On Sunday, February 5th, the New England Patriots and New York Giants will battle it out in Indianapolis for the Super Bowl XLVI championship while consumers also battle it out and compete for the top Super Bowl party. This is good news for retailers and advertisers since Super Bowl Sunday is the most important snack, electronic, and ad purchase day of the year. Consumers impress their friends with the biggest parties, the most snacks, and often the latest and greatest big screen TVs, increasing retail sales and sales tax revenue. Check out our infographic to see how much America typically spends on the Super Bowl.
So where will you spend the Super Bowl?
Energy prices are coming down
Things aren’t getting much easier for the British consumer. Low pay rises and high inflation mean that the average worker took home an average of £35 a month less in real terms in November 2011 than in 2010. Public-sector workers felt the pain even more: their take-home pay was down £49 a month in real terms compared with last year.
While the latest inflation numbers have come in slightly lower than has become normal – with the consumer price index (CPI) at 4.2% – prices are still rising at more than double the Bank of England’s target rate. Inflation also remains higher than deposit rates. So not only are most people’s incomes still falling in real terms, but so is the value of their savings (something to bear in mind when you hear the governor of the Bank of England crowing over falling inflation rates).
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Avg. APR Last week 6 months ago National average 14.95% 15.14% 14.75% Low interest 10.40% 10.62% 10.73% Balance transfer 12.71% 12.85% 12.78% Business 13.13% 13.13% 13.07% Student 13.77% 13.77% 13.77% Airline 14.54% 14.54% 14.31% Cash back 14.61% 14.74% 14.16% Reward 14.78% 14.82% 14.51% Instant approval 15.49% 15.49% 15.99% Bad credit 23.41% 24.96% 24.96% Methodology: The national average credit card APR is comprised of 100 of the most popular credit cards in the country, including cards from dozens of leading U.S. issuers and representing every card category listed above. (Introductory, or teaser, rates are not included in the calculation.) Source: CreditCards.com Updated: Jan. 11, 2012
Interest rates on new credit card offers fell this week, according to the CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report, due to a sharp APR drop for the priciest card in our survey.
Reusing paper towels?! Hmmmm . Learning how to do more with less, and how to get by with less, is a great skill to learn. What happens most of the time with doing more with less, though, is that it takes precious time to do more with less. Mighty Bargain Hunter
I suck at negotiating. If I walked in to a Nordstrom and found a pair of shoes I liked, but decided the $100 asking price was too much, do you think they’d sell ‘em to me for $80? Not a chance. Most US retailers don’t negotiate price. If you aren’t willing to pay the sticker value, you best start looking elsewhere. In Korea, however, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Punch Debt in the Face
New Driver’s Guide for Getting Car Insurance. Before you can hit the road, you need a car insurance policy that provides you with coverage and protection. U.S. law require
Here we are in the New Year and again, we have a resolution to sort our finances out, once and for all. With the whole of Europe on an austerity drive, personal financial planning has never been more important, so below are 5 tips from Money Vista that will help you get your finances in order for 2012.
1. Forward plan to save each month
It can be daunting working out if or how much you can save every month, so you may need some help. There are various online tools that can assist you with your financial planning. This savings calculator, lets you explore how much your savings may be worth in future or, alternatively, how to reach a savings target.
2. Get that debt down to a minimum
As simple as it sounds, the first step in getting your debt down is not to require any new debt. Make it an absolute resolution not to take out any more loans and stop paying for things with credit.
Google’s first-quarter earnings came in below analyst projections as the Internet search leader sped up hiring, driving up its costs.
The results released Thursday may heighten investor fears that Google’s earnings might suffer because of the company’s commitment to hire at least 6,200 workers this year. That would be the most in Google’s 13-year history.
The company earned $2.3 billion, or $7.04 per share, in the period ending in March. That was an 18 percent increase from nearly $2 billion, or $6.06 per share, last year.
If not for expenses covering employee stock compensation, Google said it would have earned $8.08 per share. That was below the average estimate of $8.11 per share among analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Revenue was nearly $8.6 billion, a 27 percent increase from last year.
Reminder for 2012! The most well known part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) is that you can get a free copy of your credit report from all three major credit bureaus once every 12 months. However, there are also several other consumer databases that you should check as well which are also available absolutely free once every 12 months, and they can also have a significant financial impact. If you got one last year, you can now get another one and reset the 12 month clock.
ChexSystems Banking History ChexSystems is a consumer information database used by an estimated 80-90% of all banks to help determine the risk of opening new accounts. Think of it as the bank’s version of a credit bureau. If a person commits check fraud or overdraws their account, it will be listed here. I