WalletPop Editor
Most Recent Post:Careless Chinese Baggage Handler Really Throws Himself Into His Work
Filed under: Video, Employment & Careers, Travel
Daily Finance
This guy should probably look into a new line of work.
A viral video making the rounds this week shows an air-freight handler at Guangzhou Airport in China loading up a cargo plane in the most careless way possible. Over the course of the four-minute video, the handler tosses parcels in the general direction of a conveyor belt, with only about half of the boxes reaching their intended target and the rest tumbling to the tarmac.
The video was first posted by Australian YouTube user Mark Bridgman a year ago, but it's gone viral this week.
It's not entirely clear what's happening here. This isn't a simple case of an overworked employee rushing to finish his work as quickly as possible -- if anything, his careless approach is going to make things take even longer, as he has to retrieve all the packages that fall onto the tarmac. Has he always been this bad at his job, or has the drudgery gotten to him? Is he just having a bad day? Is he drunk?
Classic Cosmetics: Kinder to Your Skin, Your Wallet and the Earth
Filed under: Budgeting & Planning, Economizer, Family Finances, Health

By Bruce Watson
Daily Finance
Makeup can be dangerous.
Looking at the rows of toners and powders, lipsticks and rouges packing the corner drug store, cosmetics seem innocent enough. But under the bright colors and attractive packaging, the sex appeal and huge advertising budgets, dangers lurk -- industrial solvents and carcinogens, deadly metals and petroleum distillates. And even beyond the health dangers, there are environmental worries -- concerns about where these ingredients come from and what their extraction does to the Earth.
On the other hand, it wasn't always this way. Sure, the ancient Romans sometimes mixed lead with their cosmetics, and 19th century Americans occasionally killed whales to get the raw ingredients for their perfumes. But, on the whole, cosmetics and skincare have gotten a lot less friendly over the past few decades.
Luckily, many of the classic cosmetics and skincare products your grandmother used are still going strong today. Here are nine of our favorite brands that are gentle on your wallet and will leave your skin and hair feeling great.
Follow the Financial Lead of These 3 Money-Savvy Actresses
Filed under: Celebs & Money, Economizer, Real Estate, Saving

By Caroline Bennett
Daily Finance
Salacious shopping sprees, supersized bar tabs and parties that run well into seven-figure territory dominate the celeb gossip headlines. But not all of Hollywood's elite burn through money like it's going out of style.
There are some stars who have excellent financial track records, and you don't have to have a celebrity-sized paycheck to follow their lead. From saving money to making smart investments, these actresses are great role models for financial advice that anyone can use. Here's how they do it.
Think Facebook Execs Are Overpaid? Tough Noogies
Filed under: Investing

By M. Joy Hayes, PhD
Daily Finance
Think Facebook (FB) executives are overpaid? Join the club.
A close review of Facebook's 2013 proxy voting results suggests that most average outside shareholders are unhappy with Facebook's executive compensation system.
Unfortunately, there's nothing they can do about it.
Investors: You've Been Out-Classed
Facebook's current capital structure essentially gives insiders total control over matters brought to shareholders for a vote., because Facebook has two classes of stock -- a dual-class voting structure.
How Anyone Can Learn Anything in 20 Hours
Filed under: Employment & Careers, Entrepreneurship, Weird & Wonderful
By Erik ShermanAOL Jobs
Better-paying jobs need better skills. Rather than plunking down thousands of dollars for, say, a degree in computer science, what if you could learn much of what you needed in 20 hours? What if you could stay ahead of the competition by learning every new gadget, software and technical skill in just 20 hours?
Author Josh Kaufman, right, says it is possible, and that he taught himself how to code -- as well as windsurf, play the ukulele and many other things -- in less than 20 hours each.
"A 14-year-old could learn to do this," says Kaufman, who chronicled his experiences in his best-seller, The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything ... Fast. "Once you get into it, it's really not as difficult as it seems."
Writer Malcolm Gladwell has famously said it takes 10,000 hours of practice to fully master a skill. But Kaufman cites research showing that most skill improvement happens early on when you go from incapable to "developing the capacity to perform." In his experience, that can happen in 20 hours.
Filthy Lucre! Just the Thought of Money Makes Us Unethical, Says Study
Filed under: Fraud, Weird & Wonderful

By Eamon Murphy
Daily Finance
The money (left) and control/neutral (right) pictures used to "prime" participants in one study of how money influences moral outcomes. The mere thought of money can trigger a subconscious mindset that predisposes people towards unethical actions, according to recent research by professors at Harvard and the University of Utah.
Earlier work suggested that subtle exposure to money can influence behavior and decisions in self-centered ways, making people in studies more likely to choose an individual activity over a group one, for instance. This new research set out to to determine how such exposure might impact "morally relevant outcomes," in light of money's enormous importance to society in general and business organizations in particular.
Which Factory Made That Shirt? Even the Retailers Don't Know
Filed under: Buyer Beware, Consumer Complaints, Shopping

By Matt Brownell
Daily Finance
In April, a garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing more than a thousand people. The factory had been making apparel for numerous American fashion brands and retailers.
In the wake of the tragedy, Walmart (WMT) -- which had previously sourced clothes from the factory -- touted its commitment to worker safety by releasing an extensive list of factories it had stopped doing business with out of safety concerns. But a ProPublica report released last week found that at least two of those factories were still making clothes sold in Walmart stores.
In one case, the company told ProPublica that it had simply accepted clothing shipments that had already been produced. The other factory was making clothes for Fruit of the Loom that were subsequently sold in Walmart stores, and the company says that there was confusion about which company's standards should apply.
Gold and Oil: The Two Most Popular Investments Are Back
Filed under: Investing
By Chris Vermeulen
Minyanville.com
The two most popular investments a few years ago have been lying dormant and out of the spotlight. But a look at the price charts of both gold and oil suggest their time to shine may be returning.
Seasonal charts allow us to look at what the average price for an investment does during a specific time of year. The gold and oil seasonal charts below clearly show that we are entering a time in which price tends to drift higher.
Minyanville.com
The two most popular investments a few years ago have been lying dormant and out of the spotlight. But a look at the price charts of both gold and oil suggest their time to shine may be returning.
Seasonal charts allow us to look at what the average price for an investment does during a specific time of year. The gold and oil seasonal charts below clearly show that we are entering a time in which price tends to drift higher.
Where Americans Shop (and Eat) the Most
Filed under: Family Finances, Shopping
Unbelievably, one in two Americans walk through the doors of some fast food outlets and shops each month. Wonder who the top retailers are? Find out which shops command the most loyalty in our slideshow of most popular shops in America:
The Case Against Credit Cards: Overspending and Obesity
Filed under: Budgeting & Planning, Credit Cards, Debt, Health

By Eamon Murphy
Daily Finance
I just bought a movie ticket online. It cost me $16, and the truth is that I really shouldn't have spent that money. I'm behind on rent, unsure of my checking account balance 36 hours ahead of payday, and still suffering from recent expenditures connected to my five-year college reunion. But I want to see the movie very badly, as infantile as that desire is, and the price of admission isn't going to get cheaper. The sooner I see it, I tell myself, the sooner I'll stop thinking about it. Then I can move on to other, less consumption-based concerns.
What enabled me to make that purchase was a credit card. I could have gone debit, but I'd rather not involve my checking account at this time of the month; I needed to be able to put off the reckoning of my overpriced ticket. (At least I didn't "upgrade" to 3D.) Which goes to show what Derek Thompson argues at the Atlantic: "Yes, Credit Cards Are Making You a Bad Person" -- "dumber, fatter, poorer," like some nightmarish Daft Punk song.





