Friday, July 26, 2024

Back-to-school financial blues

Plus: Southwest makes a big change ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 

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The Daily Money

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Fri Jul 26 2024

 

Betty Lin-Fisher Consumer reporter

@blinfisher

Good morning and Happy Friday! This is Betty Lin-Fisher with Friday's consumer-focused The Daily Money.

It's hard to believe that it's almost August and that summer is zooming by. As the new school year starts, families are feeling the back-to-school financial pinch. In a new WalletHub study, more than 3 in 4 parents, or 70%, feel that schools ask them to buy too much for the back-to-school season.

Read more about what parents think about schools and finances in my story.

One way to save on those back-to-school expenses is with a state sales tax holiday. There are 17 states that offer these tax-free periods: Tennessee starts today, and Florida and Ohio are up next week.

Some states, like Ohio, have extended their tax-free holiday and expanded it beyond just school supplies to nearly anything considered "personal tangible property" $500 or less.

Find out if your state is among those offering a tax-free holiday in my story.

1232153608

Southwest Airlines is getting rid of open seating, the airline announced.

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI, AFP via Getty Images

Southwest gets rid of open seating

It's the end of an era as Southwest Airlines announced on Thursday that it was eliminating its 50-year open-seat policy in favor of assigning seats.

More details are expected in September, but find out what other changes Southwest announced.

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About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.

Overhead view of an assortment of school supplies on a table

Most parents, or 52%, of those surveyed in a new WalletHub survey said they expect to spend more for back-to-school this year than last.

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Customers browse through school supplies for sale at the Walmart on Parkside Drive in Turkey Creek, Tennessee in 2023 during Tennessee's annual sales tax holiday.
 

Tennessee, Florida, Ohio have back-to-school shopping tax-free holidays

Tennessee, Florida and Ohio have tax-free school shopping holidays starting this weekend. Find out if your state has one.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 parked at the gate.
 

Big changes are coming to Southwest, including assigned seating

Southwest is overhauling its whole boarding process, among other changes designed to "elevate the customer experience."

Bottles of Champagne on display for sale in a wine shop in Paris, France, December 20, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
 

Feeling less bubbly: Champagne sales are down

Luxury giant LVMH says Champagne sales were down 12% in the first half of the year. Execs say people don't have enough reason to celebrate.

Birds line the telephone wires as snow falls on West Fifth Avenue in Knoxville's Mechanicsville neighborhood, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.
 

New FCC app tests your service provider's promised broadband speed

The Mobile Speed Test app, launched Tuesday, is intended to help the commission create a more precise broadband coverage map by crowdsourcing information.

A Chipolte restaurant stands in Manhattan on February 06, 2024 in New York City.
 

Is Chipotle cutting back portion size? What the CEO says.

Brian Niccol, the chairman and CEO of Chipotle, addressed social media users' complaints about portion sizes being small.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare on May 10. A subset of extreme ultraviolet light highlights the extremely hot material in flares.
 

Last week's tech outage was bad. The sun has something worse planned.

In what some have dubbed an "internet apocalypse," activity originating on the sun's surface could cause a massive communications outage on Earth.

How to easily track your packages online
 

Easily track FedEx, UPS packages using Google

Keep track of all the important deliveries headed your way.

Get the most out of the voice activated system on your phone.
 

Banks want your voice for extra security protection. Should you?

Banks say your voice data is an extra layer of biometric protection. Hackers see it as another way to steal it for deepfakes.

Smiling Plane
 

Why are airlines being so nice to you?

When it comes to airlines, things have changed since the pandemic – in a good way. Airlines are looking for ways to attract and retain customers.

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