Why they're a buy: Many knife makers have cut prices on fancy block sets to appeal to penny-pinching consumers. But Chad Ward, author of "An Edge in the Kitchen," says you need only one high-end blade: an eight-inch steel chef's knife, which costs about half as much as a set. Get either a forged European-style model (if you like to chop with a rocking motion) or a Japanese one (which is lighter and better for precision cutting).

The strategy: Pass on big names like Wüsthof. Some lesser-known brands offer higher quality for the same price, says knife retailer Mark Richmond. Many pros point to the German-made Messermeister Meridian Elite ($100) and, in the Japanese category, the Shun Classic ($120, with a lifetime warranty and free sharpening).

Get more value: Start your shopping at chefknivestogo.com and cutleryandmore.com, which offer some of the lowest prices and best selection around. And both accept returns.

Personal finance from around the Web:

• The new credit card law requires issuers to notify cardholders about account changes 45 days in advance. But what's the point if people don't read their credit card mail? [CreditBloggers]

• Have a mysterious pain you can't identify? Want to know how to soothe an upset stomach? Text your question to a group of doctors for $50. [Bits]

• The Toyota recall might be a very good thing for buyers, says one blogger. [The Financial Decoder]

• Come tax time, don't forget about unemployment benefits. The first $2,400 were tax-free in 2009, but after that you'll have to pay Uncle Sam. [Bargaineering]

• Count the number of cars on your street and divide it by the number of households. If the number you end up with is greater than two, you can bet there will be some foreclosures in your neighborhood. [WalletPop]

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For most people, housing costs are the biggest monthly expense–and a particular drag when you're unemployed. So where can you live in America for cheap today?

According to Reis Inc., which tracks the rental market, the lowest average rent for an apartment can be found in these five cities:

1. Wichita, KS  - $516
2. Oklahoma City – $543
3. Tulsa, OK – $577
4. Knoxville, TN – $587
5. Chattanooga, TN – $619

What's more, each city has an unemployment rate lower than the current national average of 10.0%. (An updated jobs report from the BLS is due out this Friday.)

…Not that you're guaranteed to find a job in any of these places. As Oklahoma City University finance professor Keith Hazelton points out in his blog, unemployment in the wind-swept state is likely to rise if the U.S. economy doesn't kick into high gear by the end of the year.

But whereas Hazelton thinks the jobless rate could top 11% nationally in late 2010, he argues that, in Oklahoma, the number is likely to hover near 7% (up from 6.6% today). He writes:

"Oklahoma did not participate in the nation's housing bubble nor much of the commercial real estate bubble now in the process of popping…Oklahoma and other energy states went through their own mini-depression from 1982-1992 as collapsing energy prices brought down banks, retail, home values, etc. The banks and businesses that survived emerged far more cautious about leverage and credit quality, having witnessed first-hand the ill effects of a debt-deleveraging, deflationary episode, in which many parts of the nation now find themselves immersed…"

Wait…the state's "mini" depression lasted from 1982 to 1992? Does that mean it will take a decade (or more!) for the U.S. economy to recover from its "great" recession?

Pack your bags. Oklahoma, here we come!

Talk about bull markets.

New York City steakhouse Smith & Wollensky announced in a full-page ad in the New York Times business section today that starting immediately it would accept NYSE and NASDAQ stock certificates in payment for its USDA Prime steaks at both lunch and dinner.

In a tongue-and-cheek message, the ad noted that with large banks paying out bonuses in stock instead of cash, "the effects on the local economy could be catastrophic, leaving large tracts of land in the Hamptons and Martha's Vineyard undeveloped; legions of real estate brokers, personal shoppers and pet psychiatrists unemployed; and massive amounts of steak and lobster uneaten."

"So bring us your CIT (CIT),
your GS (GS), your MS (MS), your C (C); we'll gladly exchange them for porterhouse and ribeye. And yes, we'll even accept GM (GM).  "

So how many shares might you have to fork over for, say, a $48.50 New York Cut sirloin on the bone?

Based on recent trading prices, that slab of aged beef would require just over one and half shares of CIT Group, a third of a share Goldman Sachs, almost 28 1.7 shares of Morgan Stanley and a bit more than 14 shares of Citigroup.

GM shares are an entirely different matter. In the wake of GM's bankruptcy filing, its old shares now trade as Motors Liquidation Company, recently fetching a whopping price of 61 cents, meaning you'd have to part with nearly 80 shares.

Although a Smith & Wollensky spokesperson confirmed to me that the offer is genuine, it's clearly more publicity ploy than what the ad drolly describes as "the first important step towards getting these bonuses back into city's economy."

I'd also say that the chances of legions of Wall Streeters storming the place to take advantage of the offer are about as high as the odds of that GM stock getting back to its pre-bankruptcy high-i.e., about zero.
Why? Well, the mousetype at the bottom of the ad explains that to swap stock for steak, you must surrender in person "the original stock certificates, plus a separate stock power with a medallion signature guarantee affixed."

That's a lot of trouble to go to for lunch or dinner. I suspect investment bankers and hedge fund mangers will instead do what they've always done: put the tab on their expense account.

–Walter Updegrave