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The conventional wisdom for both male and female employees when it comes to shedding tears in front of co-workers in the workplace is: Don't do it.

Things can go wrong and difficult issues can come up at work, but most workplace consultants agree that crying is not the best way to deal with job-related stress.

Three months ago, many bank customers were fuming. They didn't like big bank bailouts, and they didn't like the $5 debit card fees that Bank of America and other institutions were rolling out.

In response to November's call for a nationwide "Bank Transfer Day," about 610,000 consumers switched from a big bank to a credit union or smaller community bank, according to a recent research survey. Overall, an estimated 5.6 million U.S. consumers switched banks during October-December 2011. Their reasons:

Bank Transfer Day: 11 percent

Too many fees: 26 percent

After years of wandering through thickets of gas-guzzlers, practical-minded motorists now are treated to an abundance of economical small cars and not a clunker in the bunch.

It's a promised land of subcompacts that offers just about everything anybody could want in an automobile, especially fuel economy.

You might not expect to drive a Buick with a six-speed stick that was made in this century.

In recent years, the near-luxury division of General Motors has represented sublime detachment from the rigors of the road. Anything that could be automatic was, from the climate control to the gearshift.

Finally -- I open the Sunday newspaper and see something positive regarding job seekers, rather than the usual negative news about unemployment and loss of jobs. I was so excited!

Buying a new house brings up different issues than buying a pre-owned home. You have access to more information on building materials and systems than a subsequent buyer. But unknowns lurk: What will the completed neighborhood look like? Will it include all the features promised in the brochure?

Congratulations -- you've won a prize!

Maybe not.

More people reported falling victim to phony prize and sweepstakes awards than any other type of scam last year, the National Consumers League reports.

TOLEDO, Ohio - It isn't often national restaurant chains get menu items from the kitchens of their franchisees, but Brian Edler's idea was one Domino's Pizza executives ate right up.

With tax season getting under way, today I'll answer reader questions about property taxes, the new Medicare surcharge starting in 2013 and how to get those old-fashioned paper tax forms.

Q. Tony G. asks, "Has anything been published regarding the process to order forms for both IRS and (state) Franchise Tax? If not, where can I find the information?"