Spend Spend Spend

The Bureau of Labor Statistics say that Americans are spending less on clothes, food and booze! A bit surprising but as Americans we ranked the highest for housing, transportation and health care.

Compared to many other countries average Americans are spending more money on eating out, compared to spending a large chunk of our income on food to cook at home.

If you think that our gas prices are high, think again. It costs Canadians more for transportation because of much steeper gas tax which makes it about $1 more per gallon.

Overall is it not interesting that Americans are spending less of their budget on clothing booze? Is it that we don't value it that much compared to housing?

Washington Post

Robbery for $5 dollars?

 

 

 

Is it right to arrest a sever year old? Is it right to consider a seven year old a rober for taking five dollars of somebody elses lunch money? It is up to you to decide whether or not those questions are right or not but i believe the answer should be no!

 

 

A local New York family is suing their police department and their city for $250 million dollars for handcuffing and interigating their sever year old boy, for 10 hours over a scuffle oer lunch money.

 

Not just a whole bank acount of lunch money...but five dollars worth!

 

Robbery charges were later droped from the boy and NYPD are under investigation for false improsenment, physical and emotional.

 

Although NYPD denies what is being said about them and says the whole story is being fabricated the little boys mother is determined to sue them "Imagine how I felt seeing my son in handcuffs." Frances Mendez. 

Suing for five dollars

Have Fun for Free!

As Americans we love to spend time going out to eat, going to movies and spending money. Sometimes it feels like if you aren't spending money, you aren't having fun. That's not what Kevin McKee says in his article 7 Ways to Have Fun Without Spending Money. Kevin talks about some great ways to have fun spending little or no money.

The list has seven things you can do with your friends or alone. The seven things are:

• Play sand volleyball.
• Watch a show with friends.
• Take dance lessons.
• Do community service.
• Be designated driver.
• Create something.
• Start a blog or online video diary.

Not everything on this list is appealing to me but it makes me want to come up with my own list. It shows that a little creativity can turn into a lot of fun, that won't hurt your wallet. I think it’s worth a shot the next time one of my friends says, “I don’t know, what do you want to do?”

Thousandaire

The Death of the "American Dream"

"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” 

What is left of the American Dream? Do we now have restrictions that we worked so hard to get rid of and dreamed of never having?

Many people like Michael the creator of the article “Money Problems That Never Seem To End...” are disgusted with the U.S economy, because of statistics like the 6.4 million job loss difference between what it was at the recession and the all time low now.

We have learned that our Nation’s debt is “normal”, that it doesn't affect us, well it does. The American Dollar is going to fall just like the Euro almost did in Germany, if we, as a Nation don’t do anything about it.

We have the individual choices and opportunities to receive a good education and career, but we are very limited to what we can do, because of money.

We are in huge circle of debt and we need to figure out a way to get out of it. If people are have money problems we get another credit card or borrow from the state or government. If the state or government is having financial problems they take it out on people through taxes and charges or they just barrow more money to put us more in debt.

This is an ongoing problem and if we don’t do something to change the way we are spending money, someone somewhere is going to come looking for what we owe.


The Economic Collapse

Graduate college with no debt

There are ways to help college students graduate without being hundreds of thousands of dollars in student load debt. With interests on student loans threatening to double, here are four ways that could help steer you away from debt.

1. Choose your degree wisely- Some will end up costing more than others.
2. Community colleges (woot woot!)- Because of the less cost, more and more students are choosing the route of attending a 2-year school then transferring over to a 4-year school.
3. Public colleges, instate, cost less than instate private colleges.
4. Work and pay your loan as you are attending school. This way you won't be stuck with so much when you graduate.

MSN Money

Hockey and the Economy

2012-2013 NHL Lockout 

A lockout is a temporary stoppage in work due to a dispute between, in this case, the owners and the players. These two parties could not reach an agreement on a few issues. One agreement, however, is that the maximum deal that a player can sign is four years. 

