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3 Ways You Can Save Money This Fourth of July

Written by adminJuly 2, 2018

Independence Day is upon us!

This time of year incorporates four of my favorite Fs: Fun, Food, Family, and Fireworks!

It’s also a great time to find a good bargain, which is useful if you want to have a bit of fun while still maintaining a tight budget.

Here at Financial Helpers, we’re always on the lookout for great deals we can pass on to you! No one should have to skip out on holiday fun.

Thankfully, this time of year is ripe with HUGE savings, but only if you know where to look.

Here are three key areas where you can save the most money:

1) Food

Ahh, summer. The time of barbeques and get-togethers. The 4^th of July is a great time to get food at a decent price.

Meat is the main staple of any grilling activity, and stores love to stock up on this essential holiday food to meet the higher demand.

As we get closer to July 4^th, many stores might think they have too much meat that won’t sell in time, so they’ll slash some prices to help it move faster.

Also, right now is the perfect time to get your hands on some fresh produce! July is the peak of the growing season, so there’s an abundance of amazing fruits and veggies ripe for the picking.

Produce is generally cheaper in the summer, so take advantage and stock up while you can.

2) Holiday Decorations

You don’t have to shell out a ton of money for holiday decorations. Most dollar stores have them for…you guessed it…a dollar! They’re every bit as good as what you’ll buy in the store, but a lot cheaper and more budget friendly.

3) Clothes

You might think that the middle of summer is the worst time to buy a swimsuit or summer clothing, but in a lot of cases, it’s the best time!

Believe it or not, Back-to-School is right around the corner, so stores put out good deals to get rid of their summer stock to make room for fall.

Summer clothing is usually the most expensive at the start of spring, so now is the perfect time to take advantage of lower prices.

Great deals are out there! You’ll just have to do a bit of research and keep your eyes open to find them.

If you can, wait until a day or two before the 4^th to do your shopping, and keep the ads close so you can compare prices, you’ll definitely save a bit of cash and keep your budget in good order.

Written by adminJuly 2, 2018

Student Loan Consolidation

In the waning days of President Obama’s administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began to take notice of Navient’s loan practices. Complaints were coming in from all corners of the country, eventually leading to the company getting sued.

As light began to shine upon their deception, which have cost their customers millions of dollars, whole states began to jump into the mix. Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, and now California joins in the suit against them.

As one of the largest loan collection agencies in the country, they are the one of the eight companies hired by the government to reclaim the over $1.4 trillion worth of debt owed. Navient services 12 million borrowers themselves.

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General of California, said he was going to push a lawsuit with the Superior Court to look at how Navient potentially misguided borrowers on how they should get their debts paid. Using deception, they were able to scam their customers out of millions all over the country.

“Navient’s loan servicing abuses have compounded the misery of parents and students who sacrificed to pay for college,” Mr. Becerra said in a statement that includes accusing Navient of breaking state laws that include false advertising and prohibiting competition.

Of course, Navient disputes the charges by calling them unfounded and vows to fight back. They feel that too many families get angry at the system and the banks who give student loans instead of the education system itself.

John F. Remondi, the chief executive at Navient, said, “this is another attempt to blame a single servicer for the failures of the higher education system and the federal student loan program to deliver desired outcomes.”

Despite their denial of having done anything wrong, this isn’t the first time Navient has been accused of defrauding borrowers and so far, it’s not looking too good for them going forward. Navient requested in Pennsylvania to have the federal consumer bureau’s lawsuit tossed out, but the judge denied the request.

Individual borrowers are seeking lawsuits as well. A case in Florida was ordered to move forward after the company sought to declare they are exempt from having a borrower sue them, which is a federal law.

This is an obvious nightmare situation for Navient, who is fighting tooth and nail to keep these cases from ever making it to court.

The moral of the story? Do your own research when it comes to your student loans. There are legitimate government programs out there designed to help you. The banks and loan companies aren’t looking out for your best interest and will find any opportunity to gouge you out of more money if you’re not careful.

This Store is Hoping to Fill the Void Left by Toys ‘R’ Us

Written by adminJune 29, 2018

Life Style

Hearing that famous jingle as a kid, none of us wanted to grow up. We welled up with excitement when the Toys “R” Us catalog came. And Christmas wasn’t Christmas without a trip to the massive box store and running through the aisle as if it was the greatest place in the world.

The death of Toys ‘R’ Us stings somewhat, as it was a major part of our childhood. As the last of the stores officially close, it becomes yet another relic from our carefree past, like Blockbuster, Radio Shack, and many others.

