From the category archives:

Economy

Details on the New Foreclosure Prevention Program

March 5, 2009

The Obama administration announced details of its new foreclosure prevention program yesterday. Interest rates on loans could drop to as low as 2% for some borrowers. The cost to tax payers is expected to be approximately $75 billion.
Under previous programs by the Bush administration, lenders were urged to voluntarily modify mortgages. Even [...]

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Drive One, Pay for Two

February 19, 2009

Creditslips.org has nice article on dealing with another bubble that inflated during the times of easy credit: negative automobile equity. The article states that as much as 25% of all automobile borrowers are “under water.”
Here’s how that works: The value of the trade-in is $8000; balance on the loan for that trade-in is $10,000. [...]

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Gasoline Near Five Year Low

December 30, 2008

According to a AAA survey, gasoline now costs $1.619 per gallon. This is the lowest level since January 2004 when gasoline averaged $1.617 per gallon.
Gasoline is now down $2.50 per gallon since its record high of $4.114 in July of this year.
The falling price of oil is behind the drop in gasoline. Oil now costs [...]

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Gallup Poll Shows 40% of Americans Currently Worried About Money

December 23, 2008

The Gallop organization recently completed a poll that shows about 40% of Americans are worried about money. The same poll at the beginning of the year showed the number at 30%.
While the 40% number is high, it is actually down from its peak of 45% in October.
Another interesting point from the poll was that Americans [...]

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On the Virtues of Being Cheap

December 19, 2008

I enjoyed Neal Templin’s response to a reader’s suggestion that he was so cheap his family would “breathe a sigh of relief when [he] die[s]” in an article from The Wall Street Journal this morning:
“I also know that we live in a society that has lived beyond its means. Much of the wealth around us [...]

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Banks Working Harder to Collect Credit Card Debt

September 10, 2008

According to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, big credit card companies are ramping up collection efforts on their credit card portfolios.
Citigroup has hired a number of new collectors and have increased the frequency of calls to delinquent account holders. American Express is offering to cut interest rates and fees, while Bank [...]

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All of Inflation’s Little Parts – The New York Times

May 16, 2008

Very nice infographic from the New York Times showing a visual representation of how much the average American spends on each of the 200 categories that make up the Consumer Price Index (the most common measure of inflation).
The largest component – by far – is “Owner’s Equivalent Rent”, which seeks to estimate the [...]

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The Giant Pool of Money

May 13, 2008

One of the highlights of my week is seeing a new episode of “This American Life” pop into my podcasts folder in iTunes. For those of you not familiar with the show, it is a one hour radio program produced by Chicago Public Radio and hosted by Ira Glass.
This weeks show “The Giant Pool [...]

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US Foreclosure Activity Map

May 4, 2008

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Does Your Employer Have An Emergency Fund?

April 22, 2008

If you are reading this blog, you are probably a financially savvy person. Therefore, you already know the benefits of having an emergency fund set aside for unforeseen financial emergencies.
Many financial experts, including Dave Ramsey recommend that you set aside money in an easily accessible account of, at least, three to six months of expenses. [...]

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