80 Percent Off Restaurant.com Ends Today

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about the huge money-saving deal at Restaurant.com. It’s ending today–so get 80 percent off dining gift certificates ASAP, with the discount code PLATE.

Economists Pessimistic About the Rest of 2010

From today’s New York Times:

Many economists — concerned about the sluggish pace of job creation, dwindling housing activity and decelerating retail sales — say that slowdown is continuing this summer and have recently downgraded their expectations for the second half of the year.

Read more here.

10 Tips for Social Networking Your Way to a Job

It’s not just a load of Web 2.0 hype—you can find a job using social networks, according to Brad and Debra Schepp.

“ We’ve spoken to many people who use LinkedIn, Twitter and even MySpace to find jobs—regular 9-to-5 jobs or consulting gigs or freelance work,” says Brad, who with his wife authored How to Find a Job on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Other Social Networks.

I get pitched a lot of job-hunting books. Most of them should have been made into pamphlets instead. But after my first glance through the Schepps’ book, I quickly made a few adjustments to my LinkedIn profile—and I’m not even looking for a job. Here are ten of their tips for getting the most out of social networks.

Get on LinkedIn

The site has become so widely used, that if you don’t have a profile…

How to Bootstrap Your New Business Wisely

Starting a business is tough—and that goes double when you’re starting a business in an economic environment this challenging. If you’re bootstrapping (and chances are good that you’re using your own money to fund the company) it’s important to use your resources as efficiently as possible, You want to protect your capital but also invest where it counts most. I’ve been helping businesses for years, and here is what successful bootstrappers know:

Control fixed expenses

At some point—usually when you need to bring other people aboard to accommodate growth—you’ll probably need an office. Until then, work from home and use e-mail and cell phones to communicate, so you can minimize fixed expenses like office space and furniture…

Stashing Cash Over the Border

Apparently, some people are still concerned about the stability of U.S. banks. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, cable titan John Malone, for one, noted that his wife had pulled all of her money out of American financial institutions and parked it in Australia and Canada.

“She wants to have a place to go if things blow up here,” he told the paper in an interview. “Canada has a lot more fiscal and bank responsibility than most places in the world and lots of natural resources. We have a retreat that’s right on the Quebec border. We own 18 miles on the border, so we can cross. Any time we want to, we can get away. It would probably be illegal, but we could go. Actually, our snowmobile trail goes right on the border.”

So far this year, the FDIC has seized about 100 banks. Maybe she’s on to something.

Senate Approves Unemployment Extension

If you care about this issue, you’ve probably heard that the US Senate voted 60-40 to keep emergency unemployment benefits going. Long story short: Good for jobless peeps, bad for the deficit.

Millions of people stopped getting checks in June when the program expired in June. According to the Washington Post: 8.7 million people were receiving jobless benefits at the end of June. A little more than half received state benefits, which are typically available for 26 weeks. The rest were receiving extended benefits financed by the federal government, which are due to run out soon unless the bill before the Senate passes. The Labor Department estimates that 2.5 million people had been cut off by the end of last week.

The House is expected to okay the bill this week…

Entrepreneurship is Declining, Survey Says

Start-up activity, which got a boost from the recession as millions of people looked for new work opportunities or rethought their careers, is on the slide. According to a new survey by executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, 3.7 percent of job seekers were looking to start something up in the first half of 2010. That’s a big drop from the 7.6 percent in the first half of 2009. That’s a low point since 1986, when the company began tracking this stuff.

What gives? It could be that more people are getting jobs and…

See a Movie in New York for Just $4

Going to the movies was once a simple, inexpensive pleasure. Now a flick for two runs $25 in New York—and that’s before the popcorn. So we jumped on this deal when we spotted it yesterday: $4 for a ticket to any AMC, Loews, Cineplex Odeon, Magic Johnson, or Star theater. The catches are, you have to pay up front, you can only get one (I’m making my fiance buy his own)…

Brooklyn’s Fanciest Rummage Sale

Talk about bang for your buck. This Saturday, July 17, you can hear live professional music and hunt for bargains for free. The One World Symphony will hold its Super Summer Rummage Sale in Brooklyn Heights—complete with live jazz, cabaret and classical music, led by Artistic Director and Conductor Sung Jin Hong. The wares include two-piece suits, tuxes, dresses, gowns, scores and CDs…

Lemonade is a Sweet Recession Documentary

What’s good about getting laid off? Helping kids with cystic fibrosis. Starting a coffee roasting business. Teaching yoga. Becoming a painter. Lemonade is a beautifully shot 40-minute documentary about a group of people who used to work at an advertising agency, and the opportunities they created for themselves. It’s so appealing, we won’t even point out that our Lemonade Makers came first.

Oops. Just did.