Teachers and those in other occupations have tasty treats coming their way as part of the Achatz Pie Company’s free slice promotions to be held over the next couple of months.

• Teachers can receive a free slice of pie on Friday, Sept. 6 and can choose from Apple, Pecan, Pumpkin, or Michigan Four Berry.

• Nurses can receive a free slice of pie on Friday, Sept. 27 and can choose from Apple, Pecan, Pumpkin, or Michigan Four Berry.

• First responders can receive a free slice on Friday, Oct. 18 and can choose from Apple, Pecan, Pumpkin, or Michigan Four Berry.

• All customers can receive a free slice of pumpkin pie on Friday, Nov. 1.

• Veterans can receive a free slice of any flavor on Veterans Day, Monday, Nov. 11.

The  offer is good at all Metro Detroit locations, Armada, Chesterfield Township, Shelby Township Beverly Hills, Bloomfield Hills,  Livonia, Madison Heights, Oxford and Troy.  No purchase is required, but for those events (aside from Nov. 1), a valid ID is required for the free slice.

— Macomb Daily staff 

 

 

 

For more than a decade, independent pharmacist Jay Patel has built a close and enduring relationship with his customers, who come to him for help in sickness and in health.

But now there are interlopers: Drug middlemen, companies known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that influence which medicines can be bought, where to buy them and at what cost.

Patel and other independent pharmacists say their businesses are threatened by the growing influence of these companies, tied to huge health care conglomerates. In a system that is opaque and complex, patients are steered to affiliated pharmacies, such as CVS and mail-order pharmacies, they say. Pharmacists face high fees and low reimbursement rates, so are unable to cover their costs.

That could put Patel — and other locally-owned pharmacists — out of business.

“I want to do what matters to the community. But how long can I sustain this?” said Patel, 48, who owns Savco Pharmacy in San Jose’s West San Carlos neighborhood. “We are at their mercy.”

The PBMs respond that critics base their conclusions on incomplete evidence. According to the trade organization Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, they protect consumers from high drug prices by negotiating for discounts, called rebates, from drug companies.

The disappearance of independent pharmacies could limit consumer choice and health care access — especially in low-income or rural communities.

On Oakland’s Telegraph Avenue, Selam Pharmacy owner Michael Gebru called PBMs “a big black box.” He said “They bill me whatever they want, and can reclaim it. That’s pretty scary. It’s a Wild West.”

In the coastal village of Point Reyes Station, tiny West Marin Pharmacy recently lost its contract with PBM company Express Scripts, used by insurer Cigna and others. Now residents covered by Cigna must get their prescriptions by mail or make a 20-mile drive to find another pharmacy.

“If any of us, our children and families are ill, suffering from fevers, vomiting, diarrhea or worse, we may be forced to drive an hour or more to San Rafael, Novato or Petaluma just to get a prescription filled,” worried pharmacy customer Christine Cordaro of Inverness Park.

PBMs were created in the 1960s as a way to process prescription drug claims. They are responsible for paying pharmacies on behalf of insurance companies, employers and the government. The three largest companies are run by CVS Health, Cigna and UnitedHealth Group, which oversee prescriptions for more than 200 million Americans.

In 2012, the year San Jose pharmacist Patel bought his modest shop, PBMs processed fewer than 50% of prescriptions.

A series of mergers in 2018 created the current system, where health care conglomerates are vertically integrated — owning the insurer, the PBM and pharmacy. The giant health insurer Aetna combined with drug retailer CVS. Another large insurer, Cigna, bought Express Scripts. UnitedHealth built its own PBM.  All three companies operate mail-order pharmacies.

“It’s like they’re taking the money from one pocket, and putting it into the other,” said Zsuzsanna Biran, pharmacist owner of West Marin Pharmacy.

Despite consumer opposition, the FTC approved the mergers.  But now there are concerns about PBMs’ economic leverage. The smaller, locally owned pharmacies feel muscled out of the market.

CVS calls the plight of independent pharmacies “overblown.”

“Contrary to much of the independent pharmacy lobby’s rhetoric, there is no crisis facing independent pharmacies,” CVS said in a statement.

“What the independent pharmacy lobby has long coveted is a world without managed pricing or the competitive pressure from PBM negotiations on behalf of payer clients and consumers,” CVS said.

According to Express Scripts, “If we didn’t provide significant value for our thousands of partners, we wouldn’t exist.”

The PBMs work by negotiating rebates on the “sticker price” of medicines. Some of these savings are shared with insurers and employers.  But a slice is kept by the PBMs. This is enormously profitable.

There is evidence of anticompetitive behavior that illegally distorts the market, hurting consumers and threatening the survival of independent pharmacies, according to new reports by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability investigation.

PBMs steer patients toward pricier drugs, with “formularies” of preferred medicines that discourage use of lower-priced alternatives, according to the reports, released last month. Because these high-priced drugs command a greater rebate, there’s more profit.

They also sometimes restrict patients’ access to mail-order deliveries, which they own. This cuts out the role of the local pharmacy.

Independent pharmacies say they’re saddled with unnecessary extra fees. When he started his business in 2012, Patel paid $15,000 to $20,000 in PBM fees; this year, his fees could surpass $110,000.

High fees and low reimbursement may discourage pharmacists from filling a prescription. If he loses money on a prescription, “I have two options,” said Patel. “Take the loss, or tell the patient that I cannot fill it.”

“With lower prescription reimbursements in one corner and higher back-end fees in the other, many community pharmacists are thinking about throwing in the towel,”  according to the National Community Pharmacists Association, which represents more than 19,400 independent U.S. pharmacies.

Nearly one-third of independent pharmacy owners may close their stores this year, it predicted.

But in Sacramento and other state capitals, lawmakers are taking a tougher look.

State Sen. Scott Wiener has authored legislation, Senate Bill 966, that would impose new rules on PBMs, better regulating the companies. It would require PBMs to be licensed with the California State Board of Pharmacy and to pass down drug rebates to consumers.

Meanwhile, Patel takes joy in things that don’t cost money — recognizing customers’ names and faces, making birthday phone calls and reminding them to be immunized. Once he provided a cane, for free, to a customer with a gimpy leg.

And there are rewards that are priceless, such as the gifts of fruit, chocolate and home-baked cookies from grateful customers.

“He’s the best,” said customer Rob Souza, picking up a prescription for an ailing wife. “He’s like a small-town pharmacist, always working things out.”

By Tommy Tindall | NerdWallet

Is driving for Uber worth the money? I put this side hustle to the test and nervously drove strangers around northern Maryland for a couple days to find out.

Here’s what I earned:

• I made $143.73 over the course of three Uber “shifts” that totaled roughly 10 hours of active driving.
• I completed 10 trips, put 305 miles on my economical Uber rental and spent $38.80 on one tank of gas.
• Subtract the gas cost from $143.73, and I earned $104.93, or $10.49 an hour.
• Only $3 of my earnings were tips, which I found surprising — because I’m nice!

If you’re wondering, the minimum wage in Maryland handily beats my earnings at $15.00 per hour.

Uber wasn’t a lucrative side hustle for me, but it was an interesting experiment. Here are four things to keep in mind if you’re thinking about trying Uber. And if you want to watch all the ups and downs of this side hustle stress test, here’s a video of my experience.

Give yourself the flexibility to roam

During each of my three Uber “shifts,” I had the idea that I’d do rides relatively close to where I live. But the reality of living in a less populated area is that short, local trips can be few and far between. I found that to be the case even on a Friday evening in my suburban town, located roughly 50 minutes north of Baltimore.

I learned that to earn higher fares, you need to be open to where the Uber trip takes you. I left a lot of money on the table by skipping trips that would end too far from my home base. Uber works by matching riders with nearby drivers. As a driver, you have just a few seconds to accept a ride request when it comes in. I often took too long to decide when considering distance.

Toward the end of that Friday, I caved and accepted a 30-mile trip with a fare of $30.42. But when it was over, it was after 9 p.m. and I was a long way from home.

If I had put in 8-hour shifts and left myself to the mercy of the Uber Driver app, I’d have done better. But if I’m going to be driving all over creation for hours, is Uber a side hustle, or is it a main hustle?

Your car is a taxi cab and your primary tool

All that driving means you need a car that’s up to the task — something affordable, reliable and efficient. My personal vehicle is a gas-guzzler so I used Uber’s car rental service to rent a more appropriate vehicle and make this test more realistic.

But what I realized is a lot of people rent their Uber rides on the regular. If you go this route, you must rent from one of Uber’s approved rental company partners. The rental office I used, a local Hertz that partners with Uber, was packed, and I found the experience to be super hectic. It took three hours to get my car, and the one they gave me was a downgrade from what I reserved in advance.

Because of my experience, I don’t recommend renting if you can avoid it. Uber rentals cost $260 or more per week, so the recurring cost will eat heavily into earnings.

Finding your own affordable used car would likely cost less in the long run, even in cases where you get a car loan with bad credit. For example, let’s say you finance a $20,000 used car for 60 months with a high 19% interest rate. The $518 monthly payment costs less than the $260 a week rate for a rental car.

You will need to factor in insurance (which can include rideshare insurance), maintenance and repairs when comparing costs. You can turn to the Nerds for resources on how to build credit and finance a vehicle you can afford.

Consider a “slush fund” for car costs

I had the pleasure of meeting and riding home with a true Uber pro after I returned my rental car. His name is Greg Hiteshew, and Uber is his post-retirement hustle. He drives most days, says he earns between $1,000 and $1,500 in a typical week and is disciplined about saving money for car costs.

Hiteshew says he sets aside $40 at the end of every day and has done so for years without fail. He says it’s a daily habit that ensures he has enough to cover maintenance and repairs for his current car, and helps him save for the next car.

Consider putting your daily $40 (or whatever you can swing) in a high-yield savings account for the added bonus of interest on top.

