Survival Strategies

In this column last week, hirers told what bugs them most about job applicants.

Yep. I got feedback. Job hunters asked for fair time to say what they don’t like about the way prospective employers are treating them.

Two points stood out:

 Job hunters think it’s callous and unrealistic for applicant screeners to say they don’t like it when a job hunter applies for more than one job at the organization.

To all of the numbers churned out in the debate over the nation’s health care system, add one more glaring statistic: 4 million.

That’s the number of college students estimated by a recent study to be uninsured.

Many are part-time students. Others are on financial aid and can’t afford health coverage. A large number of the uninsured attend two-year colleges and are too old to be on their parents’ plan, according to the study by Lookout Mountain Group, a college health advocacy organization.

Kitchentablenomics blogger Gene Meyer notes that more than 15 million taxpayers may owe Uncle Sam another $250 apiece next filing season.

What gives?

Lower payroll taxes passed last spring to pump money into the economy may have put too much money back into the hands of workers with more than one job.

For Gene's latest post and to determine if you might be in this situation, go to his We

From Bloomberg News

Donations to Harvesters help feed the needyNearly one in six Americans lived in households that struggled to afford food at some point last year as tight credit and the fastest rate of food inflation since 1980 combined to strain budgets, the government said.

KatThere’s no denying that the way to save the most on the high cost of travel is to simply stay home. And while staycations have become a popular alternative, there are times when that choice isn’t practical, desirable, or the right thing to do.

With winter weather in the air, don't forget to check your tire pressure, your radiator, and your brakes. Keep an ice scraper in your car, and add roadside assistance services to your checklist.

Kitchentablenomics blogger Gene Meyer runs down some of your options with AAA and other services.

Check out his latest blog post here.

Job hunters: Here’s insight into what employers hate about your applications.

Ann Mann, who advises persons in job-transition programs at Lee Hecht Harrison in Overland Park, collected pet peeves from a “recruiters’ roundtable” group.

The hirers’ biggest gripes:

 Applicants who apply to several positions at the same company at the same time.

“It’s an employers’ market. They can be very particular about finding the best fit for each job,” Mann explains. “If you apply to several different jobs at once, you look desperate and not discriminating.”

Easier to max out creditHorror stories abound of how credit card users are being whiplashed by fast-changing loan terms, writes Kitchentablenomics blogger Gene Meyer.

KatStatistics sometimes can be mind-numbingly dull. Every once in awhile, though, a statistic can leap off a printed page, grab you by the shoulders and force you to pay attention.

StretchedLow-and-moderate income families in this region continue to report deteriorating financial conditions,according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.