Foolproof methods for staying in debt
Somebody once said ignorance is bliss, and it can be. Why should the Contented Debt-Strapped Consumer (CD-SC) worry about the future implications of staggeringly overwhelming obligations, lowered credit ratings, bankruptcy and ruin? There are many tried and true methods of increasing and extending debt.
1. Debt schmebt
The surest way for a CD-SC to not be bothered by pesky debt is to simply ignore it. From there all things are possible. Those arguments with a spouse, that constant gnawing feeling in the gut, those probably have nothing to do with debt. And it’s so easy to hide bills under another stack of [...]
Contests for free business rent helping reinvigorate downtowns
The cost of starting a business can be very high. A retail space, storefront or office adds to the overhead costs of a business, especially in the first few years. Several small and mid-size towns are attempting to reinvigorate their downtown areas by offering businesses a year of free rent.
The problem of empty space downtown
Vacancies in downtown retail spaces can be a very difficult problem for cities. Vacant buildings or spaces tend to pull down rent costs, increase property crime and generally contribute to downtown blight. Property that is rented out, however, can help revitalize a failing downtown. With average [...]
Debt ceiling failure; Treasury must decide which bills to pay
When the flood comes, no parent wants to have to choose which child to save. Thankfully, the impending U.S. debt default flood isn’t quite so tragic, but it will hurt. If the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling doesn’t rise by Tuesday, Aug. 2, the Treasury Department will have to decide who gets paid and who doesn’t.
Prioritizing payment when bills are insurmountable
Democrats and Republicans have so far failed to reach a bipartisan debt ceiling deal. GOP Speaker of the House John Boehner has failed to convince members of his own party to vote for his debit limit plan. Even if Boehner’s reported [...]
The fees we hate
As comedian Louis CK points out, when we don’t have enough money in the bank and it triggers built-in bank fees, we are being penalized for being poor. It can make you scream. Here’s a sampling of some of the fees we hate, because sometimes a little commiseration is necessary.
Unlisted phone number fees we hate
MSNBC calls it a “privacy penalty,” while telecom companies no doubt consider it the price of going “off the grid.” Paying $24 per year to keep your telephone number out of the phone book is money that could be better spent. In the age of Facebook, [...]
Closing costs going up on lower-priced homes
A home purchase is often one of the largest purchases a person will make. In this depressed housing market, average sales prices of homes have been going down. At the same time, average closing costs for loans are going up.
What is included in a closing cost
The closing costs of a home mortgage loan include several different costs paid to several different individuals. In general, closing costs include (from Wikipedia):
Attorney fees
Title search, title insurance and other title services
Recording fees to the city or county government
Taxes
Commissions to Real Estate Brokers
Mortgage application fees
Inspection fees
All of these costs are usually not included directly in [...]
Spending on healthcare could become one-fifth of American economy
Recent studies by federal auditors found that at current rates, spending on healthcare in America could make up 20 percent of the American economy by 2020. The rise in spending would be because of greater subsidies for insurance under healthcare reform laws.
Economic growth overall slower than growth of health spending
A recently released study by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to Bloomberg, found that spending on healthcare was outpacing the growth of the U.S. economy as a whole. At the projected rate of expansion, healthcare spending could be up to 20 percent of the American gross domestic [...]
Stories about fantastic foreclosure sales can be misleading
There have been a plethora of stories in the past few years about people who scored fantastic deals on houses, as some seriously huge homes have been bought for pennies on the dollar. It’s not impossible, but there are only a few people able to successfully do it.
Developers and real estate companies can score big deals
Anyone who pays attention to financial news has likely seen a story about someone purchasing a house at a jaw-dropping discount. For example, ABC, CNBC and other news sites have a story about a $1.2 million home being purchased for about $10,000. However, that headline [...]
U.S. credit rating may be downgraded, even if debt ceiling raised
Many economists are speculating that the credit rating for the U.S. could be downgraded, even if an agreement is reached to raise the debt ceiling before next week’s deadline. Some also say that a downgrade would be less catastrophic than feared.
Debt debate
The nation has until Aug. 2 to raise the current $14.3 trillion debt spending limit. President Obama and Congressional Republicans continue to debate on long-term spending cuts. House Republicans continue refusing approval of the ceiling hike without spending cuts.
Reporting agencies
There are three major credit reporting agencies that grade the nation’s creditworthiness. They are Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and [...]
Walmart enters the streaming video business
In a move to further bolster its all-in-one online shopping strategy, Walmart is now offering movies, streaming directly from the company website. Streaming video is becoming an increasingly popular way to market visual media.
