If you’ve just become engaged, it might seem that finding the right person to share your life was the hard part. Now look at the costs of your wedding. If you haven’t already seen the national average for wedding expenses, read ‘em and weep:

Average Wedding Costs, July 2007
Reception	$14,000
Rings (incl. engagement ring)	$6,500
Photography and Video	$3,700
Wedding (inc. rehersal dinner)	$2,500
Flowers	$2,000
Wedding Gown	$1,500
Other Wedding Attire	$1,100
Music	$1,000
Stationary	$850
TOTAL	$28,850

Is it any wonder wedding loans are so popular? (Are you still with me? Or have you already clicked onto Expedia to begin plans for eloping in Jamaica? Take a deep breath and read on.)

Give a little thought to what you want for your wedding. Do a little internet research. Make a few phone calls. Draw up a rough estimate of what your wedding might cost.

This is probably a good place to address the urban legend surrounding who pays for what. Traditionally, the bride’s parents paid for nearly everything. No doubt many fathers-of-the-bride took out a wedding loan to do it. The groom’s family paid for the rehearsal dinner, the bride’s bouquet and the honeymoon. Though that might sound pretty terrific, what you have to remember is the people writing the checks decide how their money will get spent. But that’s all history anyhow.

These days, most couples are older (him: 28; her: 26) and paying for 77 percent of the wedding expenses. You and your intended may or may not have a nest egg of your own, but at that age you probably have some pretty clear ideas about what kind of wedding, reception and honeymoon you want. And if you want your wedding day to bear any semblance to those ideas, you will come up with the money – even if it means taking out a wedding loan. (Advice for grooms: If you’ve ever taken out a loan for a boat, motorcycle, pool table or home theater system, this is no time to balk if your bride suggests a wedding loan. Believe me, she hasn’t forgotten about your boat, motorcycle, pool table or home theater system.)

So, what if the wedding of your dreams is way, way out of your price range? Pick out the elements that mean the most to you. Call this your “I’ll Tell You What I Want, What I Really, Really Want” list. Will you be disappointed without that fabulous gown? Put it on your ITYWIWWIRRW list. If it’s important to be able to invite all of your friends and family to the reception, put it on the list. How about your honeymoon? If you’ve both been dreaming of honeymooning in Europe despite the lousy exchange rate, this should go on your ITYWIWWIRRW list. For these things, it may be worth taking out a wedding loan.

Now what are the things you don’t care so much about? The flowers? The invitations? The engagement ring? If the parents have offered to help with the wedding expenses, these things go on the “We Can Live with Almost Anything You Decide” list. If you’re totally on your own, the items on your WCLWAAYD list are the things you’ll scale back on or ax completely. These are definitely not the things that are worth a wedding loan. Now go back to the internet for more research and pricing.

Now compare your initial estimated expenses with the latest revision. Feeling better yet? Or are your numbers still too high?

Take one more look at the ITYWIWWIRRW list. Now close your eyes. Can you picture your wedding day without the dress? Would you feel cheated in Toronto instead of Paris?

 

Okay, allow me to plead guilty right from the start.

When it comes to last minute shoppers, I'm first in line. Christmas, Valentine's Day, family birthdays -- you name it and I'm the one in line the day before - - and often the day of -- the big event.

Turns out that could be a big mistake, money-wise. A new study by three university researchers: Jennifer Aaker, the Xerox Distinguished Professorship in Knowledge at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business; Cassie Theriault, a marketing Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business; and Ginger Pennington, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, says that last-minute shoppers pay more and get less than their more time-savvy counterparts.

"Last-minute shoppers on a tight deadline will pay more for a product advertised as a means to prevent a negative outcome (such as disappointing their spouse) than for a product advertised as a means to promote a positive outcome (such as thrilling their spouse with the perfect gift)," Aaker explains.
After conducting a series of experiments with hundreds of college students, Aaker, Theriault, and Pennington found that the time before deciding to make a purchase is a critical factor in a consumers' decision making.

One study involved a group of students facing midterm examinations who either perceived the exams as “soon, only a week away” or “still a full week away.” These students received sales pitches from a fictitious tutoring service that were presented either as a way to avoid failure – highlighted with the marketing slogan, “Don’t do poorly in any class!” – or, more ambitiously as a way to achieve success, with the catchphrase, “Ace every class!”