Embrace the human side of rideshare

While we chatted on my ride home, Hiteshew opened up about how driving for Uber helped him cope with the loss of his wife. She passed away from cancer 12 years ago, and in the years after, he found himself in a pretty dark and lonely rut. Then one day a friend had a suggestion for a side hustle that would change his life.

“He said, ‘I want you to Uber,’” says Hiteshew, talking about meeting with his friend. The friend hoped it would give him something to keep his mind occupied. Hiteshew thought about it and decided to give it a try a week later.

“It worked,” he says. “Turns out I love it. I really enjoy doing it. I’ve met a lot of nice, nice people.”

I get what he’s talking about. I’ve been working from home for years, and trying Uber put me back into the world. I interacted with different people, visited parts of my area I hadn’t been to and realized how critical a service like Uber is for those who may not be able to afford a car. It reminded me how important it is to communicate with others, strangers even.

Turns out that part of the experience was more valuable than the money. And if I drive for Uber again, I think I learned enough to do better than $10.49 an hour.

Tommy Tindall writes for NerdWallet. Email: ttindall@nerdwallet.com.

The article How Much Does an Uber Driver Make? I Drove for Uber to Find Out originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By René Bennett, Bankrate.com

Many of us have given in to the temptation to buy something we don’t need.

Maybe you were passively scrolling through your social media feed when a sponsored post came up, showcasing the latest tech gadget with glowing reviews. Unable to resist, you clicked the “buy” button for fear of missing out, only to find the excitement faded not long after, leaving you with regret and a dent in your bank account.

What is impulse buying?

Impulse buying is the act of making unplanned purchases on a whim without considering long-term goals and needs. From flashy tech to trendy fashion items, impulse purchases can quickly drain your bank account and hinder your long-term financial goals.

The temptation is further fueled by social media — 48% of social media users have made an impulse purchase, according to Bankrate’s Social Media Survey. And 68% of those said they regretted an impulse purchase they made on social media.

Coupled with the current high-inflation environment, succumbing to impulse purchases can have even more detrimental effects on our savings than usual. But there are ways you can curb impulsive spending habits and focus on more long-term financial goals.

Strategies to stop impulse buying

1. Reflect before purchasing

Getting into the habit of slowing down and reflecting before making an impulse buy can be a big money-saver.

Some questions you should ask yourself:

• Is this item a want or a need?
• Can I afford it without sacrificing something more important?
• Will this bring long-term value and satisfaction?

2. Stick to a shopping list

Before heading to the store or browsing online, make a shopping list of items that you genuinely need. A shopping list provides a clear plan for your shopping trip, eliminating ambiguity and reducing the chances of being swayed by impulses. It also acts as a reminder of your goals and priorities.

You could try using a shopping list app which can help you organize your shopping lists and even share them with friends or family members to streamline your shopping process.

3. Implement the 24-hour rule

When you come across something you’re tempted to buy immediately, give yourself a cooling-off period of 24 hours. Why? The purpose of the 24-hour rule is to create a space between the initial impulse and the actual purchase — often, the initial excitement and compulsion to buy can fade after that time period. By waiting, you give yourself a chance to reconsider the purchase in a more neutral state of mind.

During those 24 hours, you can take the time to research the item’s features, read reviews, compare prices and consider if it aligns with your needs and budget.

4. Unfollow accounts that fuel your temptation

The constant stream of captivating images, flashy ads and influencers promoting products on social media can make it incredibly tempting to click that “buy now” button without a second thought. With just a swipe or a scroll, we’re exposed to a never-ending array of products and services, each promising to improve our lives in some way. But that promise can be deceiving and succumbing to the temptation can lead to financial stress and instability.

One big step you can take to help resist the siren call of impulse buys is to carefully curate your social media feed to prevent yourself from seeing those items in the first place. Unfollow brands and promoters that consistently tempt you. You might even want to remove certain shopping apps from your phone or set time limits for those that have the strongest pull on you. Even a few changes to your social media feed can reduce the constant exposure to shopping triggers and help you save money.

5. Prioritize clear financial goals for long-term gratification

Envision your ideal financial future, and set clear goals. Instead of simply saying you want to save money, set a specific target, such as saving $5,000 within the next year. Once you’ve established goals, you can fit them into your budget to align your spending with what you want to achieve in the long term.

It’s easy to give in to temporary pleasures when we’re surrounded by lures to buy stuff all the time, but reminding yourself of your financial goals and learning to wait can help you find long-term fulfillment. As you achieve smaller milestones toward your goals, reward yourself (within reason) to maintain a positive mindset and reinforce your commitment to the larger goals.

6. Pay with cash

Take the time to budget exactly how much you can spend on your purchases and withdraw cash to spend on those purchases. By using cash, you avoid overspending and impulse purchases.

If you’re used to paying with a card to rack up credit card points or cashback rewards, you’ll lose out on these benefits when you pay with cash. But once you start to gain more discipline by paying with cash, you might be able to transition back to responsible credit card use.

Be aware of signs of impulsive spending habits

The thrill of impulsive buying might not show up right away, but there are some signs to look out for, including:

• You’re spending beyond your means or more than you intended during your purchase.
• You hide purchases from family members or a partner.
• You’re unable to pay bills or save as much as you’d like because of high spending elsewhere.
• You feel guilty or regretful about spending.

Bottom line

By establishing clear financial goals and prioritizing your long-term needs over short-term impulse purchases, you can regain control of your finances and make decisions that support future aspirations. Keep track of how much you’ve saved from cutting back on impulse buying — those savings can go toward a specific savings fund or be invested in a high-yielding certificate of deposit (CD) to earn money back in the form of interest.

Key takeaways

• Impulse buying means purchasing items you did not plan to buy.
• Impulse buying can result in more spending which can lead to less savings and even an increase in debt.
• There are steps you can take to reduce impulse buying, such as prioritizing financial goals and sticking to a shopping list.

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Visit Bankrate online at bankrate.com.

©2024 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Julia Carmel
Special to The Washington Post

Jeff West was looking for a change of pace. After decades of running clubs and restaurants in West Hollywood, he left California in search of peace and quiet. He had been to Laguna Beach and Palm Springs, but a new gay-friendly destination was calling to him — twin vacation towns on Lake Michigan with a population of less than 2,500 people.

“I arrived in the winter, and I was so amazed by it,” said West, 67, who grew up in Texas and spent his life in Southern California. “Seeing snow was just so beautiful. I remember feeling my shoulders relax.”

In the summers, West celebrates with friends on the lake. During winter, he’s part of a gay bowling team called the Gutter Queens. Since relocating in 2021, he’s become a real estate agent, spending his days selling other people on the joys of life here.

Saugatuck and its neighboring town, Douglas, form a rainbow bubble within Michigan’s Bible Belt. The area is off the beaten path compared to the coastal hangs that typically attract huge gay crowds, yet its reputation rivals spots like Provincetown and Fire Island.

Drive through the lush, wooded roads in the warmer months and you’ll find a summer camp atmosphere. Hammocks hang outside a popular coffee shop. Kids spill floats purchased from the Douglas Root Beer Barrel out of their parents’ car windows.

Pride flags fly from many businesses and homes, a stark difference from the conservative towns in Western Michigan. At the Dunes Resort, the pool is packed with Speedo-clad gay men all summer long, and disco balls light up the confetti-filled dance floor every weekend.

“This is a small community where we get to enjoy the finer things in life and be comfortable and free,” West said. “It’s paradise for somebody like me to be able to come to a place and just feel so welcome.”

‘Fire Island of the Midwest’

There’s evidence of queer tourists and residents flocking here since the late 19th century, thanks to a long and colorful cast of eclectic artists, eccentric couples and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

According to the Chicago Tribune, it really hit its stride in the 1960s as “a loosey-goosey mecca for pleasure-seekers, gay or straight.” During that era, the town was seen as a party destination for motorcyclists, college kids and queer people from near and far.

Gay travel guides like Bob Damron’s Address Book began ramping up around the same time, dubbing Saugatuck “The Fire Island of the Midwest.” Though a state law prohibited bars from hosting groups of gay people, a local jazz venue called The Blue Tempo became known for serving gay patrons.

Eric Gollannek, executive director of the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center, said the second edition of Bob Damron’s Address Book references The Blue Tempo as a mixed crowd bar and also mentions “an interesting beach” nearby — a strip of sand that stretched from the north side of Saugatuck’s popular Oval Beach to the mouth of the Kalamazoo River.

“They collected $5 to use their beach for the day,” said John Rossi, facilities manager for Ox-Bow School of Art and Artists’ Residency, a program that’s affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. “You could sunbathe nude, as long as you were not visible to the public.”

Rossi visited Denison’s Beach, owned by a local Marine businessman named Frank Denison, for the first time in the 1970s. “It was mostly gay, but there was a mix, I could tell,” Rossi said. “Sometimes there were lesbians that frequented it, and occasionally you might see a straight couple.”

Rossi, 68, grew up about 40 miles away in Grand Rapids. He said word-of-mouth recommendations initially brought him to the area.

“There was this network — people told you, you knew what was safe and what wasn’t,” Rossi said. “I mean, there were three bars in Grand Rapids. There were two bars in Lansing you could go to. There were a lot of bars in Detroit we used to go to.”

One of the people who began frequenting The Blue Tempo was Carl Jennings, who was living near Grand Rapids with his wife and children. Though he was closeted at the time, he would spend his weekends tending bar in Saugatuck.

“Back then, you had to live and lead two lives. You had to be a straight person or at least appear to be that way,” Jennings told Michigan Public Radio in 2016. “And then, if you’re fortunate enough to find something like Saugatuck, it just felt warming and accepting.”

Eartha Kitt and ‘tea dances’

The Blue Tempo burned down in 1976, and the loss of that de facto gay space was felt immediately. By the early 1980s, Jennings had come out to his family and found his life partner, Larry Gammons. The couple decided to go into business together.

“We thought, ‘You know what, we should open a gay resort,’” said Gammons, who is now 77.

