Life Style

Amazon and Walmart Has an Unexpected Online Competitor in Kroger

Written by adminJune 22, 2018

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.

Amazon Launches ‘Prime Wardrobe’

Written by adminJune 20, 2018

Life Style

Amazon is always looking for new ways to outsmart the big box stores and provide a service that’s more convenient for consumers.

Introducing Prime Wardrobe, the latest venture by mega e-commerce site Amazon, that will let you try on clothes before you purchase them all from the comfort of your home.

This innovative new idea will let you choose between 3 to 8 different items you want to try on, which are then sent to your home. If you like them, you can choose to purchase them. If you don’t, you have seven days to return them. Amazon will even provide you with a prepaid label.

While you won’t have access to every piece of apparel they sell on site, you still can choose from millions of items from some of the top brands in the clothing industry, like Levi’s, Calvin Klein, and more.

The only downside to this is that wardrobe deliveries can take between 4-6 business day, where going to a store is instant, but this can be a huge blow to box stores in a lot of ways. The number of clothes and styles you can fit into a store is limited and it can take quite a bit of time to find what you’re looking for.

By going on Amazon, you can type in what you want and choose to try it on before you buy it. Overall, this service targets the only reason why you’d need to go into clothing stores. The move was designed by Amazon to increase their clothing market.

As of 2016, Amazon controlled about 7% of the clothing market, but they hope this move will jump their share to about 16% in the next few years.

The majority of traditional retailers are failing to keep up with new technological trends as larger portions of sales goes on Amazon and other online giant marketplaces. While box stores continuously announce closures, Amazon continues to innovate new ways to steal their customers.

Written by adminJune 20, 2018

Life Style

The world is full of people whose biggest dream is to become successful. They want financial wealth and the freedom to do as they wish. And while most people want this, it’s nothing more than a dream to them. The actual realization of such a dream exists only in movies, daydreams, or people who get ‘lucky’ in life.

They sit at work, behind the computer screen, and wish they didn’t have to wake up so early, that they could afford the fancy trip overseas like Cousin Sue and her wealthy husband. On the way home, they stop and buy a lottery ticket because that’s their only chance at achieving the kind of wealth that will allow them to be financially free.

In fact, Americans spend over $70 billion each year on lottery tickets, hoping to strike it rich. They don’t believe they have a shot in winning, with the odds often topping out at 1-in-250 million. They lay their ticket on the coffee table, eat dinner, and go to bed. Rinse and repeat the next day. And the next.

Nothing ever changes. Day after day. After day.

We get stuck in these monotonous patterns because we feel like we’re chasing something worthwhile. “If only I work 40 years at this job, maybe I can retire with a bit saved in the bank and then the REAL living begins!” Or we spend the next 30 years paying off the mortgage of a house that isn’t even worth what we originally bought it for.

Here’s the reality: millions of Americans are drowning in debt to pay for a lifestyle they cannot afford. In fact, the average American household is $90,000 in debt and pay $6,600 in interest to that debt every single year.

The real questions you need to ask yourself: Are you happy? Are you content? Look deep down inside yourself. Do you have the freedom to do all the things you want to do in life? Or are you just another wheel on the spoke of corporate America? Round and round you go, doing the same tired job and barely making enough money to get by.

The reason why this is happening is because you’re stuck in a vicious cycle of life. You’ve been told the only way you’ll be rich is if you get lucky, which is a bold-faced lie. The truth is, it’s about habit. If you’re stuck doing the same things over and over, you’re not going make enough changes to adequately transform your life into something better.

Those who truly become successful study the lifestyles, behaviors, and habits of successful people and learn how to mimic them in a way that it rubs off in their everyday life.

There’s a great quote by Anthony Coleman that reads, “Most people don’t struggle with money. They struggle with habits.”

Nearly every single debt category in our country is in the TRILLIONS. We’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, no money in savings, nothing saved up for a rainy day, and don’t plan for the future. We’re not buying health insurance nor can we afford to take care of out health. Most of it revolves around your habits.

Let’s look at 5 habits you can learn from successful people.

1) Exercise Regularly

We recently wrote an article about how debt and financial struggles cause brain damage. It also hurts your mental and physical states. The absolute best thing you can do for yourself is stay healthy and exercise regularly. For one thing, exercise promotes health. 76% of wealthy people exercise every day.

