Meteors! Image from Flickr.

Welcome to the holiday season during a recession. Millions of consumers rack up credit card debt every year during the holiday season, but this year an unusually high number of Americans already are in debt, but the holiday spirit will no doubt convince them to accumulate even more debt, even if it means they have to face the debt consolidation process later.

Consumers generally cut back on spending on entertainment during this period, either because of the cost of buying gifts, an aversion to the cold or both. However, a lot of people are excited about the Leonid Meteor Shower, which will be at its peak tonight. The best part is that watching a meteor shower is free.

Leonid Meteor Shower 2009 time

Reports say the Leonid Meteor Shower’s 2009 peak time will be during the very early morning hours on Nov. 17, but there are some conflicting reports regarding exactly what time star gazers will have the best view. CNN reports that NASA says the view in the U.S. will be best at 4 a.m. ET or 1 a.m. on the West Coast.

The timing is pretty inconvenient for making it a family activity, but the price is just right, as looking at the stars is free. All you need is blankets and a good spot to watch it, though many areas reportedly will be too cloudy for watching the 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower.

Leonid Meteor Shower history

The Leonid Meteor Shower comes about every three decades, according to CNN:

The Leonid shower is made of bits of debris from the Tempel-Tuttle comet, which streaks through Earth’s inner solar system every 33 years.

CNN also says people in the U.S. should be able to see 20 to 30 meteors during the Leonid Meteor Shower’s 2009 peak time. Of course, that’s if skies are clear.

Appreciating natural phenomenon

With movie ticket prices getting higher all the time and other activities such as eating out and going to other types of shows getting more expensive, I’m sure a lot of families are wishing they could TiVo a middle-of-the-night meteor shower. Though unemployment is at a 26-year high and underemployment is skyrocketing, too, inflation is continuing with no regard for people’s finances.

Interesting, free activities are hard to come by, so some individuals or families very well may be willing to lose some sleep to see the Leonid Meteor Shower tonight. A meteor shower is a great way to teach kids about space and the solar system without having to pay for tickets to a museum.

Kanye West wasn't nominated for any American Music Awards. I wonder if he'll be allowed to attend the ceremony. Image from wikimedia.

I wonder if Kanye West will have anything to say at the American Music Awards if Beyonce doesn’t beat out Keyshia Cole and Keri Hilson for Favorite Female Artist in the soul/R&B category. Perhaps he’ll wait to see whether she wins Favorite Female Artist in the pop/rock category before he voices his dismay if someone else wins.

Now that all of the American Music Awards nominees have been announced, there’s not much to do but wait until Nov. 22, when the awards ceremony will air on ABC. However, if you have opinions about who should win, you can vote at ABC.com. You won’t need an easy loan to vote, but you might need one if you want to buy tickets to the ceremony, which will be at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. Tickets start at $70 and range up to $1,000 for a VIP package.

Categorically speaking

I am sure Kanye is displeased that neither he nor Beyonce were nominated for Artist of the Year. However, Taylor Swift was. If you’re a Swift fan, though, don’t get your hopes up. For that matter, don’t get your hopes up if you are a big fan of Kings of Leon, Lady Gaga or Eminem, the other nominees for artist of the year.

Why do I say such things? The other nominee for Artist of the Year is Michael Jackson, and I think it is going to be tough for any musical artist to win against the deceased King of Pop.

More American Music Awards nominees

Taylor Swift also was nominated for Favorite Female Artist in the country category, along with Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood. On the other end of the spectrum, nominees for Favorite Male Artist in the rap/hip-hop category are Eminem, T.I. and Jay-Z. Strangely, there is no category for rap/hip-hop female artists.

You can learn all about the American Music Awards and read through a list of the rest of the nominees at the 2009 American Music Awards site at ABC.com.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. But do you know what the next best thing that comes after Thanksgiving is? That’s right, it’s Black Friday! It’s the biggest shopping day of the year!

