This Week in Your Wallet: January 8, 2013
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that so far, 2013 is treating you well, and that those of you who have made New Year’s resolutions have been able to stick to them so far. As some of you may have seen me tweet, I’m trying to work at a desk rather than on a couch or a bed when I work from home. So far, so good — and who knows, maybe this will improve my posture!
Habits aren’t the only thing changing this year. As you may have seen from my segment on the TODAY show last week, the prices of some of your favorite items and services (think: cars and online streaming) will be fluctuating. Some for the good; others for the not-so-good. Here’s a look at what you need to know, in the form of an up-down drill:
Up: Cars. Standards for fuel efficiency have changed in the last year, and the cost of updating automobile engines to meet these standards is driving up the overall price of cars. As dealnews.comreported, Toyota upped the price of its midsize Camry by $175, and on the luxury end of car-buying, certain Lexus CT models will cost almost $3,000 more than they did in 2012.
Down: Streaming video. We’re used to seeing Redbox stands in our grocery stores and local pharmacies, but did you know that the company is now offering video streaming — and that said streaming is cheaper than Netflix? For just $8 per month, Redbox will give you unlimited streaming and four, one-day rentals each month. Over in the world of Netflix, similar services will cost you nearly double.
Up: Copper. Like Willie Geist did during our segment, you might be wondering why increased copper prices matter to you. One word: beer. Beer is brewed in copper equipment, meaning that you might notice the cost of a six-pack isn’t what it used to be.
Down: Gas prices. Oil analysts at Deutsche Bank told dealnews that they expect oil prices will drop from $100 to $70 per barrel this year. This means lower prices at the pump within the next few months.
For a longer list of how prices will be changing this year, I recommend reading what dealnews has to say here and here — both articles were key in helping me prepare for that segment. And now, along to the other headlines for the week…
Fiscal Cliff Notes
As 2012 drew to a close, I’m willing to bet that your two least-favorite words in the English language were “fiscal” and “cliff.” (If it makes you feel any better, I was getting pretty sick of them myself.) The good news, as you’ve surely heard by now, is that Congress struck a last-minute tax deal to prevent the country from going over the cliff. As with most things tax-related, the deal has many parts and is a bit complicated, which is why I broke down exactly what you need to know, for SavvyMoney.com. If you’re confused at all about what the deal means for you, I recommend taking a quick look at that post. It’s less than 400 words, so you’ll be able to read it in a jiffy.
The post also contains a link (that I’ll duplicate here) to a terrific CNN chart of the precise tax change foryour income bracket. Much of the coverage of the deal has been about what will happen if you make over $400,000 per year, but this chart spells out exactly what will change for you if you make, say, $49,000 per year. (In short: because of the payroll tax increase, you’ll pay $579 more and your after-tax income will drop by 1.5%.)
Finding the Jobs
With 2012 officially in the books, the final tally of new jobs for the year came to 1.8 million. Naturally,The Atlantic is asking, “Where did they all come from?” Well, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “professional and business services” lead the way, followed by “health care and social assistance.” BLS statistics also reveal that the industry with the fastest job growth was “food services and drinking places,” followed by “professional and business services.”
However, if neither food service nor an office job is your cup of tea, consider this new data from FlexJobs, a resource for jobs that involve telecommuting. FlexJobs reports that the five career fields with the most flexible job openings in 2013 will be medical and health, administrative, customer service, sales, and education and training. If you’re looking to work from home and any of these five fields sound interesting to you, 2013 could be the year you find a telecommuting position that’s right for you.
“Redneckognizing” a Good Saver
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope that so far, 2013 is treating you well, and that those of you who have made New Year’s resolutions have been able to stick to them so far. As some of you may have seen me tweet, I’m trying to work at a desk rather than on a couch or a bed when I work from home. So far, so good — and who knows, maybe this will improve my posture!