They originally set their sights on a hotel in Saugatuck, but the Saugatuck town council didn’t want to issue a liquor license to a gay business. After they were turned down for a third time, they found a shuttered roadside motel in Douglas and quickly made an offer on the property. At the first Douglas council meeting, they were able to secure their liquor license.

The Douglas Dunes finally opened in 1981, becoming one of the largest LGBTQ+ resorts in the country.

“May 1 was our grand opening, and we laughed about the fact that the city didn’t know what hit ’em because cars were lined up and down the highway,” Gammons said. “All these people. They just showed up.”

“As you well know, all you’ve got to do is tell a gay person and they spread the news. It spreads like crazy,” he added. “And everybody was so excited about a new big place opening up.”

Gammons and Jennings wanted the resort to be as safe as possible, so they hired their own security to make sure that homophobes wouldn’t get inside to harass patrons. They also made it clear to local police that they’d expect help with external issues. Over the years, the Dunes was targeted by gay bashers, received a bomb threat and even got a threatening call from the Ku Klux Klan.

Nonetheless, the resort was popular and quickly earned a reputation for throwing huge parties with fantastic entertainment.

“The music was so much better at The Dunes than in Grand Rapids,” Rossi said. “I used to talk to the DJs and I’d just tip them a couple bucks, and I’d say, ‘What was that you just played?’”

They booked performers such as Eartha Kitt, Linda Clifford and The Weather Girls (though the latter had to cancel at the last minute) and hosted tea dances every Sunday.

“We turned down Madonna,” Gammons said. “Her brother lived in the Detroit area, and he was gay, and Carl was DJing. She was just a punk rocker, and she went up to (Carl) when he took a little break and said, ‘I’m better than that girl. You know, you ought to put me onstage.’”

“We turned her down, and it was about six, eight months after that, she went to New York and got discovered,” he added.

The parties raged on for decades, with Gammons telling The Chicago Tribune in 1995 that gay tourism was bringing “an estimated $6 million annually to the area.” Gammons and Jennings sold The Douglas Dunes in 1998 to Danny Esterline, Greg Trzybinski and Mike Jones, who renamed it The Dunes Resort.

Though there is a widely cited statistic about Saugatuck-Douglas being home to more than 140 gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses, Jones said in an email that number was “made up” for press releases and websites to “promote the area as gay-friendly.”

Jones, 58, still remembers visiting the Dunes — which he calls a “little Midwestern gay Mecca” — for the first time in 1990.

“It really stood out as like, ‘this isn’t normal.’ Even in Chicago in the late 90s, guys weren’t holding hands walking downtown,” he said. “And you’re really right in the middle of God’s Christian reform, Southwest Michigan. So it’s almost like there’s a bubble over us. You have to remember that the whole world isn’t like this.”

Though Jones had visited many of the popular gay hot spots and swore he’d never live in a small town, he felt differently at the Dunes.

“I’ve been to P-town, and we’ve been to Fire Island, and we’ve been to Key West, and Rehoboth, but they’re just a different attitude,” Jones said. “And I never thought when I was in Fire Island or P-town or Rehoboth, ‘This place is great. I want to live here.’”

Nude bathers in the 1890s

With a bit of close reading, the queer history in Saugatuck and Douglas dates back more than 120 years. Gollannek, the director of the local history center, said there are examples of same-sex relationships from the late 1800s through the 1920s.

Some gay tourism can be attributed to the rise of steamboat travel, which made it easier for visitors to make their way over from Chicago. But the most obvious influence on the area’s emerging queerness was a woman named Elizabeth Bandle.

“She and her family had land in Saugatuck on a farm,” said Shanley Poole, 27, engagement liaison and storyteller for Ox-Bow. “She invited a few students and professors up to do plein-air painting because the lighting there was just gorgeous, and it kind of became a tradition year after year.”

Among the people who visited Bandle Farm in the early 1900s were Frederick Fursman and Walter Marshall Clute, artists from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who went on to found Ox-Bow in 1910. Since artists and city-dwellers were typically more accepting of queer people at the time, it created an environment that fostered gay tourism.

“In 1910, we have these groups of artists and free-thinking individuals — bohemian folk — coming to a secluded area,” Gollannek said. “Avant-garde artists coming here, painting plein-air, working with nude models, and this becomes a place where there’s some openness.”

The Saugatuck-Douglas History Center has records of LGBTQ+ people living in the area starting in 1917, with interior designer Florence “Dannie” Ely Hunn purchasing a cottage near Saugatuck-Douglas with Mabel “Jims” Warren, her partner of more than 50 years.

Many locals can also recall LGBTQ+ people and couples who they met during their first trips to Saugatuck.

“We have had members within GLBTQ community that go back to probably the ’30s, ’40s, like Mary Kay Bettles,’” Rossi said. “She met her lover at a place over by where the chain ferry is now. It used to be a gas station and an ice cream shop.”

Bettles and her partner, Jean Palmer, were not the kind of couple that flew under the radar.

“Jean would wear ball gowns and fur coats and sit on her really rustic cabin porch during the summertime, and Mary Kay Bettles was like, wearing jean shirts and trousers and loved her dogs,” Poole said. “And (Bettles) would wear a Sheriff’s Badge and kind of dubbed herself the Sheriff of Ox-Bow and would chase people off campus if they didn’t have a reason to be there.”

Some visitors and residents were closeted in their hometowns, but felt safe to live with their partners and express affection in Saugatuck-Douglas. Burr Tillstrom, the Chicago-based puppeteer, kept his private life quiet, but purchased a barn in Saugatuck during the 1960s, which allowed him to loosen up as he spent his summers teaching at Ox-Bow.

Rossi, who’s now 68, also grew up during an era that lacked the language and freedoms that many LGBTQ+ people have today.

“Among artists, there was more of a tolerance for ‘less traditional lifestyles,’ as they would call it,” he said. “The definition of gay didn’t really come until maybe the ’50s or ’60s.”

“Saugatuck was sort of used to the fact that there was an eclectic crowd that came here. They painted, they partied, they spent money,” Rossi said. “And you know, when people spend money, and money’s to be made, money does not have sexual orientation.”

These days, Saugatuck-Douglas is a bit different.

It’s more expensive than it once was, with many hotels charging upward of $500 per night, and the frisky nude beach became a thing of the past when the Land Conservancy of West Michigan purchased Denison’s old land around 2009.

“Now the city owns it,” Gammons said, “so no nudity, no hanky-panky, no liquor, no nothing.”

By Julie Myhre-Nunes | NerdWallet

I had never driven an electric car before, so, naturally, I made sure my first drive covered 500 miles across two states in one day.

Although public opinion on electric cars is still mixed, facts suggest these cars are not a passing fad. Electric vehicle sales in the U.S. topped 1 million for the first time in 2023, quadrupling the figure three years prior. And although demand has slowed, a recent study by industry group Cox Automotive found that more than half of shoppers previously identified as skeptics are poised to enter the EV market in the second half of the decade.

While my first experience with an EV was unusual — I rented one to drive from San Jose, California, to a work event in Las Vegas — it included many situations a prospective buyer would want to consider. If you’re new to EVs or just curious about what a road trip in one is like, here are the lessons I learned.

Maximum range isn’t the actual range

The 2023 Chevy Bolt EV 1LT that I drove has a combined miles-per-gallon equivalent (MPGe) of 120 and a maximum range of 259 miles, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. These totals didn’t translate to real life.

That’s because an electric vehicle’s maximum range doesn’t take into account the use of anything in the car, including air conditioning/heater, the infotainment system, charging your phone or the terrain you’ll drive through. It’s just a measurement of what the 100% charged battery is capable of.

It turns out, though, that an electric battery functions best when it is between 20% and 80% full, because going over that exposes the battery to high voltages that can accelerate degradation over time. (Think of your phone battery and how the battery dies faster as the phone ages.) So if you’re keeping the car’s battery between 20% and 80% most of the time, your battery should last longer.

When I picked up the car, the battery was at 80%, which gave me a minimum of 151 miles. I had mapped out my trip based on where I could find public charging stations, and I knew the first leg of my trip would cover about 150 miles while driving through a mountain pass. Before heading out, I decided to top up the charge to a minimum of 163 miles — but, happily, I got to the first stop with 60 miles left, mostly due to regenerative braking that takes the energy usually wasted with braking and puts it back into the battery.

Charging isn’t always available

I charged the vehicle four times on my trip, using three of the four largest public charging companies: Electrify America, ChargePoint and EVgo. Because all three charging companies function differently, this meant that each time I was figuring out how payments and plugging in worked. It felt like I was 16 again and learning how to fuel up my car for the first time.

Depending on your area, you might have a plethora of charging options or not many at all, and it’s not always predictable. Consider two California cities of comparable size: Fresno with a population of 542,107 and Sacramento with a population of 524,943. When it comes to charging stations with Level 2 and direct-current (DC) fast chargers (the two fastest charging options), Sacramento has more than double the number of chargers in Fresno — 359 and 174, respectively, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. And there’s even more of a divide in different areas across the country.

Keep in mind, too, that not all of those chargers work for every car. Tesla has the largest network of charging stations by far, but while the company is opening up that network to other manufacturers and charge-point operators, that process is very much in-progress. What’s more, at any given station some of the chargers may be out of order (two of the four stations I visited had chargers that weren’t working), and if you get to a station and it’s full, you may have a wait ahead of you.

Charging may take a long time

Enter a drive from San Jose to Vegas in your favorite mapping software and it’ll say it takes about eight hours. My drive required 11 and a half.

Travel time in an EV depends on the vehicle you’re driving and what kind of public chargers you use. DC fast chargers can fill a battery electric vehicle to 80% in as little as 20 minutes or as long as an hour, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. When I stopped at the ChargePoint in Coalinga, California, I had a minimum of 60 miles left in the battery. I used a DC fast charger for 1 hour, 9 minutes to gain an additional 103 miles.

