Welcome to my homepage for all things related to the broad topic of money. Here, you'll find links to lots of important, interesting, and useful information about finance, the economy, and other related topics, with particular emphasis on Canadian matters. Enjoy.
This site is updated once monthly. For new stuff, check out the "What's New Page." For the regular, good stuff, go to the "Favourite Links Page."
Also, this site, as well as all of Fenton's other sites, including their respective webhosting services, are all supported by advertising, to keep it free (the way it should be!). So, whenever you can, go ahead and click on their logos and visit their sites too.....sometimes, Fenton's homepages will be completely covered by advertisements; just refresh/reload the address on your internet browser--sometimes you may even have to do this several times--but it's worth it, to get to all that great content.
Interesting Stuff
note: Fenton's Finance now has a "sibling"/mirror site, converted (since February 2005, from the original http://pages.ivillage.com/fentown) to a new server: http://fentown-ivil.tripod.com/. Just a collection of useful links, if and whenever this site is down.
July 2009
This month's featured links:
July 1st is Canada Day, and International Joke Day (while the 4th of July is U.S.A. Independence Day)
http://www.nickelofcanada.com
http://www.anewdollarforamerica.com, http://www.findabetterbank.com (American)
http://www.dailyfinance.com
http://www.freemoneyfinance.com
http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com
This month's featured article/essay:
What's the etiquette for getting your restaurant bill?
by: Corey Mintz
When it's time for the bill, there are two types of diners: those who would like to be on their way, and those who are outraged at the suggestion they should do so.In most restaurants, the bill comes when someone asks for it, and to the person who does the asking. A server might prompt, "Is there anything else I can get you?" In all likelihood, you've finished your meal, coffee, dessert, but haven't asked for the bill. And they're trying to elicit the request and determine who will receive it.One thing that has not gone out of fashion is the bill-requesting hand signal. Some think it tacky to gesture with the phantom signature in the air, but it's never misinterpreted. Just don't whistle, snap or call out, "Garçon!"Many diners expect the bill to show up when they're done eating. But it's considered gauche to place it on the table before it's requested, and is often interpreted as a sign to pay up and leave so they can seat more customers. At a restaurant that thrives on high volume, that might be true."I don't want to rush people, either," says Leila Ashtari, a server at Foxley, where it can be crowded and loud, and often with hungry diners lined up at the door. "If people want to have another bottle of wine, or if they want to have dessert, I would never ever try to short somebody's evening unnecessarily."But once things are wrapped up, we like to keep the flow, keep things moving," she said.Sabrina Maher, of the Universal Grill, says, "I always give the bill to the person who asks for it. They ask, they get, regardless of gender."She acknowledges that a lot of customers want to have the "traditional" dining experience. "Sometimes for older couples (over 70), I give the bill to the man," says Maher.That moment can be additionally obscured at a tapas bar like Torito, where owner Veronica Laudes likes to encourage diners to order at their own pace. "I'm very fanatic about cleaning the dishes out of the table. But I try not to be too pushy. When you pass around (the dining room) you see a shrimp plate. It's empty. Maybe they need some bread? Just ask. Most of the time they say yes." Laudes believes repeat business is built on that transference of comfort. "At this time it's so hard in this city for a little business like us. My intention is to make people comfortable. Then you have a regular client."When people drop a C-note or two on dinner, they'd like to purchase the privilege of leisure."In upscale service, you don't bring the bill until someone has indicated that they want it. Even though it seems intuitive," says David Taylor, a server at C5 in the Royal Ontario Museum. But he's also worked at casual restaurants, where he would just bring the bill as soon as the meal was done.Those good intentions can devolve into a cold war of politeness when a diner doesn't want to seem rude in asking for the bill and the server doesn't want to be rude by bringing it."Because most restaurants are so successful at giving the customer the experience that they want," says Giulia Mandel, a manager at Teatro, "the inner workings of the machine are not necessarily visible to the customer."In a good restaurant, pricey or not, someone has an eye on each table. Runners, servers and managers communicate with each other, and it's usually quite clear from body language, like diners craning their necks to scan the room, that they are ready for the bill or at least to be asked. It's quite common for a couple to ignore each other while tapping on BlackBerrys, and doesn't necessarily mean they're done. Michael Brown, manager and co-owner of Perigee, is in no hurry to flip a table."If they don't want the bill and want to sit there and enjoy the last bit of coffee, we don't automatically put a bill down. And if we did, it would be in the centre of the table."It's very helpful to a server when someone at a large table takes the lead. But sometimes no alpha dog pipes up and in this situation, etiquette is to place the bill in a neutral position.
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Daily Fuel Economy Tip: http://www.dailyfueleconomytip.com Good tips: http://soundmoneytips.com.
