Dory Devlin, Shine staff’s Blog

Maybe, just maybe, we are getting closer to the point when we all keep our cell phones and BlackBerrys and computers (yes, computers) tucked away while we drive. Crazy notion, right? Well, read this article in today's New York Times all the way through, and you'd be made of heartless steel to not think twice before multitasking at the wheel again.

The research couldn't be more clear: Talking hands free is just as distracting as talking with a device cradled to your ear, talking (even hands-free) is more likely to lead to an accident than driving drunk, texting while driving ups the chance of an accident, and talking while driving is not as productive as you think it is. And for everyone who will tell you they can text/talk/dial while driving and not take their eyes off the road, there are far too many stories now of drivers who did just that and caused accidents which killed kids and adults in other vehicles. Read More »

So, how would you feel if you're at one of the first nights of a new Broadway show, and your cell phone goes off so everyone, even the star on stage, can hear?

"You want to get that?" Hugh Jackman said in character after a ringing phone interrupted a tense scene in a preview performance of "A Steady Rain." The show, starring Jackman and Daniel Craig,  officially opens this week. He went on: Read More »

"I'm not going," my friend confided, no trace of apology in her voice, when I brought up the upcoming back-to-back back-to-school nights. We were debating who despised them more: been-there-so-many-times parents or the teachers, who contractually give up a night to blast through PowerPoint presentations carefully constructed to leave no time for questions. The bell rings, and you're off to dash to the next 9-minute "period." Read More »

Goodness knows we like to debate whether we really can save money using coupons here on Shine. But whether you're a coupon pro or you only cut out a few coupons for the products you always buy, you've got lots of company. Coupon use is definitely up for the first time since the early 1990s, thanks ever so much to a these short-on-money-and-jobs times. Read More »

Some good news (maybe?) from some major banks, which say they are changing and cutting back on the overdraft fees they charge, thanks to pressure from the government and consumer groups.

In recent months we've learned that overdraft fees are big business for banks, which are on target for earning nearly $39 billion from them this year. That's up from $29 billion in 2007, according to research firm Celent, which noted that astounding figure is more than consumers spent on major appliances in the same year and twice as much as they spent on books. Studies show that most of the fees are coming from people who are struggling to keep their balances in line with their bills: One study found that 90 percent of overdraft fees were charged to 10 percent of the 130 million customers with checking accounts, while the AP reports that only 5 percent of customers absorbed 68 percent of the overdraft fees.

Something's gotta give, and this is what some of the major banks are are doing. (Mind you, there's justifiable concern that there may be new fees rising up to fill the void that the resulting lost income will create.) Read More »

There were plenty of reasons not to go. A September weekend, with school and sports back in full swing, and kids needing rides all over suburban creation, is not the best time to get away. Then again, there never is a good time. So, I jumped at the chance, no questions asked, to fly to St. Louis with my husband. He needed to go for a conference, and the chance to go on some dates in another city was a big draw, yes, but the chance to see a close friend who hasn't lived close by since college was the clincher. Read More »