{"id":86280,"date":"2025-02-15T01:00:04","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T09:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=86280"},"modified":"2025-02-18T11:10:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T19:10:22","slug":"black-coffee-15-feb-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id86280-black-coffee-15-feb-2025.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Plugged Nickels & Pretty Pennies"},"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

Well … another busy week is behind us. So with that in mind, let’s get this party started!<\/p>\n

You can’t help a friend by putting coins in his pockets if he’s got holes in them.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Elizabeth Bowen<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? A trip to a Disney theme parks is more expensive than ever; the cheapest one-day, one-park ticket for Disneyland ranges from $104 to $206 depending on the day. We know<\/strong><\/em>; you\u2019ve heard this before – but it just keeps getting more absurd. For example, SFGate<\/em> priced a three-day vacation<\/a> in June for a family with two children under the age of 10. At $531 per night for Disneyland\u2019s cheapest hotel and four basic three-day, one-park per day tickets, the cost was $3500 – not<\/strong><\/em> including food, transportation, and souvenirs. It also doesn\u2019t include Disney’s $400 line-skipping service – per person<\/strong><\/em>. Uh … yeah no.<\/p>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Meanwhile, back in the real world, the price of car insurance premiums climbed an average of 15% in 2024, with American drivers now shelling out an average of $2313 annually<\/a> for full coverage. Both Maryland and New York had the biggest percentage increases last year (53% each), with annual full-coverage car premiums of $4060 and $3804, respectively. Hmm. That doesn\u2019t sound like the machinations of a smooth-running economy to us. By the way, here’s another machine that’s anything<\/strong><\/em> but well-oiled \u2026<\/p>\n