The marketplace seems to be saying absolutely not. A couple years ago, Blu-ray players cost like $1,000. Until very recently, Blu-ray DVDs cost $40 and up. But after pathetic sales trickled in, Blu-ray players have been knocked down to under $100, and new DVDs go for under $10.
One man in southern California jumped with both feet into the game of snatching up the holiday season’s must-have, can’t-find toy, buying something like 500 robotic hamster Zhu Zhu Pets, which he then sold to desperate parents on eBay for handsome profits.
Check out the story on CNET, so that you can be disgusted and/or learn what to …
During a three-week “financial fast,” you’re supposed to go cold turkey on all nonessential purchases. And for a lot of people, most purchases are nonessential purchases.
Chances are, if you’ve spent your life studying how money and economics work, or if you’ve been fairly successful at actually making money and compiling it in a bank account, you’re a cheapskate when it comes to food, wine, cars, homes, clothes, and nearly everything else.
One reason people live poverty-stricken lives in developing countries like Nicaragua is that jobs pay meager wages. Also, there aren’t that many places to save your money. Also, workers spend a big chunk of what little money they do make on vices, including alcohol, prostitutes, and Coca Cola.
Some people are lucky enough to be wondering not how to get money, but what to do with a sum that’s landed somewhat surprisingly in their laps.
The most obvious upside to being a consumer this year was that you felt wanted, and you felt appreciated. In a bad year for business, retailers were very, very happy to have yours. You felt the love—though sure, they only “love” you for your money. It wouldn’t be the first time somebody was happy to be in a relationship with a gold digger.
As we leave 2009 behind, there are many signs that life will be way better in the year to come.
It sucks to buy technology that feels outdated a few weeks after your purchase. On the other hand, buy too soon and you’ll feel like a sucker because the new item has problems that haven’t yet been solved or because, if you’d only waited a couple weeks longer, you’d pay way less.
A story in Real Simple lays out dozens of ways to save on everything from health care (try a retail clinic) to entertainment (buy refurbed electronics) to everyday bills (switching cell phone plans could save you over $300). Add up all the savings and you could have a few extra grand in your bank account at year’s end.
It’s the time of year to make resolutions, or at least it’s the time for journalists to write stories about making resolutions. This year especially, these resolutions involve better money management. But come on: If you didn’t figure out how to take care of your money this year—a year when everybody was scrimping and saving—you may …
For many unemployed Americans, health insurance isn’t remotely affordable—even with the government subsidizing 65% of former workers’ policy premiums.