best Toys of All Time Don’t Cost a Thing
Having trouble viewing this? CLICK HERE <!– Content Layout –> The 9 Best Toys of All Time Don’t Cost a Thing Babies & Kids, Holidays The best toys of all time have nothing to do with trends, brands, or limited editions. They can’t be bought or sold. The best toys never go out of style. Read More… <!– Footer copyright and linkage –> The Squawkfox Blog is by Kerry K. Taylor www.squawkfox.com Copyright © 2020 Squawkfox.com. All rights reserved.
IRS Suspects Russian Identity Thieves In Data Breach
(Jimmybionic)You may remember that the Internal Revenue Service announced late yesterday that about 100,000 taxpayers’ personal information was breached when thieves armed with their personal information were able to log in to the IRS transcript system and extract even more sensitive information about their victims. Today, we learned that the IRS suspects that an organized group of hackers out of Russia are responsible for the 200,000 attempts to extract taxpayer data. The Associated Press is reporting this based on information from IRS officials who aren’t authorized to talk to the media on the record, but who are familiar with the investigation. The thieves already had to have some information about the planned victims, since they needed personal data such as name, street address, and Social Security number to
Apple Working On Fix For Text That Instantly Crashes iPhones
You just KNOW your cat would text you that string, if it could text. (J)It sounds like something out of a horror movie…if mobile phones watched horror movies. A certain string of Arabic characters, when sent to an iPhone, can crash the device and force it to restart immediately. It’s a hilarious prank, but also a nasty security flaw that could disrupt important phone calls. We’re not going to tell you what that string is, because we’re not evil, but the problem is in how the iPhone’s notifications handle certain characters. The issue applies to the Apple Watch as well, since the smart watch is effectively a notifications-showing device. The good news for people with prankster friends is that Apple is
ThinkGeek’s Parent Company Says A New Suitor Has Followed Hot Topic Into The Bidding Ring
What’s a little retail merger romance without a love triangle thrown in for good measure? After the news yesterday Hot Topic was buying online retailer ThinkGeek’s parent company GeekNet in a deal worth $122 million, the purveyor of sci-fi curiosities and comic book inspirations says another suitor has thrown in a bid to buy it. On Wednesday, Geeknet confirmed that it’d received an unsolicited offer from a strategic buyer that remains nameless, to buy all oustanding common stock for $20 per share in cash. That’s in comparison to the $17.50 per share offer Hot Topic threw down on Tuesday. It’s now up to Geeknet’s board of directors to consult legal teams and financial advisors to mull over this latest proposal.
Fed Survey Finds Most Consumers Are Happy With Their Finances, Despite Lack Of Retirement Savings
(frankieleon) As the economy continues to bounce back from the Great Recession, consumers have adopted a more optimistic outlook when it comes to their finances despite the fact that a third of the country has no savings put away for the future, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve. The 2014 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking [PDF] points out that over the past year individuals and families have experienced mild improvements in their overall well-being, leading to an increase in optimism for the long-term. Over the past year, consumers’ feeling about their financial situation has improved. According to the report, which surveyed 5,800 respondents in October 2014, a majority of Americans – about 65{7dabfd103aa443fce219eea47f0f346a11a54ce587a1a0cbb74f06b9f7a304ca} – are either “doing okay” or “living comfortably” financially,
30 People Kicked Out Of Hotel After Scuffle Over Waffle Iron
(Mr. Jose Gonzalez)Few people are very amiable before breakfast, but things got really out of hand this week at a hotel in Michigan. A brawl of Chuck E. Cheese proportions broke out during breakfast at a hotel in Pere Marquette Township, Michigan. Two women began an argument over whose turn it was to make a waffle at the hotel’s breakfast bar. How do 30 people fight over one waffle? Hotel employees called the local sheriff’s department and walked in to find what they called “a large group of people arguing over the waffle maker.” Police recounted that the dispute apparently began when one woman asked another whether she was using the waffle iron at that moment. When she didn’t respond, the first woman
Woman Hospitalized After Bite From Black Widow Spider Hiding In Grapes From The Supermarket
(frankieleon)Just because we’ve heard of people finding black widow spiders in their grapes doesn’t make it any less icky this time around: A Vermont woman was reportedly hospitalized after a stowaway arachnid hiding in her produce bit her. The woman bought the grapes at a Shaw’s supermarket in Massachusetts, reports WPTZ. Her mother says that when she reached her hand into the bag of fruit, the spider crawled up her daughter’s arm and took a bite. They were able to catch the spider, bringing it along with them to the hospital. A nurse confirmed to WPTZ that the spider had been identified correctly. A representative from Shaw’s Public Affairs office issued a statement regarding the incident, saying that the the health and
FCC Proposes Giving Consumers Right To Block Telemarketing Calls & Texts
(Dan Coulter)You know what’s not awesome? Answering your phone only to be greeted by a prerecorded robocall telemarketing message. Even a decade after the establishment of the Do Not Call registry and rules banning certain types of robocalls, unwanted calls and messages still top the list of complaints to the FCC each year. Today, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler proposed closing some additional loopholes in order to cut down on these annoying intrusions. The newest protection that could be available to consumers is the ability to tell their phone company — wireless or landline — that they revoke their consent to receive these calls. The rule would also give telecom providers the green light to introduce ‘Do Not Disturb’ technology that consumers could use to stop unwanted
Taco Bell Confirms It’s Testing Delivery Near College Campuses Because Obviously
(kenfagerdotcom)When the folks at Taco Bell sat down to think about where they could find a population likely to want fast food Mexican fare delivered to their doorsteps, they likely didn’t have to work that one out for very long. After earlier reports that the chain might be testing delivery, Taco Bell confirms it’s trying things out in certain likely areas, namely college campuses. With dorm room upon dorm room and crappy apartment/house upon crappy apartment/house potentially sheltering hungry, young people who stay up late, places of higher learning seem to be a natural fit for Taco Bell. Heck, we had Taco Bell delivery in college but it was bribing that guy down the hall with beer so he’d run over at 4
Could Takata’s Replacement Airbags Be Just As Dangerous?
(I Am Rob) Generally when consumers take their vehicles to a dealer for a recall remedy, they leave with the peace of mind that the potential safety issue has been fixed. That may not end up being the case for more than 34 million recently recalled vehicles equipped with Takata airbags, as the parts manufacturer, automakers and federal regulators struggle to determine why the safety devices have the tendency to spew pieces of shrapnel upon deployment. Reuters, citing industry insiders, reports that because no definitive reason has been identified for the airbag’s explosive proclivity – which has been linked to six deaths and 105 injuries – there is no way to know for certain that new replacement airbags won’t need to be replaced themselves one day. If
5 Ways to Squeeze More Out of Your Budget
If you’re serious about digging your way out of debt, then you absolutely need to budget your monthly expenses. Once you have a budget set up, then it’s all about how you can squeeze more out of your budget so that you can throw more and more money at those debts to ultimately become debt free! While you might think that you aren’t spending that much money from month to month, chances are that your monthly bills could be a lot lower if you would just look at them and question whether or not they could be cheaper.My Budget ReviewThis is exactly what I did when I was striving to pay off my house. I knew that in order to pull off my
