Blog Posts by CBS MoneyWatch.com

ThinkstockBy Lynn O'Shaughnessy for CBS MoneyWatch.com

The majority of students who graduate from college leave with a diploma and student loans. Two out of every five undergrads, however, earn a degree without borrowing for college. In the most recent reporting year available, that equals about 1.7 million undergrads.

Who are these lucky students? Mark Kantrowitz, the founder of FinAid, a comprehensive financial aid website, decided to find out what kind of students managed to graduate debt free.

-- 20 Best-Paying College Degrees

-- Most Expensive U.S. Colleges

-- Biggest College Savings Mistakes

-- 20 Craziest Job Interview Questions

-- Easiest & Toughest College Majors

Here is what Kantrowitz discovered:

1. Eighty-five percent of students who graduated with no debt attended public colleges and universities, and 78% enrolled in in-state institutions.

2. Selecting an inexpensive school was the Read More »from College Without Debt: What's the Secret?

By Ilyce Glink for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Back in early May, I wrote about the Top 10 Cities for Single Men, based on housing data and other research provided by Rent.com.

-- Top 10 Cities for Single Men

-- 10 Best Places to Live Now

-- Top Cars for Female Drivers

-- Most Expensive U.S. Cities for Home Buyers

-- Diet Plan Review: Best Way to Lose 20 Pounds

We learned that single men own more often than they rent, are willing to pay more for convenience, and are (shocking!) less likely to manage their own household chores. We also learned that Texas, the East Coast and warmer climates like Miami, New Orleans and Los Angeles beckon the unmarried male renter.

Of course this begs the obvious question: What about all the single ladies? What are they looking for when it comes to selecting a city to call home? What kinds of housing stock attracts independent women?

To find the answers to these Read More »from Best Cities for Single Women

By Amy Levin-Epstein for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Let's do the quick math here: You buy a $7 sandwich and a $3 drink, 5 days a week at the place around the corner from your office. But if you bring your lunch, you'd be hard-pressed to spend more than $5/day. Total yearly savings? $1,200.

-- 4 Things NOT to Share with HR

-- Diet Plan Review: Best Way to Lose 20 Pounds

-- 4 Big LinkedIn Mistakes You're Probably Making

-- What NOT to Buy at Walmart

-- Save Big at the Supermarket: 9 Tricks

Now let's consider the effect on your health and wellness. "Packing your own lunch puts the power in your own hands when it comes to controlling calories, portion sizes, sodium and fat content, etc. There's no second guessing what went on behind someone else's closed kitchen doors," says Lisa Kimmel, a registered dietitian at Yale University.

So you're saving money and your waistline. But how many boring PB&Js or Read More »from Packing Lunch? Best Ideas from Wolfgang Puck & Others

By Farnoosh Torabi for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Back-to-school shopping - at the college level - is expected to take a dip this year. The National Retail Federation's latest survey shows parents and students will spend an average of $808.71 on clothes, electronics, dorm gear and food, about 3% less than in 2010. The CEO of the the NRF told CNBC that he thinks the spending numbers speak to current economic weakness and consumer trepidation over the debt ceiling impasse in Washington.

Cheapest Days to Shop Online

6 Prices You Should ALWAYS Negotiate

Strange but True: 10 Weird Ways to Save Money

Dumbest Things You Do With Your Money

Deals & Bargains: Best Things to Buy in August

To help sharpen parents' and students' shopping lists, I tapped my brother Todd, an incoming junior at the University of Arizona, for his money-saving shopping advice for college-bound students. To my surprise, he had a long Read More »from College Shopping: 5 Things NOT to Buy

What not to share with HR (Thinkstock)By Amy Levin-Epstein for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Your human resources team can help you be a better manager, get promoted, and even deal with a lawsuit. But there are a few things that you should never share with HR.

The key is to be mindful: "You need to be sure you are communicating what you want your management to know," says Clinical Professor of Management John Millikin, Ph.D. of the W.P. Carey School of Business.

If you're concerned but still think HR should know something, ask for discretion: "It is up to you to communicate what you want to be kept confidential. Like any relationship, you should build trust slowly," suggests Millikin.

-- 4 Big LinkedIn Mistakes You're Probably Making

-- Dream Jobs: 6-Figure Salaries You Can Actually Get

-- 9 Great Job Interview Tricks

-- How to Answer 'How Much Do You Make?'

-- 20 Craziest Job Interview Questions

Here are 4 things that experts say HR Read More »from 4 things NOT to share with HR

By Amy Levin-Epstein for CBS MoneyWatch.com

A while back On The Job covered the best ways to make an office romance work. But what should you do when said romance goes down in flames, to make sure the same doesn't happen to your career? Here are six steps that can save your work life when your intertwined personal life complicates things:

-- 4 Big LinkedIn Mistakes You're Probably Making

-- Dream Jobs: 6-Figure Salaries You Can Actually Get

-- 9 Great Job Interview Tricks

-- 20 Craziest Job Interview Questions

-- How to Answer 'How Much Do You Make?'

1. Act Early
As with any relationship, staying in a sinking ship until it's Titanic-time is not a great idea. But when you're talking about an office relationship, it's crucial to break ties while they can still be broken relatively amicably. It probably won't be as difficult as you think: "Once in a while an office romance gone wrong makes Read More »from How to End an Office Romance: 6 Steps

By Stacey Bradford for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Maybe it's because I have small children, but a lot of things break around my home. When I'm not threatening to throw broken objects out the window, I try to figure out what items are worth fixing and which ones I should replace. Thankfully, Consumer Reports has an opinion on what appliances and electronics are repair worthy.

-- How Long Should That Dishwasher Last?

-- Consumer Reports: Most Reliable Laptops

-- 5 Questions to Ask Your Mechanic

-- When to Skimp & When to Splurge

-- Dumbest Things You Do With Your Money

In the August issue, you'll find the most recent Repair or Replace survey. The data is based on reported troubles from more than 27,000 subscribers. While some results won't surprise you - we all know laptops tend to break - other information might. For example, side-by-side refrigerators are more likely to have problems than more Read More »from Repair or Replace? See Consumer Reports' Picks

By Sarah Lorge Butler for CBS MoneyWatch.com

Back in April I wrote about a person near and dear to me - yes, my husband - who needed two new crowns for $3,442. I published his experience in a post, Is Your Dentist Ripping You Off? Dentists howled in protest at the provocative headline, though most agreed with the content of the story.

-- Is Your Dentist Ripping You Off?

-- 6 Prices You Should ALWAYS Negotiate

-- 10 Ways to Do Fewer Dumb Errands

-- Save Big at the Supermarket: 9 Tricks

--Slash Your Medical Bills: 7 Ways to Haggle

Patients howled too, about the high cost of dental work, and the feeling that they've encountered dentists who don't have their best interests at heart. Here's a typical letter: "My wife saw a dentist who quoted her $750. Then halfway through the job, when she was numb and had a big hole in her mouth, he told her he misquoted the price and it was going to be $1,500. Read More »from Why Your Dentist Costs So Much