Posts Tagged: personal-finance

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29
Jul 10

10 Unusual and Sometimes Easy Ways to Make Money



From writing software reviews to selling your hair, there are a lot of unique ways to make some extra cash.

…A penny for your thoughts? Try between $25 and $200. Participate in a focus group and you could get paid just for giving your opinion. Companies that want to get feedback from consumers about products or services hold sessions where people are paid to answer questions about their products. FindFocusGroups.com, a site that lists focus groups across the country, includes a range of available sessions, which usually last anywhere from one to two hours. Photo by Shutterstock.
Be a Mystery Shopper…

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10 Unusual and Sometimes Easy Ways to Make Money

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28
Jul 10

9 Things to Charge on Your Credit Card to Reap Rewards Later

A credit card can be both a friend and an enemy – giving you rewards for purchases, but charging high interest rates on what you owe. We’re here to show you how to even the score – here is a list of things to buy with your credit card now to reap the benefits later.

…Fine print. Termination fees. Promotional rates. It’s a complicated world out there and BillShrink is here to help you choose wisely. Our proprietary technology searches and sorts upwards of ten million different price points and service offerings on the market in order to deliver personalized recommendations. Use BillShrink and rest assured that you’ve optimized your spending. BillShrink’s system includes cell phone plans, credit cards, gas, savings accounts, TV packages, and more….

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9 Things to Charge on Your Credit Card to Reap Rewards Later

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28
Jul 10

Critic Makes Living Smoking Marijuana

Writing under the pen name ‘William Breathes,’ a Denver man is one of the nation’s first medical marijuana critics.

…For our international users, please be aware that the information you submit when registering for our services is collected in the United States of America. In addition to being subject to our Privacy Policy, the collection, storage, and use of your data will be subject to U.S. laws and regulations, which may be different from the laws and regulations of your home country. By registering for this service, you are consenting to this collection, storage, and use….

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Critic Makes Living Smoking Marijuana

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27
Jul 10

Should the Bush Tax Cuts Be Extended for America’s Wealthy?

A divide may be opening between Obama and allies in Congress about whether to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Will that help the economy?

…of the interest income in the whole tax system. That shows that higher-income people save and invest more, fueling growth over the long run, Viard says.

The Rich Don’t Live Paycheck to Paycheck

But Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, says it’s precisely for those reasons that Congress needs to maintain the cuts for the middle class but end them for the wealthy.

“Unlike middle class people, high-income people don’t tend to live paycheck to paycheck,” Marr says. “So their spending is much less sensitive to these changes in their income.”

Marr says he would prefer to take the federal revenue from ending the tax cuts on the rich, which he estimates to be about $40 billion in the first year, and give that money to the states so they don’t have to cut services and raise taxes. That would have the effect of stimulating the economy more, he says.

Most of the debate in Washington is focused on extending the tax cuts for only a year or two because of the…

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Should the Bush Tax Cuts Be Extended for America’s Wealthy?

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26
Jul 10

Goldman reveals where bailout cash went - overseas banks

Goldman Sachs sent $4.3 billion in federal tax money to 32 entities, including many overseas banks, hedge funds and pensions, according to information made public Friday night.

…To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com….

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Goldman reveals where bailout cash went - overseas banks

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24
Jul 10

Kenneth Feinberg, Pay Czar, Issues New Report on Wall Street

Pay czar Kenneth Feinberg must feel something like a biblical prophet, except that his job in the Obama administration is more difficult. Ancient sages warned people to do the right thing or face the wrath of the Lord.

…Pay czar Kenneth Feinberg must feel something like a biblical prophet, except that his job in the Obama administration is more difficult. Ancient sages warned people to do the right thing or face the wrath of the Lord. Feinberg, however, has to bring shame to Wall Street, which is home to many people who don’t seem to know what shame is.

Feinberg released a report on Friday that looks at the “ill-advised” pay at 17 banks. The banks in question doled out the money soon after they received federal bailout money at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. Eleven of the firms have subsequently paid the government back, at a tidy profit to Uncle Sam.