This issue is still a big deal because many local businesses that are located near the Excel Energy Center had to lay off and/or file for bankruptcy. Game-day crowds are a large part of what drive these businesses and cities.

Detroit ("Hockeytown, USA") reported losing 1.9 million dollars for every home game cancelled. This lockout shortened this season by about 35 games. You do the math. One business in particular said he is down about 350,000$ due to this lockout. 

http://business.time.com/2013/01/08/nhl-lockout-is-over-guess-whos-happier-than-fans-or-players/

THQ Dies but what about it's Games?

I’m what you call a gamer, a person who spends probably way to much time in front of a screen shooting inanimate objects over going outside kicking a ball, although I’m not the only gamer and I’m probably not the only one that knows of THQ’s bankruptcy.

Recently THQ filed for bankruptcy in December of 2012 and for a month we didn’t hear anything from them.

Many questions popped up like “what will happen to their games?” or “will the next developer kill the game franchise or keep the legend going?”

THQ did sell off many of their assets, totaling in about $63 million dollars total. Many of the buyers were also big game companies such as SEGA and Ubisoft.

Many gamers in the world think that games that THQ developed such as Saints Row the Third or Metro 2033 are going to die now that other companies own them. But I believe this will open up a new generation of games.

Mace & Crown

Student Loans - Necessity or Luxury?

Student loans have become a necessity in the past few decades in order to attend college of any type. According to the American Student Assistance, approximately 20 million Americans attend college each year and about 60% of these students borrow throughout the entire year.

As of today, there is roughly about $900 billion to $1 trillion of student loan debt throughout the nation. That puts the average debt for each student at about $24,300.

About 30% of all students that take out student loans end up dropping out without receiving a degree or certificate. Out of the students that take out loans to enroll in two year colleges, more than half of these students drop out and never receive a degree. The students that borrow and drop out of college are the ones that have the biggest trouble paying off their debt.

This giant amount of national student loan debt is greatly effecting the economy also. About 37 million Americans have outstanding student loan debt and 14% of them have at least one past due student loan account. In 2011, first-time home buyers fell to the smallest percentage of total home purchasers since 2006 because of the large amount of national student loan debt.

These are some scary and true statistics about the reality of student loans. I guess it shows that if we start college we better finish, otherwise we will be in a lot  or worse financial trouble.

American Student Assistance

Eat Out And Save The Bank

                As young adults, we are always out and about- shopping, hanging out with friends, playing hockey with friends, etc. When we’re busy all day, we don’t want to go home a make a meal, we want to go out and have someone else prepare it for us. A huge part of my paycheck always goes to eating out. This article provides many great tips on how to save money while eating out.

• Choose the right time of the day. Try going to restaurants at lunch instead of dinner, or when they have happy hours. Many restaurants have deals, like half off appetizers or buy one get one free meals. This could save a lot of money.

• Look for deals. Many restaurants offer deals through emails, groupons, etc. These could save 50 to 90 percent of a total meal!

• Check in. If you happen to have a smartphone, there are many apps that allow you to search for deals nearby, which may influence your dining decisions. Also, restaurants may offer discounts to those who check in if you mention it to your server. 

• Share a plate. By sharing food, you can cut your bill in half and still leave a restaurant satisfied.

            Trips to restaurants and fast food places can really add up-with these simple and easy tips, you can really save some money!

http://money.msn.com/shopping-deals/dine-out-without-breaking-the-bank

Tax Refunds Equals Extra Money

Tax Season is here and your going to be recieving extra money. You may want to pay some unwanted debt of just get a head. Either way there is some extra money coming your way.

 But first there are some things you need to know about filing this year:

·         Tax Filing can’t be processed til January 30^th

·         The education refunds of American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit won’t be processed until mid- February

·       Filers with residential energy credits and general business credits, will need to wait until late February or March

·        If you’re a victim of Identity Theft you will have to wait too

·         Generally speaking you will get your IRS refunds back about three weeks after you file your taxes.

Last Year it was reported by CNN Money, “Get ready to file your taxes” that 110 million taxpayers received an average of $2,803. With that money you can definitely pay some of your unwanted debt or start the New Year off ahead financially with your extra money.

