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Black Coffee: Gas, Bad Breath & Frugal Tips for a Romantic Valentine's Day

By Len Penzo on February 11th, 2012

It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe…

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance. Here’s what caught my attention over the past week…

It’s almost Valentine’s Day and I need to do some last-minute card shopping. So without further ado, let’s begin this very special Valentine’s Day edition:

Blogs I’ve Been

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100 Words On: The One-Armed Bandit's Armless Cousin

By Len Penzo on February 9th, 2012

Who hasn’t been fleeced by a casino slot machine? Although only Keno offers worse odds of winning, slots are by far the most popular casino game, responsible for 70 percent of gambling industry winnings — so it’s really no surprise they’re derisively called one-armed bandits. Like casinos, banks have their own army of two-faced dollar desperadoes: automated teller machines. ATMs have no qualms heisting 15 percent per $20 withdrawal. For

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My Daughter's Latest Business Venture (A Car Wash? That's So 2011!)

By Lenina Penzo on February 8th, 2012

This is another post from my 12-year-old daughter, Nina.

Hi everyone! My dad asked me if I would write another article to tell you about my latest accomplishments so far in 2012.

My last post received a lot of attention because it was put on MSN’s Smart Spending blog. I was very excited when that happened and it made the end of 2011 a memorable one for me. If you remember, in

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How to Get the Most from Your Gym Membership & Avoid Burning Out

By Mr. Credit Card on February 7th, 2012

My buddy Mr. Credit Card called me up recently and I learned he joined a gym. In fact, he even started taking Yoga lessons and can now, miraculously, touch his toes! So I asked him if he would like to write a post and share a few pointers on how anyone can make their gym membership as successful he’s made his. Be sure to join Mr. Credit Card on Facebook

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18 Fond Financial Facts You Didn't Know About Valentine's Day

By Len Penzo on February 6th, 2012

Who doesn’t love Valentine’s Day?

Apparently, almost nobody.

To prove it, here are a few fond financial facts from the National Retail Federation that you can whisper into your lover’s ear — along with several bits of other Valentine’s Day trivia — while you’re both cuddling by the fireplace on February 14th. Or not.

1. Valentine’s Day is big business. In fact, Americans are expected to spend over $17 billion this year on

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Black Coffee: Game Over - My Magic 8-Ball Predicts the Winner of Super Bowl XLVI

By Len Penzo on February 4th, 2012

It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe…

Last year in this column, my incredibly prescient Magic 8 Ball — with 22 of 32 verified predictions over the past two years, for

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100 Words On: Why You Should Always Bet Against the Groundhog

By Len Penzo on February 2nd, 2012

Every year on Groundhog Day, folks eager to know whether there will be six more weeks of winter wait for Punxsutawney Phil to emerge from his burrow. Since 1887, the storied groundhog has failed to see his shadow — thereby predicting an early spring, as legend has it — only 15 times. How accurate is he? According to the Stormfax Weather Almanac, Phil’s prognostic powers are pretty putrid; in fact,

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I Earned HOW Much Last Year? The 6-Figure Mistake on My 1099 Form.

By Len Penzo on February 1st, 2012

Now I know how it feels to be paid like my favorite gynecologist, the world famous Dr. Dean, from the Millionaire Nurse Blog. At least on a weekly basis.

The reason I say that is because a couple days ago, after a long hard day at the office, I was immediately greeted by the Honeybee as I opened the door. And I instantly knew something was amiss because, usually, the only

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Ticked Off! Stopping Chronic Dog Barking - and the Price of Silence

By Len Penzo on January 31st, 2012

When I was in high school, I had a classmate named Steve Kowolski who used to bug the bejesus out of me and my buddies.

Okay, to be honest, Steve’s last name wasn’t Kowolski, although he did have a last name that ended in “ski.”

Anyway, the guy was a real pest, always flapping his gums and looking for ways to get a rise out of whoever he could — but Steve’s

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The 5 Most Misleading Grocery Items Shoppers Waste Money On

By Mike Dolen on January 30th, 2012

If there’s one thing I spend way too much time on in life, it’s the process of grocery shopping.

As someone who blogs about cash back credit cards all day long, it’s probably predictable that I waste a bunch of time obsessing over which stores qualify for the “supermarket” category on my American Express card. But aside from the obvious, I also study ingredient labels; to me they’re more thrilling than

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