Budgeting

Those brightly lit, garish-looking storefronts that promise "CASH NOW!" and "NO CREDIT CHECKS!!!" are the purveyors of payday loans, or "deferred deposit loans," as the Utah Code prefers to call them.

The loans are usually for smaller amounts, between $50 and $500, but carry annual interest rates often exceeding 500 percent.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah legislative leaders have finalized a $13 billion budget proposal that will go to lawmakers Monday without raising taxes or cutting funding for state agencies.

CENTERVILLE -- City council members recently approved modifying the budget to give the Historic Sites Committee a small amount of money to use until the committee's budgeted funds become available in April.

OGDEN -- Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Wednesday's defeat of the latest version of his constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget was expected, but there's no other way to bring federal spending under control.

Teenagers are notorious for not being able to handle money.

Teenagers live in a fantasy world where, for the most part, everything is handed to them. The majority of teens don't have to pay for their shelter, food or other basic needs. So the money that teenagers do have can be spent on just about anything, whether it is practical and needed or not.

For adults, this is concerning because as teenagers we are the future of our country. Once we exit this fantasy world we will enter the harsh conditions of reality where money is a necessity just to be alive, let alone to enjoy yourself.

It is important to start being conscious of our spending habits and money now so that when we are older we will have already developed good habits.

NEW YORK — American homes are more cluttered than ever with devices, and they all need power: Cell phones and iPads that have to be charged, DVRs that run all hours, TVs that light up in high definition.

SUNSET -- The Sunset Fire Department has a nearly new ambulance, but it remains parked at the fire station -- and not because of gas prices.