But, there’s another store that hopes to cash in on the demise of Toys ‘R’ Us and expand their reach: Party City.

Party City is typically known as a smaller store, but they’re known to go all-out during the Halloween season, renting out the box stores left behind and filling it with costumes and other decorations.

Now with Toys ‘R’ Us gone, as well as the void they leave behind in the toy market, Party City plans to extend their pop-up store season beyond Halloween and into the Christmas season with ‘Toy City’.

From September through the end of the year, Party City will take advantage of the opportunity to scoop up as much holiday profits as it possibly can.

“The creation of a Toy City concept to complement our temporary seasonal retail strategy is a logical extension of our brand; one that will allow us to leverage our existing pop-up store capabilities and capitalize on the category whitespace that has recently been created,” said Party City CEO James Harrison.

Party City doesn’t just want to be known as the place to go for party decorations and trinkets, but also as a seasonal retailer within the pop-up niche, giving customers what they want exactly when they want it.

The company immediately jumped into action the moment Toys ‘R’ Us announced they were going to close their doors earlier this year. They started adding more toys to their website and begun creating places to take over as THE place to buy toys during the busy holiday season.

It didn’t take long for the big toy companies to jump in as well, as Mattel, Hasbro, and others have already said they’ll be featured in ‘Toy City’.

Toys ‘R’ Us is expected to have all locations officially closed today.

Written by adminJune 28, 2018

Saving

We’re all guilty of impulse spending at times. We make a quick run into the store to buy a gallon of milk and come out with a cart full of goodies we weren’t expecting to buy, and probably shouldn’t have bought, but we saw it and tossed it in without a second thought.

Impulse spending can be fun at times, but it often leads to buyer’s remorse later on. This is especially true if your budget isn’t quite in great shape. The best way to decide if you have a problem with impulse spending can be to add up how much money you spend on frivolous things you really could go without.

The truth is, you were set up to fail before you even set foot in the store. There’s a concept called “The Power of Perimeter” that the vast majority of stores follow, which was designed to get you to impulse buy.

For example, there’s a very good reason why they put milk at the very back of the store. They know most people buy gallons of milk on a regular basis, so if you’re making that quick stop, you’ll have to trek through multiple aisles to get to what you really came for.

If you’re really hungry, they hope your eyes will spot the Little Debbie’s snack cakes on your way to the back. In fact, they put all the essential items people buy regularly (bread, dairy, meats), on the outside perimeter of the store, forcing you to walk by/through most of the store just to get the essentials. It’s not just supermarkets, but retail who does this also.

If you’re on a tight budget and you’re trying to save money, this can be dangerous ground for you to walk on. There are seven ways you can combat this and it involves you being fully prepared and ready for war before you walk in.

1) Write a list. The goal of most stores is to get you to spend as much money as possible and they hope you show up unprepared. But, if you write a list and are determined to stick ONLY to that list, you’ll have a lot more success.

2) Put a limit on the number of visits to the store you make. Plan your shopping trips around your pay schedule and buy everything you need for the week at one time. If you’re proactive and plan ahead, you’ll have much more success preventing impulse buying than the person who runs into the store every other day.

Calculate how much milk your family drinks in a week. Buy two gallons if you need to to stop yourself from going mid-week.

3) Use store apps. One of the latest tech trends that are super convenient for shoppers are store apps where you can shop online. Kroger, Meijer, Walmart, and most other major stores have this option. They will do the shopping for you and you just pick it up curbside. It completely takes impulse buying out of the equation.

4) Don’t shop while hungry. This is a big one. Most people who make a quick trip to the store do so right after work or midday on the weekend. If you’re hungry, your stomach might make all the buying decisions for you, and you’ll overspend based on what you’re feeling at that moment. Instead, eat before you shop.

5) Avoid window shopping, especially when you’re bored. A lot of people get bored and decide they’re going to go window shopping or even worse, hit the mall. But these stores are designed to peak your attention and get you to want to walk in and buy something. It’s like going to the grocery store hungry. If you’re on a tight budget, find something else to do!

6) Rationalize your spending. Before making a purchase, there are a series of questions you can ask yourself. Do you really need that item? Can you afford it? Can you wait to buy it? Do you have other bills or debts that are more important? Will this item go on sale (there are a lot of apps out there that will let you see the history of prices for various items)?

7) Set a budget. You should know what you can afford to spend each month. Set aside a portion for food and other necessities. If you know you will need new clothes that month, decide what you’re willing to spend ahead of time and stick to that budget.

