The future of America's job growth is in the clean tech industry, according to a new report by Clean Edge. Walletpop talks to Ron Pernick, author of The Clean Tech Revolution, about one of the fastest growing job markets in the world.Read more about it here.

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Top Chef's Carla Hall cooks up dinner for $15

Lan N. Nguyen Nov 16th 2009 @ 2:00PM EST Filed Under: Food

Top Chef finalist Carla Hall thinks the simplest dishes can give us the greatest pleasure. Here is the Washington D.C.-based caterer's take on a roasted chicken with tomato-olive relish and roasted potatoes. Not only is the recipe easy, it clocks in at about $15.

Butterflied Chicken

4-pound chicken
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
3 tablespoons butter, softened
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lemon, halved
1 small onion, quartered

Continue reading Top Chef's Carla Hall cooks up dinner for $15

Podcast: How I made my first million with Mitch Free

Lan N. Nguyen Nov 16th 2009 @ 1:30PM EST Filed Under: Career

WalletPop's Lan Nguyen chats with Mitch Free, founder and CEO of MFG.com, a global online marketplace for manufacturing. A college dropout, Free started his career as a machinist. That background helped fuel his idea to create a Web-based market for manufacturing in 1999. He shares his story and what it took to make it.

'Who's Who' ripoff preys on your ego

Barbara Bartlein Nov 16th 2009 @ 1:00PM EST Filed Under: Saving Money, Fraud

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/3396540397_009a24dcac.jpg

I must be really important, because two "Who's Who" publications have chosen me for inclusion in their publications. The e-mails arrived in my mailbox this week.

They read, "Recently you were selected as an inductee into Who's Who. In spite of this, we have yet to receive your information in order to build your basic membership profile. In the business and professional world it isn't what you know, it's who you know...and who knows you. Social and business networking is the modern standard in developing relationships throughout the world. The potential for recognition and developing networks within a community of 400,000 working professionals in numerous fields on a global scale is unlimited."

Continue reading 'Who's Who' ripoff preys on your ego

Travel is still smoking hot (at the fire sales, that is)

Jason Cochran Nov 16th 2009 @ 12:30PM EST Filed Under: Bargains, Extracurriculars, Technology, Transportation, Travel, Economizer

Travel may be down in this economy, but there's one area where business is booming: discount booking sites. With travel providers desperate to unload unused rooms and tickets, it seems like the only sectors of the travel industry that are exploding are the ones previously seen as a last resort by the industry.

Priceline.com reported that bookings through its site, which offers steep discounts on hotel rooms and other travel products, are at their best levels in nine years. Hotwire.com, which is owned by Expedia, reports a similar boost in revenue. Its hotel room sales over 12 months have exceeded $250 million for the first time, and the site told WalletPop that compared to last year, hotel bookings in the biggest markets (meaning the most popular travelers' cities) are up between 20% and 30%.

Continue reading Travel is still smoking hot (at the fire sales, that is)

FHA going broke? How to qualify for a home loan anyway

Charles Feldman Nov 16th 2009 @ 12:00PM EST Filed Under: Real Estate, Mortgages

As the economy is supposed to be emerging from the dark cave of deep recession, you might expect it would become easier for you to secure a mortgage in the months ahead. The truth is, however, that unless you start taking some key steps right now, you may find yourself still in that recessionary cave instead of a new home, because the Federal Housing Administration is running out of money. For many potential home buyers, that's a bit like your rich uncle Sam, who was always a soft touch for a few extra bucks, filing for bankruptcy and leaving you in the lurch.

Continue reading FHA going broke? How to qualify for a home loan anyway

Really want to save the world? Quit having kids

Zac Bissonnette Nov 16th 2009 @ 11:30AM EST Filed Under: Tax

The IRS recently updated consumers on all the tax savings you can get from making your home more green-friendly. Installing energy efficient windows and doors, insulation, roofing, HVAC, water heaters, and biomass stoves can save you a boatload of money on your taxes.

But will doing all those things really help the environment? Yes. But ya know what will help mother nature a hell of a lot more?

Not breeding.

Continue reading Really want to save the world? Quit having kids

Twitter: Time's Person of the Year or yesterday's fad already?

Tom Barlow Nov 16th 2009 @ 11:00AM EST Filed Under: Technology

According to Folio magazine, the Internet microblogging site Twitter is in consideration to be named Time Magazine's Person of the Year (yeah, I think the idea is silly too).

However, the magazine's timing could be poor, as Mashable.com has pointed out that Twitter visitor numbers have plateaued and even declined slightly in the past five months. The site hit 23,579,044 unique visitors in August. By October, this number had dropped by over half a million.

Continue reading Twitter: Time's Person of the Year or yesterday's fad already?

Myth Buster: No jail time for uninsured

Lita Epstein Nov 16th 2009 @ 10:00AM EST Filed Under: Health, Taxes-tax credits, Insurance-health

You'll find numerous blogs out there threatening jail time for the uninsured, but don't believe them. This is just another scare tactic to prevent health insurance reform.

While it's true there are penalties for those who choose not to get insurance, that penalty is 2.5% of one's income and the penalties will be collected by the IRS. Jail time is not likely. In fact criminal prosecutions by the IRS are rare. Of 156 million individual tax returns filed in 2008, only 100 resulted in criminal prosecutions for those who willfully defrauded the system. The penalty will only impact those who are wealthy enough to pay for insurance and choose not to pay. The intent is that this penalty will be used to pay for the medical needs of those who choose not to get insurance.

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Overdraft protection coming ... at a snail's pace

Martha C. White Nov 16th 2009 @ 9:00AM EST Filed Under: Banks

As we told you earlier, the Federal Reserve just announced it would begin reigning in the scourge of debit-card users nationwide: overdraft charges. The good news is that the new ruling will prohibit banks from foisting this so-called protection on customers automatically; instead, consumers will have to voluntarily sign up (don't all line up at once, now!) The bad news: It's going to be another eight long months before this relief comes.

The government is making Americans wait until July 1, 2010, to get the relief they've been literally begging for, even though Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke called the new ruling "an important step forward in consumer protection."

Continue reading Overdraft protection coming ... at a snail's pace

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