Today’s Cheat Sheet is testing out a new format… You can let me know how you feel about it. In an effort to bring you maximum content I’m going to cover all of the stories I cover on air here daily… So let’s get to it:
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Best time for career advancement in 5 years:
Bottom Line: The economy and the job market is clearly far less than ideal but that doesn’t mean it is without possibility for many who’ve been waiting for and opportunity. 5 years ago we were actually in the early stages of what became the great recession (the recession officially began in November of 07’). The bottom hadn’t fallen out of the economy though – that came in the fall of 08’.
For years most career minded individuals have been risk adverse. The economy and the resulting job market hasn’t exactly been inviting for you to take a swing at big changes in your career, by choice anyway. Adding to the lack of movement within the job market has been the housing story. Even if you have wanted to take a new job with a company that would require you relocating it may not have been a viable option because of you being trapped in a home with an underwater mortgage. The year is a bit different.
The housing market is in month 13 in terms of price recovery and in addition to the overall economic benefit from an improving housing market, many people are finding flexibility again. In
When comparing employee turnover in January of 2013 to January of 2012 we saw the following:
- Employee turnover was 30% higher (to the highest level in 5 years)
- Employers looking to hire and promote from outside of their organization was up 60% over last year
Put it together and we see more employees willing to take the plunge and change employers and we see even more demand by employers looking for outside talent. That suggests that if you plan strategically this would appear to be the best time to try to advance your career in five years.
Gas costs $5.45 per gallon right now:
No it doesn’t, so what am I talking about? I’ll explain. The average household spent about $2900 on gas in 2012 or about 4% of their household income. Gas prices have been rising and are now back to the same level as this time last year… This isn’t good as we sent a record in 2012 for the average price of gas for the year but $5.45 per gallon?
If gas were $5.45 per gallon would you change your spending habits? Most likely yes. Surveys in past years have suggested that 80% of Americans change at least some spending habits when gas touches $4 per gallon. We don’t have any data on $5+. Here’s the point of my conjured story. With an average household spending $2900 on gas with last year’s pricing. With that being 4% of household income and with all households earning 2% less (at a minimum) because of the Social Security tax increase, it’s the equivalent of gas currently being priced at $5.45.
Psychology is a big part of spending habits so we won’t see as much negative economic impact as we would if gas really were at $5.45 per gallon however… the ultimate decider for many families is how much disposable income they have to spend & that’s less.
Today’s Cheat Sheet Q & A:
Bottom Line: Today’s question comes from a listener who wants to know more about the Florida law regarding merchant credit card fees and if Government agencies must adhere to it…
First here are the actual statues as written in
(1)A seller or lessor in a sales or lease transaction may not impose a surcharge on the buyer or lessee for electing to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means, if the seller or lessor accepts payment by credit card. A surcharge is any additional amount imposed at the time of a sale or lease transaction by the seller or lessor that increases the charge to the buyer or lessee for the privilege of using a credit card to make payment. Charges imposed pursuant to approved state or federal tariffs are not considered to be a surcharge, and charges made under such tariffs are exempt from this section. A convenience fee imposed upon a student or family paying tuition, fees, or other student account charges by credit card to a William L. Boyd, IV, Florida resident access grant eligible institution, as defined in s. 1009.89, is not considered to be a surcharge and is exempt from this section if the amount of the convenience fee does not exceed the total cost charged by the credit card company to the institution. The term “credit card” includes those cards for which unpaid balances are payable on demand. This section does not apply to the offering of a discount for the purpose of inducing payment by cash, check, or other means not involving the use of a credit card, if the discount is offered to all prospective customers.
(2)A person who violates the provisions of subsection (1) is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
So… What do you notice as possible end a rounds?
- There aren’t any provisions preventing fees being charged by merchants regarding debit cards (only credit)
- There aren’t any provisions that are specific to state or local Governments – only merchants
- There aren’t any restrictions suggesting one “regular” price for items purchased with a credit card and another for cash equivalent
Let me address each of those…
- Though I’ve not come across any business or entity charging a fee for debit cards but not for credit cards – technically they could.
- I also have not identified any state or local Government charging a surcharge for credit cards but since the law only states merchants… technically they could
- People have asked if gas stations (for example) are breaking this law by charging a “cash only” price. They aren’t. The law enables this loop hole. It states that you can’t charge a surcharge for credit card usage. It’s doesn’t prevent charging a “regular” price for credit cards and a discounted rate for cash
If you have a question or topic you’d like me to address on-air and online email me: brianmudd@clearchannel.com
Two day airfare sale that’s worth looking into if you’re flying through June:
Southwest and AirTran (which is owned by Southwest) have a two day sale going on right now that’s worth investigating if you’re interested.
If you book a flight from April 3rd through June 8th they are offering sale pricing based on distance traveled:
- $49 each way: 500 miles or less
- $89 each way: 501 to 1,000 miles
- $119 each way: 1,001 to 1,500 miles
- $149 each way: More than 1,500 miles
You have to book by the end of the day tomorrow.
The iPad 4 is here (did you notice)?:
Bottom Line: Well the debut of the iPad 4 with up to 128GB of storage happened yesterday. I would guess that most people didn’t even know. That could well be another sign of the company Apple may be becoming post Jobs. An evolutionary company vs. a revolutionary company. In reality the new 128GB iPad is really designed mainly for business usage. Especially those with active digital departments that require a great deal of storage.
http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/
Instagram finally has a site that enables you to view your photo album:
Bottom Line: Instagram has finally created a site that will aggregate all of your photos in one place online for you to see. It will also enable you to view the photos of others you’re linked with in social media. For info click the link below.
http://allthingsd.com/20130205/after-two-years-of-mobile-first-instagram-brings-its-feed-to-the-web/
Feds bust Islamic credit card fraud ring:
Bottom Line: Before we go… You may have heard of the $200 million credit card fraud ring breakup yesterday but I’m sure you didn’t hear it characterized as an Islamic ring… Look it just may be coincidence that this ring that was busted yesterday (active since 2003) was comprised entirely of people of Islamic origin. It may be a coincidence that the money was being funneled into
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/02/05/credit-card-fraud-ring/1892925/
