The question, "Is the recession good for society?" is a tough one. On the one hand, the universal lack of job security, tanking economy and stress of maintaining quality of life (or even keeping a roof over your head) is almost immeasurable. On the other hand, there's something positive about stepping back, taking a look at your life and reestablishing your personal, career and financial goals Read more

The Federal Reserve's latest survey of businesses around the country shows the US recession might be over. The recovery is projected to be a slow one and the economy is still fragile, but we can file this piece of news in the hopeful column. Recession or not, we should continue to follow the many lessons from these times of economic uncertainty to keep our financial houses in order — in good Read more

Celebrities are great at multitasking and using their fame to branch out of the niches they're known for. Sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they don't. Here are four celebs who ran into trouble due of the recession, with perhaps a sprinkle of plain old bad business luck. Read more

Sometimes the best things in life are free, so if you won't be able to see your mom this Mother's Day, why not surprise her with a phone call or video chat session? Even if you can't be with her, she'll still be able to hear your voice and see your smiling face. And just think, you won't be spending a small fortune on a gift she'll never use anyway! Source Read more

This Old House recently offered advice for parents whose adult children were moving back home due to the economy. While the post offered smart tips about transforming a home space to welcome a 20-something or 30-something back into the nest, I thought that it might be more helpful to CasaSugar readers to look at the issue from the perspective of the child, not the parent. This is obviously a Read more

Thousands of Americans gathered yesterday to rally against government spending and higher taxes. Young and old alike held homemade signs at the tea bagging party (that's right, I said tea bagging) to express their unhappiness with the Obama administration. As for the signs? Politically correct they were not. Check out this gallery of posters from the protests and let me know if you think that Read more

In this economy, it's pretty likely that some of you are out of a job. But if heading into your cube farm made you cry every morning, and you can't stand the idea of doing it all over again from the bottom up, then take this time off to really find what it is you're looking for in a job. Then get cracking. Thankfully, employers know the power of the Internet, and you no longer have to pound the Read more

There are plenty of computers whose prices reach into the thousands, cell phones that cost several hundreds, but we geeks justify these purchases because we believe in the quality (or the OS, natch) of the technology. The accessories you buy for your gadgets, though, shouldn't cost nearly as much as the gadget itself — especially not in these times. For your viewing pleasure, check out some Read more

Attention shoppers. I have some good news for you! Recently I've been reading a lot about how those with steady income and secure employment need to start spending again. In January 2009 Americans saved 5 percent of their disposable incomes. That's up from the .04 percent savings rate at the end of 2007. During a bad economy, even unaffected Americans feel the urge to cut back their spending. Read more

Although we are in the midst of some scary financial times, the earth does not stop spinning, and the gadgets won't stop coming. So instead of depriving yourself of a new gadget (or two) this year, save up your dough (be careful with those credit cards!), and splurge on one of these "recession-approved" gadgets. Why are they recession approved? Because they either do more than one duty, make your Read more