But most plug-in hybrids and many electric cars are not yet equipped for that type of fast charging, and so realistically it may take longer. I didn’t do any Level 2 charging on my trip, but that technology can charge a battery electric vehicle to 80% in four to 10 hours and a plug-in hybrid in one to two hours.

In total I charged for 3 hours and 6 minutes over my 529-mile drive. For comparison’s sake, I drove a gas-powered car back from Vegas and had to gas up only once for eight minutes.

Charging anxiety is real

Awful. That’s how it feels to be on a long drive in an EV wondering if you’ll make it to the next charging station.

I experienced this twice on my trip — when I reached Mojave, California, with a minimum of 20 miles left, and then pulling into Las Vegas, with a minimum of 32 miles left. Both times I was genuinely concerned that I wouldn’t make it to my next stop. I turned off the air conditioning, stopped listening to my audiobook, unplugged my cell phone and tried to remain positive.

I started to plan out my options for what to do if the car died. I looked up charging stations near me using my phone, but had no luck. Worst case, I was ready to use my AAA membership, although I don’t know what they could do other than tow the vehicle to a charger. Of course, this was first timer’s nerves, but in survey after survey, anxiety over charging and range is among the biggest blockers to widespread EV adoption, with one noting that some 40% of current EV owners still report having a little.

A smartphone is essential for EV drivers

When you’re driving a gas car, there are plenty of opportunities to stop. In fact, you’ll see road signs along the highway to let you know when you can stop. This isn’t something you can rely on in an electric car. Instead, you’ll have to rely on your phone or previously mapped out charging stations. Despite mapping my stops ahead of time, I ended up looking for stops when I started getting charging anxiety.

Additionally, paying for charging may require your cell phone. Gas stations generally have two payment options: at the pump or with an attendant. None of the charging stations I visited had an attendant working, and ChargePoint didn’t let me tap or pay at the plug. Instead, I had to pay using its app, which isn’t ideal if your phone is dead or you can’t get the app to work.

Would I buy an EV after this trip?

Yes, but there are some caveats. I’m fortunate enough to be a two-car household, and if we were to get an electric car, it would replace one of the gas vehicles. I suspect electric cars are great for short trips, like a daily commute, but I’m not ready for one on a longer journey. And if I did buy an electric car, I don’t think I would rely on public charging. I would install a Level 2 charger in my home, which costs extra for the charger and the electrician but gives peace of mind that I could quickly top up every night.

Julie Myhre-Nunes is an editor at NerdWallet. Email: jmyhrenunes@nerdwallet.com.

The article What I Learned From My First EV Road Trip originally appeared on NerdWallet.

The former leader of police forces in Warren and Farmington Hills and current Farmington Hills City Councilman William Dwyer is back working with one of his former officers.

Dwyer and Associates has partnered with Fortis Group LLC, a premier security management firm whose CEO is Brian Bastianelli—a retired command officer from the Farmington Hills Police Department with 26 years of service.

“I am excited to start this new chapter of my life,” said Dwyer. “This partnership provides me the opportunity to continue to provide safety and security, which has been a lifelong mission for me.”

Dwyer, a 23-year veteran commander of the Detroit Police Department’s Narcotics Division, served as Police Chief of Farmington Hills for 23 years and most recently completed a nine-year tenure as Police Commissioner for the City of Warren.

Bastianelli said Dwyer brings “unparalleled experience and leadership” to the collaboration.

“Joining forces with Fortis Group will allow my experience, combined with their highly skilled professionals, to further this mission in new and impactful ways,” Dwyer said.

Fortis Group LLC, is a comprehensive security management firm. Specializing in training, consulting, private investigation, and high-level armed security services, Fortis Group serves both public and private sectors.

“Our company is thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Dwyer and Associates,” saidBastianelli. “I am personally excited to work again alongside my former Chief.

“This collaboration will enable us to offer a white-glove service that combines Dwyer’s vast experience with our ability to execute with precision.”

By Eliza Haverstock, Kat Tretina | NerdWallet

A typical four-year degree can cost $115,000 or more, according to a 2023 College Board report. Borrowing money to pay for college adds to the total cost, due to interest.

Federal student loan interest rates range from 6.53% for undergraduate borrowers to 9.08% for parents. Private student loans have an even greater range, and the rate you get generally depends on your credit.

To lower the overall cost of your education, consider making optional student loan payments while you’re in school or during your grace period. Even if you can only afford a small amount, every payment you make will decrease the amount of interest that accrues. You could save thousands over the life of your loan.

“Interest begins accruing on most private student loans and some federal student loans as soon as students receive the money, even if payments aren’t due,” says Jill Desjean, senior policy analyst with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Nerdy Tip There is one exception: If you qualify for federal subsidized Direct loans, the government covers the interest charges while you’re in school and during your grace period.

The impact of making student loan payments while in school

Paying even small amounts while you’re in school can add up. Consider this hypothetical example: Let’s say you take out $10,000 your first year of school at 6.53% interest on a 10-year repayment term. Here’s how different repayment amounts impact your total savings:

• If you don’t make in-school payments, you’ll pay $141 per month once your repayment period starts. By the end of your repayment term, you’ll pay a total of $17,653.
• If you pay $25 per month while in-school, you’ll pay $132 per month once your repayment period starts. By the end of your repayment term, you’ll pay a total of $17,161 — a savings of $492.
• If you pay $50 per month while in-school, you’ll pay $116 per month once your repayment period starts. By the end of your repayment term, you’ll pay a total of $16,669 — a savings of $984.
• If you pay $100 per month while in-school, you’ll pay $86 per month once your repayment period starts. By the end of your repayment term, you’ll pay a total of $15,686 — a savings of $1,967.

If you have multiple loans and can’t afford to make payments toward all of them, pay the one with the higher interest rate first, says Amy Lins, vice president of customer success with Money Management International, a non-profit financial education agency.

Making payments will also help you avoid the effects of capitalization — where interest is capitalized and added to your principal balance. Capitalization is typically what people mean when they talk about paying interest on your interest. By making payments while in college, you can cut down on the amount that’s capitalized, preventing your loan balance from ballooning out of control.

When should you skip in-school payments?

Depending on your circumstances, making in-school payments may not make sense. If you fit into one of the following groups, you may be better off deferring your payments until you leave school and your grace period ends.

You can adjust your budget

If you find that you can afford to pay $50 or more per month, you may need to rethink your budget and approach to borrowing.

“While making payments during school can save student loan borrowers money, the cheapest option is to not borrow at all because of loan origination fees,” Desjean says. “If you’re in a position to make payments on your loans during school, examine whether you can use that extra money to pay for school expenses directly without borrowing.”

Similarly, if you borrow money, the school will send you a check for the excess amount after covering your tuition and fees. You can use the cash to cover other education expenses, including your textbooks and meal plan. But according to Robert Farrington, founder of The College Investor, those excess dollars are an opportunity to reduce your debt.

“I would always encourage you to minimize lifestyle expenses,” he says. “Maybe get an extra roommate or anything you can do to save money, and then you can take that refund and put it right towards your student loan. Even if you wait until the end of the semester or the end of the academic year, I would throw it right back at your student loans ahead of time instead of keeping that.”

You’re pursuing loan forgiveness

If you’re planning on working as a teacher or for a non-profit organization, you may qualify for loan forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), so making extra payments may not make sense.

“If you’re working in public service and qualify for PSLF, you could end up a lot wealthier in life by paying as little as legally allowed on your loan and receiving loan forgiveness,” Farrington says. “If you know what direction you’re taking while in college, you can give yourself a head start.”

You have other debt

Your student loans may not be the only form of debt you have. And if you have other debt with higher rates, it may be financially wise to target the highest-interest debt first.

“If someone has accumulated credit card debt, for example, that’s likely to be at a much higher interest rate [than student loans],” says Lins. “And I would tackle that first to keep that credit card balance from growing.”

You have subsidized federal student loans

If you have subsidized federal student loans, which are available to students with financial need, interest does not accrue while you’re in school or during your six-month grace period. If you have this type of loan, your balance won’t be larger upon leaving school than it was when the loan was disbursed.

However, making in-school payments if you’re able can still help you in the long run, because interest will accrue on a smaller balance once you leave school.

Eliza Haverstock writes for NerdWallet. Email: ehaverstock@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @elizahaverstock.

The article Want Cheaper College? Pay Interest While in School originally appeared on NerdWallet.

The state’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency is doing away with its semi-annual scheduled inspections at licensed marijuana stores and related facilities, and instead will have its regulation officers conduct surprise visits.

The CRA said the change is expected to “allow more flexibility for scheduling,” and will be more efficient. It will also result in increased knowledge about rules and regulations among the businesses’ employees, according to the CRA.

The new plan for unannounced inspections takes effect on Oct. 1. Prelicensure inspections will still be scheduled.

During an education session held Aug. 22 via Zoom on the transition, Mandi Cooley and Kevin Cook of Michigan’s CRA enforcement division mentioned “flexibility” several times regarding its implementation.

“It will be a flexible process, open to corrective action plans,” Cooley said, adding that business owners will “have some autonomy on how to address” noncompliance issues.

Cook said the CRA doesn’t anticipate a “flawless” transition, and that “accommodations” will be made. He also said a main goal is to have licensees “compliant at all times.”

CRA spokesperson David Harns has a similar take on the new plan.

“This will help increase efficiency and flexibility with scheduling. This transition will instill a need for businesses to further educate employees at all levels – not just their job functions as they do now, but also in compliance and understanding of the business requirements,” he said. “The goal of unannounced inspections is that licensees are compliant at all times and employees have a solid understanding of the regulations surrounding their place of work.”

Inspection costs are covered by licensing fees.

Getting ready

To get ready for the change, the CRA suggests owners of licensed cannabis-related businesses prepare on-site managers and other employees to handle inspections by knowing how to access required items such as employee backgrounds, standard operating procedures, logs, surveillance systems, certifications and METRC information — the state’s seed-to-sale monitoring system — and more. It’s also recommended that owners provide employees with checklists on inspections, available at the CRA website www.michigan.gov/cra.