Black Friday is the day to go out and buy the things you have always wanted but couldn’t because those discount tags never showed up as you planned. I mean, people are even willing to take out a cash advance to fund this nationwide shopping event. However, it seems this yearly shopping ritual is only getting better with time. Ever heard of Cyber Monday? Well, I just did and, as a shopper and an online marketer, I’m pretty stoked.

What is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday was invented by the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association. According to Wikipedia, the term Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday, which unofficially marks the beginning of the Christmas online shopping season. So what this basically means is if you miss the Black Friday shopping hustle, you still have a chance to make it up on Monday. Cyber Monday is the Monday you will actually enjoy.

Great tip for Online Merchants

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnal_hedge/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

A recent Yahoo! Insights team research revealed that the number of sales during last year’s Black Friday were actually not too far from the overall sales that took place the Monday following. Click-through rates were down 27% on both days compared to the rest of the month. However, online traffic and conversions went up significantly. Black Friday showed an increase in conversions by 147%, while Cyber Monday had a 73% increase in conversions.

What does this mean for me?

This study lays out a great opportunity for online marketers. You have about 1½ months before the biggest shopping days of the year. I suggest you start promoting and investing throughout the month to create attraction. Get a head-start and take advantage of the holiday traffic now. You will witness flourishing conversions not just for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but for the rest of the holiday season.

For all you holiday shoppers on the other hand, start saving now! You are already aware of how busy and expensive holiday shopping can be. You have enough time to save a sufficient amount of money for your holiday expenses, which will prevent the need of a cash advance at the last minute.

You could win an Xbox 360 in McDonald's Monopoly game 2009. Image from Flikr.

Yep, it’s that time of year again. From now until Nov. 2, whenever you buy McDonald’s food, your order will come with McDonald’s Monopoly game pieces attached. This year the fast food giant has added an extra twist: There is a possibility someone will win $1 million every day.

It all depends on the roll of the dice. Every day, a player in McDonald’s Monopoly 2009 will have a chance to win either $10,000 or $1 million. If the player selected to roll the dice rolls double sixes, the prize is $1 million. Of course, there will be no actual, physical rolling of the dice. This all happens online at playatmcd.com.

Slim pickings

Now, don’t go blowing your cash till payday on McDonald’s food in order to get your chance at winning $1 million. Millions, possibly billions, of game pieces will be issued, and only 29 players will get a chance at $1 million. In order to become a registered player, you must go enter the code on  your game piece on the web site.

Of course, the more McDonald’s stuff you buy, the more chances you will have to win, but make sure you are doing what’s right for your health and your budget. Even for the $10,000, there’s a very small chance at winning.

Promotional partnership

The dice roll and grand-prize-of-the-day winning will be a nightly event on “The Jay Leno Show.” On weeknights, you can find out who the winner is from Jay Leno thanks to a cross-promotional deal between McDonald’s and NBC. You can also get updates on the winner from Twitter if you follow the McDonald’s Monopoly game 2009 Twitter feed, @McDonald’s. And, of course, you can discover whether you are the winner on the web site.

When  you enter your game piece code on the web site, you will also find out whether you have won a different prize. Prizes in the McDonald’s Monopoly game 2009 include $50 or $500 Shell gift cards, Xbox 360 systems, free Boingo Wi-Fi at more than 11,000 McDonald’s locations in the U.S. and My Coke Rewards Points.

Congress is currently considering HR 3200, otherwise known as “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.” It’s the massive health care bill that we’ve seen coming for quite some time. OpenCongress.org provides a PDF that explains HR 3200 in detail as well as the following summary:

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009

To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.

OpenCongress Summary:
This is the House Democrats’ big health care reform bill. Broadly, it seeks to expand health care coverage to the approximately 40 million Americans who are currently uninsured by lowering the cost of health care and making the system more efficient. To that end it includes a new government-run insurance plan to compete with the private companies, a requirement that all Americans have health insurance, a prohibition on denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions and, to pay for it all, a surtax on households with an income above $350,000.

