Can We Escape Financial Ruin?

The unemployment rate in the United States has been a talking point in this year's presidential campaign, only sometimes taking a backseat to distractions of topics like contraception and bickering among the GOP candidates.  How can we know what the real unemployment numbers are? News giants like CNN and CNBC report the monthly rise and fall of unemployment in America, along with totals of new hires. These are not true indicators as companies are hiring new employees while other companies are laying off workers simultaneously.  What can we do to escape financial ruin?


Single 101 examined the Top Five cities in the United States with the lowest unemployment rates and wanted to learn more about the economic climate of each of those cities. If you're fed up with standing in the unemployment line or just one paycheck from being homeless, you may want to consider relocating. Whether you're single, married, in a relationship, just graduated from college or considering a change to improve your quality of life, here are some facts you may want to know.

City Number 5- Sioux Falls, South Dakota

In May 2005, for the third consecutive year, Forbes Magazine named Sioux Falls the "Best Small City" for business and careers. Forbes based their ranking on employment, job and income growth, cost of doing business, crime rate, housing costs, and net migration. The Sioux Falls economy is comprised of a diversity of sectors, including finance, healthcare, retailing, agriculture, tourism, distribution and trade.

As one of the world's largest stockyards, Sioux Falls has traditionally been a center for the agricultural industry. John Morrell & Company, a meat packer, is the city's third largest employer. When Citicorp moved its credit card operations to Sioux Falls in 1980, it launched the city to new heights in financial services. In the two decades since that time, other financial companies followed where the main offices of state and regional banks, as well as brokerage and insurance firms with nationwide connections, are based in the downtown financial district.

Sioux Falls has emerged as a regional health care center, with the two major hospitals ranking as the top employers in the city, employing roughly 9,000 combined. Private physician clinics employ more than 1,000 workers. Recognized as the largest retail center between Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Sioux Falls attracts more than 14 million shoppers annually with approximately 3,228 retail outlets employing 20 percent of its labor force.



City Number 4- Burlington, Vermont

Greater Burlington is the industrial, tourist, and financial center of the state of Vermont. Manufacturing is the largest industry in Burlington, led by the electronics industries that had fueled an industrial boom during the 1990s. This region of the state supports nearly one-third of Vermont's manufacturing employment. Items and goods produced: electronics and computer parts; food products; textiles; apparel; lumber; paper and wood products; furniture and fixtures; chemicals and allied products; petroleum, coal, rubber, plastic, leather, stone, clay, and glass products; toys; jewelry; primary and fabricated metals; machinery and electrical equipment; instruments.

The 20-block downtown shopping and residential district alone accounts for 9,000 workers in positions such as service, government and retail, making it the second largest employment area in the state. Tourism is the area's second largest industry and several banks are also headquartered there.



City Number 3- Fargo, North Dakota

The Fargo economy is based on education, the medical industry, agricultural equipment manufacturing, retailing, and services. The city itself is a retail magnet for the entire Upper Plains. Per capita, retail spending is usually among the nation's highest because so many people from the region go to Fargo to do their shopping. Because of its central location, the city is a transportation hub for the northern Midwest region. In recent years, software companies have brought a touch of Silicon Valley to the area as well.

Agriculture has long been of primary importance to Fargo, as the Red River Valley area contains some of the richest farmland in the world. Related industries include agribusiness and agricultural research. The principal manufacturing employer is Case I H, makers of heavy-duty tractors. Terminals for two oil pipeline systems—Standard Oil Company of Indiana and Great Lakes Pipeline Company of Oklahoma—are located in Fargo-Moorhead. The Standard Oil pipeline is connected with the company's refinery in Whiting, Indiana, which produces more than 30,000 barrels of oil a day.



City Number 2- Lincoln, Nebraska

In May 2005, Forbes Magazine chose Lincoln as the seventh "Best Smaller Metro" area for business and careers with a third place ranking for income growth. Located in a grain and livestock producing region, Lincoln is a communications, distribution, and wholesaling hub. Important industries are the manufacture and repair of locomotives, flour and feed milling, grain storage, and diversified manufacturing.

