tagged w/ Finances
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In the 2000 years since his mission of compassionate aid to the poor and confrontation of the rich, our world has been transformed but remains sadly unequal. To the wealthy, the living guru Jesus said “sell what you have then distribute the money to the needy and follow me”. A tall order in a gruesome time when the only social safety net was the one you caught your fish with. In ancient Judea, prices were so high Jesus and his followers may have been supported by donations from viewers like you.In the 2000 years since his mission of compassionate aid to the poor and confrontation... more
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Income disparity anyone? A look back with comedic flair as to what's wrong with American's rich and middle class incomes.....Income disparity anyone? A look back with comedic flair as to what's wrong with... more
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Spiritual empowerment and upliftment for the impoverish soul by America's famous radio broadcaster on BlogTalkRadio, DJ Mona-Lisa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K-hsecMlokSpiritual empowerment and upliftment for the impoverish soul by America's famous... more
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Worried about the effect of federal budget cuts? Don't be. Professor Brett Erlich demonstrates in this week's Viral Video Film School that even if our debt-swamped government is indeed forced to slash vital services, the Internet is teeming with "experts" eager to fill the gap. A little too eager, perhaps.
Viral Video Film School is a recurring segment on the weekly television show infoMania. In each episode of VVFS, Professor Brett Erlich teaches you valuable skills in the discipline of Viral Video making. So sit down, take notes, and try not to piss him off. For more Brett visit http://current.com/viral-video-film-school-im/ and Current TV.
infoMania is a half-hour comedy show that airs weekly on Current TV. Picture the ultimate office water-cooler, only with funnier co-workers who willingly stay up late imbibing all forms of media so you don't have to. Caveat: Bring your own water. Hosted by Brett Erlich and co-starring Sergio Cilli, Erin Gibson, Ben Hoffman and Bryan Safi, infoMania airs on Thursdays at 11/10c on Current TV.
Go to http://current.com/infomania for more, and make sure to check out our Facebook profile for special features at http://facebook.com/infomania.
Current Media, the Peabody-and Emmy Award-winning television and online network founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, engages viewers with smart, provocative and timely programming -stories that no one else is telling in ways that no one else is telling them. Current's programming shines a light where others won't dare and boldly explores important subjects -- opening minds, sparking conversations and forming deep connections with its viewers. The channel's audience is comprised of affluent, curious, social and connected adults who crave the kind of entertaining, enlightening, witty and informative programming found on Current's TV and online properties. Current is now available via cable and satellite TV in 75 million households worldwide - 60 million households in the US - through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107); Time Warner ; DirecTV (Channel 358 nationwide); Dish Network (Channel 196 nationwide); Verizon and AT&T. In the UK and Ireland, Current is available on BSkyB (Channel 183) and Virgin Media (Channel 155), and in Italy, Current is available on Sky Italia (Channel 130). Viewers can also find Current online at www.current.com.Worried about the effect of federal budget cuts? Don't be. Professor Brett Erlich... more
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If your family started spending nearly twice as much as it brought in every single year, how long do you think it would be before your family was completely and totally broke? Well, that is essentially what the federal government is doing. The U.S. government is so deep in debt at this point that it is hard to even try to describe it. Where do you even begin? Trying to put the vastness of U.S. government debt into words is kind of like trying to describe a great work of art by Michelangelo to a blind person. This year the U.S. government is going to go 1.645 trillion more dollars into debt. How can one possibly accurately convey just how large that amount of money really is? If you went out today and started spending one dollar every single second, it would take you over 31,000 years to spend one trillion dollars. Who can even comprehend such an amount? The U.S. government has mismanaged our finances so badly that it is hard to believe. We have sold our children and our grandchildren into perpetual debt slavery and not that many people really seem very upset about it. It is as if most of the nation is in a massive state of denial.If your family started spending nearly twice as much as it brought in every single... more
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The end of credit cards is coming
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Mobile payments are expected to hit $214 billion by 2015. Transactions made by scanning a mobile phone at the register are forecast to reach $22 billion -- up from "practically none" last year.
By Blake Ellis, CNN staff reporter
January 24, 2011: 11:00 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Credit cards may soon be as outdated as vinyl records. (Remember those?) And this is the year that the slow, steady march to oblivion begins.
You can already use your iPhone, Droid or BlackBerry to buy a hotdog at the ballgame, buy your Starbucks latté, or give a friend a few bucks by Bumping phones. But by the end of the year you may not even think twice about reaching for your phone to pay at the register instead of fumbling for your credit card.
