FCTI - Blog

Halloween is within reach. Thanksgiving has not yet wholly entered consumer consciousness. Yet the local department stores are already loading their parking lots with storage containers and building displays featuring Santa and snowmen. It is only a matter of time before we are overcome by the jaunty tunes of “Jingle Bells,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and other tunes.

But no matter how much one might enjoy what we so affectionately refer to as “The Holidays,” this time of year also brings added financial stress for most Americans.

Topics: consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education, holiday stress

Developing a workable budget that fits your lifestyle and circumstances is hard enough without having a good place to start. Use this free monthly planner and cash-flow worksheet to help you get your ducks in a row!

Topics: consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education

We’ve talked about home cooked meals, ditching disposables, quality over quantity as ways people used to scrimp and save. But, when money was really tight, those three strategies were far from enough to help people get by.

Here are three MORE ways people used to save money that are still applicable.

Topics: consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education

 

From 1929-1939, the Great Depression swept Americans into financial destitution. Slow consumer spending created lower rates of production, causing businesses to reduce in size, lay off workers, or close their doors for good. Millions were unemployed, and there was a rising number of homeless.

Topics: consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education

Over a quarter of consumers fall victim to the impulse buy when purchasing goods in-store.

These are not people who are entering a store to meander aimlessly and wind up making a purchase. These are individuals who entered an establishment with the intent of buying one or more specific things and ended up adding items to their cart beyond their identified items(s).

Topics: consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education, in-store advertising

Fifteen percent (15%) of consumers presented with in-store video advertising are more likely to buy the advertised product, according to a study published in the Journal of Advertising Research.

Topics: digital marketing, video marketing, in-store advertising

Over half (51%) of Millennials, a cohort comprising more than a quarter of the US population, say their financial situation stresses them out (Mintel).

Topics: consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education

"Making day-to-day decisions on spending money is one of the biggest challenges consumers face in keeping their financial lives in order," according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Larger purchases such as televisions and motor vehicles are often deliberate and planned. It is smaller, impulse purchases and special occasions which are far more likely to blow out the budget and eat away at savings.

Topics: consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education

Money management can be a foreign language for many. Net worth, assets, depreciation, interest rates, APR, and other financial terms mean little to those individuals not working within the financial and investment sectors.

Topics: financial literacy, consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education

While keeping on budget can be an issue for many American consumers, many are operating their homes entirely without a financial plan. It is possible to get by sans spending framework. However, running even a single-person household like this long-term typically leads to overspend – resulting in bad spending habits and debt.

Topics: consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education