2) Eat Right

This is a major one. 97% of poor people eat junk food regularly. Typically junk food is cheaper to buy, but it severely impacts your health, causes obesity, spikes blood sugar, and fogs the brain. Wealthier people, for the most part, stay away from the junk food and eat the stuff that nourishes their brains and body. By eating better, you’ll start to feel better than that’s a good step.

3) Reading

We’re not just talking about the latest novel to come out, but actual books containing information that can change your life. 88% of wealthy people spend at least 20 minutes per day reading books that pertain to their careers. They’re studying so they can excel at what they do. Only 2% of poor people do this.

4) Writing Lists

Wealthy people find ways to stay motivated and on track with their goals. That’s why 81% of them keep lists verses 19% of the poor.

5) Cut TV Time

We understand. Getting home from a long day at work requires downtime in front of the TV, but it’s not good for you. It’s literally time wasted away that you could be using to better your life. Also, you’re more inclined to eat garbage when lounging, adding to the problem. 67% of wealthy people don’t watch TV while only 23% of the poor do.

It’s all about maximizing your time to better your life and doing whatever it takes to keep yourself healthy and motivated. If you get comfortable in complacency, nothing will change in your life. By adopting these 5 steps, you will start to see improvement in your life that will lead to better financial success in the future.

Written by adminJune 19, 2018

Life Style

When it comes to the battle to be the best pharmacy on the block, CVS is making all the right moves. First, they added benefits to their membership, then they put walk-in clinics in their stores. Their goal now is to be the first company to offer nationwide delivery in all their locations.

After merging with Aetna insurance, it would seem CVS has a lot of motivation to prove their the best and claim the number one spot (they’re currently #2) and overtake the market that is flooded with competitors.

CVS started offering delivery to the New York market and plans to expand the service to other U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Boston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Miami, and others, ultimately offering delivery from all 9,800 locations across the country.

The cost for a delivery will be $4.99 and it can be done by calling the store and requesting delivery or you can just use the CVS app on your phone. It’s not just restricted to personal prescriptions, as other products are available for delivery.

For example, if you’re in the midst of a nasty cold and don’t want to leave your home, you can order popular cold medications and have them sent to you. CVS does plan on extending the service to other products, so maybe soon you can have everything from drugs to that gallon of milk you forgot to pick up delivered to your door.

A lot of these changes are due in thanks to CVS’s $69 billion merge with Aetna health insurance. The goal is to create a mega-market that provides not just a retail pharmacy store, but an entire healthcare company that combines insurer with pharmacy benefits and ultimate customer service through delivery.

Written by adminJune 19, 2018

Life Style

It almost seems like we write a new article every day about the impending global trade war, as new developments are happening regularly. We cover this extensively as it’s our goal to help all Americans achieve their dream of living their life financially free.

This trade war will impact all of us, from the big streets in New York to the small farming communities who live and die on the agriculture they produce.

Since before he was elected into office, President Trump has made it one of his main goals to protect American workers, revive near-dead industries, and right the wrongs of the trade deficits we have with countries all over the world.

It sounds like a good idea until these countries decide to rebel and retaliate with tariffs of their own. They’re not happy with the president over this issue and threaten to fight back in their own way. This will translate to misery here in the States.

One of the products China says they will tariff are soybeans, which are grown in abundance in Iowa and other Midwest states, but the Chinese tariffs could become an economic disaster for farmers.

Chad Hart, and economist at Iowa State University, has calculated the farmers in his state will lose as much as $620 million this year alone if China tariffs their crop.

“Any tariff or tax put in place will have a significant impact, not only to the U.S. soybean market, but to Iowa’s because we’re such a large producer. It will slow down the market,” he said.

Soybeans are the most widely planted crop in the U.S., so any tariff placed on it would be disastrous for our agriculture. It might not just be a temporary setback either. Senator Chuck Grassley, a republican from Iowa, believes this could lead to a permanent loss for this area.

“It could be devastating for local communities across the Midwest. It’s also important to remember that when trade barriers go up, alternative sources of goods are found, and new trading relationships develop. A temporary setback could quickly develop into a permanent loss,” he said in an interview.

