3 Debt Traps You Should Always Avoid

Written by adminOctober 22, 2019
Credit & Debt

Debt is one of those things where we have to seriously consider whether it can positively or negatively influence our life. Yes, that can have its good moments. You need to have debt in order to build your credit. There has to be a period of time in which you can prove that you’ll regularly make on-time payments toward debt.

Were debt gets people and the problems is that they often struggle and paying it back. They want to buy something even though they can afford it. So, they use their credit and at times it can be difficult, especially when they add on tons of interest and the monthly payments are higher than anticipated.

A lot of people do not know how to manage their debt the right way. They continue piling debt until they eventually maxed out. This is a dangerous situation that can dramatically set you back in the future. You may have a need to take out a loan, but if you have so much debt or history of not being able to pay it back, you will lose out

Let’s look at 3 debt traps you should avoid:

1) Credit Card Rewards Create Debt

Credit card companies often offer a lot of rewards in order to entice people to get one. Again, using a credit card the right way can be good towards improving your credit. If you go with a credit card that offers tons of rewards, it will be a long time before you see those rewards. We’re talking spending thousands of dollars before you see a single reward. Even then, they’re not good rewards that they advertise for.

Before you know it, you racked up hundreds and interest payments and that, going broke just to get a ‘free’ airline ticket your trip that you would have paid for five times over if you didn’t get that credit card. If you need a credit card, and you want to build your credit, do it the smart way. Make small payments and pay it off each month.

2) Getting a Brand-New Car

This is one of the biggest debt traps out there today. Having a brand-new car is a status symbol to the world. You may have been eyeing that luxury car for many years, but many people don’t understand exactly how expensive that is. Not only are you expected to pay full-time coverage for insurance, you’ll also be taking a loan out for many tens of thousands of dollars which carries with it many thousands of dollars of additional interest. Owning a brand-new car is a burden that you must be ready for. Wait until you’re financially secure and have no other debts. In the meantime, there’s nothing wrong with getting something used.

3) Clothing

Just like the brand-new car, the close that we swear is indicated of our status. People love to wear expensive clothing to impress. The problem with this is, you could easily spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on designer clothing. People who buy these types of clothing also are not content after they buy something expensive. They wear it once or twice and in the ready to buy something else. If you look at a lot of the current billionaires, their wearing flip-flops and hoodies, not thousand dollars suits.

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How the Hong Kong Protests Can Impact a New Trade Deal with China

Written by adminOctober 22, 2019
Politics

There’s no doubt that the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong are a sore spot for China. They have a strong dictatorship and any Democratic ideas threaten their hold. That’s why they go out of their way to burn and destroy any symbols of free speech. They burn churches and shoot protestors. This is what’s going to lead the trade talks into being more awkward than usual.

If you didn’t know already, the Hong Kong protestors are looking towards America for support. They’re carrying American flags and want the same freedoms we enjoy. Obviously, the U.S. is in support of Democracy and the people of Hong Kong. It’s a discussion that must be had among diplomats and negotiators when everyone comes back to the table for trade talks.

The protests are now in their 17th week and don’t appear to be going away anytime soon. Images of previous protests that turned violent are in everyone’s memory. Now, we live in a very different time and China won’t be able to get away with using violence to stop the protests. Yet, new violence is erupting. A Chinese officer recently shot a protestor in the chest. He’s now in critical condition, fighting for his life.

Another issue China is dealing with is a collapsing economy. They are being heavily impacted by the trade war, more so than the U.S. Things in the U.S. have slowed down slightly, but in China, they are slowing down a lot. They are in a much more vulnerable position and ready to come to the table. President Trump can afford to hold out longer, but needs a bit of good news. Talk of impeachment are weighing heavy on the news cycle. Ending the trade war would bode well.

Ending the Trade War with China

So, how exactly would the protests in Hong Kong impact trade negotiations? Certainly, the U.S. isn’t going to leave them off the table. They’re going to want China to give in to their demands. Hong Kong is also an important international trading port for China. Whatever they offer is going to be dependent on how the protests play out.

“It probably will have some impact on the Chinese side, even despite whatever it has on ours, because this is a sign of domestic dissent within their community and Hong Kong is quite important for the international trading activities of China,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross when discussing the protests on “Varney & Co.”

Whatever happens, it would appear as if China is ready to return to the negotiating table. The trade war is hurting their economy and they would rather get a deal done. Still, that doesn’t mean China isn’t willing to sit back and wait to see what happens with the election. Their hope is that Trump is voted out and they can go back to the status quo. More tariffs are coming if a deal isn’t made.

