Author: Amanda Kusumowidagdo

Sam’s Club, the membership-only warehouse club owned by Walmart, is changing the way it’s allowing customers to check out their carts. Instead of using physical receipts, Sam’s Club is now using a new AI-powered verification tech that scans items shoppers bought. Available in 120 Locations Source: Austin Kirk/Wikimedia Commons This new tech’s been rolled out in more than 120 locations across the country. Meanwhile, 450-plus Sam’s Club warehouses still use the traditional checkout method. The retailer told Business Insider, more than half of its customers where the tech is available choose to pay and go. These shoppers walk out with…

Costco loves its customers. Its customers love a good bargain. For that reason, Costco’s trade-in program is a potentially rewarding program for the customers who love the brand and a good bargain You can trade in your old electronics at Costco and exchange it for store credits. Then, you can buy anything, including groceries, with it. The Costco Trade-Up Program Source: Marques Thomas/Unsplash This is how Costco’s Trade-Up program works: customers with old electronic devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, game consoles) can exchange them at Costco. Customers will visit the program’s dedicated website and choose the specific device they wish to…

One might ask, are California’s troubles ever going to end? One more pressing issue in the Golden State is its staggering debt of nearly $21 billion. It paints a bleak picture of its fiscal health. And it’s only made worse by a surge in unemployment during the pandemic that emptied out its employment trust fund. The Burden of Debt Source: Ruth Enyedi/Unsplash The debt’s burden, along with an interest rate of around 2.6%, sits heavily on the state’s budgets, which is already strained due to many other factors. $650 million in interest has already been paid, but there’s an additional…

Postponing major life events due to debt is not an uncommon occurrence. In fact, based on a new study, the delay seems to be the norm. Many student loan borrowers are forced to wait to move on with the big things in life due to their debt. These big things include buying a home, getting married, or even getting out of their parents’ home. College-Based Study Source: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels The study was done by the Lumina Foundation with Gallup, surveying the 2024 State of Higher Education. According to the study, 71% of all students currently enrolled in colleges, or previously…

Electric vehicle automaker Tesla Inc. is in trouble. A hedge fund manager is predicting a dire future for the Elon Musk-owned company. The stock market bubble surrounding Tesla is about to burst, he said, and the company could go bust because of its current business model. Let’s see how true this statement is. Bear Predictions Source: Screenshot/Squawk Box-CNBC A stock market bear (an investor believing certain stock prices will go down and attempting to profit from it) named Per Lekander is sounding out his dire predictions of Tesla’s future to CNBC. Lekander, managing partner of Clean Energy Transition investment management…

The US resident population has increased by 0.4% in 2022, according to the US Census Bureau. After the pandemic era in 2020 and 2021 recorded a historically low change, we have returned to the pre-pandemic era. But several US states showed declining numbers of population. There are 18 states, to be exact, where population decline occurred. Find out which states have fewer residents and why it happened. Almost Every State Saw Population Growth Source: Jonathan Simcoe/Unsplash More states experienced population growth in 2023 than in any year since the start of the pandemic. At the state level, 42 states and…

The new minimum wage law that raised fast food workers’ hourly pay from $16 to $20 finally went into effect on Monday, April 1. However, one big chain’s name is no longer exempt, although previously it was said to be so. And now the clause on exemptions is confusing Californian fast food joint owners even more. Pay Raise Drama Source: Blake Guidry/Unsplash The fast food workers in California’s new pay raise comes as a result of the state Legislature passing the law last year. It was an acknowledgement of the more than a half million workers in the fast food…

Transparency can be a good thing in politics. When political leaders open up about, for example, paying their taxes, chances are good that taxpayers will put their trust in them. Now President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s tax return has been reported. The announcement marked the federal tax-filing deadline. Presidential Taxes Source: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights/Wikimedia Commons How much does the President and the First Lady pay in federal income taxes? They paid $146,629 based on their income report of $619,976. The First Couple’s effective federal tax rate is 23.7%. And this year marks the 26th year…

The financial issues in the Golden State are escalating. Instead of getting a shortfall, as anticipated by Governor Gavin Newsom, California is looking at a billions dollar deficit. While cuts to the budget are planned, the solution is not so simple. Many experts say the problem is big — perhaps too big for California. A New Deficit Source: Office of the Governor of California/Wikimedia Commons An updated data indicates a deficit that could reach $73 billion for the state. The Legislative Analyst’s Office cautioned a $68 billion shortage, but the actual numbers exceeded their estimates. Initially, Gov. Newsom anticipated a…

President Biden is still intent on canceling student loans. But a new study is saying that his latest plan will burden taxpayers heavily. The president’s cancellation plans will bring relief to many Americans but it’s accruing criticism from the opposite side of the political corridor. Now let’s study the plan. New Plans Source: Clay Banks/Unsplash Under the latest cancellation plans, the total cost of the student loan cancellation plans that taxpayers must bear is a whopping $559 billion.  Households earning more than $300,000 in annual income will benefit the most.  Long-Term Debt Relief to Lower-Income Households Source: Freepik The estimates…