A word from HR 3200’s sponsors

The emergency cash loans needed to fund HR 3200 will come from a mixture of sources. The PDF on OpenCongress is a document created by the House Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor. The committees, who wrote HR 3200, say:

America’s Affordable Health Choices Act provides quality affordable care for all Americans and controls health care cost growth. … The bill builds on what works in today’s health care system and fixes the parts that are broken. It provides current coverage — allowing individuals to keep the insurance they have if they like it — and preserves choice of doctors, hospitals, and health plans.

Included in HR 3200 are provisions that will offer a public health insurance option, meaning people can get health insurance through the government instead of a private insurer. As you can imagine, some people and organizations are not crazy about this idea.

Private insurance industry says “nay”

Naturally, providers and advocates of private health care are opposed to HR 3200. Kim Priestap at wizbang says:

“HR 3200 kills the private insurance industry.  … How do the private insurance companies compete with the government run health care plan? They don’t. This bill is designed to kill the private insurance industry and force people onto the government plan. …

Senator Jim DeMint remarked that Obama’s health care reform plan will be his Waterloo if the GOP can successfully stop it, and based upon what’s in HR 3200, you better hope the GOP and Blue Dogs are successful.”

Priestap dissects a few paragraphs of the bill in her commentary on wizbang. Check it out here.

Show me the money

Regarding how HR 3200 makes health care affordable to all Americans, the House Committees say America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009:

• Provides sliding scale affordability credits
• Caps annual out-of-pocket spending
• Increased competition from public plan spurs efficiency and transparency
• Expands Medicaid
• Improves Medicare

The plan stresses that there must be a balance between individual, employer and government responsibility. HR 3200 also has provisions to help small employers.

Everybody knows the best way to draw a crowd is food. Starting today, the biggest city in the Northwest is hosting Bite of Seattle 2009. Admission to the festival is free, but Seattle is counting on tantalized tourists dropping big bucks to sample Pacific Coast cuisine.

Though food is the focus at Bite of Seattle, there will also be great tunes from more than 150 musical acts. The official Bite of Seattle 2009 web site says:

Entertainment is an essential part of the Comcast Bite of Seattle presented by Emerald Queen Casino.With over 150 acts in all, there is always something for everyone’s listening pleasure. There are 6 outdoor entertainment stages featuring all genres of music with local and national entertainment located all over the Bite grounds. If you’re looking to laugh, visit the Bacardi Comedy Club presented by 96.5 JACK FM in the Fisher Pavilion Building (must be 21)!

Menu is on the money

If you get a fast payday loan now you can get to the Seattle Center in time to take advantage of the action. The festival is open until 9 p.m. tonight and tomorrow, and 8 p.m. Sunday. The Bite of Seattle 2009 site says:

For one weekend out of the year, the hard work and creativity of restaurant owners and their chefs become center stage at the Comcast Bite of Seattle presented by Emerald Queen Casino.The Bite’s dedication to the culinary arts is displayed not only by the 50+ Seattle area restaurants and 30+ food product companies that participate in the event, but through other attractions that are created specifically in support of the hospitality industry. Examples include The Alley hosted by Tom Douglas sponsored by Painted Hills Natural Beef, Beer & Wine Gardens The Bite Cooks! presented by Comcast and RedPlum, which features Seattle-area celebrity chefs performing cooking demonstrations.

Who could resist great food, beverages and a live cooking show?

Get in on the details

The dining section at the Bite of Seattle web site has a searchable database of the cuisine that will be available at the festival. The site also has a list o f the restaurants near the Seattle Center, just in case you didn’t get enough to eat at the festival.

The Bite of Seattle web site also has directions on how to get there and details for vendors. Bite of Seattle says it’s “a marketing dream” for restaurants and food vendors. Besides bringing tourists and their money to the city, Bite of Seattle also reels in locals who become loyal customers to their favorite places.