The CRA is preparing for the new procedure by updating and streamlining inspection checklists, and creating documents to be sent out to businesses after an inspection, Cook said. Also, regulation officers will be reaching out to businesses that are low-staffed and/or open part-time to get a better understanding of when a surprise inspection should happen rather than arriving to find the place closed.

Cooley said the CRA “is working on the process” for what to do if a business isn’t open when an inspector shows up.

 

Further, business owners are urged to ask regulation officers for their CRA-issued photo IDs, and to contact the Regulation Office’s verification hotline with questions. An email blast will be distributing the hotline number only to licensees.

So far, Harns said, scheduled semi-annual inspections have shown a regulation compliance rate of approximately 93 percent, “not accounting for minor deficiencies found during the inspection which were remedied quickly.”

“All business types have their common issues,” he said. “Generally speaking, METRC tracking and identification – along with surveillance equipment issues – tend to be fairly common across the board.”

Non-compliance of “minor issues” such as standard operating procedures and labeling are typically resolved through re-inspection, Harns noted, and unlikely to be subjected to further investigation.

But for “more egregious noncompliance” such as deficiencies in METRC tracking/identification or not keeping 30 calendar days of surveillance footage, for example, an investigation can be expected. Fines or license revocation are possible based on what the investigation reveals, he said.

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Jeff Ostrowski | (TNS) Bankrate.com

The housing market reversed course slightly in July 2024, showing a slight increase in sales for the first time in four months, a new report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows. Sales of existing homes rose 1.3% from last month, which marks an end to four consecutive months of declines but is still 2.5% lower than one year ago. Meanwhile, the median home-sale price dropped slightly from June’s all-time high but still marked the highest median price on record for the month of July, according to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

High mortgage rates have contributed to the sluggish sales figures. While rates have thankfully remained below the 8% mark briefly seen in October 2023, they are still hovering between 6.5% and 7%. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan was 6.62% as of August 21, according to Bankrate’s most recent survey of large lenders. Combined with the historically high prices, that means affordability challenges remain daunting for homebuyers.

“The fate of the housing market in the coming months will be dictated in part by the direction of mortgage rates, as well as the health of the broader economy,” says Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst. “The market could benefit from a combination of tailwinds, if they were to develop and are sustained.”

Existing-home sales finally inch upward

The count of existing-home sales includes all completed resales, including single-family houses, condos, townhouses and co-ops. According to NAR, the number of sales nationally increased 1.3% month-over-month to an annual pace of 3.95 million transactions in July 2024. While that’s the first increase since Q1, it’s still a 2.5% decrease from last year.

“Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish,” Yun said in a statement.

Regionally, the Northeast saw the biggest sales increase, up 4.3% from June and 2.1% from July of last year. In the West, sales rose 1.4% both month-over-month and year-over-year. Sales in the South rose 1.1 perent from June but were down 3.8% from last year, and in the Midwest sales were flat in July and down 5.2% from July of last year.

Days on market

Properties typically remained on the market for 24 days in July, up slightly from 22 days in June and 20 days in July of last year. Selling times are a crucial measure at any time of year, but especially during the peak spring and summer selling seasons.

Home prices hit new July record

The nationwide median sale price for existing homes in July clocked in at $422,600. That’s down slightly from June’s all-time high of $426,900, mostly due to seasonality, but it’s still an increase of 4.2% from last year and the highest July median on record. This month’s jump marks 13 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases.

All four geographic regions again experienced annual price increases in July. The West continued to have the highest median price by far at $629,500, up 3.4% from a year ago. In the Northeast, the median rose 8.3% from a year ago to $505,100. The South’s median price rose 2.3% to $372,500, and the Midwest’s median rose 4.5% to $321,300.

First-time homebuyers made up 29% of sales in July, no change from June but down slightly from 30% in July of last year. All-cash deals accounted for 27% of July sales, up slightly from 26% a year ago.

Housing inventory on the rise

The supply of homes for sale is inching higher, after being severely low for quite some time. Total housing inventory — the overall number of homes for sale on the market — stood at 1.33 million units at the end of July. That’s up a modest 0.8% from June but a significant 19.8% jump from a year ago. The figure represents 4.0-month supply, which is getting closer to the five-to-six months typically required for a healthy, balanced market.

Despite the sharp rise in mortgage rates this past fall, which has kept many homeowners from sellingand thus kept those homes off the market, things may be looking up for homebuyers. “Consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates,” Yun said.

Robert Frick, corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union, cautiously agreed: “This is a glimmer of hope, not a turnaround signal,” he said. “Home sales remain weak, but lower mortgage rates should bring more potential sellers off the sidelines and increase affordability somewhat.”

(Visit Bankrate online at bankrate.com.)

©2024 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Michael Hirtzer, Gerson Freitas Jr. | Bloomberg News (TNS)

Between hail, strong winds, floods and plant disease, U.S. corn crops were put through some tough times this summer. But somehow, the fields of green blanketing America’s heartland have proved to be ever resilient.

Those are the findings heading into the final day of a Midwest tour that sends scouts traversing through the Crop Belt to measure yield potential. The scouts saw evidence of corn stalks with the tell-tale vibrant dark green leaves that typically signal plants will produce plump, starchy kernels of grain in the final stretches of the growing season. Soybean fields were also lush and healthy.

“There’s big yields out there, both corn and beans,” said Brian Grete, leader of the eastern leg of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, which completes its four-day survey on Thursday.

Three days of data so far show that corn yields are looking better than the historical three-year averages in South Dakota, Ohio, Illinois and parts of Iowa. Soybean yields also look strong in many key growing areas. Final figures will be released late Thursday.

The findings buttress an outlook from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is projecting record-large U.S. corn and soybean yields this year. The croup tour provides the first “boots on the ground” look at fields, according to Chris Hawthorn, head of field crops section at USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, and a scout on the tour. The agency did away with its own objective yield analysis — the physical counting of crops in the field — for the month of August back in 2019.

“Wearing my crop-tour hat, it looks amazing out there,” Hawthorn said. “Beans look really good and are reflective of what our numbers say.”

Ironically, many American farmers aren’t celebrating the bumper crops. Mega-harvests are creating a host of challenges, as the ample inventories pushed soybean and corn futures to the lowest since 2020 last week. Wheat futures also hit a four-year low late last month, with production set to be 9% higher than the prior year.

Farmers’ incomes are heading for a 26% slide this year, the biggest drop since 2006, forcing them to cut back on everything from fertilizer to equipment.

Weather is playing a significant role in the state-by-state outlook. Corn crops in parts of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota were damaged by hail, strong winds and floods. Storms also swept in pathogens that cause a corn disease called tar spot – evident by small, black spots on leaves. But ample rains throughout the growing season and mild summer temperatures benefited many fields in places like Indiana.

“One field looks like it’s ready to burn up and the next one is as green as a gourd,” said crop scout Mike Berdo, a farmer from Iowa.

Still, the issues are isolated, and plant health overall is strong.

David Benes, who helps manage 8,000 acres of farmland in Nebraska, said he expects his corn harvest to average as much as 240 bushels per acre, which is below his own record but above the average for past years. With the exception of a two-week dry spell in July, it was “almost an ideal year” with “adequate to good precipitation levels,” Benes said.

And “you can still add weight to those kernels,” he said, leaving further room for yields to improve before the harvest.

The crop tour is putting a spotlight on the problems farmers must face as grain prices stay depressed.

“You have to stop spending your money foolishly,” said Steve Zavadil, a Nebraska farmer who planted 300 acres with corn and 250 acres with soybeans this season. “You can’t be going out and buying any new equipment all the time. We’ve just got to adjust.”

While farm-machinery makers can lay off workers or sell businesses in lean times, grain growers’ best option usually is to maximize yields so they have more to sell even if prices are low. U.S. farmers cut back on corn plantings this spring by 3% and boosted soybean sowings by the same amount. Timely rains and sunshine, with a relative lack of damaging heat during the peak growing season, were nearly ideal for crops.

“I suppose that’s just the way it is,” Zavadil said while observing scouts taking samples of his soybean and corn crops. “You know, big crop coming down the road, and everybody knows it — probably the best we’ve seen here.”

(With assistance from Ilena Peng.)

©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Paulina Cachero | (TNS) Bloomberg News

Mortgage rates in the U.S. resumed their downward path, dropping to a new low for the year.

The average for a 30-year, fixed loan was 6.46%, down from 6.49% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday.

Borrowing costs are down significantly after topping 7% earlier this year, giving house hunters more purchasing power and coaxing some would-be buyers off the fence. Sales of previously owned U.S. homes increased in July for the first time in five months, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

But even with the 1.3% gain from the month before, the sales pace was the weakest for any July since 2010, showing that high prices and a shortage of affordable listings are still keeping deals out of reach for many Americans. Buyers and sellers also may be holding off on decisions until financing costs fall further.

“Earlier this month, rates plunged and are now lingering just under 6.5%, which has not been enough to motivate potential homebuyers,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in the statement. “We expect rates likely will need to decline another percentage point to generate buyer demand.”

Many housing experts are looking forward to interest-rate reductions by the Federal Reserve to juice up the sluggish market. While cooling inflation has bolstered the case for a first rate cut next month, the timing and extent of future moves also will depend on the health of the labor market, according to Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu.

“Policymakers are aiming to time the cuts carefully,” she said, “without triggering a sharp increase in unemployment.”

The recent slide in mortgage rates has made housing bills a bit lighter. The median monthly payment was $2,587 during the four weeks ended Aug. 18, down 0.1% from a year earlier, Redfin Corp. reported. While that’s just a tiny drop, it marks the first annual decline since 2020, the brokerage said.

___

©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By Rosalie Murphy | NerdWallet

Rising costs tighten margins for business owners. And to make up for that increased pressure, businesses usually have to raise prices — which, when it’s done month after month, can start to wear on customers.

