How To Have A Lavish Lifestyle Without Breaking The Bank
When people say they want the good life, what most of them really mean is the luxuries life. Tempted by thoughts of first-class travel and sandy beaches, they move heaven and earth to get there—only to drown in debt down the road, their Prada purses overflowing with maxed-out credit cards.
You see, the high life is all about the money. You blow $1,000 on a hand-painted Hermès scarf not because it’s pretty, comfortable, or valuable, but because you can. On the other hand, someone who’s living the good life enjoys the finer things in life, prices notwithstanding. He or she can take as much pleasure in feel of real Italian leather and Egyptian cotton as with a $2 cup of coffee from that shop across the office. That’s what makes the difference.
Luxury, to those who have it, is seldom what the magazines make it out to be. Anyone can live well without massive spending or borrowing. Read on
Redbox Runover in the Works?
It’s been a tough two years for video-rental-loving consumers, with a number of neighborhood stores run by Blockbuster and Hollywood Video parent company Movie Gallery closing shop as the companies went bust under intense competition from Netflix (NFLX) and those ubiquitous Redbox kiosks.
Now there’s apparently trouble brewing at Redbox, with President Mitch Lowe announcing his resignation and parent company Coinstar (CSTR) revising its second-quarter revenue outlook downward late last week.
Here are some key signs Redbox consumers and investors should watch to gauge whether we’re headed for a Betamax-style rerun in the video rental industry.
Redbox’s Big Bet on DVDs
Redbox’s business is all about renting out actual DVDs from vending machines at bargain-basement prices of as low as $1.
The best cards for debtors and spenders
Interest rates on credit cards may now be at record highs, but that doesn’t mean the debtors aren’t getting something of a good deal from their providers. Barclaycard has just launched a new Platinum credit card with a 0% interest rate on balance transfers for an extraordinary two years. So, in return for a one-off fee of 3.2% of the debt, you can shift it on to the card and pay nothing more on it for two years. Assuming you dedicate that time to paying off the debt it is a fabulous offer. But while the credit-card companies fight it out for the custom of those in debt, which credit cards offer the best rewards for those who pay their bill in full each month?
If you always pay off your credit card bill in full and do so on time, transfer rates and new purchase rates are of little relevance to you. But that doesn’t mean that any card will be fine. There
Update on Europe
UPDATE: President Obama Press Conference at 9PM ET.
From the WSJ: Europe Rates Resume Climb
By Monday afternoon, Spain’s [Ten year] debt was being traded at a yield of 6%, or 3.24 percentage points above the rate on German bonds, seen as a risk-free investment. The rate represented an upswing from 5.7% last Thursday, just as news of the new bailout deal for Greece began to emerge. On July 18, the rate hit 6.3%.Italy was paying 5.5%, up from 5.2% on Thursday, but down from 5.8% on July 18.
Yields moved higher today, but are still below the previous peaks. The Greek 2 year yield is up to 28.1% (was above 39%).
The Portuguese 2 year yield is down to 15.3% (was above 20%)
The Irish 2 year yield is up to 15.4% (was above 23%).
The Italian 2 year yield is up to 4.0%.
4 Affordable Spots for Spa Getaways
I love a great massage and facial treatment as much as the next girl, but Baby’s got bills to pay. So when I travel for a spa getaway, where are some of my favorite affordable destinations? From South America to East Asia and Central America to Oceania, here are my top picks for affordable spa trips.
Papallacta, Ecuador
Nestled high in the Andes around 13,000 feet, Papallacta is blessed with numerous hot springs, beautiful scenery and a great thermal waters resort. Termas de Papallacta has a full spa with great weekly rates, step-out access to hot spring pools and waterfalls from both the rooms and the treatment area, a rustic quiet room with fireplace to await your treatment, and a gourmet restaurant all on site. A one-hour hot stone treatment on a Thursday evening sunk me . .
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