Hot days bring deals on summer clothing
BUY IT NOW
Changing room: Summer clothes, in particular swimwear, will be on sale soon, helping to make way for the arrival of fall fashion the middle of this month. The folks at Consumer Reports say the best clothing deals will be at outlets, while DealNews.com is reporting that J.C. Penney and Kohl’s have offered as much as 80 percent off warm-weather clothing during July. And expect big deals this year from Gap, Banana Republic, J. Crew and Kate Spade. The shopping website also says that if a retailer has been in the headlines as struggling financially, it probably will offer big discounts this
weekend to bring in shoppers.
Prime times: Last year, the second Amazon Prime Day went much better than the inaugural event in 2015, so it’s a good bet that the online behemoth will gear up and avoid disappointing anyone. Last year, some of the most popular, and best, deals were such Amazon products as the Fire tablet, the wireless speaker Echo and the Fire TV stick. But be wary of such strange items as krill-oil pills and furniture-moving slings, which might not be such great deals and are mere filler items waiting for impulse shoppers.
Going electric: Partly because of Amazon Prime Day, NerdWallet anticipates discounts “in nearly every product category” of consumer electronics, particularly during the middle of this month. But if you’re thinking about buying a laptop, it’s best to wait until the back-to-school season arrives next month and extends into September.
THINGS TO EAT
Happy birthday: As if you needed another reason to visit Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, the company will give away ice cream on The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is offering free admission through Friday to all veterans and military personnel, active or non-active, along with their immediate families.
guests’ birthdays. Starting Tuesday, customers celebrating a birthday can get a “single, standard, or trio-size ice cream in a cup or cone of their choice,” for free. The offer is available only on your birthday — no freebies before or after. Adults need to show some form of identification, and kids need an adult to vouch for them.
Christmas in July: Akron’s Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. is releasing a small run of its popular 12 Dogs of Christmas ale this week. The beer, which usually comes out around October, gets summerthemed packaging featuring Santa Claus relaxing on a beach.
CAR MATTERS
Future is now: Self-driving features are becoming available on cars, even on lesspricey models. TrueCar.com lists the 2016 Honda Civic at the top among vehicles that have at least some automation and below-average sticker prices. With a selling price of $21,275, the Civic sedan is available with the “Honda Sensing” package of safety features that helps the vehicle stay in a straight line between lane markers and keep a safe distance from other vehicles. These are the kinds of features that are early steps toward vehicles that can do the driving themselves. Other models
listed include the 2016 Subaru Impreza, which has the “EyeSight” feature package, and the 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited, which has the “Tech” and “Ultimate” packages.
YOUR MONEY
Think small: The Federal Reserve is raising short-term interest rates, but rates on certificate of deposits and savings accounts remain low. One way to bolster returns is to think small. Research by DepositAccounts.com finds that small and medium-sized banks and credit unions tend to be more generous when it comes to checking accounts, savings accounts, one-year CDs and five-year CDs. The average checking and savings account rates at large institutions were only half of those at small and medium institutions, and their CD rates were about a third less, the website found.
GETTING A JOB
The following job fairs are among those planned this month:
■ National Career Fairs plans an event in Columbus from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 18 at the Hyatt Regency Columbus, 350 N. High St.
■ JobNewsUSA.com plans a career fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 19 at Hollywood Casino Columbus, 200 Georgesville Road. Details and pre-registration can be found at http://bit.ly/2sFfQEo.
THINGS TO DO
A zoo salute: The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is offering free admission through Fridayto all veterans and military personnel, active or non-active, along with their immediate families. Military ID or proof of service will be requested at the gate. The zoo’s separate water park, Zoombezi Bay, is offering discounted admission of $22.99, a $10 discount, to military members and veterans during this period. More information can be found at www.columbuszoo.org.