Customers are facing “price increase fatigue,” says Kirk Jackisch, president of consulting firm Iris Pricing Solutions. “They’re done. They can’t take it anymore — just across-the-board price increases. So you have to look at more surgical solutions.”

Targeting price increases carefully and communicating them clearly can help ease the pain customers feel, Jackisch says. Here’s how you can go about it — and what you need to avoid as legislators across the U.S. focus on fees and surcharges.

Balance price increases with new deals

Matthew Heaggans is co-owner of Preston’s: A Burger Joint, a restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. When sambal, an ingredient they used in a signature sauce, more than doubled in price, Preston’s began buying chili peppers to make their own — but then those tripled in price, too.

In light of such rising costs, Heaggans says Preston’s raised prices by about 7% on average. But that doesn’t mean they’ve raised every price by 7%.

For example, while a burger might be more expensive than it used to be, sides are now cheaper when you buy them as part of a combo.

“People are driven very significantly in our market by price,” Heaggans says, so it’s essential that Preston’s keeps prices competitive.

If you’re concerned about the long-term impact of price increases, you can opt to adjust them temporarily to account for cost shocks. For example, as egg prices spiked in 2023, some restaurants temporarily increased the prices of dishes containing eggs. Shipping companies have long adjusted their fuel surcharges as gas prices rise and fall.

Fortunately, for all of the “agonizing” he put into price changes, Heaggans says customers didn’t mind.

“My constant plea to consumers is that if you really, really like a thing, you should support it or it’s going to go away,” Heaggans says.

Don’t inflate your fees to avoid raising sticker prices

Customers often feel duped by last-minute or opaque fees — and regulators are taking aim at them, too.

At the federal level, the Biden administration has announced plans to crack down on junk fees on everything from event ticketing to college textbooks. And as of July 1, California has banned “drip pricing,” or advertising a price that doesn’t include mandatory additional fees and surcharges.

California’s law is designed to target last-minute, high-cost service fees on products and services like concert tickets and hotel rooms, says David W. Wright, an attorney at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Los Angeles.

The law is “not necessarily preventing businesses from trying to recoup those costs, but instead trying to make it so that businesses disclose those costs up front so consumers know what they’re getting themselves into,” Wright says.

Under California’s rule, handling fees have to be listed as part of the advertised price. “Reasonable” shipping fees and taxes, however, do not.

“The safest way to protect yourself is to include all prices” within the sticker price, Wright says.

Other states limit pricing practices in additional ways. For instance, some companies pass credit card charges onto customers to offset their payment processing costs. But several states restrict the practice. For example, New York requires you to include these fees in the posted price but allows you to charge a lower price for customers paying cash. And Colorado caps credit card surcharges at 2%.

Offer customers fee-free alternatives when possible

Jackisch also recommends increasing prices in ways that focus on the customers who cost the most to serve — like those that request rush jobs or ask for last-minute changes.

For example, if your company typically delivers orders in four weeks and a customer requests a two-week turnaround, you might apply a rush charge. After all, your business will have to absorb the costs of disrupting your normal operations to meet that customer’s needs.

Most customers see fees tacked onto their bills as “punitive,” Jackisch says. The key is to make sure there’s a way to avoid those fees and explain what it is.

The fee-free alternative in this case? For the customer to wait the typical four weeks.

Salespeople should be able to explain that when it comes to customer requests, “we’re happy to do it. But just recognize that there’s a cost to us, and we’re passing some of that along to you,” Jackisch says. “That communicates the value and the fairness of the fee.”

Rosalie Murphy writes for NerdWallet. Email: rmurphy@nerdwallet.com.

The article How to Increase Prices Without Losing Customers originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Jim Rossman | Tribune News Service

August means back to school, and if you’ve got kids or grandkids going off to college, technology will be a very important part of their personal and school lives.

Laptops or tablets will be the important, of course, but here are some ideas for things that can make their lives a bit easier, depending on their needs and fields of study. As usual, I’m posting list prices. You may well find them a bit cheaper if they are on sale.

Wacom One 13 Touch tablet

Wacom has been in the digital tablet business for decades, and their newest tablet is the second-generation Wacom One 13 Touch.

If you are not familiar with Wacom, they make digitizing tablets for computers. You use a digital pen to draw on a surface, and that drawing is shown on the computer screen.

The Wacom One takes things up a notch by combining their digitizing tablet with a touchscreen monitor. This setup lends itself to easily creating freehand artwork on your computer.

The 13-inch display supports multi-touch, so you can use your fingers to zoom in or out and rotate the work as needed. The pen is pressure sensitive and doesn’t need batteries. It has two buttons and interacts with all the big drawing and graphics apps.

These tablets are not just for graphics and artists; they’re perfect for people who are more comfortable taking written notes.

The fact that the One 13 Touch is also a second monitor means it can make the user more productive.

The One 13 Touch is $599.99 at Wacom.com.

Baseus GaN Smart USB Desktop Fast Charger 240W

Every dorm room needs a charging spot. The Beseus Digital GaN Intelligent Desktop Fast Charger is a multi-port USB charger that can pump up to 240 watts through its four ports to keep all your devices charged as quickly as possible.

There are three USB-C ports and one USB-A port, as well as a 12v DC output.

The charger has a digital display to show the exact amount of power being provided by each port, as well as the total output being used.

This charger has the capability to fast charge your MacBook Pro, iPad and iPhone as fast as possible. It also ships with a 240W USB-C fast charging cable.

The 240W Desktop Fast Charger costs $199.99 from Amazon.com.

Cuktech 20 Power Bank

USB power banks are either small and lightweight or they’re a bit beefier and have greater charging capacity. Either way, it’s great to have the ability to charge your devices when you’re away from a convenient power outlet.

The Cuktech 20 Power Bank falls into the beefy category with 25,000 milliamp-hours of power and up to 140W of output and three USB ports (two USB-C and one USB-A). 25,000 mAh is the largest battery you can legally carry onto a commercial airplane.

What sets the Cuktech 20 apart from every other power bank is its color display that gives real time readouts of what’s going on in and out of each port. The batteries inside are rated for more than 1,000 charge cycles.

The Cuktech 20 includes a USB-C charging cable that’s also used to recharge the battery.

The size of the power bank reminds me of a large soda can, and it comes with a nice bag to carry the battery and any cables you’d want to carry.

The Cuktech 20 lists for $99.99 at Amazon.com.

Poly Voyager Free 20 earbuds

I work at a university, and since the pandemic, we’ve had to get used to hybrid classes, which means they happen in a classroom and online live via video conference at the same time.

Having a good set of earbuds with great sound and microphones means you can take part in those online classes without disturbing your roommates.

Poly is a great brand in the headset market, and the Voyager Free 20 have active noise canceling with three mics in each earbud. They have really nice sounding speakers, with four different tip sizes so you can perfect the fit for the best sound quality.

They can pair to two devices at once, so you can move between your phone and your computer seamlessly.

The Poly Voyager Free 20 earbuds are available at Amazon for $149.99.

Jim Rossman is a tech columnist for Tribune News Service. He may be reached at jrossmantechadviser@gmail.com.

©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

With a fickle stock market and broader economic uncertainty around the globe, Howard and Heather Short were looking for a safe harbor for their savings and financial stability.

The San Diego couple settled on gold.

After months of hearing advertisements promoting the Oxford Gold Group on a local talk radio station, the Shorts began transferring chunks of their retirement portfolio to the Beverly Hills company.

“I thought, it’s silver and gold. It’s tangible. It’s not going to lose value,” Heather Short said in a telephone interview. “We did one lump sum from each of our retirement accounts.”

Oxford Gold told clients their assets would be deposited with Equity Trust Co., an Ohio firm specializing in so-called self-directed investment accounts focused on precious metals, cryptocurrency and other alternative assets.

But earlier this year, the Shorts and hundreds of other investors received a letter from Equity Trust indicating that the money they directed to Oxford Gold had not been properly recorded.

“What this means is that our records reflect that i) the metals you purchased from Oxford Gold were not yet fulfilled and delivered to your designated depository, and/or ii) that your Equity Trust account(s) has not received the cash proceeds from the precious metals that you sold to Oxford Gold,” the unsolicited correspondence said.

The letter from Equity Trust advised the Shorts to review their statements and to contact Oxford Gold for further information. Equity Trust was no longer doing business with the gold purveyor, it said.

“Thank you for being a valued client,” the letter concluded.

Now the Shorts are among hundreds of people who have lost millions of dollars of retirement savings to Oxford Gold, which according to news reports out of Los Angeles has shut its doors and closed without a trace.

They also are the lead plaintiffs in a proposed class-action lawsuit filed late last week in San Diego federal court alleging fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, violation of federal securities laws and unfair competition.

The plaintiffs, who live in at least 27 different states, say Equity Trust failed to make sure that investments were being properly credited to their retirement accounts, the lawsuit says.

“Business records generated at defendant Equity Trust Co. in connection with the transfer of the millions of dollars from investor accounts showed substantial and material amount of precious metals transactions with OGG were not being settled,” the complaint alleges.

That means “the investor funds were going unaccounted for by Equity Trust Co. in violation of defendant Equity Trust Co.’s fiduciary duty to investors,” it added.

Equity Trust, a Westlake, Ohio-based investment house that claims more than $45 billion in total assets under management, said in a statement that the company does not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit also names a host of principals at Oxford Gold Group, including chief executive Pedram Granfar, chief financial officer Johnathan Adler and Patrick Granfar, another executive and co-founder.

None of the Oxford Gold Group executives could be reached for comment.

According to state records, the California Franchise Tax Board suspended the company April 2 — about seven weeks after Equity Trust alerted account holders that their deposits had not been recorded.

In early May, the company filed documents with the secretary of state indicating that it moved from a Wilshire Boulevard office in Beverly Hills to a midtown Sacramento address.

Over the past several weeks, news reports in Los Angeles said Oxford Gold was no longer responding to questions from clients. The company website is not operational, and its telephone number does not work.