The research group says that their experiments found that consumers caught in a bind of having to buy something as soon as possible worry about failing their goal. This concern leads them to settle for products advertised as having the bare minimum features needed, as in the case of the tutorial service pitch claiming to help students to “not do poorly in class.”

With more time to make a decision, however, consumers become more confident that they can reach “higher goals” in their purchase, so a product that is “good” will likely appeal more than a product that is merely “not bad," according to Aaker. Moreover, Aaker found through her experiments that consumers are willing to pay more for items that sellers present as having desirable features, or products that are “promotion-framed,” sold under such sales slogans as “You desire the very best!”

For consumers, the research poses important questions on how they make decisions. Should we worry that our standards decline when time is running out? And if we have more time to decide, should we think about setting overambitious goals, and perhaps even ask ourselves: “Would I really buy this if I had to make the decision tomorrow?”
With a little planning - - and a well-placed calendar -- time management doesn't have to be so pressure-packed. Now excuse me while I go off to do some early Christmas shopping.

 

They say a happy employee is a productive employee.

But this summer, with gasoline prices inching up toward $4 per gallon, cash-strapped employees don't have much to smile about.

Here's some proof. According to Wayne Hochwarter, a professor of management at Florida State University's College of Business, Americans' work attitudes have been negatively impacted by the rising price of oil and gas.

In a FSU study of 1,000 workers across the U.S., 60% of employees say that the price of gas has significantly reduced the amount of money they have to spend on other things, while 45 percent reported the need to pay off debts more slowly or not at all. Additionally, 26 percent indicated that the cost of gas has necessitated going without basics such as heat or air conditioning, or even cutting back on food purchases, over the past few months.

What's more, Hochwarter reports that those most affected by gas prices tended to experience stress both on and off the job. Such stress include: negative views of work and the company, sluggishness, antagonistic behavior, feeling overwhelmed and sadness.

"Most of these effects can be attributed directly to distraction while at work," Hochwarter said. "Those I've talked to spent a significant amount of time worrying about their financial situation."

Hochwarter also asked whether employees felt alone in their sacrifices or if their company had to tighten its belt as well.

"Certainly, only a handful of employees noted that their company changed plans or had to go without because of the price of gas — even companies that rely heavily on fuel for their operations," he said.

That could spell trouble for small businesses. The FSU study reports that those employees most affected by gas prices who did not see the company sacrificing were less committed to getting things done while at work. Compared to those who felt that their company was doing without, those who felt alone in their sacrifice:

• Were 15 percent less committed to the company.
• Had job performance levels that were 12 percent lower.
• Were 20 percent less willing to stay late or work extra if needed.
• Were 25 percent less likely to give "maximum effort."

"The price of gas has contributed to the perceptions of many that they are simply never going to get ahead," Hochwarter said.

Not a good report for small businesses. From what Hochwarter found,  when employees feel they can't get a fair shake in the consumer marketplace, their work tends to suffer. That could make your bottom line suffer, as well.

 

A tough day on Wall Street, with stocks falling 400 points on increased credit concerns over the struggling mortgage lending market. And the news isn't getting any better.

Insurance giant AIG released a report today showing that borrowers in the category just above subprime are showing increased residential mortgage delinquencies

AIG is a good position to know. The company is the world's largest insurance company and will have its hands full if lenders can't collect from borrowers. It's also one of the largest mortgage lenders in the
world. The company says that more than 10% of its subprime mortgages were 60 days overdue, while 4.6% in the category just above subprime were late during the second quarter.

In addition, total delinquencies in AIG's $25.9 billion mortgage insurance portfolio clocked in at 2.5%.

Delinquency rates for first mortgages, which represent 90% of AIG's domestic mortgage business, also jumped to 3.89% in June, up from 3.56% in April, AIG says.

Although second-lien mortgages only made up 10% of AIG's mortgage insurance portfolio, it incurred $159 million in the losses during the second quarter.

These mortgages are susceptible to defaults and are especially sensitive to falling home values, the report adds.

With banks and lenders tightening credit, and with borrowers struggling to keep up with payments, the landscape for the rest of 2007 looks rough. The rest of us will just have to ride it out.

 

A while back, I pointed out that a tight money supply could prevent companies, especially smaller ones, from getting money to grow their businesses, make new hires, do more research -- that sort of thing. I said that if companies couldn't get access to money, the economy would suffer. The Federal Reserve had to act (okay, I didn't mention the Fed specifically, but calling Batman wasn't going to help).

