SavvySugar

News Flash: Texas Says Abstinence-Only Doesn't Work

TresSugar — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Putting facts - like rising teen pregnancy and STD rates - together with some common sense, Texas school districts are beginning to ditch abstinence-only education programs.

Texas has the third-highest teen pregnancy rate in the US and it also spends the most on abstinence-only education. One school district official explained the decision to step away from an abstinence-only approach:

"We don’t think abstinence-only is working. . . Both approaches to sex education teach that refraining from sexual activity is the safest choice for teens. But abstinence-only gives limited information about contraceptives and condoms and tends to downplay their effectiveness, while abstinence-plus stresses the importance of using such protection if teens are sexually active."

Focusing on "abstinence-plus" education sounds like a healthy compromise that will keep students, well, healthy and help them avoid unwanted pregnancies. Do you agree?

News Flash: 92% of Iowans Say Gay Marriage Has Had No Impact on Their Lives

TresSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Despite Iowa's legalization of same-sex marriage earlier this year, 92 percent of people there say life has continued as normal. Surprise! Apparently allowing gay people to participate in an institution designed to stabilize society hasn't caused all hell to break loose or threatened anyone's "traditional" marriage (or divorce).

Ironically, this same poll found that Iowans are still divided about whether gay marriage should be legal - 41 percent said they would vote to ban gay marriage and 40 percent said they would vote to continue it. Certain respondents must not have cared about the cognitive dissonance required to say on the one hand, gay marriage has brought no change to my life, but on the other, I'm still opposed to it.

Do these contradictory opinions surprise you?

News Flash: Women Have a Hard Time Keeping Secrets

TresSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0700

A new British study finds that about four in 10 women cannot keep a secret no matter how confidential the subject. What really surprised the researchers was the speed with which the confidantes spilled the beans: in less than 48 hours!

The study, which was commissioned by the UK Director of Wines of Chile (?!), involved 3,000 women between the ages of 18 and 65. The most common recipients of their secrets? Boyfriends, husbands, best friends, and their mothers.

I think there may be something to this last bit of information. I recently told a friend a secret, and she said, "I won't even tell my husband," which made me pause. I wonder if women tell themselves that those people don't count, whereas telling a co-worker, for example, would count. Do you have a hard time keeping secrets? If you're curious about some of the research's other fascinating (if not surprising) findings on women and secrets, read more.

Women hear an average of three items of gossip a week.
Three in 10 women have "the urge" to reveal secrets.
Two-thirds of women felt guilty after revealing a secret.
More than four in 10 women think it's OK to tell a friend's secret with someone who doesn't know them.
83 percent of women consider themselves 100 percent trustworthy.

News Flash: Men Are Bigger Liars

TresSugar — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:00:00 -0700

After scrutinizing 2,000 Britons, researchers found that in general, men lie twice as much as women. On average, they lie six times a day and women lie "just" three times a day.

The most common lie told by both men and women is, "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." Men, however, tend to lie about how much they've had to drink, and women lie about how much they spent shopping.

Although 83 percent of adults said they can tell if their significant other is lying, body language expert Richard Newman thinks most people can't tell what signs to look for. "They assume that if someone is hiding the truth," he says, "they would hide their face and avoid eye contact. In fact, the opposite is true. Liars usually do everything they can to convince you of the truth, sitting still and looking at you to watch your reaction."

Now I'm trying to think if I've lied yet today . . .

Starbucks Does Not Owe Its Baristas $105 Million - For Now

SavvySugar — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:00:42 -0700

More than a year after a California court ordered Starbucks to pay its baristas $105 million in back tips, the 4th District Court of Appeal has reversed the ruling. It all started when former barista Jou Chau filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the 100,000 current and former baristas in the state of California, arguing that Starbucks was acting unlawfully by permitting shift supervisors to share tips.

The appeals court concluded that Starbucks supervisors should receive their fair share of tips because they "essentially perform the same job as baristas." The baristas are taking the issue to the top and plan to submit an appeal to the California Supreme Court. David Lowe, the baristas' lawyer, brought the argument full circle and said, "Up to this point, every court that has addressed this issue has found that an employer cannot pay supervisors from a tip pool. This is the first case that goes in a different direction."

When the initial ruling was announced last March, 62 percent of you agreed that Starbucks was disobeying the law and owed its baristas for the tips they shared with supervisors. For now, Starbucks has been declared the winner, but we'll have to wait and see what happens with the baristas' appeal.

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News Flash: Questionable Charges on US Credit Cards

SavvySugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 04:30:40 -0800

Have you ever heard of a NY based company called Adele Services? No? That's because it doesn't exist, but credit card holders across the country became familiar with the phantom company when it recently appeared on their statements. Consumers from around the country picked up on the $0.25 cent charge with concern that their credit identity had been compromised.

The Better Business Bureau hypothesizes that the scam is meant to build a large sum from many small charges. While $0.25 might not cause you to worry, you may wish to report a false charge out of principal. Scan your statement for the suspicious company and file a dispute with your credit card company.

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Mortgage Aid Program to Bring Hope for Homeowners

SavvySugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:00:13 -0700

Much of the banking drama from the last few weeks can be traced back to bad mortgage bets, making us wish that homeowners were never approved for loans they never could have afforded. Yesterday, a government drafted mortgage aid program launched into action that aims to contain the mortgage crisis from causing more trouble. The $300 billion, three-year initiative aims to allow about 400,000 homeowners to exchange their existing mortgages for more affordable ones, therefore staving off potential foreclosures.

Lenders must first decide if they want to participate in the program as they'd be taking losses on the existing loans, and it's not clear if the so-called "Hope for Homeowners" program will go over well in the industry. A report by the State Foreclosure Prevention Working Group is critical of the initiative and found that in the past year, about one in five loans that were adjusted to give more favorable lending terms became delinquent again. What do you think of the mortgage aid program? Are you hopeful that it will prevent more foreclosures?

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News Flash: Money Honeys, Testosterone, and the FDIC

SavvySugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:00:40 -0700

"Money Honey" Maria Bartiromo and "Street Sweetie" Erin Burnett are profiled in a compelling piece describing their impact on business news and the journey to the top of their field. - Vanity Fair
The FDIC has asked Congress for permission to raise the limit on the amount of money it insures for individual bank accounts from $100,000. They believe an increase could hold off customers from running bank deposits. - CNN Money
New research suggests high levels of testosterone are correlated with riskier financial behavior. Could it have played a role in causing the financial crisis? - Scientific American

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News Flash: Credit Card Reform Bill Gets Nod From the House

SavvySugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:00:53 -0700

The House passed a bill that would limit surprise interest-rate increases and fees for credit-card users, but it still faces Senate approval and won't be reviewed until the bailout plan has been finalized. - Reuters
Is your head spinning from all of the recent economic news? Here are 15 things you should know about what's gone down. - Kiplinger
How the really wealthy cut back: postponed plastic surgery, cheaper help, and less pretentious parties. - The Wall Street Journal

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News Flash: Money Is on Everybody's Mind

SavvySugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:00:21 -0700

Forbes released its 27th list of the Forbes 400 ranking the 400 richest Americans - you'll need at least $1.3 billion to join this club. Of course, Bill Gates made the list. - Forbes
Networking in a time of need: University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business called its alumni that were Lehman employees just one day after the bank filed for bankruptcy. - The Wall Street Journal
The federal government is considering forming a new agency to handle the mortgage-related assets that have crippled Wall Street. - The New York Times

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