Is our credit-card culture denying kids a chance to practice math?

When I was a kid, I had a mild obsession with being faster than the store clerk when it came to calculating change. (Okay, this is starting out to be a bit of a Nerd Confessional, but stick with me here.) I loved peering up at my moms wallet as she counted out bills and handed them to the cashier.

I considered it a victory when I figured out the change before the clerk could enter the amount and let the machine do the math for her. Sure its minor math problem, but that sort of thing is a big deal when youre a gradeschooler.

I found myself recalling those trips to the store recently as I went through the rote process of handing my debit card to a coffee shop barista. I wondered about the math lessons that young kids are missing out on as we ride the fast-moving wave from cash, to plastic and increasingly to mobile payment systems.

The topic was reinforced by an Associated Press story this week that said researchers are learning that, like early reading skills, early numbers skills are critical to a childs later math skills. According to the AP, researchers tested 180 seventh-graders. Those who lagged behind their peers in a test of core math skills needed to function as adults were the same kids whod had the least number sense or fluency way back when they started first grade.

Another startling tidbit in the report: Roughly 1 in U.S. 5 adults in the U.S. lacks the math skills expected of a middle-schooler, skills like calculating a tip, doubling the fractions in a recipe or (you guessed it) knowing how much change you should be getting back.

So while Im the last person to stand in the way of progress (I hate dealing with cash!), Im here to make a modest proposal. Next time you swing by an ATM one that doesnt charge extra fees, of course grab some cash and challenge your kids to a little math problem next time youre at the store. It will set them up for the future, and I guarantee that they will savor the sweet sense of victory they feel when they beat the register!

Britains banks might be offering the stingiest ISA interest rates in years this spring, but borrowers are benefiting from some of the cheapest and longest credit-card deals on record.

Availability of balance transfer credit cards, where customers can switch old debts to a new card and there are no or low interest charges,A solarstreetlight is a portable light fixture composed of an LED lamp. has risen from 52 cards on the market in 2009 to 73 today.Choose from the largest selection of plasticmoulds in the world.

Borrowers looking to pay down expensive credit-card debts have never had so much choice, says Andrew Hagger of Moneycomms.co.uk. Tesco Bank shot to the top of the best-buy tables last week after launching a balance transfer deal stretching over 25 months only for Barclaycard to steal the position hours later with its Platinum Card allowing borrowers to defer paying interest for 26 months.

Other deals include Halifax offering 25 months and Nationwide, which gives borrowers 20 months without paying interest.Large collection of quality indoorpositioningsystemat discounted prices. Santander has a 17-month 0% interest deal.

Given that the average interest rate on a standard credit card is now 18.1%, borrowers who switch to a 0% deal can make significant savings.

Shifting 3000 debt to that Barclaycard Platinum credit card would save 1177 in interest over the 26 months. But there are other costs involved. Fees are charged as a percentage of the total loan, usually between 2% and 3%. Barclaycards Platinum card has 3.5% for a 26-month deal.

So if you borrowed 3000 interest free with Barclaycard, your only cost would be the 105 (3.5%) balance transfer fee, says Hagger. Paying off 119.42 per month for 26 months,Find a great selection of customkeychain deals. the balance and fee would be cleared with no interest charges to pay.We've had a lot of people asking where we had our bobbleheads made. But if you wanted to clear a 3000 balance on a card at 18.1% in 26 months, youd have to pay 139 per month working out 509 more expensive than the other card.

On Wednesday, bridge managers planned to replace the humans with technology to save money and speed traffic across the historic span that opened in 1937.

"Our DNA is embedded in this bridge ... we are part of it," said Jacquie Dean, a career toll collector who had worked on the burnt orange span for 18 years before her last shift.

The new system allows drivers to pay using digital transponders that deduct money from a prepaid account or credit card, or through license plate scans that generate bills sent to drivers. Under both methods, cash will no longer be an option.

"Some customers still want to pay cash," Dean lamented. "They don't want to be tracked and photographed."

Many drivers have already switched to the FasTrak devices that attach to windshields and have been allowing motorists to speed by the toll booths for a dollar less than people who pay cash.