Overspending is easy when they design stores to trigger you into impulse buying mode. By taking your time and planning ahead of time, you can save more money and keep your budget intact.

Written by adminJune 28, 2018

Credit & Debt Settlement

The Great Recession that hit a decade ago was a tough time for millions of Americans.

One of the reasons for the recession can be explained is how Americans spent their own money. Debt (and debt payments) grew so large that there was a steep drop off in consumption. The situation was much more detailed than that, but household debt reached a peak and the trouble flowed in every direction.

If people weren’t spending money to pay off their auto loans, mortgages, and other debts, then those industries struggled to keep their head above water. As foreclosures continued to pile up, Americans ultimately spent less and less money.

It required massive bailouts by the federal government to get us out of the mess, but that doesn’t mean Americans have made smarter financial decisions to prevent another Great Recession from happening.

In fact, our debt is higher than it’s ever been in the history of this country. Mortgage debt is lower than it was in 2008, but all other forms of debt, like credit card debt, auto loans, and student loans, are 45% higher! That’s an absolutely shocking number.

We’ve been cranking up our debt at a rate of 3.4% each year and set to cross $15.7 trillion in total debt by the end of this month, which is a $1 trillion increase from what it was back in 2008.

Americans have always been in debt, and if often requires the government to take drastic actions to prevent us from entering another scary phase where millions struggle to make ends meet. So, while the Obama Administration helped us take care of a large chunk of mortgage debt, that freed us up in pursuit of other debts.

While jobs were laying off workers, many decided to go back to college and get a degree, leading to a shift in the type of debt Americans are accumulating. Currently, student loan debt is about 42% of the total amount of debt consumers have. Credit card debt is at about 27%.

The numbers have reversed in the last decade, as credit card debt was 42% and student loans were at 27%. 10.3% of our disposable income is going towards student debt alone, which is up from 6% a few years ago, a 130% increase since 2008.

75% of millennials today say they’re stressing big time over their student loans as they struggle to pay them back. They’re graduating college with all this debt, but not finding adequate work to help them pay off even the basic minimum they’re required, often throwing their loans into default.

The battle now within the government is how much they’re willing to help students overcome this massive burden. The Obama administration instituted several programs that are still available to this day, but the Trump administration has targeted their removal to help cut federal spending.

Trump has agreed to leave these programs alone for now, but no one knows what will happen when the 2019 budget is formulated. That leaves students with a short amount of time to get the help they need to pay down their student loan debt.

Written by adminJune 28, 2018

Politics

As countries across the world continue to play a nasty game of tariff tug-of-war, industries in nearly every sector are crying for mercy.

We reported last week that not everyone suffering, as steel industry in the U.S. is now booming. But what about the companies that use steel in their products? Mid-Continent Nail in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, decided to lay off 60 workers to help fight back against sluggish sales directly linked to Trump’s tariff that put a 25% tax on imported steel.

The company says orders for nails dropped and astounding 50%. Mid-Continent Nail is now pleading with the Commerce Department for an exclusion on paying tariffs if they hope to stay operational by Labor Day. They feel their only options at this point is to get an exemption, move operations to Mexico to stay afloat, or shut down altogether.

Now that President Trump is looking to retaliate against China’s retaliation of the first tariff, he’s eyeballing foreign-made cars as the next plan of attack. The problem is, automakers in the U.S. are trying to convince Trump that such a move would be horrible for the already fragile auto industry here in the States.

A 25% tariff on imported cars would be equal to taxing them $45 billion, increasing the cost of a new car by nearly $6,000. This higher cost would undoubtedly lead to job cuts and even plant closures.

“Tariffs will lead to increased producer costs, increased producer costs will lead to increased vehicle costs, increased vehicle costs will lead to fewer sales and less tax receipts, fewer sales will lead to fewer jobs, and those fewer jobs will significantly impact many communities and families across the country,” said the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in a letter.

Right now, Trump is waiting on word from the Commerce Department to determine if foreign cars can be considered a national security threat, giving him the justification he needs to slap a hefty tariff on imports.

President Trump has also threatened to do the same to the EU if they retaliated against U.S. tariffs.

Trump said in a tweet: “Based on the Tariffs and Trade Barriers long placed on the U.S. and it great companies and workers by the European Union, if these Tariffs and Barriers are not soon broken down and removed, we will be placing a 20 percent tariff on all of their cars coming into the U.S. Build them here!”

