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CVS Leads the Way as Companies Choose Social Change Over Profits

Written by adminSeptember 11, 2019

In a free market economy, many companies put profits over everything else. If they can sell it, they’ll sell it, even if it puts their customers at risk. But many other companies are starting to see the light. Starting to put their morals over profits, many companies are taking a big risk but it often pays off.

CVS is one of those companies. September 2019 marks the five-year anniversary since CVS took all tobacco products out of their stores. You might be thinking that this is a bad move for CVS, but they take a lot of pride for having made this move. That’s because of who CVS is and what their brand represents. Their focus is on helping customers improve their health, not destroy it.

It’s not just our economy, but our entire country who seems to be moving to a more social conscious way of living. What companies represent has more value than just seeking profits. They want to represent something, help their communities, and be a brand for change. TOMS shoes, for example, hopes to donate a hundred million pairs of shoes by next year. This has only inspired others to want to shop at TOMS to help make a difference.

Whole Foods has designated a certain day in which 5% of all their sales on that day is donated to community-based organizations. Patagonia, a clothing and recreational store, made sustainability a priority with the products they make. Steps like this make a huge difference in how the younger generations are perceiving. These are bold steps that might dig into profits, but it shows these companies have purpose and people are buying into that purpose.

People Over Profits

There’s certainly a drive and a desire to create a legacy that makes the world a better place. To improve the communities in which they operate, to help the environment, and to give to those in need really are the types of companies that are world needs right now. Putting people over profits increases sustainability versus companies that profit in the deaths of others in the destruction of our environment.

CVS realized this when they took tobacco out of their stores. How could a company that advertises its ability to focus on our health turn around and sell tobacco products which is the leading cause of death and disease in our country? Selling these products was contradictory to their model and was a major barrier to their growth as “a trusted health care provider.”

Americans are now smoking less and CVS as part of that reason. In 2017, the American Journal of Public Health found that Americans purchased 100 million less packs and CVS’s decision had a big impact on that number. The study found that people who exclusively got their cigarettes at the pharmacy were 38% more likely to just stop buying them all together. This is a major impact the company has had and it’s the one they’re extremely proud of.

So, CVS took a stand and while they ended up losing money from the lack of tobacco sales, they made a major impact on the health of their customers. This also let the customers know that they take health very seriously and now there are one of the top pharmacies in the country.

Written by adminSeptember 11, 2019

Politics

In the category of “where have we seen this before,” President Trump promised via the White House press corps that he was going to release a detailed financial report before the 20/20 presidential election. It’s unknown exactly what he’s going to release, if anything, but he says it’s a detailed report of all of his personal holdings. There have been many questions about how Trump is profiting as president.

This might not be much of a promise even if he goes through with. He has to file financial disclosures anyway with the government ethics office. At least Trump seems to understand that there are many ethics questions that have been popping up over the past few months and even years about how much money the president is making while in office.

These types of questions were specifically asked in the past week after VP Mike Pence stayed in Doonbeg, Ireland, choosing to stay in one of Trump’s resorts. Another question is popped up in the past few days about whether a crew of Air Force personnel stayed at Trump’s properties in Scotland.

“At some point prior to the election, I’m going to be giving out a financial report of me, and it’ll be extremely complete,” he told reporters at the White House before leaving for a campaign rally in North Carolina.

Ethics Questions Being Raised

The big question being raised here is whether Trump is forcing the government to stay at his properties when they’re traveling abroad. He has many resorts, hotels, golf courses all over the world. He himself has stayed at these places when traveling up and down the East Coast, from Florida all the way up to New York.

Yet, these government entities and trump himself do not stay at his resorts for free. The taxpayers are paying for these stays, so that’s taxpayer money going directly into Trump’s pocket. But Trump says he doesn’t need the government staying at his hotels and he doesn’t need to make a profit from taxpayers. Hence, releasing his financial status in an attempt to quell any speculation.

“I’m going to give out my financial condition and you’ll be extremely shocked that the numbers are many, many times what you think,” Trump said. “I don’t need to have somebody take a room overnight at a hotel.”