Nearby Northwest metropolis Portland holds its own Bite, The Bite of Oregon, in just a few weeks. The three-day festival starts August 7, and unlike the Bite of Seatle in the Seattle Center, Bite of Oregon is outdoors, right on the river at Waterfront Park. The world’s  largest outdoor food festival is the annual Taste of Chicago.

The 2009 Virgin Mobile Free Fest tickets will be available on Saturday, and guess what — they’re free! If you pick up your tickets instead of having them delivered to you, they are totally free.

There’s a $5 delivery free if you want your tickets mailed to you, If you pick them up at Merriweather Post Pavillion or the 9:30 Club, there’s no cost at all.

Word from Virgin

The Virgin Mobile Free Fest is Aug. 30, and it features several popular bands — bands that could probably charge $60 to $100 for tickets. The Virgin Mobile Free Fest is at Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia, Maryland.

Taking care of our loyal customers comes first,” said Seth Hurwitz, chairman of I.M.P., promoter and producer of the Virgin Mobile Festival. “And when we say free, we mean it. The tickets are free. The parking is free. Ticketmaster really stepped up on this. Everybody just wants to make this the party of the summer. It’s gonna be nuts.”

So, there’s no need to take out instant cash payday loans. There’s plenty of time to save up and plan for any travel expenses. Here are some of the big names who will perform at Virgin Mobile Free Fest next month:

Weezer

Weezer has been around for 17 years. It formed in 1992. Weezer’s first album was called “Weezer,” but the band has released 3 self-titled albums, so it’s usually called The Blue Album. Tickets to Weezer concerts nowadays go for more than $60.

Weezer has had several platinum albums. Weezer is the headliner at Virgin Mobile Free Fest.

Blink 182

Blink 182 was formed the same year as Weezer, 1992. The band released the album “Cheshire Cat” in 1994, but really rose to popularity with the release of “Dude Ranch.”

Blink 182 hasn’t released an album since 2003, but the band members have been involved in several different side projects. At the Virgin Mobile Free Fest the three original Blink 182 members will perform.

Franz Ferdinand

Scottish band Franz Ferdinand was formed in 2002 and rose quickly to popularity after the release of its first album in 2004. “Franz Ferdinand” rose to No. 32 on the album charts and from there Franz Ferdinand had it made.

The band’s 2005 album, “You Could Have it So Much Better” was even more successful. That album got to No. 8 on the Billboard Charts. This year Franz Ferdinand released “Tonight: Franz Ferdinand.” It made it to No. 9 in the U.S.

Public Enemy

Hip-hop group Public Enemy released its first album in 1987. Public Enemy has released 12 albums, the most recent in 2007. From its beginning, Public Enemy has remained popular and critically acclaimed.

Public Enemy has made a career of criticizing politics and media in its music. In 2004, Public Enemy was named No. 44 on Rolling Stones list of 100 immortals.

Jet

Jet is an Australian band that released its debut album in 2003. Jet’s new album “Shaka Rock” will hit shelves in August, five days before the Virgin Mobile Free Fest.

“Shaka Rock” will be Jet’s fourth full-length album. Jet’s most popular singles in the U.S. were “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” in 2003 and “Look What You’ve Done” in 2004. You can see Jet for free at Virgin Mobile Free Fest, but if you want to go to a regular concert it’ll cost you. “She’s A Genius” the single from “Shaka Rock” has already been released, and you can watch the video for it at the band’s official web site.

The National and more

The National has been around since 1999. The National has released four albums, the most recent in 2007.  “Boxer” features guest vocals by Sufjan Stevens. Here’s a list of some of the other bands and musicians who will play at Virgin Mobile Free Fest:

• Girl Talk
• The Hold Steady
• St. Vincent
• Wale
• Taking Back Sunday
• The Bravery
• Mates of State
• Pete Tong

Prescription for laid off Microsoft employees: take two of these and don't come to work in the morning.

