You can forget Christmas in July. A number of states across the country are offering sales-tax holidays primarily during the dog days of August. Seeing as state sales taxes can be as high as 7%, these newfangled holidays offer a great savings opportunity for back-to-school shoppers, perhaps also giving those planning to wait for sales following the start of school reason enough to move up their timeline. This is especially true since After all, most sales-tax holidays specifically target for popular back-to-school items such as clothing, footwear, electronics and sports equipment.
Many Americans prefer to live in rural areas, but far more call cities their homes. Though urban settings are less than 3 percent of the U.S. landmass, they contain around 80 percent of the total U.S. population.
There are many factors that make highly-populated areas great to live in. Big cities represent opportunity, economic and otherwise, which appeals to people of all walks of life – especially young professionals seeking advancement in their careers and social lives. Another main draw is easy access to diverse dining and entertainment options that are comparatively scarce in more rural settings.
Growing up can be hard. Without a stable home, positive role models and tools for success, many young Americans fall behind their peers and experience a rocky transition to adulthood. Today, about one in nine individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 are neither working nor attending school. Others suffer from poor health conditions that hinder their ability to develop physically or socially.
Such issues not only affect young people later in life, but they also prove harmful to society as a whole. For instance, more than 70 percent of young adults today are ineligible to join the U.S. military because they fail academic, moral or health qualifications. Research shows that when youth grow up in environments with economic problems and a lack of role models, they’re more at risk for poverty, early pregnancy and violence, especially in adulthood.
Stress is inevitable. Everyone experiences some type and level of it. But it’s not always a bad thing. Certain kinds of stress can have positive effects on a person’s well-being, at least in the right doses. According to Psychology Today, “A little bit of stress, known as ‘acute stress,’ can be exciting—it keeps us active and alert.”
When stress reaches an unmanageable level, however, it turns “chronic.” That’s when we become vulnerable to its damaging effects such as health problems and loss of productivity. In the U.S., stress affects more than 100 million people. The leading causes? Money tops the list, followed by work, family and relationships. By one estimate, workplace-related stress alone costs society more than $300 billion per year.
Extra rewards on travel, gas stations & restaurants
No annual fee
0% intro rates for 12 months
CONS
Above-average regular APR
1 point per $1 on most purchases
3% intro balance transfer fee for 12 months (5% after)
The Verdict: The Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card (Wells Fargo is a WalletHub partner) has a lot going for it, including a solid initial bonus, 0% intro rates for the first 12 months, and great ongoing rewards for travel, gas stations and restaurants. Plus, it doesn’t charge either an annual fee or a foreign transaction fee.
In all of those respects, the Wells Fargo Propel Amex is better than the average credit card. But Propel’s lead isn’t as big as you might expect. The average credit card offers an initial bonus of 14,930 points or miles, while you’ll get 30,000 points from Propel. That’s a difference of about $151. Propel offers 0% on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months, while the average card gives you 10 months for purchases and 11 months for transfers. Furthermore, while the average credit card has a $15.55 annual fee and a 1.60% foreign fee, there are plenty of cards that don’t charge either.
The Verdict: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Chase is a WalletHub partner) is one of the best rewards credit cards on the market, yielding the average person roughly $1,300 over the course of two year’s use. The core of this offer is the combination of a $500 to $625 initial rewards bonus and a first-year fee waiver, which makes the card somewhat akin to an open house that you get paid to attend. If you enjoy your experience and are a frequent traveler who doesn’t mind booking accommodations through Chase, a $95 annual fee starting in year two shouldn’t scare you away from keeping your account open past the 12-month mark.
Sapphire Preferred pays for itself — or at least it has the potential to — providing two points per dollar spent on travel and dining as well as one point per dollar spent on everything else. When redeemed for cash back, these points are worth a penny each but jump to 1.25 cents each when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Buying a home for the first time is an exciting and important milestone for many Americans. Their purchases make up a sizable chunk of the market, too. In 2017, 38% of all U.S. single-family home purchases were made by first-time buyers.