State government and the University of Nebraska constitute approximately a quarter of the city's economy. Nebraska's median household income grew more than any other state's last year, according to recent U.S. Census data. The Census report shows that Nebraska's median income increased last year by more than $300 per family, to $48,408, which is 0.7 percent jump over 2009's figure. Only Washington, D.C., had a bigger jump, at 0.8 percent.



City NUMBER ONE- Bismark, North Dakota

Bismarck has a strong, diversified economy that has been continually expanding since the 1980s. As the capital city of North Dakota, it serves as a major hub for government, business and finance, as well as a distribution center for the agricultural industry. Services and retail trade continue to dominate the local market, together employing more than 50 percent of the non-agricultural workforce.

The state government is Bismarck's largest employer with more than 4,300 workers. The health care industry is second; MedCenter One and St. Alexius hospitals and their related clinics employ more than 4,100. Bismarck Public Schools and the federal government each employ more than 1,000 people.


With the exception of Burlington, I have personally traveled to and worked in four of the aforementioned cities. I can guarantee extreme cold and lots of snow during the winter months and extreme heat through the summer. The people of these areas are the real reason for their success, their values and determination. I wonder why there isn't anyone from the Top Five Cities running for president. You never hear about home foreclosures in their parts of the country. Do they know something Washington, DC doesn't know? Guess they aren't giving away any secrets.

Fear of Valentine's Day

According to a recent study by a popular dating service called It's Just Lunch, men do not hate Valentine's Day, but actually fear it. In a poll involving 4400 North American men and women, 42 percent of males claimed that finding a mate was at the top of their list. 35 percent said they never put any effort into looking for "the one", and a full third of single men admitted they intentionally avoid getting into relationships between Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. If you probe deeper, it's not the holiday alone they fear, but the fear of rejection through the holidays, in addition to impulsive buying and racking up higher balances on their credit cards.

40% of the women surveyed say they don't expect a Valentine's gift unless they're in a committed relationship, or into three months of dating the same guy. For women dating less than two weeks, 4% expected a Valentine's Day gift. So, if women say they aren't expecting the candy, roses and maybe a dinner date, what places terror in the hearts of single men?

It’s Just Lunch spokesperson, Jacquie Brownridge says keep it simple: "If there's ever a time for men to shed their shyness, Valentine's Day is it. It takes much less than men expect for women to feel appreciated, and every gesture gets bonus points on Valentine's Day. At the very least, smile at a woman you've never met before, she'll think cupid's taking aim and may strike up a conversation."


42 percent of the men in the survey said finding a compatible match was their No. 1 priority for the coming year, compared to 24 percent who ranked career as their top priority. 12 percent would like to go out on more dates, 12 percent rated health as their top priority and 10 percent were focused on growing personal wealth.

Men and women agreed that friends and family are the best means of finding compatible matches, followed by a dating service and all are open to going out with someone they meet on a social network like Facebook. Men were more likely to think a bar vs. the gym is better for meeting prospective dates.

41 percent of the men surveyed think it’s too corny to schedule a first date on Valentine’s Day, whereas 62 percent of women said they would. Only 4 percent of women put a box of chocolates on their list of nice Valentine’s Day gifts. They perceive chocolates as a last-minute gift idea and impersonal. Flowers are the ideal gift for over a third of single women in the survey and only 8 percent of women consider sexy lingerie a welcoming Valentine’s Day offering.

After all the surveys and interviews, single men still shudder at the thought of Valentine's Day, mostly intimidated and afraid their idea of celebrating or gift giving will not be enough or never satisfy the one they love. Still begging the age old question, just what do women want???

Happy Valentine's Day!

CD Baby Release

Songs For Charlie Music is proud to announce that Celeste's R&B ballad, "What Would John Lennon Say?" can now be downloaded for purchase on CDBaby and very soon on iTunes and several digital outlets online.

Here's the CDBaby link: http://cdbaby.com/cd/celestefriedman2

Share it with friends and spread it across the globe!