So what's the big deal with a tight money supply? Imagine you're a small web design firm looking to roll out a new service or product. You go to a lender to get a line of credit only to have the teller window slammed down on your fingers.

So, yes, lending decisions have a ripple effect that goes way beyond some poor guy who can't pay his mortgage.

But with lenders still smarting over the hammering they've taken in the mortgage market, banks and other lenders were reluctant to lend money to anyone.

Enter the Federal Reserve Board, which cut its key discount rate by 0.5 percentage points on Friday. In plain English, that means the rate the Fed loans money to lenders just got cheaper. That should alleviate some concerns on the part of lenders to lend money. It won't cost as much for them to do so, which is always a good thing in business.

So that small web design firm now has a better chance of getting that line of credit, allowing them to grow their business and contribute to the overall health of the economy.

It's also an emotional lift for investors, who drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 240 points after the Fed announcement. Says Jim Cramer, the CNBC investing guru; `They obviously heard us, they acted,'' he said on his show Mad Money. "This is the beginning of the run to 14,500.''

"It's a brilliant move by the Fed,'' Cramer added. "Two weeks ago they were doing the exact opposite.''

We'll see about that. Short term, no doubt the Fed rate cut stopped the bleeding on Wall Street. But long term, the Federal Reserve only has so many options.

Besides, why is the Fed bailing out rich bankers, anyway? Last time I looked, licking the boots of Wall Street lenders wasn't in the Fed's charter. Richard Yamarone, chief economist for Argus Research in New York sums it up well.

"My mother always told me those who play with fire get burned,'' he said. "Here, that apparently doesn't hold true. Someone is making my mother out to be a liar, and that's not a good thing.''

But you have to walk in Fed Chief Ben Bernanke's shoes for a while. People were losing faith in the U.S. credit system. Not good. Investors were pulling money out of the stock market in droves. Understandable, but once again, not good.

A confidence boost was needed and that's just what the economy got when the Fed cut its discount rate.

The questions now is . . . how long can that confidence last?

 

Friday was a weird day on Wall Street.

First, the head of troubled Countrywide Financial predicted that the ongoing credit slump would lead to a recession. He also said that things would be better if the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates (isn't that how we got into this situation in the first place?)

My guess is that the Fed will probably cut interest rates, not by the .50 percent rate that many economists are predicting, but by a quarter-point. The Fed is historically loath to cut rates because Wall Street tells it  to. It's also reluctant to cut rates too much because of inflationary fears (they don't want money to become too cheap). The Federal Reserve Board next meets on September 18.

But wait. Later on Friday the U.S. Commerce Department reports that sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly rose 2.8 percent to an 870,000 annual sales pace in July, reversing two months of declines. Analysts were expecting new home sales to dip to an 820,000 sales pace. New home sales in June were revised to an annual rate of 846,000 from the previously reported 834,000 rate.

It's early, but that's potentially great news for the economy. The housing and lending sectors are bleeding badly right now, and any sign showing a turnaround could be a real shot in the arm for both industries, which right now are struggling with big financial losses, heavy layoffs, and a general crisis of confidence.

Let's see what happens, but for now, there could be a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

 

I spent last week in Key West at a friend's house and had a great time.

Okay, outside of the fishing, snorkeling, and the plaque I should get from all the bar stool time I spent at the Green Parrot, I won't rub it in.

But on the flight back I read in the Miami Herald how consumer confidence in the Sunshine State was off three points this month. That seemed strange -- Florida is job-heavy and leads the country in new construction and new residents. That's not to mention the absence of a state tax.

So I read where nationally, consumer confidence was way up in May, fueled by optimism about the job market and the seeming ease in housing woes across the country.

So is Florida an aberration? I think so. Economic numbers spike up and down all the time, especially at the state and regional levels. Not so much with the national figures, where today the Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 108.0 in May, up from a revised 106.3 in April. Wall Street numbers-crunchers had forecast the Index to fall to 104.5. The May reading was the highest since March when the index was at 108.2.

Most analysts are, as usual, hedging their bets. But I do note a sense of encouragement on consumer sentiment. "The short-term outlook remains cautious and rising gasoline prices are having a negative impact on consumers' inflation expectations," says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, in a statement. "(But) All in all, confidence levels continue to suggest growth, albeit at a slow pace."

