Pliers

Lesson 4: Know Your Four Basic Survival Necessities Food is an obvious necessity and it’s important that you have options for obtaining food that does not involve credit or cash. Too many Americans believe it is sufficient to have some cash on hand to make purchases in the event of ATM outages, but in the event of a disaster, food may quickly become scarce and very expensive. You can protect yourself and your family from food insecurity by storing as much food as possible. You will need food…

My husband was hunched over the computer again. "Are you looking at car stuff again?" My tone belied a growing lack of interest in browsing the Internet looking for more information about Honda Pilots, the new car we were considering buying. Although initially we had found some reviews and comparisons that were helpful, my husband was insistent that shopping online for prices was going to pay off at the dealers. I was skeptical - "There's no way they are going to come down that much," was my…

The glistening sun beamed through the side window’s paper blinds at exactly 5:15 in the morning. The sheets were draped over my bed side because of my restless sleeping and I was missing my left sock. My mouth tasted of the Whopper I devoured the night before and my lips smacking together brought back the overpowering combination of mustard, mayonnaise, and ketchup back onto my taste buds. The wooden mirror propped up on the wall across from my bed showed a crusty middle aged man with…

Unfortunately, some companies have mismanaged their greatest asset—their brands. This is what befell the popular Snapple brand almost as soon as Quaker Oats bought the beverage marketer for $1.7 billion in 1994. Snapple had become a hit through powerful grassroots marketing and distribution through small outlets and convenience stores. Analysts said that because Quaker did not understand the brand’s appeal, it made the mistake of changing the ads and the distribution. Snapple lost so much…