President Trump decided not to release his tax returns in a rare move by an American president over the past few decades. He made promises during the 2016 campaign after questions were raised by Democrats about his ties to Russia. Many feel that Trump has way overestimated his worth and isn’t upfront about many questions that continue to swirl around his financial dealings.

Written by adminSeptember 11, 2019

Life Style

In a time when it seems as if retail stores are either thriving or dying, Target is on the thriving list, but they’re not satisfied yet. As Amazon and Walmart keeps fighting for that #1 spot, Target isn’t that far behind. They, too, revamped their website and put an emphasis on online sales and to boost the convenience of shopping at Target stores.

Now, they want to entice customers to keep shopping at the red brand just in time for the busy holiday shopping season. On October 6^th, Target looks to release an updated loyalty program, called Target Circle, that offers tons of perks for their biggest fans. The company has been testing this program in 6 U.S. cities for the past 18 months to see if it would be rolled out nationwide.

The answer appears to be “YES!” This new loyalty program appears to offer personalized deals and earlier access to deals that other shoppers have to wait for. You can even get 1% back on all your Target purchases, inspiring you to shop more often to see the benefits. Over 2 million members got to test out the new loyalty program, so apparently it was good enough to expand.

This new program was designed to partner up with Redcard, which is Target’s own credit card and eliminates the previous program they had called Cartwheel. Both services plus more were added to these cards. And if you were already a member of Redcard or have signed up with Target.com, you’ll be automatically enrolled. Don’t worry, the program is absolutely free!

Target Circle Info

One benefit the company has with the Target Circle club is that it will allow them to check out and monitor your shopping habits. No, not in some creepy way, but the card will be able to send you discounts on products you buy more often. For example, if the system sees you have started buying a lot of diapers, then it will send offers and coupons for diapers to your email.

“This will help Target build a more complete picture of shoppers,” said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail. “It gives customers a little incentive to go to Target.”

Target is yet another big-name brand store that is looking for new ways to keep customers shopping. Giving money back and sending them great deals is a great way to make shoppers happy. Many other companies like Kohl’s, Starbucks, Macy’s, and others have created similar loyalty programs that reward users who shop with them often.

Written by adminSeptember 11, 2019

Real life

In the U.S. there are more single women working than at any other time in the past, and that’s having a direct impact on the economy. These women contribute nearly $7 trillion. It’s estimated that in the next decade, nearly half of all working women will be single. This is data according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to other research from Morgan Stanley, women have always been the bigger spenders in the average U.S. household. They even spend more money than married women, which is why this shift is important to note. Personal care, food, luxury items, footwear, and electric cars are all being boosted by this demographic.

Single women have more money to spend on themselves, where married women tend to be more family focused. They even spend more on personal care, like massages and making sure they look good. Currently, men are the largest buyers in the country when it comes to larger purchases, like cars. Women are certainly taking a larger piece of that pie for sure, giving car companies a massive boost.

Women Spend More on Basic Needs

Don’t let the first part of this article fool you. Women just don’t buy lipstick and yoga pants. They are also more likely to be heading low-income households. Single mothers who are low-income spend as much as 82% of their entire budget on necessities, according to a report from the Brookings Institute.

“Low-income households, which are more likely to be headed by women, spend 82% of their budget on basic needs like housing, food, transportation, health care and clothing,” said Lauren Bauer, fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution.

Housing usually takes up more of the budget, especially the less money you make. But women aren’t just staying at home. More women than ever are going back to college and getting degrees to have the opportunity to get better jobs. As millennials and the younger generations are putting off marriage, they have no choice but to focus on taking care of the bills.

80% of all single women in the country are working or looking for work. That’s going to force companies to make some decisions in the future.

“We have to talk about releasing the pressure on the household,” said Pam Jeffords, partner and diversity & inclusion leader at PwC. “This means for employers to think about care — both for children and parents — as a condition for employment rather than a benefit. Organizations need to stop assuming that there’s one kind of traditional family unit that needs one kind of support,” she said.

Written by adminSeptember 11, 2019

Life Style

Facebook enjoys marketing itself as the place where people can be connected with each other better. We share everything going on in our lives on the social media website, from what we eat, to what we believe in, and even every major life event. Facebook itself continually looks for new ways to open the door for more human connection.

