{"id":32561,"date":"2015-07-18T03:00:16","date_gmt":"2015-07-18T10:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=32561"},"modified":"2015-07-19T10:11:54","modified_gmt":"2015-07-19T17:11:54","slug":"black-coffee-ripoffs-sales-sellouts-and-bailouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id32561-black-coffee-ripoffs-sales-sellouts-and-bailouts.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Ripoffs, Bailouts, Sellouts and Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe<\/em> …<\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

Let’s get right to it this week …<\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Last week, after trying to use a counterfeit $5 bill at a Tennessee grocery store, a woman reportedly explained to police that she was printing her own cash<\/a> because President Obama told her it was okay to do so. I know … but I’m willing to keep an open mind here.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> If you’ve been putting off buying a car because you’ve got lousy credit, you’ll be glad to know that it’s never been easier<\/a> to get an auto loan. In fact, it’s so easy now, only 1 in 30 auto loan applications are rejected today.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Then again, being able to get a loan just because you can fog a mirror doesn’t mean you should. After all, those are the same kind of loose lending standards<\/a> that led to the last housing bust and the follow-on financial crisis in 2008.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of cars, I’m still trying to figure out why gas prices in California jumped more than 70 cents<\/a> over a three-day period last week. Last Friday, the pump price at my corner station was $3.41 — and by Sunday morning it was $4.29. No, really.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> According to GasBuddy<\/a>, on July 17th the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in California was $3.90 per gallon; that’s $1.52 more than the average fuel price in South Carolina.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Gas prices in California are so ridiculously expensive<\/a> right now that they’re currently 56 cents higher, on average, than the gasoline that’s sold in Hawaii. Yes, that<\/em> Hawaii.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, over in the Sea of Red Ink, the folks in Greece who wisely voted last week against further EU bailouts (read: more debt that can’t be paid back) were promptly sold out<\/a> by their gutless politicians. On Wednesday, Greece’s Parliament decided to side with the bankers and keep the euro Ponzi scheme going anyway. Unbelievable.<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Even worse, anyone who is holding additional cash, gold and silver in any Greek banking system “safe” deposit box is now prohibited<\/a> from accessing their valuables. Uh huh. There’s a lesson there for anyone who cares to pay attention.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Were you caught up in Amazon’s worldwide “Prime Day” marketing hoopla this week? The 24-hour sale was promised to be bigger than Black Friday and, for the most part, it was<\/a> — assuming you believe Amazon’s press release.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Of course, every silver lining has a cloud. Detractors quickly took to Twitter with lots of #PrimeDayFail complaints, including Amazon’s decision to put a 55-gallon drum<\/a> of sex lube on sale as part of their big celebration. On the plus side, you can’t say Amazon doesn’t know how to throw a party!<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> By the way, according to at least one report, at $1361.80, that 55-gallon drum of lube turned out to be the biggest deal on Amazon<\/a> that day. Well, assuming you decided to buy it.<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Yes, yes … I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong: You see, I may be a prepper — but I’m also a realist, folks. And I have no delusions about my limitations.<\/p>\n

By the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s a closer look at the final figures for Amazon’s first-ever Prime Day:<\/p>\n

$99<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The cost of an annual Amazon Prime membership.<\/p>\n

47,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Number of televisions Amazon sold on its US website during Prime Day.<\/p>\n

1300%<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Amazon’s increase in television sales on Prime Day compared to the same day last year.<\/p>\n

93%<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Amazon’s overall increase in total US sales on Prime Day compared to same time last year.<\/p>\n

41,000<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Number of Bose headsets Amazon sold on Prime Day.<\/p>\n

8<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Bose headsets that Amazon sold on the previous Wednesday.<\/p>\n

0<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The number of Amazon products that outsold “The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy” DVD on Prime Day in the US.<\/p>\n

0<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Amazon products that outsold Croc sandals on Prime Day in Germany and Austria.<\/p>\n

0<\/strong><\/span><\/span> The number of Amazon products that outsold green smoothie mix on Prime Day in Japan.<\/p>\n

Source: New York Times<\/em><\/p>\n

The Question of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

[poll id=\"71\"]<\/code><\/p>\n

Last Week’s Poll Result<\/strong><\/p>\n

On average, how many personal checks do you write per month?<\/p>\n