Habits aren’t the only thing changing this year. As you may have seen from my segment on the TODAY show last week, the prices of some of your favorite items and services (think: cars and online streaming) will be fluctuating. Some for the good; others for the not-so-good. Here’s a look at what you need to know, in the form of an up-down drill:
Up: Cars. Standards for fuel efficiency have changed in the last year, and the cost of updating automobile engines to meet these standards is driving up the overall price of cars. As dealnews.comreported, Toyota upped the price of its midsize Camry by $175, and on the luxury end of car-buying, certain Lexus CT models will cost almost $3,000 more than they did in 2012.
Down: Streaming video. We’re used to seeing Redbox stands in our grocery stores and local pharmacies, but did you know that the company is now offering video streaming — and that said streaming is cheaper than Netflix? For just $8 per month, Redbox will give you unlimited streaming and four, one-day rentals each month. Over in the world of Netflix, similar services will cost you nearly double.
Up: Copper. Like Willie Geist did during our segment, you might be wondering why increased copper prices matter to you. One word: beer. Beer is brewed in copper equipment, meaning that you might notice the cost of a six-pack isn’t what it used to be.
Down: Gas prices. Oil analysts at Deutsche Bank told dealnews that they expect oil prices will drop from $100 to $70 per barrel this year. This means lower prices at the pump within the next few months.
For a longer list of how prices will be changing this year, I recommend reading what dealnews has to say here and here — both articles were key in helping me prepare for that segment. And now, along to the other headlines for the week…
Fiscal Cliff Notes
As 2012 drew to a close, I’m willing to bet that your two least-favorite words in the English language were “fiscal” and “cliff.” (If it makes you feel any better, I was getting pretty sick of them myself.) The good news, as you’ve surely heard by now, is that Congress struck a last-minute tax deal to prevent the country from going over the cliff. As with most things tax-related, the deal has many parts and is a bit complicated, which is why I broke down exactly what you need to know, for SavvyMoney.com. If you’re confused at all about what the deal means for you, I recommend taking a quick look at that post. It’s less than 400 words, so you’ll be able to read it in a jiffy.
The post also contains a link (that I’ll duplicate here) to a terrific CNN chart of the precise tax change foryour income bracket. Much of the coverage of the deal has been about what will happen if you make over $400,000 per year, but this chart spells out exactly what will change for you if you make, say, $49,000 per year. (In short: because of the payroll tax increase, you’ll pay $579 more and your after-tax income will drop by 1.5%.)
Finding the Jobs
With 2012 officially in the books, the final tally of new jobs for the year came to 1.8 million. Naturally,The Atlantic is asking, “Where did they all come from?” Well, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “professional and business services” lead the way, followed by “health care and social assistance.” BLS statistics also reveal that the industry with the fastest job growth was “food services and drinking places,” followed by “professional and business services.”
However, if neither food service nor an office job is your cup of tea, consider this new data from FlexJobs, a resource for jobs that involve telecommuting. FlexJobs reports that the five career fields with the most flexible job openings in 2013 will be medical and health, administrative, customer service, sales, and education and training. If you’re looking to work from home and any of these five fields sound interesting to you, 2013 could be the year you find a telecommuting position that’s right for you.
“Redneckognizing” a Good Saver
I’ll admit, I’ve never watched the TLC hit “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.” (Okay, I’ve watched it once.) But I know that there are people who love it, and there are others who think it’s just about the most ridiculous thing they’ve ever seen. Regardless of where you fall on the Honey Boo Boo spectrum, I think we can all agree that this article about the family’s smart saving habits is surprising — in a good way. You see, Honey Boo Boo’s mother (“Mama June”) recently told TMZ that she puts the money the family receives from the show — between $15,000 and $20,000 per episode — directly into trust funds for her five daughters. “TLC puts the money into the girls’ trust accounts for me and then I get an e-mail telling me how much everyone gets,” June told TMZ. “I want my kids to look back and say, ‘Mama played it smart. Not like those other reality TV people.’” She also said, “You’re never gonna see me drive a Range Rover or a Mercedes. I’ll drive one if someone else pays for it. Never gonna live above my means.”
I never thought I’d say this, but that’s one example from reality TV worth following. Kudos to June for keeping her head on straight.
Have a great week!
Jean