Their latest project includes starting a new dating service called Facebook Dating. No, we’re not kidding. If you’re listed as “single” on the site, you most likely got a notification saying, “it’s time to look for love” and offering an invite to Facebook Dating as it was released on Thursday. The new service will allow you to connect with others and reach out to singles in your area or abroad.

“Facebook Dating isn’t about swiping or having to wait for someone like you to get a first chance at reaching out,” the company said in its announcement. “If you are interested in someone, you can comment directly on their profile or tap on the Like button to let them know. If you aren’t interested, you can pass on them.”

How Facebook Dating Works

People who use Facebook dating will be able to find matches with complete strangers or even friends of friends. They won’t match you directly with a friend you already have. That can be a bit awkward, so thankfully Facebook kept that part out of it. But there’s also a secret crush feature that can allow you to add someone as a crush.

If you attend events with others or run in similar circles, Facebook will use their algorithm to pair you with them. There are even several safety features built in. If you go on a date with someone you met on Facebook Dating, you can share the details of your date on the site or even allow a close friend or family member to track your location live through the app.

So far, it’s been released in 20 countries around the world, including North and South America and Asia. Europe won’t see Facebook Dating until around 2020. Facebook assures everyone that there are plenty of safety features built into this new product and they hope it will be a great way for new people to meet and fall in love.

The world is growing more connected all the time. We recently ran an article that discussed how couples are meeting online more than ever, even surpassing the traditional methods of meeting someone new. If you’re single and looking to mingle, then perhaps you can give this new service a try.

Written by adminSeptember 11, 2019

Entertainment

YouTube, the world’s most popular video sharing site, also owned by Google, was just slapped with a $170 million fine. Allegations were made against the company that they were breaking the law by taking personal information from kids who use the site and using it to target them with specific ads. This is against the law, which prompted the Federal Trade Commission to look into it.

Rather than fight it, YouTube just agreed to the $170 million as a settlement. The law states that no entity can collect data on children younger than 13, which is probably why Facebook and other sites don’t allow users younger than that age to use their sites. The original law was written in 1998, but was updated in 2013 so that “cookies” and other data-collecting techniques couldn’t be employed online to track children.

According to the accusation, YouTube has been tracking the channels of children users without asking for consent from parents. They then used that data to target the kids with millions of dollars’ worth of ads, essentially breaking the law. When asked to comment about the allegations, Google decide not to and instead just settled the case.

YouTube’s Terms of Service

Unlike Facebook and other social media, YouTube allows children to create their own personal channels. They’ve already taken steps to help protect children by disabling comments and made other moves to help prevent adults from finding the channels. While they took those actions to protect children, they still allowed them to be targeted by the likes of Hasbro and Mattel to pump ads towards those channels.

YouTube even used their popularity with children to entice Mattel to spend millions in advertising on their site. They told the toy company that “YouTube is today’s leader in reaching children age 6-11 against top TV channels.” This is very true. Many children’s pages have millions of subscribers and views. Most of their channels involve unboxing toys and discussing their features, something Mattel would love to be involved in.

“YouTube touted its popularity with children to prospective corporate clients,” FTC Chairman Joe Simons said in a statement. “Yet when it came to complying with (federal law banning collecting data on children), the company refused to acknowledge that portions of its platform were clearly directed to kids.”

“Google and YouTube knowingly and illegally monitored, tracked, and served targeted ads to young children just to keep advertising dollars rolling in,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Written by adminSeptember 11, 2019

Life Style

As innovation continues to expand, many manufacturing jobs appear to be on a downward trend. Any job that can be replaced by a robot is going to save the company tens of thousands of dollars over several years. Companies do this because robots essentially work for free, don’t need vacation or sick time, and they don’t have to worry about robot labor laws.

Yet, this sort of practice is only going to continue hurting the U.S. economy. Millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost to robots and as many as 36 million more are slated to be replaced over the next decade. This isn’t a good thing for those workers and there’s someone who has had enough.

New York mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Bill de Blasio has a new idea. He wants to make sure that companies are looking to automate in the future, they should foot the bill for ensuring those workers get new jobs. “If a company is gonna put thousands of people out of work, they should bear responsibility for making sure that those folks get a new job,” de Blasio said in an interview with Tucker Carlson.

