This Week in Your Wallet: Thanksgiving Weekend Recap and Cyber Shopping Tips
Have you tossed the rest of the leftovers yet? If you haven’t — do it today. (You were supposed to do it yesterday, according to the food police.) Don’t get me wrong. I understand why you’re reluctant. Thanksgiving — no thanks to marketers who called their workers in on Thursday — but actual Thanksgiving with its turkey, fixins and family, was still the best part of the past four days.
If retailers need a reminder of that going into next year let me just suggest they look at this year’s disappointing sales. The National Retail Federation estimates weekend spending fell to $57.4 billion, down 2.7% from 2012. Despite the fact more of you went shopping in-store and online this year – 45 million on Thursday and 92 million on Friday, to be exact – the Wall Street Journal reports this is the first time in roughly seven years spending has decreased over the holiday weekend. What’s up with that? Consumers just don’t seem to be feeling it — which we got a hint of when consumer confidence fell to a seven-month low in November. On the upside: Online sales rose 21% to $766 million on Thanksgiving Day, and 15% to $1.2 billion on Black Friday, according to data from ComScore Inc.
How’d Cyber Monday turn out? Bloomberg reports cyber sales rose by 21% yesterday compared to last year. I gave Natalie Morales and the Today viewers a few suggestions for how to get the best deals yesterday — and in fact, they’ll apply for the rest of the holiday season. Among them: Maximize your coupon usage. Check couponing sites before you go to specific sites for extra savings – like retailmenot.com and coupons.com. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, Google the name of the retailer and the word “coupon.” Then go to the Twitter feeds and Facebook pages for the stores to see if they’ve alerted followers to any new deals – you can also “like” or “follow” them and add them to your feeds. Make sure you plug those coupons in as you check out. By layering like this you could snag a Kitchen-Aid Artisan Mixer from Kohls: Retail price $449, sale price $349. After the coupon for 20% off — and a $50 rebate — under $250. (If you can find a better deal on this, let me know — and no, those ones on eBay don’t count. They’re refurbished.) You can see the rest of my cyber saving tips, including my segment, here.
Now onto the other headlines…
Another college expense
Tuition, books and boarding all come to mind when planning and saving for your children’s college educations. Though what about their strengths and weaknesses, or their passions? As it turns out, many high school students aren’t planning to major in subjects best suited for them. In fact, only 33 percent of high school students who recently took the ACT assessment test intend to choose a major that matches both their skill-sets and interests – just as many are doing the opposite, opting for the majors associated with higher salaries over the ones that even they believe will fulfill them. As Reuters reports, basing the decision on future paychecks alone, and not necessarily contentment, can backfire into costly mistakes. Disinterest is turning out to be yet another college expense.
Whether students are being pressured by their parents, or are motivated by the prospect of better salaries, those who choose the wrong majors (for them) are less likely to finish in four years, and are more likely to not finish at all. So, instead of pointing (or pushing) your offspring in one direction or another, academic experts and counselors suggest encouraging and facilitating a little self-exploration. Help your teens indentify both their academic and personal strengths and weaknesses before brainstorming any potential career paths, and especially before any declarations.
Also, students (and their parents) should continue to remain open-minded throughout freshman year. As Northwestern University political science professor Andrew Roberts points out: “It always seems strange that a first-semester freshman will take chemistry, history, English, and math when that is exactly what they took in high school…Why not try linguistics or psychology or art history, to mention just a few subjects not offered in most high schools,” as told by Reuters.
Identifying their tricks
Anyone watch NBC’s “The Blacklist?” After years of escaping capture, criminal mastermind Raymond Reddington (played by James Spader), turns himself into the FBI as an ally. Similarly, “The Fraudsters’ Playbook,” a report released by Jumio – a credit card and ID validation company – has reformed identity thieves pulling Reddingtons. As CNNMoney reports, the playbook, which also has insight from professional criminologists and law enforcement agents, has former thieves offering up their tactics. The article offers five ways in which you’re being targeted.
For instance, fraudsters will camp out at places that offer free Wi-Fi, set-up fake networks as traps and wait for you to mistakenly log in to theirs instead of the secured ones. Once you’re logged in, they can hack into your personal information, like your email and bank accounts. So, the next time you’re at Starbucks or any free Wi-Fi location for that matter, double check with an employee to see which network the company operates. Also check the spelling of the network name. Not surprisingly fraudsters steal those too. They also get to know you through your social media networks if you don’t use your privacy settings. After learning about your interests, they’ll send you fake offers and deals aimed to get you handing over your card numbers. And even in this electronic age, identity thieves still go on foot, sometimes going door to door posing as Census workers. First they’ll ask you for harmless information, like your name and email address. If you pass their gullibility tests, then they’ll press you for the information they’re really after. Time for all of us to drink our coffee with our eyes wide open!
Have a great week!
Jean