Short said she reported her experience to state financial regulators and to federal investigators.

She said both the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and the U.S. Commodity Future Trading Commission have opened investigations, and she spoke to a federal investigator as recently as last month.

Neither agency responded to requests for comment on the Oxford Gold complaints.

The lawsuit, filed last Friday in the Southern District by the San Diego law firm Aguirre & Severson, alleges that plaintiffs were duped by Oxford Gold Group advertisements largely broadcast on radio, television and social media platforms.

“In defendants’ nationwide advertising campaign delivered through television, radio, YouTube, social media and written brochures represented that plaintiffs’ funds would be obtained and held in safety in trust,” the complaint says.

The allegation is backed up by a slew of negative reviews that have turned up online in recent months.

“Even Jesse Kelly the radio guy told us all how great Oxford Gold is!” a client identified as Scott D. from San Francisco posted on Yelp last month. “I emailed Jesse Kelly and let him know the OGG is a scam but no reply from him.

“As far as I know, he still sings their praises on the radio paid for by our stolen money,” he said.

The San Diego case was submitted three days after a similar suit was filed in Sacramento federal court. A judge will likely have to determine which court will eventually preside over the dispute, and which lawyers will represent a class of plaintiffs.

The defendants have not yet responded to the allegations, according to federal court records.

Stephen Battaglio | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

Streaming video is an increasing global business. But if you think the experience and cost of streaming movies and TV shows abroad is the same as in the U.S., think again.

Consumers in the U.S. and Canada account for 84 million of the 278 million subscribers paying for Netflix every month around the world.

Netflix says its service is available in more than 190 countries, with such exceptions as China and Russia, making its reach about as broad as it could get. Others are trying to catch up by expanding internationally. Disney+ has a huge footprint. Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max has launched in 65 countries. In contrast, Walt Disney Co.’s Hulu and Comcast’s Peacock remain primarily domestic operations.

The global streamers have found success by investing in local-language shows. Sometimes, as with South Korea’s “Squid Game” and Spain’s “Money Heist,” those shows can break the subtitle barrier to cross over into global hits.

So what else are people watching around the world and how much are they paying?

VpnMentor, a firm that specializes in online privacy and internet security, recently gathered global data on streaming platform subscribers and the amount of content being offered.

VPNs — or virtual private networks — allow internet users to establish web connections through remote servers, often in international countries. Streaming aficionados can use these networks to access streaming services’ foreign content libraries, which sometimes offer stuff they can’t find at home.

The firm’s research found that many countries are enjoying a bounty of video choices, in some cases at a lower price than what U.S. subscribers are paying, reflecting economic situations and exchange rates.

Prices and the number of movies and TV shows streamers offer tend to fluctuate. Thus, the study’s figures reflect the state of the businesses in early 2024. But considering how guarded media companies are with details on their services, the data provide an interesting snapshot of the streaming experience throughout the world.

Here are some of the salient numbers in the report:

$1.46

The price in U.S. dollars for a basic, ad-supported monthly Netflix subscription in Egypt. The streamer’s “premium” service costs an Egyptian household $3.43 a month. For comparison, U.S. users pay $6.99 a month for Netflix’s ad-supported tier, $15.49 for the standard commercial-free offering and $22.99 a month for the premium deal with extra perks.

Other countries paying less than $5 a month include India, Morocco, Turkey and Columbia. According to vpnMentor, pricing in these countries is influenced by national taxes, average income levels and consumer purchasing power. Egypt is also the land of the cheapest Prime Video subscription on Earth, where 60 cents a month will get you access to 1,794 movies and TV shows, vpnMentor said.

$16.36

The average price for a standard Netflix plan in Denmark, which is the most expensive in the world in vpnMentor’s review, just ahead of the U.S.

$9.61

Consumers in France pay the most for a Prime Video subscription (at $9.61 a month), followed closely by Canada ($9.50). In the U.S., subscribers pay $8.99 a month, or receive the service as part of an Amazon Prime membership that costs $139 a year and includes benefits such as free shipping for goods.

8,249

The number of movie and TV titles Netflix offers in Slovakia, the most of any country, according to vpnMentor data. The study counted 5,622 movies and 2,627 TV shows. The total tally for the U.S. library was 6,768. Israel had the smallest Netflix library with 5,388 titles.

17,049

The number of titles Prime Video offers in the U.K. , the largest library of video content for any country. Ireland ranks second with 15,468, followed by the U.S. with 13,965.

3,184

The Philippines may be the happiest place on earth when it comes to streaming, as it has the largest number of movie and TV shows offered by Disney+. The total for the U.S. is 1,981, according to vpnMentor’s estimates.

$4.58

The cost of a monthly Disney+ subscription in Argentina, the cheapest rate for the service in the world. Austria pays the most at $11.76 a month. The rate for a basic plan in the U.S. is $7.99 a month.

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©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The home-selling business is by no means the first financial-service industry upended by a forced change in how commission-based transactions are paid.

It was almost a half-century ago – May 1, 1975 to be precise – when Wall Street was required to rearrange how brokerages were compensated for the stock trades they processed. Ending that industry’s fixed commission rates surprisingly ignited a revolution in how Americans invest in the stock market.

So anybody forecasting the outcome of this summer’s homebuying confusion is, at best, making a wild guess.

The rules regarding who gets paid what are undergoing a sharp retooling this month. It’s the result of legal settlements made by the National Association of Realtors and other parties after a jury found real estate brokerages colluded to keep commissions artificially high.

In the short run, the switch frees home sellers from a longtime industry norm – paying commission to the buyer’s agent. New procedures have the potential to dramatically alter how house hunters look for housing – and what they pay for transaction services.

It’s a mess, with the scope of the transformation up for serious debate. And the comfort of status quo may muzzle dramatic alterations to the process.

But what occurred on Wall Street during the past half-century suggests there are plenty of possibilities for massive changes for house hunting.

Revolutionary change

The New York Stock Exchange – the world’s biggest trading platform and an icon of ruthless capitalism – had for nearly two centuries barred brokerages from competing for clients based on commissions.

Rules dating to 1792, just after the Revolutionary War, led to industry standards for commissions, which did not vary, no matter the size of the customer or the trade.

It took the nation’s 1960s deregulatory itch to put Wall Street’s pricing habits under scrutiny by its regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and antitrust litigators at the Department of Justice. Much of the industry fought these outsiders pushing for market-based commission pricing.

Look, old habits die hard in many fields. Fear – real or imagined – slows necessary changes.

Insiders worried that competitive commission pricing would wipe out many brokerages and cost numerous employees their jobs. The stability of the entire stock market was in question, they claimed.

In addition, the changes were spun as hurting small investors the most. The industry had been quietly giving big institutions price breaks, and those discounts were forecast only to grow. Brokerages would make up for those losses with higher commissions for others. And there were fears that small investors might simply be ignored.

As the debate raged, the SEC simply set the date for change. Congress then seconded the move. The stock exchange and its brokerage members were left with a “what’s next?” moment in what were otherwise very bad times on Wall Street.

Note that the stock market in the 1970s was not a popular place for individuals or institutions to put their money. For the entire 10 years, Wall Street’s venerable Dow Jones index rose a total of 5% – never crossing the 1,000 mark in that decade. In the past year, the Dow crossed 40,000, FYI.

Perhaps it was all those industry stresses that sparked an entrepreneurial fervor, at least for a projected loser in the turmoil – the small investor. And it took a California entrepreneur to pioneer the promise of suddenly untethered commission rates.

Charles Schwab – yes, the founder of the brokerage that bears his name – decided to create services for what today is a less-than-tiny niche: the do-it-yourself-investors. Schwab offered discounted commissions to this flock, which rarely drew serious interest from many old-fashioned brokers.

The discount brokerage had been hatched. And these price breaks sparked an investor revolution that fueled many consumer-friendly innovations.

One big change was the mutual fund business, once a speciality option mainly for wealthy investors. These funds – professionally managed pools of stocks, bonds and other assets – became immensely popular with energized small investors who saw them as a simple way to build a well-rounded portfolio.

And, in the spirit of discounted commissions, “no load” options were a popular twist that charged no up-front sales commissions.

Bottom line

The long-run results of commission slashing on Wall Street are quite stunning.

What in today’s dollars might cost $3 a share to trade before 1975, now cost an investor pennies – if anything at all, depending on one’s relationship with their brokerage.

Stock ownership – directly or indirectly through funds – has gone from roughly one-fifth of all Americans in the 1970s to more than half of US households today.

And those mutual funds that had $40 billion in collective assets in 1975? This year, they hold $30 trillion-plus.

To be clear, it’s not just lowered commissions that are driving small investors. The elimination of many corporate pension plans, replaced by consumer-directed retirement options, has boosted individual investing.

The stock market exited the unprofitable 1970s into a half-century of huge gains. Even the often dull bond market created immense wealth, riding the drop in double-digit interest rates to near-zero in the pandemic.

Hey, investing became sexy. Still, 1975’s breakup of competition-stifling rules helped tweak Wall Street’s mindset.

Money management went from a transaction-based business model to one where long-term relationships with clients – folks who’ll pay modest annual fees – are the big profit maker.

OK, that’s not home sales. At least not in 2024.

Swapping housing is pretty much a one-time sales transaction for most parties involved. Now, good agents may get repeat business over the decades – or referrals to friends and family that can boost their bottom lines. But again, it’s primarily buying and selling.

In 1975, virtually nobody on Wall Street had a clue the small investor revolution was coming.

So, for housing, it might take an entrepreneur or two to figure out how 2024’s commissions overhaul could produce something nobody’s talking about today as a win-win for consumers and industry alike.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Novelist Kyla Zhao, a 26-year-old Singapore native who moved to the Bay Area to attend Stanford University when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, used the extra alone time that came with stay-home orders to work on her writing.

