My car was long over due for an oil change and I finally got around to taking it today on my lunch break and unlike last time, I was super impressed with the service.
First off, the people working were extremely polite. They asked me what I needed and promised to have it taken care of quickly. There were two people ahead of me in line, but I was still probably only there for a total of 30 minutes at the most.
We've all heard the legends of Bigfoot and the abdominal snowman. How about the myth of the person who has paid off everything they own, including their car and house, and now live debt free? Haven't heard that one? No, me neither. Many companies, such as Whirlpool , are struggling and have been forced to lay off workers to stay afloat because, as they claim, fewer people are buying their stuff. No surprise.
Lately, members of the U.S. Congress has started to push for second stimulus package that could cost between $150 million to $300 million. First, let me start by stating that those massive funds will come from already-collected tax dollars. So, if the package is approved, the government will be giving you your money back to spend on stuff that your couldn't afford in the first place. Second, the timing of this package stinks.
I used to think companies did those "if a sports player does X, we'll give away Y" promotions to get their names out there, without having to give away too much product for free.
Look at the bread sticks giveaways at Revs games from Pizza Hut, where they pick one player, and if they player gets struck out by a Revs pitcher, the entire crowd gets free bread sticks.
Not a whole lot of people involved, and not an overwhelming chance it'll happen - but everyone who ever goes to a game gets to thinking about Pizza Hut bread sticks. Now granted, it's happened a good bit, but still. The odds are better that it won't happen.
But after Taco Bell's promotion at the World Series, I rethought the logic. Or maybe Taco Bell is just dumb. Because if you really didn't want to give away a taco to every person in America, you shouldn't have said everyone in the United States could get one if ANY player stole a base in ANY game of this World Series.
These two teams run the bases. A LOT. And now, everyone in America gets a free taco between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. next Tuesday. Only took til about half way through Game 1 last night.
So I want to see if the little ploy actually works. If you go get your free taco, York County, and then decide to buy more Taco Bell products based on that one taco, please let me know.
So I just said about an hour ago on the blog gas prices have fallen a lot, down to $2.75. Well, I just saw $2.59 while running out to walk my dog.
So where do you think the bottom is? Will it actually get "cheap" again? And what exactly would a "cheap" price be?
A colleague of mine says gas isn't "cheap" until it falls below $2 per gallon for regular. And apparently a lot of you out there agree.
A couple-year-old local service that tries to hook up commuters with possible carpool partners send me a press release today, saying that it added 1,000 new participants since early September.
Commuter Services of South Central Pennsylvania, as it is known, now has 11,000 members. The growth is despite gas prices falling since early September to around $2.75 per gallon for regular.
So my question is this: Is this because people have the foresight on the interest in saving the environment to start carpooling? Or are people so scared about the economy that they are pinching the pennies they were willing to spend just a few months ago?
Every day there's news of whether the stock market is up or down. I may as well be reading whether I've lost massive amounts of money in my 401(k) or managed to gain back some of what was lost previously.
A few weeks ago when I was home for my cousin's wedding a bunch my aunts and uncles were talking about how they can't bare to look at their 401(k) statements anymore. They said it's just too troublesome.
Some of them are only a few years out from retirement, so I can imagine they must really be nervous.
I looked at mine the other day and it was just depressing. I guess I'm lucky though because I have many more years of money accumulating before I get anywhere close to retirement.
What about you? Have you been looking at your 401(k) lately?
I know I am.
Shafting close family members with no gifts this year would just be plain mean, but I need to do something to afford it.
Smarter has so far meant getting my mom's gifts taken care of at the Linens 'n Things going-out-of-business sale last weekend. But don't tell my mom, it might give her a hint about what she's getting.
I saw two gas stations owned by the same company no more than one mile from each other that had two different gas prices. One was $2.75. One was $2.79.
What gives?
As gas prices start to drop have you noticed or overheard people talking about loosening the purse strings?
It seems like now that gas is below three dollars some people seem to think it's cheap and are going back to their old, less restrictive habits.
I know I'm still trying to cut back. One big thing I do is limit the amount of days I go out for lunch. I try to pack at least four days each week.
Have you noticed anyone loosening the purse strings lately?
After a fun-filled celebration of the Phillies winning the NLCS last night (that included a 2:30 a.m. phone call from my brother who was actually celebrating in Philly) I thought it would be fun to check out what the going rate for World Series tickets was.
I hopped on to StubHub to see what prices they had listed for the games in Philadelphia.
Game Three: $459 - $17500
Game Four: $365 - $25000
Game Five (if necessary): $457 - $12999
Please note, the "cheap" tickets are for standing room only.
I have no idea how anyone could afford to fork over that much dough in today's economy, but man if I could afford it (and could get a ticket), I'd so be there.
