Blog Posts by CNBC

By Jane Wells, CNBC.com

Online dating can be a funny business, but one new endeavor freely admits it's crazy.

I have not dated in a loooooooooong time. Thank. Goodness. I admire the courage it takes to put yourself out there and meet someone new. Blind dates, in particular, take the sort of energy and fortitude I wish we could see more of in Washington.

But has something changed about dating since I got out of the game? Has it evolved to the point where dating sites are actually working against you?

[Read more: 12 Best Cities for Online Dating]

I'm scratching my head over a new app from OkCupid called "Crazy Blind Date." Download the app and then upload an image of yourself. Mashable reported that OkCupid distorts most of the image to keep all possible dating candidates "blind." You are then paired together based on the time and location you are both available.

After the date, if you like you partner, you buy "kudos" on OkCupid to rate him or her. The more kudos you buy for $.99,

By Sharon Epperson, CNBC.com

You didn't imagine it. Your paycheck shrunk. Thanks to an increase in payroll tax, more of your pay is going to fund Social Security. You got a break in 2011 and 2012 when the Social Security payroll tax temporarily dropped from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. Now it's back where it started.

About 160 million workers pay this tax, and this year's two percentage point increase will cost the average worker about $700, according to the Tax Policy Center in Washington. Wealthier taxpayers may actually feel less of an impact since the 6.2 percent payroll tax only applies to wages up to $113,700.

Still, for a family with a household income of $100,000, the payroll tax hike means a loss in income of about $2,000 a year.

[More from CNBC: 5 Ways to Put Extra Cash In Your Pocket]

Financial planners and credit counselors say making up for that loss in income will require some careful planning to cut expenses and increase earnings so the hit isn't such a blow.

"For

By Jane Wells, CNBC.com

Men get mixed messages. Be manly, but sensitive. When women say "nothing" is wrong, it means everything's wrong. Open the door for me. No, wait, don't patronize me!

Here's a new one. Even though women say they like your three day growth ... most don't.

Men have taken to facial hair in a big way. Scraggly wisps have covered faces as flawless as Brad Pitt's, but kissing such men is leaving women feeling like they've just undergone microdermabrasion therapy.

Maybe it's time for the perpetual five o'clock shadow/Fred Flintstone look to be retired with faux hawks, ballcaps worn backwards, and hoodies without sleeves.

That, at least, is the opinion of women surveyed by Gillette. Yes, I know, Gillette is in the business of selling razors, and everyone from baseball player Brian Wilson to the guys from Duck Dynasty are the worst things to happen to the razor biz since Robert Redford turned himself into Jeremiah Johnson.

So take these results with a grain of salt,

By Cindy Perman, CNBC.com

. The steady drumbeat of "you're just lucky to have a job" that played through the recession is finally starting to fade and employees may be getting ready to say, "I quit!" and bolt for the nearest exit.

One in three employees (33 percent) say they plan to look for a new job this year and nearly one in five (18 percent) say they'll be looking in the next three months, according to a new survey by Harris Interactive for job-search site Glassdoor.com.

Over at Indeed.com, their survey showed the number of employees making a New Year's resolution to get a new job jumped to 38 percent.

Part of this shot of confidence comes from the early signs of recovery in the job market, like the December jobs report, and part of it comes from the fact that most companies, while more stable than in recent years, are not confident enough to start handing out raises.

[Read more: Asking for a Raise in a Tight Economy]

"Now that it appears that the extreme highs and lows are

By Robert Frank,CNBC.com

You don't have to be the Earl of Grantham to own your own British country estate. But it helps to have a royal-sized fortune to burn.

With this week's season premiere of the third season of "Downton Abbey," we decided to take a look at what it costs to buy, own and maintain a grand estate in the U.K.

Highclere Castle

Rupert Sweeting, head of the Country Department of Knight Frank in London, said that the biggest costs of owning a country estate are the staff. He said that for a "moderate-sized" 1,500 acre spread, you'll need a butler, cook, secretary, groundspeople and cleaning staff.

"And for hunts, you need gamekeepers, one or two at the very least," he said.

Total annual cost for the staff would be anywhere between $600,000 to $1 million a year.

Then there all those leaky roves and crumbling gargoyles. Everyday repairs on your estate or castle will set you back another $100,000 a year or so.

Renovations are the big ticket item. Sweeting said most

By Jane Wells, CNBC.com

Dr. McDreamy Not every coffee company born in Seattle is a winner. Tully's, a 20-year-old chain founded in the Emerald City, filed for Chapter 11 last fall. The chain had trouble competing in the shadow of Starbucks, and it filed for protection reporting $3.7 million in debts and very little cash.

Much of its debt is owed to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters which owns Tully's wholesale and roasting businesses.

The remaining part of the company - retail stores, agreements with franchisees and the coffee sold in grocery chains - is in need of a cash infusion immediately.

Actor Patrick Dempsey is one of several parties bidding to buy Tully's out of bankruptcy at an auction Thursday.

Dempsey told the Seattle Times he'd like to save the 500 jobs at risk. "I've always loved this city, and with the purchase of Tully's Coffee, I plan to spend a lot of time in Seattle - and the stores connecting with the community and growing the Tully's brand."

Other reported bidders include

By Paul O'Donnell, CNBC.com

The good news coming out of this year's "New Retirement Mindscape City Pulse Index," an annual survey conducted by Ameriprise Financial Services, is that women are more confident about their retirement prospects: two thirds of affluent women consider themselves confident or somewhat confident about being comfortable in retirement.

The bad news, said Suzanna de Baca, vice president of wealth strategies at Ameriprise, is that women "shouldn't be feeling this good."

In the survey of 10,000 affluent,middle-aged Americans, women lagged behind men in nearly every category of retirement planning. Only 44 percent contribute to a workplace retirement plan and 42 percent are investing for retirement on their own. Slightly more than half of men do both. Less than 20 percent of women know how much income they'll need when they retire, the survey found, compared with 28 percent of men.

According to another recent study, by the Employee Benefits Research Institute,

By Cindy Perman, CNBC.com

It's been a tough slog in Cubeville the past few years as companies not only cut back on staffing but also morale-boosting events like the office holiday party. But don't cry in that beer you had to buy with your own money just yet - the office holiday party is making a comeback!

The number of companies holding office holiday parties has fallen steadily in the past few years until it hit the bottom of the punch bowl at 74 percent last year but it bounced back this year to 91 percent, according to a survey by global executive-search firm Battalia Winston.

[More from CNBC: He Did WHAT? Outrageous Party Behavior]

That's a pre-recession level of partying!

"Despite the challenging economic environment, it seems that companies are moving back to a state of normality," said Dale Winston, CEO and Chairwoman of Battalia Winston.

But what about the "fiscal cliff!" you say. What about higher taxes and government spending cuts? Who can drink at a time like this,you