As the holiday shopping season gets closer, here’s a warning about rebates.

A new study by Intellaprice shows that nationally, the cost of dining out has gone up. Dinner entrees have risen two percent while side dishes and desserts have jumped up almost ten percent; so many restaurants look for creative ways to cut cost and keep customers coming.

The Lowcountry has a new way to go green and save money at the same time.

Credit card companies are trying to squeeze as much money out of customers as they can. Another reason is that companies are scrambling to raise their rates before the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act goes into effect February 2010, which will make it harder for companies to increase their rates.

It isn’t just tuition increases that are driving up the cost of college. Around the country, deep budget cuts are forcing colleges to lay off instructors and eliminate some classes, making it harder for students to get into the courses they need to earn their degree.

The cost of eating in appears to be dropping. According to the Texas Farm Bureau, prices are falling at the grocery store—down 3 percent over the past six months.

Walt Marciniak received a check after buying his wife a gift, which he thought was either a rebate or a customer loyalty check, something along those lines. After cashing the check, his credit card was charged for $139.99. So what do you do if you find yourself a victim of cramming ?

Dollar stores, which now sell everything from beauty products and turtlenecks to peanut butter, soft drinks and ice cream, are increasingly popular. But experts caution that not everything at dollar stores is a deal, and not everything costs $1. Here are some tips on avoiding dollar-store pitfalls.

An increasing number of college students are turning to private loans—one of the riskiest ways to pay for schooling, according to an education organization that compared them to credit-card debt.

Billing errors are common, experts say. Double-billing, typos, upselling, and outright fraud add up to big unexpected medical bills for consumers—even those who think they are fully covered by insurance. But you can get fair billing if your know the right questions to ask.

Depending on the company and the travel insurance policy, if a storm damages your hotel before your departure, shuts down your airport or even if a hurricane’s predicted path is near the location of your upcoming insured vacation, it is possible to get reimbursed.

It starts by duping unsuspecting internet users into providing their cell phone numbers to take IQ quizzes, win prizes and get coupons to stores. Once they get your number, they “cram” unwanted charges on your phone bill for things like premium text messages, e-mail accounts and voice mail.

Money is known to get contaminated with cocaine when drug dealers make a transaction or when users snort the drug using a rolled bill. But a new study says large-scale contamination takes place when the money is whisked into currency-counting machines.

You could be handling cocaine every day and not even know it. A study by researchers out of the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth finds up to 90% of U.S. Currency is contaminated with cocaine.

Frank DiPascali, formerly the finance chief at Bernard Madoff’s investment advisory business, pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday to 10 charges including securities fraud and international money laundering.