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy for any company or industry to just pull up stakes and move to the U.S., especially when the labor costs are much more expensive to run a plant here. Rather, the automakers are hoping they can convince the president NOT to start a trade war over cars.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics released a report revealing that such tariffs would go deeper than a few jobs lost. We would be looking at a 1.5% decline in overall production over a 3-year period, which could cost nearly 200,000 jobs.

That’s only if Europe and China don’t retaliate with tariffs of their own. If that happens, the job losses could soar to nearly 625,000 in a scenario that would completely devastate the auto industry.

All we can do now is wait on the Commerce Department’s findings on the issue. It’s difficult to understand how foreign cars could be considered a national security risk, but that didn’t stop them from coming to that same conclusion with foreign steel

We will continue to cover this story as it develops.

Written by adminJune 25, 2018

Life Style

It’s often known that in the summer, you’ll be paying more for gas. Rising prices typically signal a boost in demand as more people decide to go on trips and family vacations during the summer months.

Last Friday, President Trump made a tweet that might’ve spurred OPEC into action, stating that he hopes they will increase their output substantially to keep the price of oil down.

It wasn’t but a short time later when OPEC announced that they would indeed boost their production, flooding the market with oil and ultimately lowering the price at the pump.

In 2016, gas prices were falling significantly to the point where the major oil companies were having to lay off thousands of workers collectively to maintain profits. OPEC struck a deal with Russia and other major oil producers to curb production and cut the excess supply that kept the prices ridiculously low.

A lot can change in a few years, as now the world is concerned about an oil shortage. Prices have spiked 20% as demand has risen due to an improved economy in the U.S. and outages in major oil producing countries like Venezuela.

OPEC looks to increase the production by one million barrels, which will help ease some of those concerns and lower the prices, but the concern is that they would need to increase the output by 2 million barrels to keep up with current demand. That’s going to be a problem, as a lot of OPEC members will struggle to increase their production.

It’s expected that the increase will hit the global markets in July, but it has not yet been decided which countries would ramp up their production. In fact, gas prices rose at the end of last week as many investors actually expected to hear better news.

Cornelia Meyer, energy analyst and CEO of MRL Corporation, said last week that the OPEC leaders were “there own worst enemies” and that the current increase is “enough” to supply demand.

While we as consumers can be glad for lower prices this summer, a shortage is still expected later in the year unless OPEC can figure it out before then.

Written by adminJune 25, 2018

Life Style

Right now, millions of Americans are struggling to keep up with their finances. We wrote several articles previously about the lack of education most of us seem to have about budgeting, saving, and paying off debt.

Bank of America is looking to change that.

On Monday, BoA held their annual Money 20/20 conference where they announced they’ll be rolling out their new AI banking assistant “Erica”. They hope that this technology will help people make better financial decisions for themselves and their families, specifically by alerting them to trends and opportunities found by their spending habits.

The bank also hopes that this specific AI will help improve customer service as well.

Daniel Latimore, Senior Vice President of Celent Banking, said, “The whole notion of customer experience for banks is so, so critical right now. They have challenges like security and being bulletproof — but consumers don’t care about all the constraints. They just know they can get great experiences elsewhere and they want it from their bank too.”

The goal is to use AI for predictive analytics to help customers find ways to save money or pay off debts, check their credit scores, and cognitive messaging to share ideas tailored around the customer’s individual banking needs.

Typically, this type of advice is reserved for top-tier customers, not the average everyday banker. The hope is, by helping customers save money and make smarter decisions, it will put Bank of America in a better position as well. Americans pay over $32 billion each year on overdraft fees alone, so this technology could really help consumers in a big way.

The only critical aspect of this technology is it looks to replace human workers with AI, maybe not right away, but in the near future. “Erica” will be able to handle bank transactions 24/7 and has no downtime.

It has been predicted that in the next five years, AI and other customer service technology will cost 6% of current jobs held by humans. We’ve already covered McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants switching to much more convenient kiosks and grocery stores implementing an increasing number of self-serve checkout lanes.

Of course, like the other companies, Bank of America insists that the new technology won’t replace jobs, but will make the entire banking process smoother and more convenient for customers, while helping them improve the way they do banking.

“Erica is designed to streamline the banking process, not replace jobs, said Michelle Moore, head of Bank of American’s digital banking. “This makes sense, as this type of technology is still very young, and correspondingly limited in what it can do. Over time, Bank of America’s programmers will add new features and make Erica “smarter” thanks to the vast amount of data she will handle.”

It’s still a young technology and Bank of America says they have no plans to start cutting their work force before the design has even been implemented.