He’s looking to protect American workers. Not only should the company help employees find good work, he wants to institute what he calls a “robot tax” to make it more costly to automate jobs. He says that “many livelihoods are threatened by the unchecked growth of automation.” If Flint and Detroit provide any indication of life after huge manufacturing plants leave or cut jobs, then we should see massive problems in the near future.

Reapplying the Tax Funds

“Thirty-six million jobs that could be made obsolete [by automation],” de Blasio said. “We’re talking as early as 2030.” By paying the robot tax, those funds would then be appropriated to other necessary industries, such as creating green tech union jobs. Other industries include those which are rapidly growing, like education or health care.

“Workers displaced by automation would go to the front of the line for these new positions,” according to de Blasio’s press release for the plan. The plan would create an agency that would keep track of automation progression and regulate the use of robots. By seeing the impact of that automation, the agency could then require the company to pay a tax and even require permits to be used.

Offsetting the economic cost of automation isn’t a new topic. Bill Gates has spoken of the issue in the past. Even Andrew Yang, another presidential candidate, has talked about automation being a problem. That’s why he wants to offer every adult American an additional $1,000 per month as a universal basic income.

“I don’t care about what folks in Silicon Valley who are trying to justify that technology is somehow going to save us all,” de Blasio told Carlson. “You know, they’re resting their laurels on the universal basic income.”

Written by adminSeptember 11, 2019

Credit & Debt

You’ve been working really hard for many years to improve your credit score. After all, the reward of doing so makes life so much easier. People with bad credit often pay a lot more for the things they purchase. That’s because debtors take a risk by loaning to people with bad credit, so they overcompensate by hitting them with high interest and even higher monthly payments.

Over the life of a loan, a person with bad credit can pay thousands more than someone with good credit. That means if you’ve been working hard and shelling out a lot of money, and finally got your score into the 800s, there are a lot of things you can do to make your life easier. It’s time to finally take advantage of having great credit!

1) Lower Your Interest Rates

If you started out in the 600s or lower, you might’ve been paying through the nose. But now that you have great credit and you’ve proven yourself over many years of on-time payments, it’s time to seek you reward. Contact all of your credit card providers and anyone you have a loan with. Refinance your car. Lower the interest on your mortgage. All of these are possible! Not only will you be paying less interest, you can renegotiate to lower the monthly payments as well, saving you tons of money each month.

2) Get a Better Credit Card

Something people with bad credit have to do is settle for credit cards that aren’t too favorable for them. As stated above, they most likely jacked up the interest, which means you’re paying through the nose. But as you graduate to having great credit, you now qualify for all the amazing rewards and perks you hear about in commercials. The cash back, points towards trips, and all the other things they promise. And, again, lower interest! Higher limits.

3) Check Out Your Auto Insurance Rates

For some messed up reason, a lot of auto insurers tie the auto rate you pay to your credit score. The lower the credit score, the more you’re paying for auto insurance. It’s worth making a phone call to your insurer now that you have excellent credit to see if you can get your auto rate lowered to something easier to handle.

4) Upgrade the Vehicle

Another area where you can rake in the benefits is upgrading your vehicle. With bad credit, you had high interest and monthly payments. It’s a far cry from all the perks they talk about in the commercials. They might offer lower payments and all kinds of upgrades, but those only go towards those with perfect credit. Now that you do, you can upgrade and get a low monthly rate along with 0% interest!

Written by adminSeptember 11, 2019

Life Style

For many centuries, bars and pubs have been a great place for people to go after a long, hard day at work. They go to meet friends, have a few beers, and take the edge off. The problem with this is, going to the bar can be quite expensive. The average tab today is around $25 per person, which can really add up if you’re going frequently.

If you’re someone who wants to watch the budget, you can still go to the bar and enjoy a great time with family and friends. It just means you have to be more careful about how you spend your money. There are several steps you can take to ensure you leave the bar without emptying out your bank account.