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Microsoft employees. You may have an additional reason to indulge in some tequila, and that reason might be a pink slip. Microsoft bid about 3,000 employees “adios” today as it continued its goal of completing 5,000 Microsoft layoffs by June 2010.

After the 1,400 Microsoft layoffs in January, the public may expect that the job cuts are nearing an end. However, analysts say the end may not be near.

Microsoft layoffs a lengthy process

Microsoft announced its plan to ax 5,000 employees in January, when it completed the first round of layoffs. With the new round of Cinco de Mayo layoffs at Microsoft, the 4,400 employees have now been laid off. However, there is still more than a year before Microsoft’s projected deadline for finishing layoffs.

Because of the far-off finish line for job cuts, remaining employees may be scrambling for cash advances while they still have paydays on the way. Others might be looking into mortgage loan modification. After all, 14 months is a long time, especially considering there have been 4,400 Microsoft layoffs in the past five.

More signs of additional layoffs

In an internal memo, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer indicates that the “economic realities are more severe than the company had hoped.” In this memo Ballmer makes it clear that there are, indeed, more layoffs to come:

With this announcement, we are mostly but not all done with the planned 5,000 job eliminations by June 2010…. As we move forward, we will continue to closely monitor the impact of the economic downturn on the company and if necessary, take further actions on our cost structure including additional job eliminations.

Apparently the number of laid off United States employees is about equal to Microsoft layoffs outside the U.S.

Microsoft Margarita

Here’s a recipe for the “Perfect Margarita” from the folks at Chow.com. Whether you’re mourning your job or celebrating Mexican heritage, it just might hit the spot.

1. If using salt, place in a shallow dish. Moisten the rim of a rocks glass with a dampened paper towel, then dip in salt.
2. Fill the glass with ice; add tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau; and stir a few times until chilled. Serve immediately.

In Part I, I covered debt-relief fraud, advance loan fee schemes, work-at-home cons and overpayment scams. Here are a few more shady practices to watch out for in 2009.

Congratulations! You’ve been had!

Have you ever gotten a letter saying you won a contest you didn’t enter? That should be warning flag No. 1. If a contest or sweepstakes ever asks you to pay fees of any type, whether it’s shipping and handling, insurance or taxes, it’s a fake.

Taxes are always paid directly to the IRS. Legitimate sweepstakes do not charge you anything in order for you to receive your money. If there is a “check” included to pay the fees, and the letter asks you to cash the check and wire the funds in order to claim your prize — you guessed it: Fake.

With payday loans, you don’t pay any fees until after you have received the services and funds promised. This is a good example of legitimate business practice.

Oh, it’s fixed all right

Another way for scammers to take your money and run is to charge you for home repairs upfront. Fake contractors have conned homeowners into paying for home repairs in advance and then never showed up for work. If you need repair work done on your house, shop around. Get lots of estimates and check with the Better Business Bureau. Never hire someone who just shows up at your door.

Most importantly, do not pay for all of the work upfront. ConsumerMan from MSNBC recommends you don’t pay for more than a third. And find out where your money is going; get details about materials and labor so you know the real cost of the work.

A Web of deception

With the age of the Internet comes the age of Internet scams. As online auctions become more popular, con artists are finding new, creative ways to get something for nothing.

Before using any online auction service, check out the site’s fraud protection policy. Don’t wire money; use a credit card or well-known escrow service. And beware of sending money orders or cashier’s checks.

Stay smart

In the midst of this recession, everyone must be very careful about where their money is going. Any time you are spending money on something intangible, make sure you know the company  or person who is taking your money. Remember that the phrase “you have to spend money to make money” only applies to people investing in the stock market or starting a business.

When  you apply for payday loans, you don’t have to pay any fees  until  you pay back your loan. Now that’s a recipe for a sure thing.