Blog Posts by CBS MoneyWatch.com

By Linda Stern for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Chelsea Clinton // Photo: Kyle CassidyBill Clinton has suggested he will cry when Chelsea Clinton walks down the aisle to marry Marc Mezvinsky in Rhinebeck, N.Y., on Saturday. Perhaps that's because he and Hillary Clinton will be thinking about the bill. Wedding planners have estimated that the nuptials could cost as much as $5 million.

That's $600,000 for air-conditioned tents, $200,000 for security, and buckets of money on every detail from designer floral arrangements to special invitations that at least one wedding planner estimates could have cost more than $150 apiece. (I didn't get my invitation yet, but I'm thinking that lots of gold leaf would have to be involved.) Spending a lot on those invitations seems especially ironic, since even the guests have been kept in the dark about details like the location of the wedding and even where their hotel rooms are. Such are the burdens of being invited to the top-secret event of the decade.

On the other hand, the

Read More »from Chelsea Clinton’s Wedding Price Tag

ThinkstockBy Sarah Lorge Butler for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Coupons are a crapshoot. That's my opinion after two weeks of half-heartedly searching for offers that would trim our weekly grocery bill. In those two weeks, I saved myself a grand total of $1. One measly buck. Considering I was in dire need of a caffeine fix and promptly spent that dollar at the Wegmans in-store café, I'm back to zero savings.

My friend Jen recently posted her Facebook status as "Rocked the coupons today." I was curious for the details. Turned out she saved $60 on a $230 order at Weis, a local chain here in Pennsylvania that doubles coupons. The store was running a promotion for several weeks where shoppers earned points for purchases. Because she gets all her groceries and prescriptions at Weis, Jen amassed enough points to qualify for 15% off one order. Throw in the double coupons, and she saved 26% off her weekly haul. Yes, I'd say that qualifies as rocking the coupons.

-- How to Beat

Read More »from Clipping coupons: A waste of time?

Thinkstockby Amy Levin-Epstein for CBS MoneyWatch.com

The signs of life in the job market are a little like Sunday morning in a fraternity house - yeah, we're seeing some movement, but there's a lot of cleaning up to do and the headaches aren't going away any time soon. So while employers are selectively rebuilding their post-bubble workforces, they don't feel much pressure to boost pay: In 2009, compensation grew at the slowest pace in the last quarter-century, says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

Still, if you're offered a great job opportunity with a not-so-great salary, that doesn't mean you have to either pass or accept a truly paltry package. They want you, so work with them. "You should be sitting on the same side of the negotiating table as the employer, not the opposite side," says Michael Rosenthal, CEO of Consensus, a New York City-based consulting firm. "Say, 'We both want me to work here. Let's figure out how to make that happen.'"

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Read More »from Negotiating pay: How to get a better offer

By Sarah Lorge Butler for CBS MoneyWatch.com
Seems I can't get on Facebook anymore without reading of my friends' gardening prowess. In June it was the folks in Chantilly, Virginia, who concocted "strawberry mojitos made with our own mint and strawberries." Monday it was the guy on Bainbridge Island, Washington, whose status read, "I have fulfilled a life goal. Tonight I ate potatoes I grew myself, and they were wonderful." His wife posted a picture of their peas, after earlier sharing a recipe for baked kale chips.

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-- How Much Should You Pay the Babysitter?

-- Cheap Eats: Dinner for 6 for $8

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I'm green with envy. I like the idea of a garden, but I lack motivation. And I make dumb mistakes. Like buying seeds at Home Depot. And failing to fix the fence at the spot where the baby Read More »from Gardeners: 2 Foods with the Biggest Supermarket Payoff

By Sarah Lorge Butler for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Is it ethical to take paid maternity leave even if you don't think you're returning to the workplace? That was the discussion I had last week with an old friend in New York City who had called to tell me he and his wife are expecting their first child.

They'll be awesome parents, and everyone is thrilled. Within about 24 seconds, our conversation came around to their post-baby work plans. The wife's company offers a generous leave, 18 weeks paid, which is almost unheard of in the U.S. But she has mixed feelings about going back. She might want to stay home with the little tyke, and she was feeling guilty about the prospect of collecting pay for four months if she isn't sure she's going to return to the workplace.

-- What NOT to Do: 7 Ways to Ruin Your Resume

-- How Much Should You Pay the Babysitter?

-- 6 Things Never to Post on Facebook

-- Easy Way to Lower Your

Read More »from Should you max out your maternity leave?

By Stacey Bradford for CBS MoneyWatch.com

What's the biggest mistake expectant parents make? They spend a small fortune on baby gear. In the first year of parenthood, families spend a whopping $6,000 on child-related stuff. The reality is that you only need a handful of well chosen items. And except for a few exceptions, most of those things shouldn't cost you much.

So what baby items should you skimp or splurge on? For some advice, I spoke with Alan Fields, the co-author of Baby Bargains, a shopping bible for expectant parents.

When to Skimp

-- Baby Gear: The Only 5 Things You Need

-- Toddler Gear: When to Skimp and When to Splurge

-- 3 Things Not to Buy at Walmart

-- 6 Things Never to Post on Facebook

-- How Much Should You Pay the Babysitter?

Strollers: Some parents get so caught up shopping for a stroller that they drop $1,000 on a trendy set of wheels. Instead,

Read More »from Baby Gear: When to Skimp and When to Splurge

Do you know whether your partner hides spending from you? You might want to check the trunk.

With wedding season in full swing, American Express' new Spending & Savings Tracker survey focused on money and relationships. Their findings were a bit disturbing. An astounding 91% of Americans said they found reasons not to talk about money and were more likely to know their partner's weight than his or her salary. Worse, when we do talk money, we often lie.

-- Cheapest Days to Shop Online

-- Couch Potato's Guide to Getting Rich

-- 6 Things Never to Post on Facebook

-- DUMBEST Things You Do With Your Money

-- VIDEO: How to Pay for Your Shopping Spree

More than a quarter of respondents said they misrepresented the cost of a purchase and 30% say they've hidden purchases from their partner. When asked what was the craziest thing they'd done to hide their spending, respondents most often said

Read More »from 15 sneaky ways Americans hide their shopping splurges

Thinkstock: What not to do with your resumeBy Hillary Chura

In the time it takes you to read this paragraph, the average recruiter will have plowed through six resumes. (We know; we timed one.) Want to increase the chances of your resume making it to the next round? Then don't do any of these seven things, which recruiters say - more than anything - make them want to push the "shred" button.

(For more resume tips, check out our interactive critique of an actual resume.)

1. Apply for a job for which you are not remotely qualified

Many candidates believe the job hunt is a numbers game - drop enough resumes, and you're bound to land something. But shotguns are for hunting pheasant, not finding jobs. The reality is that recruiters hate wasting time on resumes from unqualified candidates. Morgan Miller, an executive recruiter at StaffMark, recalls the security guard who applied to be a financial risk manager (maybe Lehman should have hired him), while Scott Ragusa at Winter, Wyman talks of the aerial photographer who

Read More »from What NOT to do: 7 ways to ruin your resume