Recent Entries
- Sharpen your social networking senses
- From white collar to blue collar
- Getting the ‘green seal’ of approval
- Tax incentives for energy-efficient home improvements
- Keeping employees engaged
Recent Comments
- By Insulation Manufacturer from the entry 'Getting the 'green seal' of approval'
- By john from the entry 'Keeping employees engaged'
Blog Roll
- Bacon's Rebellion
- RVABlogs
- Virginia politics blog roll
- Raising Kaine
- Too conservative
- Not Larry Sabato
- Rick Sincere
- Virginia Politics
- The Shad Plank
- Virginia Public Access Project
- Who's my legislator?
- The Contemporary Conservative
Syndicate
RSS 2.0Monthly Archives
Tom and Vicki Farmer grow vegetables and fruits on their farm in Hanover County and sell them at local fresh markets.
Selling at farmers’ markets “is a great opportunity for us to educate the public about buying local and buying what is in season,” said Vicki Farmer, who is also a school teacher.
Yet one of thing that Tom Farmer believes holds back sales at fresh markets is that “people don’t cook at home as much as they used to.”
In a tough economy, however, experts say that buying fresh, seasonal foods, cooking at home, and learning to can and preserve, is a good way to save money.
“One of the advantages of [buying fresh] is you can take it home and freeze it,” said Elaine Lidholm, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The agency has been promoting shopping at Virginia’s farmer’s markets, which have nearly doubled in number from 88 in 2005 to 174 this year.
Buying from a farmers market, of course, isn’t necessarily cheaper than buying at a grocery store.
“Some of the product may be cheaper,” said Kimberly Edmonds, family and consumer sciences extension agent for the Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Henrico County office.
When buying from a Farmers Market, “you also have the option of doing a little negotiation,” she said. “And you know where the food came from.“
The Virginia Cooperative Extension Service has some tips online for saving on food costs:
http://www.extension.org/pages/Stretching_Your_Food_Dollar
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services also has a online directory of farmers throughout the state who sell product direct to the consumers at http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/vagrown-directory/index.shtml
The cooperative extension also offers tips for food canning and preservation at http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/category/food-preservation.html
Finding a job, staying financially afloat and maintaining your health can be challenging when you are unemployed.
These resources might help.
Networking: Virginia Career Network meetup group has offered more than 190 events since its creation in November 2008. The group offers job seekers organized networking events, coaching and resources.
Prescription drugs: The Virginia Drug Card is a free program that offers discounts for generic and brand-name drugs. You can also call (877) 321-6755 to request a card.
Financial Counseling: ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions offers credit, housing and bankruptcy counseling, as well as budgeting sessions.
Other resources:
Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia
RichmondJobNet
United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg
Virginia Employment Commission
Virginia Workforce Connection
By Iris Taylor
Q. How do you know when you’ve reached a college campus?
A. When you see all those tables staffed by people hawking credit cards to students.
In the spring semester, that scene will change, though.
Once the new Credit Card Act takes effect in February, 2010, credit card companies can’t provide a student under the age of 21 a credit card unless the student has a co-signer over age 21 who has the means to repay the incurred debt.
Or, unless the student cardholder can furnish proof that he or she can independently make the payments.
Also, card issuers can’t come on campus or to a college-sponsored event and dangle those cool freebies, like an iPod, intended to induce the student to apply for a card.
And, students will have to look harder to get a card; the number of locations on campus where card marketing can take place will be limited.
It’ll be tough on financially responsible college students, said Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com.
They will find it harder to get a credit card and start building a credit score, he said.
Lenders, employers and apartment managers look at credit scores to assess whether to extend a good interest rate, a job or to rent a unit, he said.
On the other hand, college students’ average debt keeps rising, he said.
Parents should teach college students how to correctly use a credit card. “If parents don’t teach them, the young adult will be forced to learn from their own mistakes.”
What else will credit card issuers have to quit doing when credit card reforms kick in? Click here: Credit-Card Industry Faces Uncertainty as Reforms Loom.
It’s not easy navigating the rules surrounding unemployment insurance, especially if it’s your first time.
But help is out there.
A free training session about applying for and maintaining jobless benefits will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 27 at the University of Richmond’s downtown center, located at 626 E. Broad St.
Leading the discussion will be:
—Ty Jones, a public benefits attorney at the Virginia Poverty Law Center
—Carolyn Kalantari, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Justice Center.
The session is open to the public.
Contact Urmila Oberoi at the Virginia Poverty Law Center at (804) 782-9430 ext. 15 or by e-mail with questions.
It’s not easy to take that step toward self-employment.
But there are resources out there.
The Virginia Department of Business Assistance and the U.S. Small Business Administration are resource-heavy.
The DBA can assist people with starting a business or buying a franchise, as well as forming a non-profit.
As part of its mission, the state agency hosts seminars, classes and other events.
Inquiries by phone ( 1-866-248-8814),
and through an online chat system are also welcome.
The SBA offers a number of tutorials and tip sheets, including a detailed small business planner that explains how to plan, start and manage your business. It also has a section on how to sell, close, liquidate, transfer your business or declare bankruptcy.
The SBA also has a tutorial on how to http://app1.sba.gov/training/sbabp/index.htm “ title=“prepare a business plan”>prepare a business plan.
Other resources:
Service corps of retired executives - nationally and in Virginia.
Virginia Small Business Development Centers .
Good luck.