“At least for now, more tariffs are coming on the 15th of October and again in December, and some of the talk about the delisting of Chinese companies and less U.S. investment into China, that if anything, suggests to us that if the trade war is doing anything at the moment it is going to escalate rather than deescalate,” he said.

“The president has indicated he wants a complete deal,” Ross said.

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Opioid Litigation Resolved with $50 Billion Settlement Against Drug Companies

Written by adminOctober 21, 2019
Real life

There are four major drug companies in the U.S. currently under the microscope. These companies are being blamed for causing the opioid crisis in this country. Cardinal Health, McKesson Corp., AmerisourceBergen, and Teva Pharmaceuticals are the four that have been under investigation. Rather than going through a long trial that would look bad on TV, they decided to settle.

The settlement came at around 1 AM Monday morning. U.S. District Court Judge Dan Polster said he was happy with the way the situation was resolved. “The parties were always free to reach a resolution, and I’m glad they did,” said Polster.

Over the past two decades, it’s estimated that nearly 400,000 people have died in connection to opioids. Even legal prescriptions are to blame. Apparently, these companies are responsible for using tactics to push drugs on people, even while knowing about their addictive properties. As a result, this lawsuit was filed to try and reap damages. 2,600 lawsuits have been filed during this time and now a settlement has been reached.

The Drug Epidemic

Many people who abuse drugs never intended to do so. It starts out with being prescribed opiates for a variety of reasons. Many of those are legitimate prescriptions to help patients deal with pain. The problem is, these types of medications are addicting. People start taking a drug and are rarely monitored. One pill turns into two, which turns into three. Their tolerance begins to wane and they need more. Suddenly, they’re taking enough to overdose on.

Many different lawsuits have been filed on behalf of the families who lost loved ones due to this epidemic. It appears as if the settlement will be around $50 billion to recover the damages in these areas. The families want justice and the federal government is looking to fight the opioid crisis. They need money and resources to do so.

“This is not your typical tort product liability case. It’s really about an epidemic,” Carl Tobias, a professor in the law school at the University of Richmond, said. “There are so many different motivations among so many different players, it’s virtually impossible to know what would be good.”

“The distributors’ role is to help ensure that medicines prescribed by licensed doctors are delivered to licensed pharmacies, so they are available for patients who need them, when they need them, where they need them,” the three large distributors said in a joint statement issued after settlement negotiations hit an impasse on Friday. “We have to balance our mission to deliver medicines to pharmacies and hospitals when and where they need them against our important efforts to prevent and detect illegal diversion of those drugs.”

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Burger King is Now Selling the “Ghost Whopper” in Time for Halloween

Written by adminOctober 21, 2019
Business

The iconic Whopper has been around for just over 6 decades! Recently, Burger King has been trying new ways to get their brand more attention. Over the past few months, it was the Impossible Whopper, with patties made of plants. Now, as we cruise through fall, they are updating their famous burger again. This time, it’s the Ghost Whopper.

There are not too many differences this time around. It’s the same burger, but they use a white, cheddar cheese bun. It will be released on October 24th in a few select restaurants, so you might have to do a bit of searching to find one. What’s interested are the advertisements for the Ghost Whopper. Burger King hired a psychic to do a ‘spirit taste test.’

“‘It’s beyond belief to experience this taste,’ said one of the spirits,” Burger King said in a press release. “Another one affirmed, ‘It’s filth!’ Others just didn’t know what they were holding in their hands because they’ve never seen a hamburger in their lifetime.”

Burger King and Their Connection to Halloween

This isn’t the first time Burger King revealed a new Whopper in time for Halloween. Last year, they sold a Nightmare King, which was a twist on their popular chicken sandwich. That time the bun was green. You might remember a few years back when the flavor of the season was the blackened bun made with A-1 sauce.

When Stranger Things came out earlier in the year, they promoted the “Upside-Down Whopper.” It wasn’t anything fancy. Just the regular whopper with the bottom bun on top and the top bun on the bottom. It’s interesting how they make a few small changes to the sandwich and are then able to promote it.

While most of these changes are obviously temporary and limited, one change will be permanent. The Impossible Whopper, made entirely of plants, including the meat patties, will remain a fixture. Burger King said that the rollout was a massive success and has brought new customers to their restaurant. There’s a growing group of people in the country who are moving away from eating meat.

