2 Minute Finance rounds up the two most interesting finance stories of late and breaks them down in two minutes or less. In this episode: Amazon says “Screw You!” to California and an update to the debit card swipe fee battle.
Archive for June, 2011
Amazon Says “Screw You California!” and Debit Card Swipe Fee Update – 2 in 2 for 6/30/2011
Thursday, June 30th, 2011BofA Contracts Herpes & Chase Bank Births Branch Babies – The “2 in 2″ for 6/28/2011
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
2 Minute Finance rounds up the two most interesting finance stories of late and breaks them down in two minutes or less. In this episode: Bank of America added yet another fee and Chase is building branches like crazy. Tune in and find out more!
The “2 in 2″ for 6/24/2011
Friday, June 24th, 2011
New video series! The “2 in 2.” 2 Minute Finance rounds up the two most interesting finance stories of late and breaks then down in two minutes or less. In this episode: how Jennifer Aniston spent her first paycheck and a bankrupt family who wants to borrow money.
What is the Debit Card Swipe Fee Battle?
Tuesday, June 14th, 2011
Banks and businesses have been at each others’ throats for the better part of 2011, battling over the $16 billion in fees that businesses pay to banks annually in order to accept debit cards from customers on purchases.
But there’s drastic change on the horizon. Watch the latest 2 Minute Finance video to find out how it’ll affect you and your bottom line.
Are Shopping Membership Clubs Worth the Annual Fee?
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
“Free 2-day shipping!” “5% cash back!” “Exclusive offers for members only!!”
All of these retail promotions sound great at first, then you realize that an annual membership fee is involved. What? Ridiculous you say? Not so fast…
ShopSmart and CBS MoneyWatch analyzed some of the more popular retail membership clubs and found that some might actually be worth paying the annual fee. For example:
-Amazon Prime (Free 2-day shipping + instant streaming video) is worth the $79/year fee if you buy from Amazon more than nine times a year or take advantage of the instant video service
-Barnes & Noble’s membership program (Free express shipping + member discounts) is worth the $25 annual fee if you buy more than six books a year at a 40% discount.
-Overstock.com Club O (5% cash back and free shipping for purchases over $25) is worth the $19.95 annual fee if you buy more than $100 in items a year from the company.
Personally speaking, I’ve been an Amazon Prime member for over five years now and have found myself buying about 20 times a year from the company. So I more than make up for the cost of being in the program. But if your shopping club isn’t listed above, here my one-and-only personal tip on figuring out if the club is worth joining:
Ask yourself, will you actually take advantage of the main benefits of the program? No seriously, I’m not being facetious. Free two-day shipping or 5% cash back has a great ring to it and sounds even better when you’re bragging about it to all of your friends. But if you don’t really buy from that particular store already, don’t pretend that you will after signing up for the membership. That’s just bad form.
If, after looking at your purchase history, you feel like this program is worth joining, then crunch the numbers. If the program lets you save on a fee, see how much you paid in that fee last year and see if it’s greater than the cost of membership. Or if there’s a cash back program, take your total annual purchase amount and multiple it by that cash back percentage to see if the amount saved is greater than the membership fee.
It’s that simple.
U.S. Government Debt Rating Downgrade – What Does it Mean?
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
A credit rating agency issued a warning to the U.S. Government on Thursday, saying that it may lower its debt rating if a solution isn’t found to the spending/debt crisis. It sounds like a bunch of confusing jargon, but I’ll explain how it directly affects your wallet in this 2 minute video.
What is a Mutual Fund?
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
Besides stocks, a mutual fund is a common investment beginning investors get into. But what is a mutual fund exactly? Watch the video to find out the answer in less than 2 minutes.