Growth at a small pace after five years of high growth? I'll take that any day of the week. The economy can't be running on all cylinders all of the time -- there has to be periods of readjustment along the way. As long as such periods stay in positive territory, as we're seeing now, then we're in good shape.

 

Your money is in jeopardy and you may not even know it. Study after study demonstrates that scam artists who prey on unwary Americans and fleecing them of their savings are on the rise and more successful than ever. Credit card fraud alone cost Americans $2 billion in 2007, according to Celent Communications.

What can you do? Fight back by knowing what to look for and learning to anticipate the tricks of the trade used by unscrupulous hucksters and con artists.

Here are some good tips from the folks at ClearPoint Financial Solutions, a finance company that focuses on consumer fraud:

Telemarketing Scams

According to the Alliance Against Fraud in Telemarketing (AAFT) Americans lose nearly $40 billion a year due to telemarketing fraud. Top phone scams include: free prize offers, charitable solicitations, travel offers, investment fraud, “900” numbers and advance-fee loan scams. This is not to say that all telemarketing solicitations are fraudulent, as many are perfectly legitimate. To be safe though, consumers should consider the following when dealing with a telemarketing call:

Be wary of free prize offers. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is! Declining the offer and ending the call is your best defense.

Check your charities. You should never make a monetary donation over the telephone. Instead, if a charitable organization contacts you over the telephone for a donation, ask that they send you literature in the mail instead. Nearly all organizations would be happy to accept a check in the mail. That way, you can determine that you are sending money to the correct charity, rather than giving your credit card information to a potential thief over the phone.

Investigate investments. Never discuss investment opportunities with a solicitor. You should only conduct this type of business with a company that you  have selected based upon doing your homework. Don’t give in to high-pressure sales tactics or anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. When in doubt, just hang up!

Unsubscribe. To eliminate telemarketing calls altogether, consumers have the option to sign up with the National Do Not Call Registry. To do so, consumers can visit www.donotcall.gov.

Phishing and Vishing Scams

Phishing occurs when scam artists send emails that appear to be from a bank or e-commerce organization. Typically the message warns the consumer that their account has been compromised, and that immediate action and response is necessary to fix the problem. Consumers are advised to click on links within the email to start the process. Vishing occurs in the same manner, however the recipient is directed to call a number to correct the problem, and is then prompted to give their account information over the phone. Avoid these types of scams by:

Stay away from links. Never click on a link that is included in a suspicious email. Not only does it legitimize your email address, it can direct you to a fraudulent site that can 
capture your account information. Never follow prompts to enter your personal information online. Again, if you’re concerned about fraudulent account activity, check your account statements and notify your bank.

Exercise caution. Suspicious emails are just that –  suspicious. Be extra cautious if you see an email from your bank that’s asking for your account information. Since your bank already has your account numbers on file, they will never ask for it in an email. Simply delete the email and move on. If you are concerned about your account, be sure to call your bank, using the telephone number that’s printed on your bank statement, not the number that’s in the email.

Report spam. Want to stop the spam from hitting your inbox? According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, you can report phishing or spoofed emails to the Federal Trade Commission the Internet Crime Complaint Center and to the company that is being spoofed.

ATM Scams

It may sound more like a new dance move, but the Lebanese Loop is actually an ATM scam. Scam artists will insert a plastic sleeve into the ATM and then wait for bank visitors to insert their card to access their account. When someone inserts their card into the machine and enters their PIN, the machine is unable to read the card and recognize the number. The person then assumes that the machine ate their card and walks away. The scam artist is then able to retrieve the plastic sleeve out of the ATM along with the person’s card.

Be aware of your surroundings. Before approaching an ATM machine, take a quick scan to see if there are any suspicious persons nearby. Always make sure you are using an ATM that’s in a well-lit area, and, if it can be avoided, never use an ATM after dark. Trust your instincts. If the area does not feel safe, try to locate another ATM.

Check the ATM. Before inserting your card into the ATM, check the machine to see if anything looks out of place or broken. If you feel the machine has been tampered with, use another ATM or go inside the bank to withdrawal your funds

Act quickly. If your card gets stuck inside the machine, immediately notify the bank or your credit card company and have them cancel the card. If it’s during business hours, ask if a bank representative can access the machine to retrieve your card.

Let's face it, times are tough enough without having some scam artists pout the hook on your wallet, credit card, or bank account. In this case, an ounce of prevention is really worth a pound of cure.