1) Go During Happy Hour

Yes, happy hour may not be the most fun times of the day, but it’s when you can find the best deals. Happy hours are designed to get you in the door and they hope you stay and party through the night. If you take advantage of happy hour, you will ultimately spend less on booze and food while still having a great time.

2) Don’t Get a Tab

The bartender hopes you’ll open a tab so you can continue drinking. The bad part about that is, as you keep drinking, you don’t know how much money you’ve spent. Where do you draw the line? You can easily spend hundreds by opening a tab and just saying, “add it to my tab.” Then what happens when you get a few in you? Your inhibitions kick in and you start offering to buy people rounds and the party continues. Don’t open a tab. Know how much you’re spending and keep yourself to a budget.

3) Make Smarter Decisions

Bars can get a lot of drinks out of a keg, so they often price draft beers cheaper than bottles. That’s one decision you can make to lessen the burden on your wallet. Watch what you’re ordering. Bar food is also often more expensive. If you know you want to eat during the night, plan it so you don’t eat at the bar. If you’re a wine drinker, order the whole bottle than paying per glass, which is often more expensive.

4) Tipping

It’s common practice to tip $1 per drink, according to industry experts. This is another thing you should do with cash. Pull money out of the ATM and while you’re paying for the drinks in cash, also leave room for the tip. That way you’ll spend less money. Doing everything in cash seems to be the trick to saving money as you can better budget how you’re spending.

Written by adminSeptember 6, 2019

Saving

If you’re looking for a risk-free alternative to stash your cash, consider the option of picking up a CD.

Sure, you could open a garden-variety type savings account, but your interest earned could be minuscule or negligible. Your adviser might even suggest a high-interest or high-yield savings account as the smarter choice, but have you thought of the CD?

Not the album kind of CDs, but a certificate of deposit. While the top interest rates on high-yield savings accounts are currently topping out at 2%, you could find CDs that payout at 3% or more. To earn that extra interest however, you will have to give the bank some reassurances in return.

Call Now 844-332-2079

How does a CD work?

Here’s the catch: you would have to let the bank hold on to your money for months or even years. There are various CD terms that last six-months, two years or even five years. As you would expect, the longer the term, the higher the interest rate.

It is enticing to pick the long-term CD to take advantage of the higher returns. But if a financial emergency crops up down the road, the money in the CD remains untouchable.

Now let’s dive into some of the risks involved.

Risky CDs

CDs are generally risk-free, you will never lose your investment in a CD as long as your account is at a bank linked with the FDIC or a credit union that is insured by the NCUA.

However, if you renege on your contract and decide to withdraw your money early, you will incur pernalties which could result in you giving up a substantial chunk of your interest.

To put it into perspective, if you close out a one-year CD half way into it, you will give up 6 months of interest. If you’ve only had the CD for 2 months though, the penalty would erode your original deposit.

An early withdrawal on a five-year CD might incur a penalty of a whole year’s worth of interest.

Another risk is that interest rates might rise while you have your money stuck in a CD. You are locked into that one interest rate for the entirety of the CD term, and you may miss out on the opportunity of better returns.

Alternative CDs

There are alternative CDs available to you that can circumvent these restrictions. There are liquid CDs, which allow you to make withdrawals easier, and bump-up CDs which allow you to take advantage of rising interest rates.

In order to enjoy that flexibility however, you would have to accept a lower interest rate when you begin the CD term. But if you are thinking about leveraging higher rates with a regular CD, there is a trick you can use called laddering.

It involves dividing your investment across multiple CDs staggered over multiple years. That way you have CDs that mature every year.

If you ladder your CDs, you will be able to take advantage of higher initial interest rates from long-term CDs and also have the opportunity to invest in new CDs down the road at even better rates.

Where to Start?

Looking to obtain a CD today? Head on down to your nearest bank or credit union. Small, local banks will give you better rates, and online-banks can offer better deals because of their lower expenses.

The minimum deposit for a CD could run you about $500 to $1000, some banks however have no minimum requirements. Do the necessary research to see which CD will give you the best rates for the best term.

Get your money out of a low-rate savings account and into a CD as soon as possible, plan for your financial future today!

For any other financial advice you may need, reach out and call the Financial Helpers at the number below.

Call Now 844-332-2079

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