Feinberg’s report is yet another condemnation of Wall Street’s greed. As The New York Times notes, “Mr. Feinberg’s report points to companies that he says paid eye-popping amounts or used haphazard criteria for awarding bonuses.” Of course, it was questionable for Wall Street bankers to benefit financially from the mess they helped create. From a shareholder’s…

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Kenneth Feinberg, Pay Czar, Issues New Report on Wall Street

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23
Jul 10

10 worst first-time homebuyer mistakes

These errors could wind up costing you more than the coveted key to your first home.

…As we’ve all learned from the subprime mortgage mess, what the bank says you can afford and what you know you can afford or are comfortable with paying are not necessarily the same. If you don’t already have a budget, make a list of all your monthly expenses (excluding rent), including vehicle costs, student loan payments, credit card payments, groceries, health insurance, retirement savings and so on. Don’t forget major expenses that only occur once a year, like any insurance premiums you pay annually or annual vacations. Subtract this total from your take-home pay and you’ll know how much you can spend on your new home each month.

If you end up looking at homes that are outside your price range, you’ll end up lusting after something you can’t afford, which can put you in the dangerous position of trying to stretch beyond your means financially or cause you to feel unsatisfied with what you actually can afford. You may even learn that you can’t afford the type or size of home that you desire and that you…

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10 worst first-time homebuyer mistakes

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21
Jul 10

Obama Says Financial Overhaul Bill `Strongest’ Ever

President Barack Obama today signsinto law the biggest overhaul of the U.S.

…he said, adding that
business should take the first step.
The Senate voted 60-39 to rewrite the rules governing Wall
Street firms, ending a year of partisan debate over
strengthening protections for consumers and investors. The
legislation, designed to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial
crisis, was approved by the House last month.
The 2,300-page regulatory overhaul creates the consumer
protection bureau, sets up a new council of regulators to
monitor systemic risks in the banking system and gives the
government new powers to unwind failing financial firms whose
collapse would undermine the markets.
Protection Bureau
Among the biggest questions at the outset is who the
president will select to head the new Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau, which will be housed at the Federal Reserve
and which Wolin said would be fully operational…

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Obama Says Financial Overhaul Bill `Strongest’ Ever

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20
Jul 10

How A Good Credit Score Can Help You [Infographic]

A good credit score could save you thousands…

…Much has been said about the credit industry and there are endless debates about the merits of the credit score system especially how you build credit. However, the fact of the matter is that our economy (at least here in the U.S.) is largely based on consumer spending that happens to be based on credit and debt. Indeed, a bad credit score can hurt you in unexpected ways. A good credit, score, though, can open doors and save you money. This infographic from CreditLoan.com, a company offering financial advice on bad credit loans, provides a look at how a good credit score can help your financial life.

A Good Credit Score Can Save You Money

The main benefit comes in the interest rate that you receive when you take out loans. While a great deal of debt never desirable, most people have to borrow for things like homes and cars. As you can see from the infographic, if you have a good credit score, of between 750 and 759, you could save as much as $43,709 over having between a 620 and a 659 on a home mortgage…

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How A Good Credit Score Can Help You [Infographic]

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19
Jul 10

5 Financial Bubbles: Are We Facing a Bubble of Bubbles?

It seems that bubbles are structurally tenuous entities with nothing of substance at their core. How does that strike you? Do you think that accurately describes any part of our economy, financial system, or cultural zeitgeist?

…Financial Bubbles

1. Real Estate: This seems like an easy one, as it would be pretty hard to argue that the U.S. residential real estate market was not in a bubble over the first half of this decade, given that it has already popped. Questions remain, however, about whether or not the U.S. commercial real estate market is the next real estate bubble to pop or maybe it will be the Canadian housing market, or, heaven forbid, China’s.
2. Bonds: The bond market has been in a secular bull trend since the early 1980s, with U.S. Treasury prices rising and yields falling. At what point does a bull market become a bubble? Many have been calling for bond yields to rise for years now, and yet yields across various maturities continue to fall as worries about debt deflation mount.
Louise Yamada’s analysis seems to make the most sense out of any that I’ve read so far. She explains that secular bond cycles tend to last about 30 years. While bottoms (like the one in 1981) tend to reverse very quickly, tops (like the one…

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5 Financial Bubbles: Are We Facing a Bubble of Bubbles?

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