Walmart launches new service today
A year and a half ago, the world’s largest retailer purchased VUDU, a video streaming service. Tuesday, the company launched the service, now fully integrated into the Walmart website. The site offers 20,000 titles that can be rented on DVD or viewed streaming instantly on internet-ready devices.
Walmart senior Vice President and general manager, Steve Nave, said that making movies available online fits perfectly [...]
10 percent of all post offices could become private retail mail
The United States Postal Service has been plagued with financial trouble for years, and the last few have been particularly bad. The USPS is looking at privatizing more than 3,000 post offices in order to cut costs and introduce a new business model for postage.
Postal service bleeding cash
The United States Postal Service has been losing cash for years and is entering some of the most dire straights in the organizations’ history. It posted a loss of more than $2 billion last quarter and is likely to not be able to meet any debt obligations this fall, according to Reuters. The [...]
Colleges still receive $73 million from credit card companies
A recently released report from the Federal Reserve shows both good and bad news about colleges and credit cards. Since the 2009 CARD Act put limitations on how credit card companies can market to students, the number of applications has gone down significantly. Despite this drop, credit card companies are still providing $73 million per year to schools whose students have credit card debt.
How the CARD Act changed credit cards for students
For students, the 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act made significant changes to the availability of credit cards. Rather than considering “household income,” which included parents’ income [...]
Financial upside-down cake: China does not own America
As Democrats and Republicans struggle to balance the federal budget and come to an agreement regarding the debt ceiling, the threat of national debt default has many perplexed. Popular opinion is “China” is the answer to “who owns America?” People also believe default will place the U.S. too far behind. Yet a study by Business Insider points out that popular opinion regarding who owns America is wrong. China has a major stake, but much like in Japan, most of U.S. debt is domestically held.
Who owns most of the $14.3 trillion in U.S. government debt?
A breakdown of the total amount and [...]
Apply with LinkedIn aligns stars around job networking service
If you thought you could make it through your career and avoid LinkedIn completely, think again. The professional networking service launched an “Apply with LinkedIn” button Monday that will change the game when it comes to online job applications. Many job recruiting aggregators and corporate sites like Netflix and Living Social are already using the new LinkedIn feature, with many more to come, according to a LinkedIn press release.
Don’t just apply now – Apply with LinkedIn
Every online job application site has the standard “Apply Now” button. However, with the adoption of the Apply with LinkedIn button, employers open up the [...]
Brand name medications to get cheaper as patents expire
The patents for a slate of brand-name prescription medications are going to expire this year, meaning some medicines are about to become a lot cheaper. Some of the best selling medications on the market are included, so Big Pharma’s loss will be the public’s gain.
Exclusivity fleeting for drug makers
Copyright protections are set to expire for a growing list of prescription medications in the United States, and Big Pharma, as the pharmaceutical companies are often collectively referred to, will lose revenue in coming years, according to the Los Angeles Times. Copyrights on prescription drugs last 20 years, according to Wikipedia, and [...]
Study ranks states for creditworthiness
A person’s creditworthiness depends on a lot of factors, most of which can be controlled to one degree or another. One that can’t, without establishing residency elsewhere, is the state you reside in. A new study rates and ranks the creditworthiness of each of the 50 states.
Where you live affects your credit
“I think the implications for everyone in the states listed is significant, regardless of whether you personally have good or bad credit,” said Curtis Arnold, whose company CardRatings.com conducted the study. “Lenders may have stronger underwriting standards in states in the ‘worst of’ list or vice versa. Like it [...]
Airlines pocketing $25 million per day after government lockout
On Monday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration was gutted by Congress’s failure to pass legislation to keep the agency running. Some air travelers had been looking forward to this because it means no federal taxes on tickets. As of Sunday night, however, most airlines had raised prices to negate this price drop.
The FAA shutdown
As a part of the congressional showdown about federal government funding, the Federal Aviation Administration lost operating authority on Monday. The bill that would continue this operating authority has been held up by a debate over union rights. Air traffic controllers are continuing to report to work, [...]
Strange tales of the psychology of shopping
While retail merchandising may not seem very scientific at first glance, a great deal of thought goes into understanding why we buy and how the psychology of shopping works. Some of the theories make conventional sense, such as retail anthropologist Paco Underhill’s “butt brush factor,” which says women are much less likely to buy if brushed from behind in a narrow retail aisle. But as Time magazine reports, there are stranger factors that influence consumer behavior.
Flexing muscles fights off the urge to buy
If you find yourself being drawn in by a sales pitch, some psychology of shopping experts suggest flexing [...]
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