Tag Archives: online research

Wedding Season by the Numbers!

You're going to need more quarters...
You’re going to need more quarters…

Wedding season is upon us, so grab your checkbook (and the form for that home equity loan!) The CNN.com headline says it all: Brides and grooms spent more on their big wedding day last year than they have since the beginning of the economic downturn.

Wedding spending took a dive – relatively speaking – in 2008. Since then it has been slowly crawling back, according to CNN and TheKnot.com. So, let’s take a fun Friday look at Wedding Season by the Numbers – 2013 edition!

$28,427: The average cost of a wedding in 2012…down $1K since 2008

$76,687: Average cost in NYC…the highest

$15,504: Average cost in Alaska…the lowest

$204: Average cost per guest

26%: Number of couples who say “the economy” forced them to cut back on their plans…which is an improvement from 34% in 2009.

25%: Weddings that include shuttle buses between the ceremony and the reception.

27%: the percentage of weddings that include extra entertainment like photo booth or caricature artist – double the previous year!

There are many more statistics at the original story…so check it out!

Is your (or your kid’s) big day approaching? What do you think of these numbers? Let us know! And have a great weekend!

Consumer Secrets: Household Edition

As a follow-up to our last post, here is another sampling of Consumer Reports 101 Consumer Secrets. I think many of these tips share a common trait: that we have forgotten common sense, old-timey “home remedies” in favor of the constant need for something to be NEW and IMPROVED! Hey, I’m in marketing. I get it. Anyway, here are some tips. As they say, your mileage may vary.

  • Refrigerator: The area around the vent is the coldest, the shelves on the door are warmest, so store accordingly.
  • Rice: May contain arsenic. So cook it twice the amount of time the package recommends.
  • New and Improved? Maybe not. Moldy oldies like Pine-Sol and Fels Naptha are still tops among cleaners.
  • Coffee: Clean coffee pots with dissolving denture tablets. Weird!
  • Carpets: That super-low setting is great for getting out dirt and sand. For regular use, however, it will really wear out your carpet.
  • Fire! That fire extinguisher under the sink has an expiration date. Learn it!
  • More fire! There are 2 types of smoke detectors – ones that detect fast-moving flames and ones that detect slow-smoldering fires. You might need both, but at least be sure what you are getting.

Of course, not all common sense solutions are created equal. I remember one such piece of advice: “Did you know Coca-Cola will clean your toilet just as well as Comet?” The part they left out: “Did you know Coca-Cola is about 3 times as expensive as Comet?”

More tips at the original article, so check it out. And have a great weekend!

Mother’s Day by the Numbers

 Pause while all the dudes say, “Wait? Is Mother’s Day coming up!?”

Yes, children of mothers, Mom’s Day approaches (2 days, gentlemen.) Whether we have planned well in advance, or begin scrambling right after reading this post, recognizing Mom is a wonderful tradition – and a big consumer event!

Take a look at these stats, courtesy of StatisticsBrain.com:

  • $671 million: Total amount of money spent on Mother’s Day Cards annually
  • $126.90: Total average amount of money the average person will spend on gifts of their mom on mother’s day
  • $1.9 billion: Total amount of money spent on flowers for their mothers on mother’s day
  • $14.6 billion: Total amount of money that will be spent for mothers on Mothers Day
  • 96%: Total amount of consumers that will take place in mother’s day in some form
  • 24%: Total percentage of all transactions on holidays that take place on Mother’s day
  • 69%: Total percent of all gifts bought on mothers day that are flowers
  • 13%: Total amount of flowers bought on mothers day BY mothers that are for themselves

Awww, that last one is a bit sad. Please don’t be that dope whose mom has to buy her own flowers! But seriously, what are you planning for Mom’s Day? We want to know!

Have a great weekend and a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!

(photo: hdwallpapersonly.com)

Slash Your Grocery Bill!

Tip #17: Instead of Hundreds, try eating only Fives and Tens!
Savings Tip #17: Instead of Hundreds, try eating only Fives and Tens!

A while back we talked about stretching your food budget by eliminating food waste. And of course, it’s common sense that cutting back on dining out can save you plenty.

But, what if you have already made these cuts, and you’re still feeling the pinch? Take a closer look at your grocery habits!

