Bankruptcy...is Red Box & Netflix to blame?

Overly the past few years, the majority of us have probably made the switch from renting movies at movie stores such as Blockbuster, Movie Gallery & Hastings, to the easy, ONE dollar charge at Red Box.  Red Box first started at McDonald's and seemed to be so much more convenient than other big movie stores.  You could rent a movie at one location, & then drop it off at any other Red Box location.  They slowly started to appear in other locations such as Kroger, Wal-Mart & Walgreens.  Who isn't going to go to Red Box first when wanting to rent a movie, when it is only ONE dollar, compared to six to nine dollars?!

{Photo courtesy of Digital Trends}

With the Red Box coming about, & adding new machines to every other corner, movie stores started to see a major decline in business.  According to Daily Finance, between 2008 & 2009 their revenue was down by 30% & later that year by 54%.  That year it shut down 200 stores that weren't producing much revenue, & the years following closed close to 800 more stores.  

Just out today, according to Channel Seven News, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in August & if you have any of their gift cards, they will only be good for seven more days, expiring on April 7, 2011.  The LA Times states that Blockbuster was over $1 billion dollars in debt when they files in August for chapter 11 bankruptcy & growing competitors such as Red Box & Netflix were to blame.  The bankruptcy crosses out the company's debt & equity of the once number one DVD rental store in America.  

I hate this for companies that never really saw it coming, until Red Box & Netflix hit the shelf.  But I guess that this is just part of the corporation world.  Things comes & go...now is the time for Red Box & Netflix to take over & for actual movie stores to go.  Our kids probably won't even know you could once rent movies at a STORE!  All they will know is the "big machines outside McDonald's"!  Ha!

Credit Cards--gotta love um, gotta hate um!

So many young Americans, & even older ones for that matter are up to their ears in debt because of CREDIT CARDS!

People have grown up thinking, if they don't have the money now, then we can just put it on our credit card & we'll "pay for it later".  Simple as that...RIGHT?  Not so much!

We are so into "instant gratification".  It's what we've known our whole lives, so what's going to change it now?  Whether it be an nice new pair of shoes we just can't live without or that ten dollar lunch 3 times a week we just don't seem to have the cash for?

{photo courtesy of  "Make Money Online At Home"}

My theory is this, if you don't have the cash to pay for it RIGHT then, you don't need it!  Yes, there are plenty of times we need to use a credit card online or for larger purchases, but those should be paid off in full by the end of the month!  Other wise, those credit cards are more than likely going to gain interest & you are going to end up owing more money than the pair of shoes even cost!

According to a Discovery Company production, How Stuff Works, most Americans have a least one credit card, & sometimes two or three (par. 1).  Many people can't resist the urge to use their credit card for whatever they must have right then & there, when they do not have the proper amount of cash in their bank account at the time (par. 1).  This is called impulse spending, on things people don't really need & this is where credit cards become a problem (par. 1).  If people are using their credit cards on things they don't currently have the money for, then obviously they are things that they can't afford!

How people get in trouble with credit cards is when they carry over a remaining monthly balance each month & then are also responsible for the interest it gains, which is sometimes as high as 23% (par. 2).  But when people are out shopping & just swiping their card...they aren't quite thinking about the bill that will be coming in at the end of the month that will be eventually be WAY more than their purchase the next month if they don't pay it off!

Once again...corporations...in this case, credit card companies, look so easy & simple but then don't always explain clearly what you are going to have to deal with later on.  We have to be smarter than the companies & not let them take over our finances & trap us in debt for forever!

Gas Prices...Who Controls Them Anyways?

After seeing a tweet from a friend that works for Murphy USA that gas prices were supposedly going to raise 17 cents over night, I immediately loaded my son up in the car & headed to load up on gas, even though my tank wasn't even empty.  I usually don't pay much attention to gas prices, because I really wouldn't even like to know!  I just swipe my card & go on my merry way!   Just recently have I started to look at the actual price again...& $3.24 seems a bit ridiculous, & then $3.41 is even more ridiculous!

{photo courtesy of Only In Citrus County}

The recent spike in gas prices has actually started to make me wonder who actually controls our gas prices any ways?  I've always known that conflict & crisis in the Middle East usually has something to do with it, but what does it really have to do with the prices of gas over here in America?

Gas isn't something that we can just up & stop buying when it starts to get to expensive.  Gas is how we go about our daily lives.  Without gas we can't get to work, without going to work we can't get paid, without getting paid we can't pay our bills...& so forth.  So..gas is VERY important to most of the American society!

According to Financialnut.com, it's all about "supply & demand".  Some might think the US Government is responsible for deciding on our gas prices, but it's not.  Your next guess might be that companies such as BP, Chevron, Shell & Murphy USA are the ones that make the decisions.   It's not them either (Financialnut.com par. 2)!  To think about it simply, when supply & demand stay the same the prices stay the same.  When supply decreases but demand stays the same or increases, then prices are obviously going to go up (Financialnut.com par. 3).  This is actually the case, in why gas prices are so high right now.

So once again, there go more companies controlling how much of our money is going to be spent on gas!