After graduation and a short stint as a fashion writer, she started working as an analyst in the male-dominated Silicon Valley tech ecosystem. Now her third novel, May the Best Player Win, is scheduled to come out this fall.

Q: Can you talk about how you came up with the ideas for your most recent book, Valley Verified?

A: A few months after graduation I made the switch from the high fashion industry to the high tech industry. With that came a lot of impostor syndrome and a massive confidence crisis.

I was feeling really down about myself, and I didn’t think I could really confide in anyone, because all my friends seemed so successful and accomplished.

So I kept it all bottled up within myself. But at some point, I just had to get all these feelings out of me, so I started writing this story of this young woman who works in fashion in New York City, but because of circumstance, she’s forced to move across the country to Silicon Valley to take on a new role and a tech startup. And she’s like a fish out of water.

Q: How does the book touch on themes from your own life experience?

A: There’s just so many amazingly smart people here [in Silicon Valley], I think impostor syndrome is a lot more common than we realize.

I expected that only people around my age would relate to my book. But then I realized that people from different ages, from different stages of their careers, saw how much my story resonated with them. That’s honestly the best feeling because I wrote this book by myself, and it’s in some way inspired by my own experience. To know that my experience is something that other people could relate to as well, that’s a really awesome feeling for any writer.

Another theme that’s really important to me in this book is exploring what it means to be a woman in a very male-dominated industry. And especially how women can support one another.

I think growing up, women or girls have been taught to see one another as competition. Only one girl gets to be the homecoming queen, only one girl gets to be the prettiest, only one girl gets to date the most popular guy. And so from a young age, we think of it as a zero sum game. In order for one of us to succeed, it means that another woman cannot succeed.

That’s why in my book, you have this cast of female characters, they are very different on paper, but they learn to accept one another, and they learn to come together to support one another.

Q: Many people will be going on vacation in the next few weeks, and might be looking for something to read while they’re laying on the beach. Why might someone want to pick up Valley Verified?

A: I describe it as Legally Blonde set in Silicon Valley. It’s about a woman who goes from fashion to tech. These are two fascinating industries, and because I have personal experience with both I’m able to craft an authentic portrayal of these two worlds and all the niche references.

A lot of people have told me that my main character is someone who is very relatable. She’s not perfect, she doesn’t always make the right decisions, but she does try her best. And she has a good head on her shoulders.

Because this is set at a tech startup, you have this ensemble cast of characters who are all very quirky in their own ways. Even though people might recognize some stereotypical features of the tech industry in them, they are much more than a caricature of what people imagine tech people to be like.

Tech billionaires are becoming more mainstream celebrities. You see Jeff Bezos rubbing shoulders with the Kardashians, and Elon Musk is just doing what Elon Musk does. People are getting so much more fascinated with the ecosystem, but it can be very opaque sometimes, and my book is just like a really nice entryway into that. You see this ecosystem through the eyes of an outsider who is sometimes just as bewildered by what is going on as the rest of us.

Q: You graduated from Stanford and got a job working in tech, so what made you want to be an author as well?

A: I never saw myself becoming an author, but during the pandemic I was in my third year at Stanford University, then the pandemic broke out, and I wanted to go home to be with my family in Singapore but this was also a time when every country was shutting down borders, so I decided to stay put in California. For most of 2020 I was living alone and I got very homesick, very lonely, and also just kind of depressed.

I just got so tired of seeing Asians like myself be portrayed in such a negative, derogatory manner. I really wanted us to be portrayed in a more vibrant and fun and joyful manner. That’s when I got the motivation to start writing my own story, set in my home country of Singapore, it became my very first novel, The Fraud Squad, published in early 2023.

It’s kind of like Crazy Rich Asians meets The Devil Wears Prada. It’s really fun.

Q: Your next book is coming out soon, what will May the Best Player Win be about?

A: I describe my next book as a family-friendly version of The Queen’s Gambit, without the drugs and everything, so parents can read it with their kids. It is also set in the Bay Area. It’s about a chess player who makes a bet with a sexist rival, that girls can be as good as boys at the game. That is coming out in September.

I actually wrote the first draft over one month in November 2020, the election month. I just felt very jaded and cynical, seeing grown men say such hateful things, so I really wanted to write a book that was from the perspective of someone younger, someone who still has that youthful innocence.

I grew up playing chess, I was on Singapore’s national junior squad, so I think the commonality between this book and Valley Verified is that it explores what it’s like to be a girl, or woman, in a very male-dominated space.

My main character in this next book also has to deal with people doubting her abilities just because of her gender. She has to find a way to prove herself, but as she tries to prove herself and as she tries to win the bet, performance anxiety begins to creep in. I hope that kids in Silicon Valley, or even adults, can relate to some of what my main characters going through.

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Kyla Zhao

Age: 26Position: Author, tech workerEducation: Stanford UniversityResidence: San Jose, CaliforniaFamily: Parents in Singapore, brother at UC Berkeley

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Five things about Kyla

1. Has to have three drinks when writing: coffee, water, and something special2. Loves cold desserts: if it’s cake, it should be ice cream cake3. Goes to a pilates studio where she is the youngest but least fit4. Writes in size seven font, so she doesn’t get tempted to edit before a full draft is done5. Comfort movie is The Devil Wears Prada

By Abigail Glickman, Bloomberg News

If you’ve lost track of how many people in your orbit have recently posted pictures of themselves at a Formula One race or Taylor Swift concert, chances are you’re not alone. According to new research from Collinson International Ltd., which owns Priority Pass and LoungeKey airport lounges around the world, sports and music tourism are growing at unprecedented rates and are forecast to represent a $1.5 trillion industry by 2032.

Sports tourism represents the overwhelming majority of that figure. Valued at $564.7 billion in 2023, it’s expected to skyrocket to $1.33 trillion in the next eight years. Music tourism, meanwhile, is projected to contribute an additional $13.8 billion, more than doubling its current valuation of $6.6 billion.

For the purposes of its report, published on July 29, Collinson defined travelers as anyone who flew to an event, whether internationally or within their own country. Of 8,537 surveyed travelers from 17 countries, more than four in five (83%) have flown to a sporting event while 71% have boarded a plane for a concert in the past three years, or plan to in the next 12 months.

Collinson used those results to model how the industry has expanded and may continue to do so — assuming linear growth in spite of history-making events such as Swift’s Eras Tour or the first Summer Olympics in eight years to allow in-person spectators, which are currently underway in Paris.

“People are placing high value on experiences over objects,” says Christopher Ross, president of Collinson International EMEA. “If you are going to a sports or music event, the experience does not just start when you walk into the stadium. It’s the planning, travel itself and excitement.”

About 83% of people traveling for events are heading to soccer matches, basketball games, the Olympics, F1 races or tennis tournaments — the five most popular sporting events in descending order. In a world where streaming networks have created easily accessible pathways to fandom, Ross says, “the ability to become a global fan has become much more of a reality.”

Soccer captured 69% of the survey’s sportsgoers, who said they’d recently traveled to a live match or had plans to do so in the next year. That includes those who were among the more than 1 million fans in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup but not those who plan to attend the next World Cup, in 2026.

Formula One, meanwhile, has been surging in popularity with younger generations ever since Netflix Inc. premiered its Drive to Survive docuseries, in 2019; a full 30% of F1 fans attributed their interest in the sport to the show. In 2023 the average race weekend had more than 270,000 in-person spectators, up from 195,000 in 2019.

It’s not just that more people are interested in the sport; ticket prices are also on the rise. Tickets for races in the U.K. this summer have reached £600 ($765) for prime “grandstand” seats, with general admission often costing more than £400 per person — up from about £300 just two years ago — prompting British driver Lewis Hamilton to publicly criticize the rising price tag.

To Ross’ point, those tickets are just one aspect of the sports tourism economy, which also includes hotel stays, restaurant meals, taxi rides, merchandise and other expenses. Collinson data show that 77% of travelers arrive one or two days before a concert or competition, and some 80% will stay one to three days after. Sports tourists spend the most, with 51% exceeding $500 per trip per person on flights and other expenses, not including the event tickets.

Take Las Vegas, which hosted an F1 Grand Prix race in November 2023. The event brought $1.5 billion in economic impact to the city, 50% more than the Super Bowl would raise just three months later. “It’s a younger demographic,” Ross says of F1 fans, who are among the most likely to add extra expenses to their sports trips. “It seems counterintuitive, because you would think they have less disposable income,” Ross adds.

That doesn’t diminish the effect of other events. The Paris Summer Olympics, while less of an international tourism juggernaut than expected, are still attracting enough tourists to send Airbnb bookings up 133% from the same period last year. International tourists have been expected to pay around $5,000 for hotel stays, airfare and event ticket costs. And sports fans, Collinson says, are willing to spend in airports too — which is of note to the company. Over half of sports fans, its research shows, spend $500 or more in the airport alone; those aged 25-34 are the highest spenders, with a third of them spending in excess of $1,000 while waiting for their flights to board.

On the music front, Collinson cites major events including Rock in Rio, Coachella and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour as tourism drivers. But the latter is an unprecedented anomaly. Swift fans have driven 45% year-over-year increases in airfare sales to destinations such as Milan and Munich during concert dates, according to United Airlines Holdings Inc., and the tour resulted in larger booking spikes for Paris’ top-tier hotels than even the Olympics.

For those in the hospitality industry, the question now is how to cash in on the trend. Marriott International used the Eras Tour as an opportunity to earn new members for its Bonvoy loyalty program, promising free tickets via raffles. By contrast Auberge Resorts Collection, which has 27 five-star resorts from Italy to Hawaii, is teaming with Mercedes-Benz to create a new concert series starting in October, with live performances so far featuring Kate Hudson, Maren Morris and LeAnn Rimes. At Tennessee’s iconic Blackberry Farm Resort, which has its own concert hall on-site, the events lineup includes performances by Kacey Musgraves, Emmylou and Friends, and Noah Kahan in the coming months, with general access tickets typically starting at $1,000 per person.

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©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.