
The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits went up by a larger than expected rate last week, according to
The New York Times.
Claims for state unemployment insurance benefits increased to 478,000 in the week that ended Oct. 18, from 463,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said.

The most confusing part of getting my first job out of college wasn't getting used to the structured days, it was deciphering the health care plan options that were offered in my benefits package. Years later, the choices make a little more sense but they still aren't 100 percent clear, and one thing is for sure: health care is more expensive. Hewitt Associates estimates that total health care spending will cost eight percent more than it was last year, and not paying attention to whether or not your plan is best for you could mean you are spending more than necessary.

Prenuptial agreements are traditionally designed to dictate what will happen with a couple's finances in case of divorce, and now they're expanding to include some clauses for other money-related issues.
Health care is something that's already pushing some couples to the altar; in just the past year,
seven percent of adults in the US married for health insurance. Insurance doesn't come cheap and it can be difficult to find good coverage that isn't very expensive — that's why some couples are designing prenups with a clause
allowing for continued health insurance should they divorce.

Many of you admit that you go to work sick because
you're too busy to miss work, but
for 46 million US workers it's not the workload that's keeping them from taking time off, it's that they don't have the benefit of paid sick leave. Advocates of proposed state bills mandating paid sick leave are hoping legislation would expand existing benefits and add new ones.
Come November, voters in 12 states, including California, Connecticut, Minnesota and West Virginia, will have the chance to share their feelings about proposed state laws that would enforce businesses to offer paid sick leave.