The Daily Money

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Mon Nov 27 2023

Daniel de Visé | Personal Finance Reporter

Good morning, and happy Cyber Monday! This is Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

Perhaps no transaction is so fraught with emotion and stress as the purchase of a holiday gift : Will they like it? Will they use it? Will it end up in the back of a closet, or back on the shelves of the store whence it came? And what if the recipient reciprocates with a much better gift?

With the psychological stakes so high at the holidays, many of us spend beyond our gift-giving means. This season, nearly seven in 10 shoppers expect to overspend , according to a September survey of 2,408 Americans conducted by YouGov for CNET Money. The obvious solution: Set a gift-giving budget, and stick to it. But where to start?

Happily, several sites offer holiday budget calculators: A starting point, at least, for planning your spending. In this story, we'll tell you all about them.

Nov 25, 2022; Anderson, SC, USA; People line up at Kohl's before the 5 a.m. opening in Anderson, S.C. Friday, November 25, 2022. In store deals and incentives still draw shoppers to come out and line up for a Black Friday deal in person, even with earlier sales and online shopping.

Ken Ruinard, Anderson Independent Mail

Holiday scams aren't so easy to spot anymore. How online shoppers can avoid swindlers

Melanie Duquesnel thought a pair of sequined trousers might add just the right amount of sparkle to Detroit's Hob Nobble Gobble fundraiser. But when she opened the box from Old Navy, they proved to be just a tad too disco.

Luckily, her holiday shopping story had a happy ending. Duquesnel returned the pants, purchased online, to a brick-and-mortar Old Navy store and received a full refund.

Unfortunately, not all returns will be so happy this holiday season. Online rip-offs can involve counterfeit goods or items that never arrive. Two big and enduring problems for online shoppers: ridiculous return policies, and online vendors who suddenly disappear when something goes wrong.

"You need to understand who you're buying it from, what their return policy is and what do you do if it doesn't all happen in the way you planned it," said Duquesnel, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan.

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One early McDonald's insider was quoted as saying: "We are not technically in the food business. We are in the real estate business."

That's right, Mickey D's is one of the largest real estate empires in the world.

In reality, McDonald's doesn't make big money from its menu. Through the first three quarters of 2023, the company has generated more than $7.3 billion from something that has nothing to do with hamburgers or French fries: rental income. It's the largest single source of revenue for the company.

The $7.3 billion represents 63.5% of the revenue McDonald's has generated from its franchisees this year. And it represents 38% of the company's overall revenue, making real estate the firm's biggest moneymaker.

McDonald's management realized the benefit of owning real estate early on. Therefore, it owns a large number of the locations that its franchisees operate. In return, franchisees must make rental payments every month in addition to franchise fees.

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer news from USA TODAY. We break down financial news and provide the TLDR version: how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.