There’s a pretty interesting article at Money Talks News called “16 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half.”

Here are some highlights:

  • Buy Discounted Meat: If you’re like me, you plan to eat pork chops, and then go buy them. Instead, see what’s on sale, and then plan your menu around that. This might not work if (like me) you can only cook 4 things!
  • Meatless Monday: Not as a moral or political statement, because YAWN. Just to save money! At my house, we have a big salad at least once a week.
  • Only Buy Food: At a Publix or Kroger or whatever, things like laundry detergent can be crazy expensive. Save that for Walmart!
  • Buy Generic: Store brands, yo! You can save up to 30% on things like pasta, salt, etc.
  • Embrace Inconvenience: If it comes in snack size, you don’t want it. Buy the big box of pretzels and some baggies. Cut your own fruit salad. Spend your life combing through circulars for coupons. Convenience is pricey!

There are 11 more tips of varying awesomeness at the original article, so check it out!

The Death of the Price Tag?

price-tag

They say the price tag is dead.

Price tags have become an endangered species in the 21st century American economy. Can you say how much you spent on your cellphone bill last month? Or pay television? I’m sure you can’t say how much you paid in fees on your investments. NBC Redtape Blog

The thing is, you see price tags everywhere. What they really mean, I believe, is that the stated price has no MEANING anymore. Car loans, mortgages, cable TV offers, data plans, etc. Sometimes, spotting the offenders is easy. You see “Just $99 a month!” followed by an asterisk, and 500 words in tiny print. You know something’s up, even if you have no idea what it is.

What sorts of things are lying in wait behind that (*) ? According to Yahoo Finance:

  • Free-to-Paid: Free trials that become paid after a length of time
  • Unknown Subscriptions: Watch for boxes that are already checked, forcing you to UNCHECK to avoid extra charges!
  • Unwanted Auto Renewals: Unless you state otherwise, you will be automatically billed at renewal time.
  • Zombie Subscriptions: You cancel and the charges stop. You stop paying attention, and the charges start again.
  • Cost Creep: “Prices subject to change without notice.” Grr!

So, what’s the real damage?

This (confusion) hurts consumers, but it hurts industry too — with clear pricing, the best companies with the best products and the best value are rewarded over time. Without clear prices, companies that create the most confusion win, and honest companies slowly fade away. NBC Redtape Blog

What do you think? Have you noticed the death of the price tag? Are you confused and distrusting? What’s the answer? Read the original pieces, and let us know!

Grumpy Consumer Top 10 List!

What’s your favorite scam? Mine has to be the infomercials where, if you call now, they will double your order…. “You just pay separate shipping and handling!” Which suggests to me that THAT’S where they are making their money. I have also heard stories of people whose orders were doubled without their permission – as well as the shipping and handling. The remedy, when the company owns up to it, is to return the product for the full refund…but you still pay the S & H! Grrr.

Anyway, they have just published a list of top consumers scams of 2012. The list is from Missouri, but I bet it’s pretty typical. Take a look, listed in order of obnoxiousness!

  1. NO-CALL COMPLAINTS (39,990 complaints)
  2. DEBT COLLECTORS (1,769)
  3. MORTGAGE/FORECLOSURE/LOAN MODIFICATIONS (1,648)
  4. MAIL AND PHONE SOLICITATIONS (1,432)
  5. TELPHONE CRAMMING and BILLING (1,165)
  6. CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD (1,165)
  7. HOME REPAIR AND REMODELING (928)
  8. PUBLICATIONS AND MAGAZINE SALES (823)
  9. CABLE/SATELLITE SERVICES (670)
  10. AUTOMOBILE REPAIR (641)

Interesting that Do Not Calls are by far the biggest complaint, when that is the area the government has been attacking the hardest for years. Again, technology has made it easier to get around the laws.

The article has several tips and tricks and numbers/websites to call to get help. So check it out!

So, again, what’s your favorite scam-ola? Let us know!

Fighting Food Waste

300px-rotting_fruit
Appetizing!

I usually avoid reading articles about food waste, as they are typically written to make Americans feel bad about the rich bounty of our lives. This one, however, puts it in dollars and cents – you PAID for that food! Why throw it away?