This can be a nightmare scenario for the Midwest. China imports nearly 61% of the U.S. soybean crop, so this type of loss would be devastating.

Soybeans aren’t the only victim, as other commodities like aluminum, lead, cotton, oil, and gold have been losing their value as Mexico, Canada, U.K., India, and the EU have also threatened to retaliate with tariffs.

The U.S. may be the largest economy in the world…and it’s not even close…but the question remains how big of an impact this would make on U.S. consumers as price hikes will assuredly be passed down to them.

Written by adminJune 12, 2018

Life Style

As of Monday, the law is no more.

Net Neutrality, a law written during the Obama administration to protect unfair usage of the internet, was laid to rest nearly six months after the Trump administration decided it was time to go.

The FCC released a statement saying that the law was “unnecessary, heavy-handed regulations” and they wanted to replace it with “common-sense regulations that will promote investment and broadband deployment.”

Trump’s pro-business approach has done away with thousands of regulations during his time in office, perhaps none as divided as Net Neutrality. The proponents of the law believe it keeps the internet fair and open for all.

Of course, the tech and telecom industries were all for the move, as they have more freedom to operate within their own rules, but the impact of this law being repealed came swift and hard from the detractors.

A good example of abuse could be internet providers like Spectrum or Comcast slowing down your service if you’re watching videos on Amazon. Maybe they decide they want you to watch their own video library, so they make it difficult for you to use any other service.

The main question is: why does the internet provider get to choose what you do with the service you’re paying for? What right do they have to stop you from downloading a competitor’s app over their own?

Now, with Net Neutrality gone, there’s nothing to prevent your ISP from slowing down (or even completely blocking) online content. This isn’t the worst part. Not only can companies control what you see, they can charge you whatever they want.

This is where removing net neutrality can cost consumers the most. ISPs can start charging money for access to different websites. It’s not much more different than how the cable packages are tier. If you want a certain channel, you must pay extra to get it. Not only that, they can charge websites more money to have content delivered faster.

That means Spectrum could slow down Netflix unless they paid more money. Netflix could probably afford that as they are one of the top companies in the world, but it will severely impact smaller companies. These sites would have to significantly increase their subscription costs to make up for it.

Across the country, more than 20 states have petitioned the government and even filed lawsuits to prevent Net Neutrality from being dissolved. In fact, several of those states are trying to pass similar laws.

Yet, it looks to be the end of the federal program, as any law that was lucky enough to overcome the odds of being passed in the House and Senate would be vetoed by President Trump.

Despite no new laws going into place in the foreseeable future, the fight will continue. Supporters of Net Neutrality will not give up, even to the point of suing the government. Individual states will want to fight for their right to pass a new bill, despite the law’s repeal that prevents states from having the authority to do so.

Written by adminJune 6, 2018

Life Style

If you’re one of thousands of McDonald’s workers who protested the restaurant in the ‘Fight for $15’, you just got served your answer with a side of fries.

Not only did McDonald’s decide not to increase the wages of their workers, they’re now unveiling plans to get self-service kiosks installed into every restaurant by 2020. McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook made this announcement this week, with plans on how they will get it done.

Over the next few years, kiosks will go up in 1,000 restaurants every quarter, reaching all 14,000 domestic McDonald’s by 2020. This is a major blow to workers who have been fighting the company to offer a more livable wage. Now, a lot of those workers may be out of a job.

Of course, kiosks only replace front of the house order-takers, as they still need someone behind the scenes to cook and assemble the food. Cutting the employee count in each store will undoubtedly save the billion-dollar company millions in the long run, which might spur on continued debates about how companies like McDonald’s pay their employees.

Still, the United States is behind the curve in terms of technological advancement. Stores in Canada, the U.K., and Australia already use order kiosks, so it was only a matter of time before the U.S. caught up.

While the prevailing thought is to assume McDonald’s is doing this to cut workers and save money, as many industries have turned to technology to improve their bottom line, the company itself says they don’t intend to downsize and are just providing additional options.

The idea is to sell more food. Customers who can take their time, not feel rushed due to a line behind them or a cashier staring at them waiting for their order, they can actually browse their options and are more likely to order extra food. It’s a convenience and just another option they’re adding to better serve customers.

