A wide variety of consumer-focused stories appears in The New York Times and online in our blogs. Each weekday morning, we gather them all up here so you can quickly scan the news that could hit your wallet.
- Don’t feel like picking up a Christmas tree? Here’s an idea: rent one. (National)
- Pittsburgh’s mayor asked the City Council on Wednesday to postpone a vote on the nation’s first tuition tax on college students. (National)
- On the 17th day of Senate debate on health care legislation, a Democratic Senator withdrew his amendment to create a single-payer, Medicare-for-all health care system. (National)
- While lawmakers in Washington continue to debate how to make health care affordable for more Americans, thousands of unemployed New Yorkers like Rhonda R. Baumser are suddenly struggling to hang onto their health coverage as the federal Cobra subsidy expires. (New York)
- With G.P.S. navigation units deeply discounted this holiday season, here’s a test of whether the Google Maps Navigation app is as good as a Garmin or TomTom device (and whether it’s really cheaper). (Business)
- Small businesses are figuring out ways to get customers to pay their bills. (Business)
- Building a career on Etsy is not just the stuff of dreams, and some top sellers on the do-it-yourself craft site are earning six-figure incomes. Still, they are working very hard. (Styles)
- Would you Twitter your credit card purchases to share them with your network? A new service, Blippy, lets you do that. (You’re the Boss)
- Blue Nile’s co-founder is starting a private sale site with clothes and gear for children and babies. (Bits)
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f939c0a8ca2a078e7c8cac0858241e3a