First, the depressing statistics:

  • About 40 percent of all food in the U.S. goes to waste.
  • The average American wastes about $28 to $43 in food each month, roughly 20 pounds of food.
  • Broken down, about 17 percent of dairy, 20 percent of vegetables, 15 percent of fruit, 18 percent of the grains, 25 percent of seafood, and 33 percent of the meat you buy goes to waste. Money Talks News

How to avoid throwing food (and money) away? There are several tips and tricks you can use – some a little nuttier than others.  The full list is at the original article, but here are some highlights.

1.     Store onions in pantyhose. (I assume you shouldn’t be wearing them at the time.)

2.     Add rice to your seasonings. (Absorbs moisture, and gives your spices that extra ricey flavor!)

3.     Invest in airtight plastic containers. (Keeps crackers, cereal, etc. fresh for two extra weeks!)

4.     Store bread in the fridge. (I don’t buy enough bread to know if this works or not, but my bagels last up to a month!)

5.     Prep salads in mason jars. (Apparently, you can keep salads for 10 days this way!)

6.     Give fruits and vegetables a vinegar bath. (Removes dirt, wax, and bacteria for longer shelf life.)

7.     Keep an eye out for bad apples. (Despite what the Osmond Brothers say, one bad apple CAN spoil the whole bunch, girl.)

8.     Make frozen buttermilk or cream cubes. (Yes, in an ice tray. Yes, people will think you are crazy.)

At our house, it’s usually bananas and salad fixin’s that seem to get wasted most. How about you? Are these tips useful? Bizarre? Usefully bizarre? Read the original article, and let us know!

Walmart vs. Amazon

As they say, business it business. But it sure seems like Walmart has an axe to grind with Amazon! Last month, Wally announced they were no longer carrying Amazon’s Kindle. Now, they are going to compete with Amazon’s experimental same-day delivery.

Called Wal-Mart To Go, the service costs $10 regardless of the size of the order. The products will be shipped from the company’s stores, not from a warehouse or distribution center. Wal-Mart began testing the same-day service last week in Philadelphia and northern Virginia. It added Minneapolis on Tuesday and will add San Jose and San Francisco later this month. The trial will last through the holidays. Wall Street Journal

Amazon has been doing the same-day thing in 10 cities for a few years now. Amazon has about $35 billion in online sales each year, about 7 times Walmart’s take. BUT, Wally’s $5 billion is about 1% of their total sales. So, that kind of capital allows them to experiment to find ways to compete with the established leader Amazon.

Analysts say that Walmart is going to need that cash flow to make it work…

 “It can be three to four times the cost for the retailer to pick items and pack them from a store versus having a really efficient, automated process back in a distribution center.”  Wall Street Journal

So, what do you think? Does this sound like a good move for Wally? Or should they stick to what they know best and leave the online fulfillment game to the recognized leaders? Read the article, and have a great weekend!

The Fans Speak…Again!

Time once again to update our satisfied Facebook fans shout-out page. Take a moment to read some of the positive feedback from a few of our purt-near 30,000 fans… including this comment from Abbidula:

“I just rolled in another dollar bill and itching for more scratch. This is great with the “any amount” cashout plan. Join now and you can also benefit from these rewards.”

So take a look HERE. Thanks to all our friends, Facebook and otherwise. And have a great weekend!

(photo: southerncrescentsolutions.com)

MindField Milestones!

What does it all mean?

A couple of milestones to mention today.

First, as represented in the totally awesome and NOT lame graphic above: 4MM. That means Four Million, as in MindField Online recently paid out its 4,000,000th credit to our panelists. That’s four million dollars since MindField’s inception in April 2004 – an average of $471, 000 a year. Over the past 5 years, however, our panelists overall have earned an average of $688,000 in credits each year.

To celebrate, we credited $25 to lucky number 4 million: CODY B. of MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA!

Meanwhile, “100K” also happened. That signifies $100,000 in Amazon.com credits our panelists have opted for since we introduced that new cashout method!  That took a surprisingly short 14 months, which means our panelists like the Amazon option even better than we hoped!

So, a big thank you to our panelists, and stay tuned for more excitement ahead. For example, we’re coming reeeally close to 30,000 Facebook fans. But you didn’t hear it from me!