MintLife Blog | Personal Finance News & Advice » Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog The blog of the free, simple personal finance solution. Track all your spending automatically, find the best deals, save more money. And save the world. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:50:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Who is Paying Taxes? http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/who-is-paying-taxes/ http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/who-is-paying-taxes/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:19:46 +0000 Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog/?p=7071 ]]> MINT-TAXES-R3

Recent news articles have brought to light the fact that almost 47% of households in the US currently have zero or negative federal tax liability. We take a closer look at this lack of liability across each income level, highlighting the percentage in each range that will not pay any taxes. Also shown is a full breakdown of who is paying the bulk of all taxes collected by the Federal Government each year.

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]]> http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/who-is-paying-taxes/feed/ 53 Music Retail: The Rise of Digital http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/music-retail-the-rise-of-digital/ http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/music-retail-the-rise-of-digital/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:38:41 +0000 Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog/?p=6923 MusicRetail_R7_Mint

As more consumers have opted to purchase their music online over the last few years, the market share of digital music retailers has increased rapidly. With iTunes leading the charge, digital retailers now account for over 35% of all music sales. The introduction of variable pricing by iTunes in April of this year brought on a dramatic increase in the number of monthly transactions per user, helping them to pass Wal-Mart as the leading music retailer. It is also important to note the other digital retailers implementing different sales models that are increasing total user spending and beginning to stake claim to a significant share of the market.

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]]> http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/music-retail-the-rise-of-digital/feed/ 6 Average Housing Prices in the US http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/average-housing-prices-in-the-u-s/ http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/average-housing-prices-in-the-u-s/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:25:35 +0000 Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog/?p=6857 Housing sales have been on the rise thus far in 2009 as confidence in the real estate market rebounds. Though September saw a decline in the median sales price to $174,900 for a single family home, the number of homes sold each month has been steadily increasing. With consumers once again shopping for homes, we look at what the “average” home looks like around the country.

Note: Scroll over a house to view the average home price in that area

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]]> http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/average-housing-prices-in-the-u-s/feed/ 23 The Death of the Newspaper http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/the-death-of-the-newspaper/ http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/the-death-of-the-newspaper/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:44:57 +0000 Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog/?p=6272 ]]> The newspapers used to make the news, now they are the news. Reports of their death may indeed be premature but there is no question they are dying. The recession hasn’t helped but the real story is a shift in the habits of American consumers and the emergence of a new generation that gets most of its news online and for free. Newspapers are struggling for both relevancy and revenue in every major US market (although some are certainly making valid efforts to compete and innovate in the digital world). Our infographic is a sad commentary on this once thriving industry. Read all about it.

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]]> http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/the-death-of-the-newspaper/feed/ 22 Mint Map: America’s Most Frugal Cities http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/mint-map-americas-most-frugal-cities/ http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/mint-map-americas-most-frugal-cities/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:33:24 +0000 Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog/?p=6199 ]]> We all know that Americans have cut back on their spending during the recession but where are they cutting back the most? Comparing 20 cities across 25 “discretionary” categories we found that five cities spend less than the national average and cut more of their spending (yr over yr) than the national average. Our latest map is based on the aggregate data from over one million Mint.com users, a representative sampling of US consumers.

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]]> http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/mint-map-americas-most-frugal-cities/feed/ 44 Mint Map: Global Wealth Distribution http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/mint-map-global-wealth-distribution/ http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/mint-map-global-wealth-distribution/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:49:43 +0000 Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog/?p=6003 ]]>

The way that wealth is distributed in a country is indicative not only of the health of its economy, but also the well being and standard of living of its citizens. Here we show how distribution of income looks across the globe, with notations for the countries living in extreme poverty.

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]]> http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/mint-map-global-wealth-distribution/feed/ 10 The Coolest Credit Cards http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/cool-credit-card-designs/ http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/cool-credit-card-designs/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:35:18 +0000 Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog/?p=5664 ]]> Depending on how you use them, credit cards can be a tool for good or for evil. But have you ever considered that they can also be a blank canvas just dying to be filled with creative art? While most of the world’s credit cards are generic and corporate, there have been times when credit card companies have let artists’ imaginations run free. Here, in convenient slide-show format is a collection of the world’s most visually appealing credit cards.

Click the circles to see each card.

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]]> http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/cool-credit-card-designs/feed/ 14 Movies & Shakers http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/movies-shakers/ http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/movies-shakers/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:22:53 +0000 Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog/?p=5560 ]]> With all the bad news about the economy, it’s hardly surprising that American consumers are continuing to seek refuge in the form of popular entertainment. But going out to a movie is expensive, so, as discretionary income shrinks, low-cost options for home delivery such as NetFlix and others are emerging as alternatives to the local Cineplex. Combining convenience with the lowest possible cost, Redbox is the biggest emerging threat to the big movie chains. So next time you want to get away it all, pick up a movie along with your groceries. Make your own popcorn and save even more. Our latest infographic is based on the aggregate data from over 1 million Mint.com users, a representative sampling of US consumers.

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]]> http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/movies-shakers/feed/ 21 Mint Map: Cost of Living in America http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/cost-of-living-map/ http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/cost-of-living-map/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:13:40 +0000 Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog/?p=5151 ]]> If there’s one good thing that can come out of a recession it’s that most things become more affordable. During the course correction, there are definitely some bargains to be had and sometimes increasing your bottom line can be as simple as changing your zip code. We’ve used the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from June 2008-June 2009 to create this map, which shows how US cities have been affected by the economic downturn. In all but one of the cities included, the cost of living is down, sometimes significantly so.

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]]> http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/cost-of-living-map/feed/ 19 Money Mantras http://www.mint.com/blog/saving/money-mantras/ http://www.mint.com/blog/saving/money-mantras/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:47:31 +0000 Ross Crooks http://www.mint.com/blog/?p=5020 ]]> You know what they say, the best things in life are free. And when it comes to personal finance advice, the more simply stated the better. That’s why we reached out to you to solicit your best personal finance advice in the time honored form of the haiku. Strictly speaking, a haiku is a form of Japanese poetry dating back to the 19th Century, and consisting of 17 moras (or on), in three metrical phrases of 5, 7, and 5 moras respectively. English Haiku usually appear in three lines, to parallel the three metrical phrases of Japanese haiku. Make one of these your daily money mantra and you are certain to live a rich life.

Click the circles to advance to the next image

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If you like haiku, you might enjoy Mint’s weekly haiku contest for our Facebook fans and Twitter followers. The last four here came from the contest. Become a fan and enter our next one to win a Mint prize pack and get a chance to have your haiku featured in a future post.

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