Burger King operates in what’s considered a hyper-competitive industry. You won’t find too many fast food fans who are loyal to a single establishment. They’ll eat whatever their mood strikes. With many fast food joints in every town and city to choose from, attracting customers is difficult. That’s why the King, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Wendy’s, Sonic, and others are always looking to create new interest in their product.

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How to Have Fun this Halloween Without Horrifying Your Budget

Written by adminOctober 21, 2019
Entertainment

Halloween is one of those holidays that you either celebrate or you don’t. Decorating can be fun. So is dressing up in costumes and going out with friends. Even adults get into the spooky spirit, even if it’s just to sit around and watch scary movies. The problem is, not everyone’s budget can afford to enjoy the season. Especially this time of year when all the holidays seem to come fast and furiously.

So, how can you enjoy Halloween while saving money? The last thing you want to do is drain your bank account, but there might be expectations. Do you usually throw the Halloween party? Maybe you’ve always had the best costume, but things are a bit tight right now. You don’t have to sacrifice your fun to appease the bank account. Let’s look at a few ways to celebrate while cutting back.

1) Cheap Halloween Decorations

You probably already know you can make your own Halloween decorations cheaper than you can buying them. It’s really easy to do, and if you have kids, it’s a fun thing to involve them in. Make DIY spiders you can put on your front door by getting those cheap spider rings. Cut off the ring part and glue a tiny magnet strip to the bottom. Buy some black construction paper and cut out paper bats for your walls.

You also can save money by not buying any pumpkins. Instead, getting a bunch of milk jugs. You can leave them white to be ghosts, or paint them orange to be pumpkins. Color faces on the jugs and put lights in them and they’ll glow. You don’t have to go all out and spend a ton of money on expensive decorations. Instead, let your creative side take over.

2) Cheap Costumes

Just like with decorations, you can do costumes on the cheap as well. Makeup doesn’t have to be too expensive. You can find props at the dollar store. Go to Goodwill to find cheap clothing you can turn into a costume. You have a lot of options! Once again, you will have to be creative. Do a Google search for cheap costume ideas.

3) Throwing a Cheap Party

Throwing a Halloween party is a great way to bond with family and friends. You know the people you would invite over really well. You don’t know a full-on monster bash to have a good time. Decorate with a few of the cheap ideas listed above (or found online). Lay out bowls of candy (which you can find cheap this time of year), popcorn, and put a scary movie marathon on Netflix.

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New Study: Student Debt is the Fastest Growing Type of Household Debt

Written by adminOctober 18, 2019
Credit & Debt

JP Morgan just released a new study that found the impact of student loan debt on people. We often consider it a personal issue you deal with alone, but the new study found that to be untrue. Its reach goes beyond just the individual, but also into families who feel the need to work together to pay it off.

Currently, student debt is the fastest growing type of household debt in America. The amount of student debt has reached $1.56 trillion, doubling its total in the last decade alone. This is causing many people and their families a lot of trouble. It’s also why many 2020 presidential candidates have made it a priority to talk about student debt.

According to the study, 19% of the 44 million student loan borrowers receive help from family and friends. The problem is said to be so bad that “families are spending more on student loans than key categories of basic necessities,” the report said. It’s affecting everyone, but hurts lower income families the most.

The report revealed that lower class people between the ages of 18-24 are spending a large portion of their budget on paying back student loans. This is forcing them to make a lot of tough decisions, even as they try to earn a living with their degree. They spend as much as 17% of their annual budget on student loans on average.

Families with Student Debt Feeling the Pressure

Of course, families are there to help each other. You want your child and/or grandchild to succeed, which is why they went to college in the first place. But many people sign on that dotted line to take out loans to do it. After they graduate, they’re forced to spend the next 10-20 years paying it off.

“By understanding the relationship between these student loan payments and other financial outcomes, we hope to provide policymakers, lenders and other stakeholders with valuable information that can help shape policies to ease this burden for America’s families,” Diana Farrell, President and CEO of JPMorgan Chase Institute, said in a previous statement.

The average amount Americans pay back each month toward their loans is $179. That’s only 5.5% of their monthly income, but many pay 11%. When you add on the increasing cost of rent and food, moreover the entire cost of living is going up, then you can see how this recurring debt is a problem. You don’t get a break from it until it’s completely paid off.

The report has revealed that only 44% of low-income people are able to keep up with their monthly bills. This is causing a massive crisis for many Americans who are just getting started out in life. Now we know that the burden is spreading to other family members who go out of their way to help.