According to McDonalds, it was only a few years ago when you only had to options: hit the counter or make your way through the drive-thru. Now, you can order online, with your phone, and even use their curbside options where you just park and someone will bring your food right to your car.

Terri Hickey, spokesperson for McDonald’s, says the stores will “still have cashiers — kiosks provide another option for customers to order and pay. We’re finding with kiosks, customers tend to feel less rushed, take their time, browse the menu, and often order more.”

Rather than letting go of the additional cashiers who may no longer be needed, McDonald’s says they plan on using them in different ways, such as improving guest experience, offering table service, and running orders out to curbside mobile customers.

To the workers who demand a higher wage, this change must be scary. It’s only the first step in restaurants meeting the technological demand. Some of the largest employers in the country are fast food restaurants, and it’s where most people get their first legitimate job experience.

While McDonald’s is promising not to cut any jobs (right now), how long before we find these kiosks at every table, eliminating the need for cashiers in the first place?

And it’s not like the company isn’t trying out other high-tech gadgets, such as the burger grabber and flipper, which can make an astounding 360 burgers in one hour, eliminating the human component. That’s not all. Right now, a conveyor belt system is being developed that can create and assemble burgers to order.

These types of innovations will only continue to happen and businesses will always choose to adapt to save money and stay competitive.

Written by adminJune 5, 2018

Life Style

As Americans, we expect our school experience to prepared us for life outside the bubble of our parent’s protective reach. We must know how to do everyday things, like change a tire and balance a checkbook. Some schools do have these life lessons as a required part of their curriculum, but sadly, that’s not always the case.

Seventeen states require personal finance courses, but this often isn’t enough. In most of those schools, it’s a simple semester-long class that might help teach kids how to budget, but the fact that it stops at the basic level education and is only required in less than half the states is difficult to understand.

According to a survey from Equifax, 90% of Americans want personal finance classes to be taught at the K-12 level and for it to be a requirement to graduate.

The poll revealed something else. When asking surveyors about their personal literacy, Americans tend to grade themselves on a curve, believing they have better-than-average financial literacy, but that’s not the case.

Every year, the Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy releases its Financial Report Card and it often doesn’t look very good. Nine states received a failing grade. 27 states scored a “C” or lower. When you look at the massive amounts of debt Americans are piling on, it goes to show how much we really know about financial stability.

Americans keep falling into the same traps, year after year, decade after decade. There are moments that are outside of people’s control. No one knows when the next big recession will hit, but very few seem to be prepared for such occasions, including personal emergencies.

When Equifax asked people where they got their financial education, only a dismal 14% replied that they learned from school. 40% reported their parents taught them. 13% learned by reading financial blogs like this one. 8% picked up knowledge from their bank.

That statistics don’t stop there. T. Rowe Price, an investment group, found that over half of all students who did take financial courses were not prepared for handling finances as an adult. A lot of it comes from confusion, as both schools and parents clash on what students need to learn. No consensus means a variety misinformation is being shared.

Stuart Ritter, who is a senior financial planner at the company, knows what it takes to get everyone on the same page.

“Over the years, we’ve found that financial education works best when schools and parents work together to help kids understand money matters. Even though financial education in both school and home have shown to be effective in preparing kids for ‘adulting’ responsibilities, it’s not perfect,” he said.

The disconnect might be a result of parents being reluctant to teach their kids about money, spending, and saving. In a lot of ways, kids grow up and start making and spending money before parents even get a chance to have that conversation. It should be ingrained with life lessons about money from a much earlier age.

“We know that many parents have some reluctance to discuss money matters with their kids and that, oftentimes, kids begin making, spending, and saving money before parents or educators have helped them understand how it works. An opportunity for parents and educators to have money conversations more consistently, sooner, and broaden the dialogue to include longer-term goals,” said Ritter.

The value of a dollar should be instilled in kids from the time they are able to handle chores by themselves. Rather than just buying them the toy they want, it can be made into a teachable moment that allows their child to get a better understanding of what it takes to earn the money, save, and buy what they want.

As they get older, incorporate broader realities that involve paying for their own car payments, insurance, and other necessities.

For now, financial experts hope to get a bill passed that requires financial education as a requirement in all 50 states.

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