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By Tommy Tindall, NerdWallet

With Prime Day set for July 8-11 this year, you may be making a last-ditch effort to get good deals before prices go up.

Tariffs — and the rising prices that could come with them — are top-of-mind for many consumers, according to the Conference Board’s June Consumer Confidence Index.

But don’t panic buy.

“Power buy” instead, says Katherine Black, partner at global management consulting firm Kearney who leads food, drug and mass market retail.

By that, she means look at product categories that could go up, buy what makes sense for your needs and budget and use the sale to get ahead of upcoming spending cycles.

Here’s a short list of what to buy (and skip), some shopping tips and an idea of what a few of us Nerds are after this Prime Day.

Buy: Back-to-school tech

The Consumer Confidence report says buying plans for electronics are down, but you might want to rethink that.

A power move for Prime Day is to target discounts on back-to-school-related stuff early, says Black.

Your kids may not want notebooks and backpacks yet, but they’re probably down with getting a new laptop or Chromebook, if classes call for one. read more

For many years, restricting your equity investing to U.S. stocks exclusively made sense. Overall, the average return of a diversified portfolio of U.S. based stocks outperformed a similarly diversified portfolio of stocks from corporations outside the United States.

Over the past year, the opposite has been the case. And many investing experts from major financial institutions believe that U.S. investors should add mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that have diversified portfolios from corporations based outside the U.S. These experts believe U.S. stocks will be outperformed by international stocks.

In Barron’s recently, reporter Andrew Welsch wrote a comprehensive article, based on interviews with leading investment experts from many leading financial institutions such as Morningstar, that supports the conclusion that U.S. investors should consider adding international equities to their portfolio.

Personally, I have done so, and I intend to use dollar-cost averaging in order to increase the percentage of international equities in my stock portfolio. read more

After more than five years of serving Pepsi products, Carnival Cruise Lines is reuniting with the Coca-Cola Company to offer its soft drinks, zero-sugar offerings and sparkling flavored water starting later this summer.

Guests sailing from one of Carnival’s 13 U.S. homeports can soon enjoy Coca-Cola brands, which include the classic soda of the same name, Sprite, Fanta, Powerade, Topo Chico and Fairlife, among others.

“Carnival Cruise Line and Coca-Cola are two iconic brands that celebrate fun, family, friendship, food and fabulous memories,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line, in a news release. “We are excited to welcome back Coca-Cola’s diverse lineup of beverages, which our guests love and which will enhance the food and beverage experience that is always part of a great cruise vacation on Carnival. Both our brands are built on bringing people together, making The Coca-Cola Company and Carnival Cruise Line a perfect partnership.”

The cruise line anticipates the new offerings will be fully integrated across its North American fleet by the end of September. Carnival’s Australian-based ships already serve Coca-Cola beverages. read more

By Isaiah Steinberg, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Pete Kelly, the used car manager at Jim Marsh Kia and Jim Marsh Chrysler Jeep in Las Vegas, hasn’t bought a used car for less than $20,000 at auction in over two years, and it’s not for lack of trying.

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Since the pandemic, he said, there are fewer options for used cars under $20,000 and he’s having to compete with national chains willing to accept slimmer profit margins.

Nationwide, demand for vehicles has dwindled due to high prices and interest rates in recent months, following a brief tariff-induced panic in March.

Despite the temporary dip in demand, the average price of 3-year-old used cars in the U.S. has increased 40.9 percent since 2019, according to an iSeeCars study. read more

By CALEIGH WELLS

The massive tax and spending cut bill that Congress passed Thursday ends federal tax incentives for electric vehicles.

Buyers have until Sept. 30 to qualify for the federal tax credits on EVs before they are terminated. But experts say there are still strong financial reasons to consider buying the vehicles even without those incentives.

Before the bill passed, new electric vehicles came with a $7,500 federal tax credit, and used EVs included up to $4,000. Those incentives were originally designed to help make the vehicles more affordable. According to the latest data from Kelley Blue Book, the average purchase price of a new EV is roughly $9,000 higher in the United States than the average new gas-powered car. Used EVs on average cost $2,000 more than comparable gas cars.

Those credits, paired with other incentives in many states, helped bridge that price gap. Without them, Senior Policy Director Ingrid Malmgren of the nonprofit advocacy group Plug In America said they will become unaffordable to many lower- and middle-income Americans. read more