The search for a first home requires careful consideration of a number of factors. Buyers must balance what they want and need with to what they can afford. Often, people begin searching for their dream homes without a realistic idea of market prices, interest rates or even their eligibility to get a mortgage.
Get ready to crank up your air conditioner — and utility budget. July tends to be the hottest month of the year. So if you’re trying to beat the heat, this month’s higher-than-usual power bill could burn a hole through your wallet.
In the U.S., energy costs eat between 5 and 22 percent of families’ total after-tax income, with the poorest Americans, or 25 million households, paying the highest of that range. And lower energy prices don’t necessarily equate to savings. Where we live and how much energy we use are a big part of the equation. For instance, although electricity is relatively cheaper in Southern Louisiana, its scorching summer heat raises costs for residents compared with the temperate climate in more energy-expensive Northern California, where heating and cooling units stay idle most of the year.
Credit card companies are the banks and credit unions that issue credit cards to consumers and small business owners. They also service cardholders’ accounts by billing for purchases, accepting payments, distributing rewards and more. Examples of major credit card companies include Bank of America, Barclays, Citibank, Chase, Capital One and Wells Fargo. Credit card networks play a different role. They dictate where credit cards can be used, facilitate payment processing at the point of sale and administer secondary credit card benefits, such as rental car insurance, travel insurance and extended warranties. The four major card networks are Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.
The names of both a credit card’s issuer and its network are listed on the front of the card. The only exceptions are store credit cards, which don’t belong to a card network and can only be used at the retailers they’re affiliated with.
The Verdict: The Barclaycard Ring® Mastercard® doesn’t charge an annual fee or a foreign transaction fee and features one of the lowest APRs (13.74% (V)) on the market.
This card is not an option for the best rewards cards, as it lacks traditional spending-based benefits. Below we’ll explain these features and more in additional detail.
Most Americans rely on cars to get around. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, “87 percent of daily trips take place in personal vehicles.” And even with growing access to public transportation in U.S. cities, most people still choose to travel by car, mainly for reasons such as “comfort and reliability.”
In truth, however, driving is often a major hassle and expense. Drivers annually spend an average of more than 290 hours on the road. For a full-time worker, that’s the equivalent of a seven-week vacation. Add the costs of wasted time and fuel due to traffic congestions, and our collective tab comes to about $124 billion annually, or $1,700 per household.
Running a city is a tall order. The larger the city, the more complex it becomes to manage. In addition to representing the residents, local leaders must balance the public’s diverse interests with the city’s limited resources. That often means not everyone’s needs can or will be met. Leaders must carefully consider which services are most essential, which agencies’ budgets to cut or boost and whether and how much to raise taxes, among other decisions.
But how do we measure the effectiveness of local leadership? One way is by determining a city’s operating efficiency. In other words, we can learn how well city officials manage and spend public funds by comparing the quality of services residents receive against the city’s total budget.
10,000 more bonus miles for spending $25,000 in a year
No foreign transaction fee
CONS
$150 annual fee starting the second year
No initial bonus
The Verdict: The Barclays Arrival® Premier World Elite Mastercard® is a solid option for frequent travelers with good or better credit who want one card they can keep for years. But this new offer, which Barclays (a WalletHub partner) calls the “Premier Global Travel Card,” has a lot to offer.
Arrival Premier is making a name for itself by offering a very different value proposition than much of its travel rewards competition. It replaces the big initial bonus common among rewards cards right now with an annual spending bonus. You get 15,000 bonus miles for spending $15,000 in a year, plus another 10,000 points if you spend $25,000. That means you can score $150-$250 in bonus travel each year you use Arrival Premier, as its miles are worth a penny apiece when redeemed for travel statement credits.
Potentially High Regular APR Makes It Costly To Carry A Balance
The Verdict: Barclaycard Arrival® Plus World Elite Mastercard® (Barclays is a WalletHub partner) is the best travel rewards credit card on the market, largely because cardholders accrue maximum earnings on all purchases and have the freedom to redeem miles for any travel-related expense. It’s everything a 21st Century traveler needs in a credit card: straightforward, unmatched earnings with a no-strings-attached redemption policy that actually adds flexibility. So you should make sure to check it out if you haven’t already started packing your bags.
