Tis the season for charity, but the economy has many people tightening their belts and even the most well-intentioned among us have been forced to rethink our charitable giving this year. For many people, that can dampen the spirit of the holidays. What if there was a way to turn your holiday shopping into a [...]
Continue Reading →The holiday season is upon us, and if your interested in how to keep a good credit score through the holiday season, read on. It seems that no matter how early those store decorations go up, we feel as though we’re suddenly caught off guard and our holiday shopping turns into a sprint, and then [...]
Continue Reading →Successful traders often reflect back on their early days when their bodies would tense and their hands would shake with each trade entered, and then, with their eyes glued to the screen, they would anxiously await the trade result with life or death anticipation. They remember the unbridled exuberance they felt with a winning trade [...]
Continue Reading →At 12:01a.m., on News Year Day 2011, we were all witness to a momentous event: The official start of the transition of history’s largest generation from Baby Boomers to Golden Boomers. It is estimated that from that point forward, 10,000 Baby Boomers will reach retirement age each and every day. So, why aren’t more of [...]
Continue Reading →It’s almost uncanny how this all works. The violence and debauchery of the misguided and self-indulgent Occupy movement has peaked just in time to draw all of the media attention away from the biggest problem both the 99% and the 1% face in the immediate future. Headlines of OWS miscreants terrorizing school children and throwing acid [...]
Continue Reading →For much of the last couple of years, most of us have paid little attention to the brewing financial problems of Europe, not because they weren’t that significant, but primarily because we have our own problems here at home. Although we are still neck deep in debt, deficit and recession worries, it’s becoming increasingly difficult [...]
Continue Reading →Among the myriad of new financial reform measures mandated by the Dodd-Frank bill two years ago was the creation of the Consumer Bureau of Financial Protection, a watchdog agency with the responsibility of ensuring that financial companies are following the law in their lending practices. Specifically, it is tasked with ensuring that all financial companies [...]
Continue Reading →One of the principal tenets of investing is that no one single investment is right for everyone. Every investment has certain characteristics, risks, and objectives that must match those of the investor, and annuities are no different. Although annuities have become more popular in light of the recent financial turmoil and the carnage it has left [...]
Continue Reading →The American public, already under heavy debt siege, has reached another dubious milestone this year with total debt from college loans crossing the $1 trillion mark. That’s a nearly 500% increase in just the last decade, a period that saw all consumer debt rise at a rate of 90%. According to government reports, the average [...]
Continue Reading →Is Congress insider trading taking place while Americans are trying to make ends meet? Within a two-week span, it was reported that the number of people in the U.S. living in poverty rose for the fourth year in row, climbing to the highest number in a half a century. On the heels of that grim [...]
Continue Reading →Peer-to-Peer Lending: Borrowing in the Digital World. In today’s low interest rate, tight-credit environment, both borrowers and investors are facing a true paradox. For borrowers, those in need of financing to fund a business, or consolidate debt, or pay off medical bills, credit is still tight for all but the most creditworthy. For investors, interest [...]
Continue Reading →For investors, the current sluggish economy translates into low yields on debt investments including fixed yield instruments like CDs as well as yields on safe bonds like U.S. Treasuries or high quality corporate bonds. Retirees who rely on fixed income investments struggle the most, as current yields are not keeping pace with the accelerating rate [...]
Continue Reading →If you’re thinking that you can put off those pesky, overdue medical bills just one more month in order to catch up on your other payments, think again. Overdue medical bills can very quickly turn into a medical collections account which, like any other collections account, can sink your credit score. And, because of the [...]
Continue Reading →It’s not hard to imagine him standing on his rooftop in Queens, screaming at the top of his lungs to nobody in particular and to anyone who will listen. Like the scrawny little kid taunting the big bullies on the playground, far enough away so they can’t catch him, but near enough to annoy them, [...]
Continue Reading →Identity thieves and credit card scammers are more relentless than ever in their pursuit of your personal financial information, and as more people are opting to conduct their shopping and their financial transactions online, the number of credit card scams increases proportionately. Armed with nothing more than a computer keyboard and a geek’s knowledge of [...]
Continue Reading →Spread Holiday Cheer by Spreading Your Rewards Points Holiday shopping can’t come soon enough for retailers, in fact many haven’t been shy about mixing their Halloween and Christmas, although we think that may be a bit gauche. It would appear that they are preparing for what could be a very competitive shopping season as consumers [...]
Continue Reading →Just as the clamor over recent debit fee announcements by the major banks hit a crescendo, the banks sounded the retreat and have reversed their course and are now canceling or rethinking their plans. Score! We are victorious – say the OWS protesters. Huh? Are we to believe that the largest banks in the country, [...]
Continue Reading →The one great thing about having a Republic majority in the House is we don’t have to see wide-eyed, former Speaker, Nancy Pelosi as much. Except for the reminder of what Americans abhor about the ultra-liberal ideology, is there anyone of any political persuasion that can honestly say they miss her dazed look as she [...]
Continue Reading →Here’s the 411 on Debt Relief Companies. The debt crisis has hit home for millions of people. What usually begins as an overwhelming situation often times evolves into a complete unraveling of your financial life, until you reach the point when you look for a silver bullet, any silver bullet that can free you from [...]
Continue Reading →It’s been a long time since we have seen credit card issuers offering 0% APR for 12 months AND no balance transfer fee. Since the credit melt-down, almost every card issuer charges at least 3% for people to transfer balances; that’s a lot of money for people with high balances! The Slate from Chase – [...]
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