PHOENIX – Black Friday and Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, but the Christmas shopping season is far from over.
The National Retail Federation says Black Friday business was down a little more than 13 percent this year, but that's because Thanksgiving Day shopping was a hit.
Jerry O'Brien, executive director of the Kohl's Center for Retailing Excellence, says it looks like Turkey Day shopping is here to stay.
"The reason more stores were open this year is because they saw success in the stores that were open last year,” he explains. “I don't see any indication that that trend won't continue."
Kmart started the Thanksgiving Day shopping trend in Arizona, and was open all day on this year's holiday. Several other stores were open Thanksgiving evening for the first time this year.
A number of workers' rights groups and some shoppers led protests and boycotts against stores being open on Thanksgiving Day, saying it's wrong to force store employees to miss holiday time at home. But O'Brien says it looks like they're swimming against the tide.
"Well, I won't agree or disagree with them,” he says. “But what I'll say is retailers are just the last or the next in line of services that have been open.
“Restaurants have been open for a long time. Bars have been open, bowling alleys, movie theaters – this appears to be the next stage in that development."
In recent years, Small Business Saturday – the day after Black Friday – has become an important day for local retailers. O'Brien says there are a number of ways to think about how shopping affects the local economy.
"The national and international retailers hire people also, so I think everybody has to really look into how they feel about how important they think it is to have that local retailer,” he says. “The thing I would say is if you love having those small local retailers, it's important to shop there or you're going to lose them."
As to the constant barrage of advertising during the holiday shopping season, O'Brien points it's all about trying to make people shop sooner rather than later.
"There's a race to try to get to your wallet before you're empty," he says.
Some retailers say if they continue to promote Thanksgiving Day as the start of the holiday shopping season, it eventually will eclipse Black Friday in total sales.
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Due dates for student loan repayment remain uncertain for many Indiana students amid changes at the federal level. For those who were not granted loan forgiveness during the Biden administration, the possibility of pre-graduation loan repayment could be a financial torpedo.
Research site Education-data.org reports the average Indiana student loan balance is $33,000 as of June 2025 - lower than the national average - with slightly less than $31 billion owed statewide.
Nonprofit InvestEd works with students on the best approach to repayment. Its Chief Marketing Officer Bill Wozniak advises that early preparation is key.
"Plan as if it starts tomorrow. Plan as if it starts next month. Just be ready in case that happens," he said. "We've really been cautioning about planning ahead, if and when that day was going to come, and hopefully that advice was heeded, and maybe those funds weren't spent elsewhere."
Students often mistakenly pay double-digit interest rates, Wozniak said, which is why it's important to determine if loans are federal or private and to select the repayment plan that's the best fit. Every year, federal student loan rates change based on a formula set by Congress. Interest rates for loans between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, range from 6.3% to 8.9%.
Education-data.org reports a total of nearly 906,000 student borrowers live in Indiana.
Wozniak admitted that setting aside money for savings is a challenge while in college, with housing, vehicles, credit cards and countless other living expenses to consider.
"Keep checking your email, keep up to date on the latest information," he said. "Make sure you read the things from your servicer, something that maybe you were supposed to start paying on, 2023, 2024, 2025. It might all of a sudden become a thing that you have to make a payment on."
President Donald Trump's tax and spending law contains new restrictions on the amount students can borrow and how they can repay. It also removes income-contingent repayment plans for student loans paid out after July 1, 2026.
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Americans have approximately 631 million credit card accounts, with nearly four cards per person.
The accounts can be a payday for con artists who prey on victims using a new scheme called the card decline scam. It involves flashing a "transaction decline" message during an online purchase. The buyer repeatedly enters the same or different credit card numbers under the belief the card or website is malfunctioning. The scammer collects a user's payment information each time they enter a card number.
Jennifer Adamany, communications director for the Better Business Bureau Serving Central Indiana, said the damage does not stop there.
"Later on, they will find out from their bank or their credit card company that the card was never declined but in fact, multiple charges have gone through," Adamany explained. "In some cases, these people's personal or financial information is being stolen, leading to identity theft."
The Indiana Economic Digest reports in 2023, Hoosiers lost almost $93 million to impostor fraud, 17% of which was due to identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission identified credit card fraud as the most reported type of identity theft nationally in 2024, with almost 450,000 cases submitted.
Most banks and financial institutions issue monthly transaction statements, meaning weeks can pass before the consumer realizes their identity has been stolen.
Adamany pointed out there are ways to shop safely online. The key is to take your time and take more than a quick glance before pulling out your credit card. Instead, verify the website and double-check the URL. Another tipoff, she explained, is a misspelling in the domain address.
"Sometimes it's a simple two-letter switch that to your eyes seems correct, but that slight little switch makes all the difference to direct you to a fraudulent website as opposed to the legitimate website," Adamany added.
It is important to look for the letter "s" in the address bar when you see the letters "http," which can add some security to the website, Adamany noted. Avoid clicking suspicious links and do not click on links in unsolicited emails, text messages or social media ads. She emphasized the tempting discounted items or limited-time offers can be tactics con artists use to rush shoppers into making an unsafe, impulse purchase.
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While a new ruling by a federal judge allows medical debt to remain on Americans' credit reports, Washington residents will be protected from the practice, under a new law.
Medical debt impacts nearly one third of Washingtonians, while six in 10 residents said they would not be able to pay an unexpected $500 medical bill.
Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, sponsored the bill, which he said could improve someone's credit score by an average of 20 points.
"I think there's just this general understanding that if you wake up and you have a bad day, you end up in the emergency room, that shouldn't impact whether or not you can get a job or get housing," Riccelli explained.
Some lawmakers pushed back against the bill, saying it will give an unclear picture of someone's financial status. The Washington Hospital Association supported the bill, which has been signed into law and will take effect July 27.
The law also bans unauthorized fees, threats of illegal actions and excessive contact by debt collectors. Riccelli argued it is a bipartisan issue, citing research showing the vast majority of Americans want their elected officials to reduce health care costs.
"It's really unfortunate that things seem to be moving in the opposite direction at the national level," Riccelli pointed out. "But in Washington, I'm looking to do what other states have done around cutting costs, providing protections for consumers and providing more transparency in pricing."
Emily Brice, co-executive director of Northwest Health Law Advocates, a nonprofit working to improve access to affordable health care in Washington, said recent moves by Congress will lead to more residents being saddled with medical debt, and the state needs to take more action.
"We are going to need innovative and creative policy solutions and, frankly, state leadership to prevent our health care safety net from being shredded," Brice urged.
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