What Sparkles?
Barclaycard Arrival® Plus World Elite Mastercard® offers more value per dollar than any other travel rewards card on the market (excluding co-branded offers, which lack flexibility yet may provide greater earning potential for certain brand-loyal consumers). Highly profitable, relatively unrestrictive travel rewards are thus the Arrival Plus Card’s bread and butter. And while it does ostensibly have some financing value, there are a few potentially costly qualifications to consider in this regard (explained in the next section).
Minnesota is known by several nicknames, including the North Star State, Gopher State and Land of 10,000 Lakes. One of the state’s most well-known attractions is the Mall of America, which has the largest floor space of any mall in the U.S. There are also dozens of museums, like the Charles Lindberg House and Museum and the Science Museum of Minnesota. If you like the outdoors, there are plenty of parks to visit, along with its famous lakes – Lake Superior, Lake of the Woods, and over 11,000 others.
Minnesota’s economy is relatively large, coming in at the 17th largest state economy by GDP. The state’s job market is going strong, too, with only 3.1% unemployment compared to 3.9% for the whole U.S. And parents can feel assured that their children will get good schooling in Minnesota. The state ranks 7th on WalletHub’s study of the best state school systems.
Speed kills. We have all been told that since driver’s education class, and yet American drivers routinely exceed the speed limit. Before you underestimate the danger of exceeding the speed limit, consider that in 2016, speeding was a factor in 27 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths. Speeding is costly, too. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the annual economic cost to society of speeding-related crashes is $40.4 billion.
Another important issue is the impact of speeding on fuel consumption. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as a rule of thumb, you can assume that every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph will cost you 7 percent more for gasoline.
Staying active isn’t just good for your health. It’s also good for your wallet. One of the best ways to maintain an active lifestyle is to choose a city that encourages and facilitates recreation. The best cities have a wide range of leisure activities, both indoor and outdoor. Those activities require varying levels of exercise and contribute to a city’s overall well-being and economy.
Consider neighborhood parks, which are instrumental to building a sense of community, boosting property values, improving public health and reducing pollution. In Washington, for instance, close proximity to a park increases a home’s value by 5 percent while the same types of spaces in Sacramento, Calif., result in nearly $20 million in health care savings. “A regular vigorous run can cut medical costs by an average of $250 a year” per individual, according to The Trust for Public Land. Recognizing these benefits, 100 major U.S. cities together invested more than $7 billion in parks and recreation in 2017.
The Verdict: The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card is one of the best rewards cards for people with excellent credit who like to travel and dine out (Bank of America is one of our partners). In fact, it ranked 7th overall in WalletHub’s 2018 Credit Card Rewards Report for the net value that the average person can expect to earn in two years: $1,503.
The premium rewards start with an initial bonus of 50,000 points after you spend at least $3,000 within 90 days of opening your account. That’s worth $500. And the perks keep coming, with 2 points per $1 spent on travel and dining, plus 1.5 points per $1 on everything else. The average points card gives you just 1.17 per $1.
The Verdict: The BankAmericard® Credit Card is a very good tool for avoiding interest on credit card debt, whether you’re planning a big purchase or need a way to reduce the cost of an existing balance (Bank of America is a WalletHub partner). The stars of the show are BankAmericard’s $0 annual fee and its 0% introductory APRs, which apply to purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles. If you transfer a balance, you just have to do so within 60 days of opening an account to get that rate.
Those features compare favorably to most competing offers. The average 0% purchase APR lasts for less than 10 months. And the average 0% balance transfer deal gives you about 11 months. But that is not to say BankAmericard’s financing offer is flawless. The most important imperfection for folks with expensive debt is the card’s 3% balance transfer fee. Not only is that above average for a balance transfer credit card, but it’s also a distinguishing factor between the BankAmericard Credit Card and its biggest competitors.
