Fonseca Trending 06/30/21

Two-Thirds of Us Want to Switch to a Four-Day Workweek with 10-Hour Days

The Fourth of July is on a Sunday this year. So a lot of people get Monday off and have a four-day workweek. So here's a question: Should we just do that all the time? A new survey asked 13,000 Americans if we should ditch the five-day workweek . . . and do four days a week with ten-hour days instead. And 66% of Americans said yes, they'd prefer it that way.

Only 23% said they'd rather stick with the current system of five days a week. And 11% aren't sure.

72% of people think they'd be just as productive or MORE productive if they only worked four days a week. And this part surprised us, but older people were much more likely to think a four-day week makes sense. Only 18% of people 45 and up prefer a five-day workweek, compared to 30% of people younger than that.

There's a Deadline Today for Phone Carriers to Do Something About Robocalls

If there's one thing everyone agrees on, it's that robocalls suck. And there's a big deadline today for phone companies to finally do something about it. But will it really make a difference?

Last year, the FCC announced it was going to force companies to implement a new technology called "STIR/SHAKEN" that's designed to reduce the more than 50 BILLION robocalls we get each year.

"Stir" stands for "Secure Telephone Identity Revisited" . . . and "Shaken" somehow stands for "Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using ToKENs." Basically, they're forcing phone companies to verify that the caller I.D. that pops up on your phone is a REAL I.D. And in theory, it should make it harder for scammers to use software to hide their number, or trick you into thinking it's a legit phone call. But will it work? Well, the answer appears to be . . . MAYBE. But don't expect a huge difference overnight. Most of the big carriers like Verizon and T-Mobile have already been adding it. So it's not like they're throwing a switch today and robocalls will go away completely. Plus, smaller carriers have at least another year before they have to do it. Robocalls are also just a cheap and profitable way to steal our money. So experts say scammers are already looking for new ways to get around it.

Four Things About Money Every Parent Should Teach Their Kids

As a parent, all you can hope for is to set your children up for success. And that includes their financial health. Someone talked to an expert about the top things parents should teach their kids about money, starting at a young age. Here are four tips . . . 1. How to keep a budget. Even before they have a job, you can help them practice with their allowance or birthday money. Just have them separate it into "spend now" and "spend later." 2. The difference between stuff you "want" and stuff you "need." It gets a lot more important once your budget includes things like groceries, car payments, and rent. 3. Save regularly and consistently. Making monthly contributions to a savings account creates a healthy mindset that's more and more valuable as they get older. 4. Talk about the importance of good credit. It's best to start building your credit from the start. And if you do it right, it's a huge help later in life. The big tips are: Don't live outside your means . . . pay your bills on time . . . and don't use credit cards expecting to pay them off later when you're RICH.

The Top Things We Pretend to Know More About Than We Really Do

A new poll on "faking it" just came out . . . no, not that kind of faking it. Get your mind out of the gutter. People were asked to name things they have to PRETEND to know about so they don't look stupid. And 62% admitted they do it with at least one topic. Here are the top things we wish we didn't have to do it with . . . 1. Car repairs, like when you're talking to a mechanic. Just under half of us have pretended to know more about cars than we really do. And 38% of people who've been CAUGHT pretending said they doubled down and wouldn't admit it. 2. Home improvement stuff. 47% of us wish we knew more. 3. Conversations about the latest gadgets or new tech, 39%. 4. Tax knowledge, 38%. 5. Parenting, 37%. 6. Cooking, 37%. 7. Politics, 24%. 8. Fitness and nutrition, 17%.

The Average Fourth of July Barbecue for Ten People Will Cost $59.50

This doesn't factor in the cost of beer and fireworks . . . or your E.R. bill when you mix those two things. An annual study by the American Farm Bureau Federation found an average Fourth of July barbecue for ten people will only cost $59.50 this year, or just under $6 per person. They figured it out by looking at the average prices of some Fourth of July staples. Here's how it breaks down . . .

1. Two pounds of hamburger, plus cheese and buns . . . $13.91. 2. Three pounds of pork . . . $11.63. 3. Two pounds of boneless chicken breasts . . . $6.74. 4. Two-and-a-half pounds of homemade potato salad . . . $2.75. 5. 32 ounces of beans . . . $1.90. 6. A 13-ounce bag of potato chips . . . $4.93. 7. Chocolate chip cookies . . . $4.02. 8. Two pints of strawberries . . . $5.30. 9. A half-gallon of vanilla ice cream . . . $4.69. 10. Lemonade for ten people . . . $3.65.

Today's Showbiz Highlights

1. Whenever ED SHEERAN is in L.A., he stays with COURTENEY COX. And he secretly uses her Alexa to order a GIMP MASK to her house. He says she's got about 12 of them by now. 2. ARIANA GRANDE is helping to give away $1 million in free therapy. Applicants will be matched with a licensed therapist for a free month of care. She's hoping it helps people feel okay asking for the help they need. 3. KIM KARDASHIAN toured the Vatican this week, wearing an off-the-shoulder, sheer white lace dress, with lots of cut-outs to expose her midsection and back. Obviously, people thought it was disrespectful. 4. Angels pitcher DYLAN BUNDY couldn't handle the heat at Yankee Stadium the other night. By the end of the second inning, he vomited right on the pitcher's mound. He was taken out of the game, but he'll be fine. 5. The 24 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have been ranked from best to worst. The three BEST are: "The Avengers" . . . "Captain America: The Winter Solider" . . . and "Guardians of the Galaxy". The three WORST are: "The Incredible Hulk". . . "Ant-Man" . . . and "Thor". 6. A list of the ten best friendships in Pixar movies is topped by Mike and Sulley from "Monsters, Inc." . . . followed by Buzz and Woody from "Toy Story" . . . and Luca and Alberto from "Luca". 7. JEFF GARLIN thinks LARRY DAVID has MAYBE one more season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" left in him. He said that even though Larry is in good shape, he IS about to be 74 years old, and the busy filming schedule is physically exhausting. 8. ELVIS COSTELLO wasn't bothered at all by the similarities between the guitar riffs of his hit "Pump It Up" and OLIVIA RODRIGO's "Brutal". He said, quote, "It's how rock and roll works . . . you take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy." 9. POOH SHIESTY might end up in prison because of his Instagram. Pooh posted a shot of himself with hundred-dollar bills, and cops zoomed in and got the serial number of one of them. It matched the serial number on a bill in a bag of money left at a crime scene where two men were shot. 10. CODY JOHNSON's doctor has put him on vocal rest for three weeks. He says there's "no concern about long-term damage" but he'd also like you to keep him in your prayers for a speedy recovery.