CNN Money

Banks are Just Handing Out Money

In these tough times a lot of banks are giving out loans that probably should not be given out.  The loans are sometimes to people who cannot pay them back, much less add interest on to that.

According to Amid Debt Crisis, Banks Confronted by Familiar Problems an article in the New York Times, “European financial institutions, for example, are currently trying to offload more than 2.5 trillion Euros ($3.1 trillion) of noncore loans, or roughly 6 percent of total European banking assets. According to the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.”

Most banks need the central bank funding to help with the economic growth.  Many banks in Europe were too dependent on these funds and as a result struggled to raise the proper funds.

            Banks need to regulate who they give a loan out to and not just give it out too anyone in order to get their money back.

NY Times: Amid Debt Crisis, Banks Confronted by Familiar Problems
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/amid-debt-crisis-banks-confronted-by-familiar-problems/

Smiled-Upon Addiction

“Smiled-Upon Addiction”

Nearly 2 out of 5 Americans have a shopping addiction and in more than 1 out of 10, it ruins their lives, relationships, and even careers. The numbers are jaw dropping and on the rise!

This addiction gives shopaholics a certain “high” and fills in that emptiness inside.  They avoid shopping with friends and are not aware or do not want to admit that it may be an issue until it is too late. Some may use keeping up with fashion, or having good taste, as an excuse to cover up problem.

 Finding the root key to the problem is the key to solving it.  The root problems can vary from:

               ·      Loneliness

               ·      Boredom

               ·      Depression

               ·      Empowerment

This addiction has destroyed so many relationships and careers, this article gives to examples of former addicts that have struggled with this addiction but overcame it. These former shopaholics had different root problems and both ended up in serious debt that took them years to pay off.

We may not all be shopaholics but we can all take something from this article. For example, when about to purchase anything for $20 ask yourself the following questions:

1    .       Do I really need this?

2    .       Can it wait?

3    .       Do you have anything similar that can replace it?

      Whether you may have an addiction or not we all need to watch our spending, it may lead to more trouble than expected.

US NEWS MONEY

A Rising Trend, Student Loans

With the soaring cost of tuition and a harsh job market, college seniors graduating face a new form of financial crisis. In an article published by CNN Money on October 18^th, 2012, found that more than 60% of recent 2011 graduates had student debt. Of those students that were in debt, they owed on average of $27,000 upon graduation from college.

This is over a 5% increase since just 2010, and cannot come at a worse time as graduates struggle to find employment. The same study also found that the number of students that defaulted on their student loans within the first two years after graduating college saw a .3% increase to 9.1% in 2011 from 2010.

When potential college students are looking at which college to attend, they need to take into account for the cost of tuition, financial aid, where the school is located, scholarships, fees, etc, as similar schools debt levels can differ significantly.

If this news makes you want to skip college and go straight to work after high school, you might want to think again. In 2011 college grads faced an 8.8% unemployment rate, but high school grads faced a staggering 19.1% unemployment rate.

As you can see, a college degree is still the best option for landing a job with good pay, even though debt and loans scare off potential students. College students just need to make wise decisions in their school choice and money habits.

CNN Money

Money Pitching

      MONEY PITCHING

                   As college students we need to know how to budget our money.  We need to learn a healthy way to save money and you can find a few tips.  There are quick and simple tips that go the long way.

       

            Some at home tips:

·        Make your own lunch at home instead of going out –Making food at home saves you more money rather than going out to eat for lunch.

              

·        Make your own coffee at home – Another money saver, make a quick batch of coffee at home rather than spending $5 at the coffee shop each morning.

·        Buy bulks of food – Buying foods in bulks is a cheaper method of groceries shopping and going to places such as Sams Club

·      
       Buy Used books - Buying used books is a LOT cheaper. Cutting down the price by half.

·        Carpool – Try to get rides with co-workers. If not try carpooling for other things such as going to a friend’s house or mall.

Tips For Life