Archive for September, 2009

Last month I put my credit knowledge to the test at FreeScoreQuiz.com, powered by FreeScore, and confirmed what I suspected, I have a great handle on the dos and don’ts of money-management.

But knowing, and doing are two totally different things.

I’d like to think I am a responsible spender. I use cash instead of credit whenever possible to avoid unnecessary interest fees. Wait for sales and flip over amazing bargains. In fact, years later I’m still basking in the shopper’s-high glow of a few score-of-a-lifetime bargains. I’ll spare you the details… this time.

But discount shopping fun aside; I have my spending slip-ups too. I love live music and nights out with friends, and rarely say no when presented opportunities to participate in either. Leaving me to wonder: Am I really responsible with my money? Or do I just turn a blind eye to my bad habits?

I figured it was time to face facts and see if I truly practice what I preach, or should learn to keep my comments to myself the next time my boyfriend plays 36 holes in one day.

Good thing then Filbert the Squirrel is back with another revealing quiz from FreeScore, this time specifically for Facebook. The FreeScore Financial Personality Quiz helped me determine whether I’m a “Jet Setter,” “Money Maven,” “Cheapskate,” or “Living on a Prayer” when it comes to my finances.

Apparently, I’m NOT a “Jet Setter” — really no big surprise there. But Filbert and FreeScore did help me figure out a thing or two about what kind of money-manager I am, and I’m sure the FreeScore Financial Personality Quiz on Facebook can do the same for you.

Take the FreeScore Financial Personality Quiz on Facebook and then tell me what you learned about your own spending habits.

If you haven’t visited the Big Apple recently, New York’s street-food vendors are selling much more than hot dogs and pretzels these days. Without setting foot in a restaurant, you can have your pick of fancy cupcakes, chicken-Thai basil dumplings, vegan tacos and other culinary offerings.

New Yorkers may stand to benefit from an even greater selection of upscale street foods soon because the City Council will consider a proposal this fall to increase the current number of food vending permits from 3,100 to 25,000, says the New York Times.

Rising unemployment has struck white-collar workers as hard as anyone else, leading more white-collar workers with former six-figure salaries to try their hand as food-cart vendors. But they’re unwittingly clashing with more traditional hawkers of gyros and kebabs. Most of the veteran vendors are immigrants, and many have occupied a certain street corner for decades; in some cases, they’ve even handed down their location on a certain block to future generations within the same family.

The city’s Health Department charges $200 for a two-year street permit, which can be renewed indefinitely, but the city doesn’t regulate where vendors park their carts, aside from enforcing parking regulations and barring street-food vendors from certain streets. Because demand for a limited number of permits is so high, the black-market value of these permits can be as much as $15,000.

Upscale food merchants new to the street-vending scene have been cursed, had their lives threatened, seen their tires slashed and otherwise been told that they’re not welcome. This street-level bullying comes not just from other vendors, who view their presence as “an unfair advantage in a desperate economy,” but also by brick-and-mortar restaurants, according to the New York Times.

Although you might think that a hungry customer looking for lunch will still head for the hot dog stand instead of the cupcakes, many vendors see it differently, believing that if someone has $5 in their pocket, each of two vendors has a 50/50 shot at getting the customer.

What’s the solution — should the city step in and start assigning street-cart locations when permits are issued? Or should we leave it to the vendors themselves to duke it out in the kind of turf wars more commonly associated with drug lords?