Spare Change?

Not sure how many of you put your spare change in a jar when you get home. I have done this for a while and at the end of the year, there is always enough money for a nice treat, such as a restaurant dinner etc. Unfortunately, the majority of change is in small denominations such as the 1 cent piece. In the UK, there is a debate on whether the 1 and 2 pence coins should be eliminated. In Australia, the smallest denomination is the 5 cents coin, which makes a lot of sense in that the price is always rounded up or rounded down to the nearest 5 cents. This eliminates all the extra change being carried around and does balance itself out in terms of rounding up and down.

Black Friday

Black Friday, shoppers heaven to some but not to others. Black Friday occurs the day after Thanksgiving and it is comparable with the Boxing Day sales in the UK. Retailers offer stock on that day at really low prices, which tempts people to go shopping. More deals, more shopping, same amount of floor space and parking spaces. You work out the equation. It is called Black Friday because it has been said that this is the day that the retailers go into the black, meaning they are making profit. It also allows retailers to clear end of the line stock, ready for the new products coming in. In the past as you will read in the attached article, there have been "incidents" occurring in shops due to the frenzy being stirred up for the latest deals and last remaining items on the shelves. Retailers such as Walmart are now saying that if the product is not on the shelf on that day,not to worry, pay for it and the product will be delivered from another store or warehouse and you can pick it up on another day. Go one step further, why focus on one day a year, spread the savings out over the year. Article

Culture or Kulcha?

In the world there are so many differences with regards to peoples outlook, attitudes and actions. In Spain you can buy a can of beer from a vending machine in the street. You can drink wine under adult supervision in France. You have to be 18 to drink alcohol in the UK and 21 in the US. You have to be 16 to drive in the US, whereas in the UK it is 18. The list goes on. I have come across this article where a gun range in Texas is allowing children to have parties at their gun range. You could say that guns are a large part of the culture of Texas. This gun club allows the children to learn crucial gun safety and it is trying to increase revenue for its club. I am sure there are quite a number of pros and cons. Will this be a success or will there be a minority that end up abusing this and someone dies. Article

Roaming

Its Spring break in the US and approaching the summer in the UK, holidays will be planned and foreign destinations may well be visited. Whilst on holiday, people like to stay in touch with their friends and family back home and therefore take their phones with them. Not many know about the pitfalls of leaving their phones on roaming and switched on whilst traveling. I watched an episode of The Idiot Abroad featuring Ricky Gervais. He had sent "the Idiot" to India and if memory serves me right, he sent a message and all it said was 67p. This was the cost of him receiving a text from the UK. Please read this article and save yourself some money.