“It is not a foregone conclusion that this will work the way everyone thinks it will,” he said. “The big question is whether Bank of America can and will react appropriately to customers use of and engagement with their digital offerings,” said Moore.

Written by adminJune 22, 2018

Life Style

One fact is certain: more and more people and buying their groceries online.

Everyone has this feeling that the battle between Walmart and Amazon is the one to watch, but Kroger hopes to sneak in and steal their thunder.

Earlier today, it was reported that Kroger made higher-than-expected earnings, which shot their share percentage up 10%. The main focus of their increase was digital sales, which were 66% higher compared to last year. That’s huge news for a brand looking to compete with the likes of Amazon.

Amazon’s massively successful bid to court customers from the big box stores, wooing fans by purchasing Whole Foods and other major food distributors around the world, has increased their growth in the food market.

While it’s difficult to ship different types of food, Kroger has made a lot of innovations with the way people shop. They recently released their new service called ClickList that lets you shop online for what you want, and you can either pick it up at the store or have it delivered to your home. If you’re a busy family, such a service is a lifesaver!

Not only have they made it easier to shop, Kroger also improved the types of foods they offer by jumping into the quality product market. The Simple Truth brand should compete with Amazon’s Whole Foods, raking in $2 billion in 2017.

This year, Kroger has also pushed their own meal-prep kits in an attempt to compete with other food distributers that have become increasingly popular due to their convenience. Companies like Blue Apron and HelloFresh have been siphoning Kroger profits for years.

Rodney McMullen, Kroger CEO, is understandably excited about the future of his company.

“Everything we are doing today will enhance our ability to provide everyone in America with the convenience of shopping for anything, anytime and anywhere,” he said during a call.

It’s not just about the convenience either. Going to physical stores take time and energy, which can limit the number of products a person can buy and have to carry into our homes. McMullen said in his report that they found people end up spending more money on more products than they do in the store.

To Kroger, that means better online sales equates to higher profits.

To all other companies falling behind, this is how you compete with Amazon and Walmart. You don’t just wave the flag of defeat because you couldn’t keep up with where the market is headed. It’s easy to project where things are going and stay one step ahead, or you become another dinosaur like Sears and Toys ‘R’ Us.

Written by adminJune 21, 2018

Politics

Not everyone likes the idea of a tariff. If you’re a consumer of products, you might think of the tariff as a tax on you. If products (or the ingredients used to make a product, like steel) become more expensive, it often results in the loss of jobs and higher costs deferred to the customer.

To stay competitive, industries seek out cheaper stuff from foreign markets. China’s labor, for example, makes steel extremely cheap to produce compared to American steel, so it’s highly favored in industries trying to stay competitive. Why would you buy more expensive steel?

President Trump is attempting to combat that problem while hopefully spurring job growth in key industries. Many business groups and even Republican allies are upset at the tariffs and potential pending trade war that grows in intensity with each passing day, but it’s not all bad news for everyone.

Yesterday, President Trump visited one of the states who is feeling the positive impact of tariffs. Minnesota is one of the major iron producers in the country. Iron is used to make steel and Minnesota’s iron accounts for nearly 80% of all the first production steel made here.

As you can imagine, the iron industry in Minnesota is extremely happy about the tariffs. President of the Iron Mining Association of Minnesota, Kelsey Johnson, will tell you the same.

“He’s been fantastic on our issue and really, this has changed the dynamic in the economy in northeastern Minnesota so we’re really supportive. In 2015, we had a significant economic downturn due to high levels of imported steel and unfortunately, that really affected our iron mines in Northeast Minnesota.”

The Political Impact

It’s not just the people of Minnesota who love the tariffs. You can find states like Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and others, specifically in the rust belt, who felt left behind by the government. Blue-collar workers came out in droves to vote for President Trump, a candidate they believed would help get industry moving in the country again.

The problem is, the GOP is, by standard, free trade advocates. They often side against protectionist arguments. The democrats are always against Trump no matter what, so while both sides of the aisle hate this move, Trump is scoring political victories and support.

Krystal Ball, a liberal writer for The Hill, wrote a supportive message about the tariffs in her article, “I Hate Trump, but I Love These Tariffs.” The overall message is that Trump’s policies show care and concern for the forgotten workers and industries of America, which have been dying out for decades.

She’s not wrong. With unprecedented growth in nearly every economic sector, employment numbers at record levels, and once near-dead industries hiring again, there is somewhat of a positive story to tell about tariffs. It almost makes up for having to pay extra for products knowing the good it does.

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