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5 Ways to Slash Your Home Heating Costs this Winter

Written by adminOctober 18, 2019
Saving

It’s that time of year again! It’s autumn and winter will be here before we know it. If you haven’t turned your AC off yet, it will be time to do so soon. If you don’t own a wood-burning heater, then the winter heating season can get expensive. Sometimes the bill swells to twice its normal size, depending on how cold it gets where you live.

So, how can you stay warm while not spending a bundle? Here are 5 ways to slash your home heating costs this winter.

1) Dress to Impress Heating Costs

When you’re going out in the winter, you know you need a jacket, thick socks, and warm clothing. Why not do the same for your house? In the summer, it’s easy to strip down. But in the winter, you can put up thicker blinds, put down rugs, cover the couch with a warm blanket, and so on. You can even use flannel sheets and a thicker comforter for when you sleep.

2) Opening and Closing the Blinds

One trick is knowing when to open and close your blinds. If you open them in the morning and let in the sunlight, it will naturally heat your house during the day. It can heat things up enough that you can turn your heat off. As the sun goes down, close your blinds to keep the heat inside the house. With this natural heating, you won’t have to rely on your heat kicking on as much, saving money.

3) Don’t Use Your Fans as Often

Many homes have fans throughout the house. By fans, that includes in the bathroom and kitchen. They work wonders for clearing out the air, but they also suck out the heat. Usually these fans are meant to blow four odors outside of the home. But if the warm air goes with it, then you’re literally sucking dollars out of your wallet. Keep the fans off if you can. The exception here is the ceiling fan. Warm air rises, so turn on the ceiling fan to push that air back down to ground level.

4) Turn Down the Thermostat!

Turning the thermostat down a few degrees will have a huge impact on your bill. They say a degree or two can add or subtract as much as 10%. That’s a large chunk of change! If you can comfortably turn the thermostat down, do it. Especially do it at night and when you leave the house. During the daytime, you can benefit from sunlight entering the winters.

5) Add Insulation

Your home may need a little extra insulation to help keep things warm. You might have an area of the home where the warm air is sucked out or the cold air gets in. Insulation might mean putting plastic over the windows as well. There are tests you can do to find where the bad areas are in your home that needs extra insulation.

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Trump to Host the 2020 G7 at His Florida Resort

Written by adminOctober 18, 2019
Politics

Just yesterday, Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s acting Chief of Staff, announced the location of the next G7 Summit. It will be at none other than the Trump National Doral in Florida. This has stirred a bit of an outrage from the president’s opponents. They believe that this decision will only allow the president to profit from having the G7 at his property.

Mulvaney appeared to quell any controversy by stating they followed the same procedures to choose a location as they would any other. “We used the same set of criteria that previous administrations have used,” Mulvaney said. “Doral is far and away the best physical facility for this meeting.”

This isn’t the first time the president was criticized for using his property to host world leaders. He once asked President Xi Jinping from China to stay at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The two leaders played golf and enjoyed their time together. Mulvaney further addressed the controversy by stating President Trump won’t profit in “any way, shape or form.”

Is the G7 at Doral Even Legal?

The big question now, even among Democrats, is whether Trump hosting the G7 at his resort is even legal. That’s a point brought up by Jerry Nadler, the current House Judiciary Chairman. They want to investigate whether this would violate any of the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses.

“Hosting the G7 Summit at Doral implicates both the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses, because it would entail both foreign and U.S. government spending to benefit the President, the latter potentially including both federal and state expenditures,” said Nadler. “More importantly, the Doral decision reflects perhaps the first publicly known instance in which foreign governments would be required to pay President Trump’s private businesses in order to conduct business with the United States.”

Nadler isn’t the only one who is questioning the move. Even former White House ethics director Walter Shaub said there would be a conflict of interest.

“This is a conflict of interest because he’s going to benefit by the outcome of this. In fact, if he was any federal employee other than the president of the United States, it would be a crime for him to be involved in this activity,” Shaub said. “He’s exempt from the criminal conflict of interest law but that wasn’t intended as a perk of high office and it was expected that he would act as though he were covered by it.”

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The XFL Reveals New Team Names and Logos

Written by adminOctober 17, 2019
Entertainment

If you’re a fan of the WWE, then you know it was only back in 1999 when the XFL made its first debut. It didn’t turn out that great at the time, and then ended up disintegrating after its first season. It was interesting to find out over the past year that Vince McMahon, founder of the WWE and XFL, wanted to bring the football league back.

