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6 Super Bowl Financial Facts: How the Big Game Hits Our Wallets

By U.S. News & World Report

To say that football fans are invested in the Super Bowl is an understatement. We spend dozens of hours and hundreds of dollars supporting our favorite teams from voluntary off-season workouts through the 16-week season and, hopefully, deep into the playoffs. And if our squad is fortunate enough to reach the big game, many of us are willing to drop everything — from responsibilities to a lot of cash — in order to savor the moment.

And while you might expect curbed enthusiasm this year, as the Super Bowl follows up its golden-anniversary game with a matchup featuring the New England Patriots for the seventh time in 15 years, ticket prices and advertising dollars say otherwise. Plus, you don’t need to be a fan of the Patriots or the opposing Atlanta Falcons to have a vested interest in this spectacle of American culture.

Read on for a glimpse at how the Super Bowl impacts our wallets in all sorts of ways.

[See: 6 Ways to Treat Yourself on a Budget.]

1. $4,300 per ticket: Less than a week before kickoff, the average Super Bowl LI ticket is selling for $4,284, according to StubHub, with remaining tickets ranging from $1,500 to $15,432. To put those figures in perspective, the average ticket to this year’s Super Bowl costs about as much as three months of mortgage payments for the average homebuyer these days, who has a roughly $300,000 loan and a 4.19 percent APR , according to data from Freddie Mac and the Mortgage Bankers Association. And the most expensive ticket would cover more than 10 months of mortgage payments.

Super Bowl tickets aren’t just pricey relative to home loans, either. Tickets to the previous four Super Bowls averaged $3,334, which is well above the $2,837 record for a World Series game, set just a few months ago for the historic Game 7 matchup between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians, according to TicketIQ.

2. $2,000 or more on travel: A last-minute trip to Houston for the Super Bowl could cost you dearly, depending on where you’re coming from. For example, the cheapest flight on Kayak.com from New York to Houston, leaving on Feb. 3 and returning Monday, costs more than $1,000 per person. And the cheapest option out of Los Angeles is more than $670.

The travel expenses certainly don’t stop there, either. The average out-of-town visitor to this year’s Super Bowl is expected to spend about $1,360, based on the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee’s projection of 140,000 out-of-towners and PWC’s forecast of $190 million in direct spending.

As a result, each Super Bowl attendee can expect to shell out at least $2,000 on travel-related expenses.

[See: 12 Ways to Be a More Mindful Spender.]

3. $424 million in chicken wings: Roughly 112 million people in the U.S. tuned into Super Bowl 50 last year, according to Nielsen. But we weren’t just watching. We also did our fair share of eating, too, scarfing down 1.3 billion chicken wings, according to the National Chicken Council. That’s works out to more than 162 million pounds of chicken, 11 wings per viewer and $424.4 million spent overall.

4. $60 million in booze: Americans spend about $60 million more than normal on beer, wine and spirits the week leading up to the Super Bowl, according to Nielsen and The New York Times. That’s an extra $0.53 per viewer, including those who are underage as well as nondrinkers.

5. $400 million in gambling losses: A record $132.54 million was wagered on Super Bowl 50 at Nevada sportsbooks, according to Nevada Gaming Control Board, which also found that the house profited to the tune of $13.31 million. That obviously represents just a drop in the bucket of total Super Bowl betting, as illegal wagers pushed the amount risked above $4 billion, according to the American Gaming Association.

But the official numbers do show how much gamblers of all kinds stand to lose on Super Sunday: about 10 percent.

[Read: 10 Ways to Host Your Tailgate Party on a Budget.]

6. $312 million in lost wages: Around 1.5 million people call in sick to work the Monday after the Super Bowl. That amounts to $208 for the average private-industry worker without paid sick leave, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and $312 million overall.

Finally, while football fans are in orbit as the Super Bowl returns to Space City for the third time, the stock market might not continue soaring for much longer if the Patriots win. The Super Bowl stock market indicator, which has been right 82 percent of the time, says the market will fall with an AFC win and rise if the NFC comes out on top. So if you’re invested in more than football, you might want to pull for the Falcons.

More from U.S. News

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6 Super Bowl Financial Facts: How the Big Game Hits Our Wallets originally appeared on usnews.com

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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