- The NFL Teams With the Most Die-Hard Fans
Baseball may be America’s pastime but football, and the NFL in particular, is the most popular sport in America today. Last season the NFL made over $13 billion in revenue and 111.9 million people tuned in to watch the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 this past February. But what makes football… read more…
- The Pros and Cons of Recycling
Do you recycle in your home or office? How about when you’re out on the street or in a park? The recycling rate in the U.S. is around 34% and has been for years. The country has struggled to reach… read more…
- The Pros and Cons of the Electoral College
When you go to the polls to vote for a president every four years, you’re participating in an indirect vote. Why is it indirect? Well, because of the electoral college. Some say the electoral college is key to maintaining what’s… read more…
- What Does “Means Tested” Mean?
If you follow politics you might have noticed the phrase “means tested.” It’s used to describe certain government programs and benefits, but what does it mean? The short answer is that “means tested” programs are only available to those whose… read more…
- Income Inequality in America
By almost any measure, income inequality in the United States has grown steadily over the past few decades. According to a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute, between 1979 and 2012 the top 1% saw incomes rise over 200%, while everyone else saw income growth of just 18.7%. Those are certainly dramatic figures, but what do they mean… read more…
- Up, Up and Away – Understanding Inflation
We’ve all observed at some point that the cost of everything is going up. Most of us have either said or been told, “When I was a kid you could buy a loaf of bread for…” followed by a price… read more…
- 10 Best and Worst Cities for Healthcare Access for Your Money
There are many reasons to choose a city to live in, but most of them revolve around our basic needs: employment, cultural stimulation and education. But sooner or later, we all need healthcare, whether it’s a routine doctor’s visit or… read more…
- Top 3 Ways the Chocolate Industry is Changing
Once upon a time, chocolate was unheard of across most of the world. From the 1800s BCE to the 16th century CE or so, it was exclusively consumed by a small group of people – Aztec nobles in what is… read more…
- The Reality (and Cost) of Running a Renaissance Fair
As the last traces of the long and brutal winter disappear across the country and the weekends start to get warmer and sunnier, people of a certain mindset – let’s call them history nerds – start to get the idea… read more…
- The Economics of Flowers: A Mother’s Day Must?
They’re as much of a holiday obligation as a card, a fancy dinner, or a phone call, de rigeur for certain people in our lives, as well as the go-to gesture for congratulations or apologies. And they constitute an industry… read more…
- The Economics of ASMR
Ilse Blansert rearranges her stick-straight brown hair so that it’s out of her face and puts on a couple dabs of makeup to even out her pale complexion. Satisfied after checking her appearance in her webcam’s display, she gingerly attaches her microphones to her blouse lapels, careful not to let her fingertips touch the sensitive… read more…
- The Economics of Competitive Video Gaming
Thousands of fans attending in person, as well as millions more watching at home, strike up a cheer as the teams make their entrances for the playoff match. There’s been a bitter rivalry between the two sides for years that… read more…
- Four People Who Single-handedly Caused Economic Crises
Wall Street bigwig Bernie Madoff became infamous several years ago when a fraudulent securities operation he was running collapsed and cost his investors, including hospitals and charities, $17.3 billion. While Madoff’s crime may have been the largest-ever scam of its… read more…
- Consumers Hoarding Cash – Temporary Trend or New Normal?
Five years after the Great Recession and resulting financial crisis, the economy still has not recovered to the degree that economists and policy makers had hoped. Unemployment is on the decline, the threat of deflation has abated, and the stock market is at all-time highs. Yet Americans are not spending. Consumer spending is the final… read more…
- 6 Apps You Can Use to Navigate NYC
Whether you have a yoga class on the Upper East Side, hair appointment in Soho, or dinner in Flatiron, it’s not always easy to navigate New York City. Made for travelers and locals alike, we have a round-up of the… read more…
- Fast Food Advertising, Obesity and the Cost to Everyone
In the U.S., there is growing national concern over the obesity epidemic. According to public health workers, anyone with a body mass index (BMI) over 30 is considered obese. Nearly, one-third of Americans are obese today, and it is estimated… read more…
- The Best and Worst Things to Buy in September
With Labor Day behind us and the summer unofficially officially over, the great fall sales beckon shoppers to dole out some cash on end-of-the-season sales. The transition into fall makes it possible to find deals on summer products and snatch… read more…
- Should You Buy Tuition Refund Insurance?
Not all insurance policies are created equally, and not all things need to be insured in this day and age, yet you can get a policy for just about anything. One type of policy that has been around for some time, but with very little fanfare is Tuition Refund Insurance (also known as Tuition Insurance).… read more…
- Laws of the Land: Quick Tips on Dealing with Landlords
There are few things as stressful, annoying, and inconvenient as home repair. Whether it’s a busted pipe, leaky roof, or storm-damaged fence, fixing issues like these are always unwelcome additions to the myriad of other daily problems. To make matters worse, it is usually necessary to go through a landlord in order to resolve these… read more…
- What Is A Credit Report?
Whether applying for a home mortgage, buying or leasing a car, or even getting a new cell phone plan, odds are good that a credit check is going to be run. The basic idea is to see how likely it would be for the borrower or customer to not pay their bills. Easy enough, right?… read more…
- Everything You Need to Know About Advisor-Sold 529 Plans
According to financial calculators on www.finaid.org, the tuition for a public 4-year college when a child born this year enrolls, will cost well over $50,000 a year. Even in this financial environment, it is not only possible, but extremely helpful… read more…
- Don’t become a Victim of Debt Settlement Company Fraud
It is a sad day when a debt settlement company is charged with the same type of fraud perpetrated by the creditors with whom they are pledging to define agreements with. This is exactly what happened recently when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a civil suit against Mission Settlement Agency, a debt settlement company… read more…
- Growing Number of Americans Can’t Afford to Buy or Rent
More households than ever spend over half their income on housing. Rental housing costs increased by six percent from 2008 to 2011, while renters’ incomes dropped by over three percent during the same time. Financial experts recommend spending less than 30… read more…
- The Economics of The Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco
The Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco is one of the world’s most expensive and glamorous events. It is the one race on the Formula One calendar that epitomizes the excessive splendor of the sport. For one weekend in May the world’s… read more…
- In the Shadows: America’s Underground Economy
The most complete way to measure a nation’s economy is through its gross domestic product (GDP). America’s GDP is comprised of four major components: personal consumption, business investments, government spending, and net exports of good and services. There is one… read more…