When something fails, you often don’t try to do it again. But this time around, McMahon vowed to learn from his mistakes and create a new league that fans will actually enjoy. So, if you’re someone who really misses football during the long summer months, maybe this new rendition of the XFL will be for you.

Today, Vince McMahon is set to show off the logos in the team names of its eight new franchises. These will be the eight franchises that kickoff the new league in February right after the NFL finishes up. The unveiling will take place at an event that will not only reveal the new teams, but introduce the new XFL commissioner Oliver Luck.

This event is set to be shown on ESPN.com, XFL.com, and FOXSports.com. These are streaming options that didn’t exist back in 1999. They might allow the XFL to be more successful in its return. Ratings won’t matter as much and people who are interested in watching the games can download the XFL app.

XFL Cities

The XFL will start with eight teams from Houston, L.A., St. Louis, Tampa Bay, New York, Dallas, and Washington. The first player signed by the XFL was a former Steelers QB and a star at Oklahoma, Landry Jones. More players will be announced as we get closer to the start of the new season in February. After the NFL finishes with its training camp process, hundreds of players across the league to get cut.

The teams include: Tampa Bay Vipers, Seattle Dragons, L.A. Wildcats, Houston Roughnecks, St. Louis Battlehawks, New York Guardians, D.C. Defenders, and the Dallas Renegades.

The XFL season will kick off on February 8th and will air on throughout the Disney and Fox family of channels, including FS1, ESPN, and ABC. In order to bring the XFL back, McMahon sold off millions of dollars’ worth of WWE stock. The first attempt of the league had a lot of fanfare and hype, but its ratings were weak and it was deemed a financial loss.

The company hopes to put out a better product than the first time around. They’re seizing on the current ratings slump seen in the NFL. Politics and controversy have marred the NFL in the past few years. McMahon has vowed there will be no politics when the XFL returns. They hope to create a better, faster, safer, and more entertaining league. They hope to work with the NFL rather than compete against it.

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The Staggering Cost of the Opioid Epidemic

Written by adminOctober 17, 2019
Real life

There’s nothing that can put a value high enough on the lives that have been lost. Too many Americans have died as a result of the opioid epidemic. But a new study from the Society of Actuaries was able to look at the financial toll. According to their survey, the U.S. economy lost $631 billion in a three-year span. This is only non-medical uses of opioids.

The bulk of this money are the lost earnings those who died from overdoses would’ve made. The next highest determining factor are the health care costs involved. Between the years of 1999 and 2017, the CDC has estimated as many as 702,000 people died from drug overdoses. 400,000 of those counted were from drugs that were prescribed by a doctor.

“While the number of opioid prescriptions peaked in 2011 (at 219 million), the number of drug overdose deaths has continued to climb,” the Society of Actuaries’ Mortality and Longevity Strategic Research Committee reports.

“More than 70,000 Americans died in 2017 from drug overdoses, and opioids are the fastest-growing and the largest drug category involved. Opioid overdose deaths are now the single largest factor slowing the growth in U.S. life expectancy and have led to stagnation or decreases in life expectancy three years in a row for the first time since 1915–1918, when the country was facing World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic. By some estimates, the United States may be on track to see an additional 500,000 opioid overdose deaths over the next decade.”

Opioid Abuse Declared a Public Health Emergency

It was in 2018 when the Department of Health and Human Services finally announced that we were in the middle of a public health emergency. At the time, nearly 130 people were dying each day from opioid drug overdoses. Now, the problem only seems to be accelerating. It was one of the areas President Trump promised to tackle once he won the presidency.

Still, the cost of the opioid epidemic is likely to hit between $171 billion and $214 billion in 2019 alone.

“The nature and scale of the opioid crisis have been in considerable flux in recent years, with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl only recently becoming a dominant driver of the severity of the crisis” the actuaries report in the study. “Provisional estimates from the CDC show opioid overdose deaths plateauing in 2018, but overdose deaths from illicit use of synthetic opioids are still on the rise, and it’s not yet clear whether overdose deaths are likely to be higher or lower in 2019. As such, timely estimates are key for understanding the economic costs of the crisis as it is currently manifesting.”

“Opioid overdose deaths are now the single largest factor slowing the growth in U.S. life expectancy and have led to stagnation or decreases in life expectancy three years in a row for the first time since 1915–1918, when the country was facing World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic.”

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