Ever walk into a chain restaurant on the weekend and become suddenly surprised when you're not force to wait a half hour for a table? No? Me either. That's because it doesn't happen. Well, at least it hadn't happened to me until last weekend. And all I can say is that, sometimes, a poor economy can be helpful. Last weekend, my wife and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. We took a drive to Baltimore to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Based on past experiences, I had expected to wait at least an hour walking through the nearby stores while gripping a pager the looks like something out of Star Trek. Sometimes, my wife grabs the pager from my hand when I get so bored that I start beg Scotty to beam me up. At any rate, on this particular day, we did get a pager from the Cheesecake Factory but we only had to wait a total of 10 minutes for a table. Yes, 10 minutes. Sometimes, when the economy is poor and people shun restaurants, its makes it easier for us who are willing to pay $10.95 for bowl of pasta to get a table.
Has anyone else been paying close attention to the price of milk lately?
I'm not sure why, but it's the one price I always notice changes in when I go grocery shopping.
I buy the same quart of milk every week and over the past few weeks I've noticed prices have been steadily declining.
During the summer months I was easily paying between 97 and 99 cents for it. But about two or three weeks ago it was selling for 95 cents and this past week it was selling for 90 cents.
Just thought it was an interesting thing to point out when it seems like everything else is increasing in price.
Has anyone else noticed this trend with milk or other grocery items?
I was out of town this weekend for my cousin's wedding in Allentown. I had to fuel up before I headed out of town Thursday evening. I think about paid $3.25 per gallon.
When I got to Allentown prices were lower, ranging from $3.05 to $3.13.
But my entire family was shocked as we drove from the wedding to the reception and saw a gas station where prices were $2.94.
As I headed to work this morning, I noticed that some regular gasoline prices had dropped to $3.25 per gallon. And those prices jive with AAA's survey that claims that the local average cost for a gallon of regular gas on Wednesday cost $3.298. The good news is that the average price for gas was $3.34 per gallon on Tuesday. We dropped 4 cents in one day. Not bad. But, not good enough. Gas prices need to fall below $2 a gallon before I'll even come close to calling fuel cheap. What do you think? How much does gas have to fall before it becomes inexpensive?
I can't think of a worse investment than a college education right now. Houses, cars and even AIG stock are at bargain prices, but the prices for degrees keep going up. And the resulting debt looks scarier by the day, considering the job markets.
Just look at the amount of debt students are taking on just to get a degree - $22,000 on average. That's more money than people pay for anything except their houses
I think this is just as dangerous as the mortgage mess. Sure it's less money than a house costs, but it's also debt taken on by people who are beginning their lives, and have absolutely no savings to fall back on.
I seriously think we need to rethink our education system in this country because of debt issues. After the mortgage mess, any system that convinces people they need something to live the American dream - and puts them in debt to get it - needs to be reconsidered.
What do you think?
So last week I was all ready to become a member of Citigroup, the people who were going to buy Wachovia. But then Wells Fargo made a better offer, and Wachovia like that deal better.
So the news came out that Wachovia was going to be bought by Wells Fargo instead.
I was caught off guard by the switch and hadn't really seen it coming, but thought, "Ok fine, now I'm going to be a member of Wells Fargo."
But now it's all a mess because Citigroup is filing papers in court saying Wachovia is breaking contracts, and Well Fargo is saying it is still buying Wachovia even though Citigroup is trying to stop it, and quite frankly I am having a Wachovia identity crisis.
I just want to know what my bank is going to be and be done with it.
Sorry about my rant. Feel free to share your own in the comments.
It's been another depressing week of economy news, bank buyouts and government bailouts. Here's a rundown of what you've missed.
Congress passed the bailout and Bush signed it.
The Wachovia situation is such a mess.
Unemployment numbers are up.
Stocks started to climb.
And in case you missed it, you'll want to check out this week's podcast to hear Brent, Sean and myself chat about the implications of the bailout and whether or not we thought it would pass.
The picture above shows the jerseys of a few players on Manchester United, a British soccer team, featuring a sponsorship by the failed AIG.
When the news of AIG's failure broke, a friend of mine and I were wondering whether AIG would continue to sponsor the team. We both agreed it didn't seem like the company should be allowed to spend its money on sponsorships when it is being bailed out by the U.S. government.
An Associated Press article had this to say about the situation:
"For now, it appears that the players of Manchester United will keep the American International Group name on their uniforms. A Manchester United spokesman said there have been no discussions about AIG buying out the deal, and there are no plans for changes to the uniform. A spokesman for the insurer, Joe Norton, said 'nothing has changed' with the deal."
Let me know what you think about AIG's continued sponsorship in the comments.