"Your plastic card hasn't changed since the age of the vinyl records," said Michael Abbott, CEO of Isis, a new mobile payment network. "This is the chance to bring payments forward from the plastic age and the vinyl records age to the digital age."
While companies have been experimenting with contactless mobile payments for years, 2011 is expected to be the year the technology really takes off. That's because millions of phones capable of making contactless payments are expected to be shipped out in 2011.
As a result, this pay-by-phone market is forecast to make up $22 billion in transactions by 2015, up from "practically none" last year, according to research firm Aite Group.
0:00 /1:51Your phone is becoming your wallet
"Mobile payment is going to get really interesting and is going to see a lot of activity in 2011," said George Peabody, director of emerging technologies at Mercator Advisory Group. "We're going to start seeing more and more people leaving their homes without their wallets."
But that doesn't mean it's going to happen overnight, said Jane Cloninger, director at Edgar Dunn & Co., a consulting firm specializing in financial services and payments.
"I definitely believe that the mobile wallet will eventually replace the plastic card -- but it's going to take some time because consumer habits take a long time to change," she said. "But where before it's been a lot of discussion, we're at the point now where you're going to start seeing momentum toward it and going to see it move beyond the trials and into reality."
Companies including Visa, MasterCard, Google, Bank of America, Citi and U.S. Bank are all testing contactless mobile payments, and many expect to roll out mobile wallets this year.
"2011 is going to be a very exciting, very dynamic year when it comes to mobile payments because it's the Wild West again, with all these players positioning in various different ways to redefine the digital payments landscape," said Michael Upton, senior vice president of online and mobile banking at Bank of America, which expects to launch it own mobile wallet later this year.
Meanwhile, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon joined forces with Discover and Barclays in November to form Isis and provide a rival to Visa and MasterCard.
9 ways your $$ is going sci-fi
"It's a glorious competitive battle amongst some of the largest entities in the country," said Peabody.
The Isis mobile wallet will let consumers store multiple cards, make payments with the wave of their phone, check balances, receive coupons and use rewards points at the point of sale. But it may stretch beyond just the money in your wallet. Abbott sees the potential to include your insurance cards, driver's licenses, and other information typically found in a wallet.
"[Payment] is where we're going to start, but where it goes is wide open to the innovation of other players who want to be involved," he said.
Beth Robertson, a payments analyst at Javelin Research and Strategy, said that could mean developing ways for consumers to make contactless ATM withdrawals by simply waving a phone in front of an ATM as you would at the point of sale.
But because of just how much your smartphone now holds, it's quickly becoming your most dangerous device.
"We're increasingly living our lives on our cell phones...The problem is that we're not yet used to thinking about our wallet in terms of our phone," said Ed Goodman of Identity Theft 911. "No matter how good security on any type of mobile banking or payments, there are going to be people who are able to find a way around it -- it's really all about making sure everyone ramps up their awareness." To top of pageThe end of credit cards is coming
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Mobile payments... more
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They say, well begun is half done. The adage is true for your financial life too. The Money Times suggests what not to do as far as your finances are concerned, post marriage.They say, well begun is half done. The adage is true for your financial life too. The... more
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Alstom
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1 year ago
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"The hacker battle cry of “free” information reflects either ignorance of value and ownership, or active hostility to those concepts".
[ me ] ;
-DEATH TO PARASITES.
Uhm,....yes,....I think "actively hostile" sums it up.
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CNN reports that “whistle-blowing” Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer handed the banking information of two thousand clients over to WikiLeaks. The website says it will be able to “process” and release this information in “a matter of weeks.” Elmer is facing charges for violating Swiss banking secrecy regulations.
Elmer describes himself as an “activist/reformer/banker” who decided the Swiss banking system was “damaging our society in the way money was moved.” He’s never been able to get government authorities or universities interested in the data he pilfered from the banks, so he hit on the idea of handing it over to WikiLeaks.
Once again, we see a lone “activist” violating the property and privacy rights of many others, in the belief his wisdom transcends the judgment of those he could never convince to act upon his stolen data. I’m second to none in my criticism of hidebound government bureaucracies… but where, exactly, do the Swiss go to vote against Rudolf Elmer or WikiLeaks, if they disagree with their notions of secrecy or transparency?
Are we supposed to believe that all 2000 of the accounts Elmer gave WikiLeaks belong to evil villains conspiring to dominate the world? Don’t they “own” their banking data, and therefore have some right to decide how it would be disseminated?
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http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=41245
graphic-"The hacker battle cry of “free” information reflects either... more
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Your parents might not ask for help when it comes to money. However, your foresight and proper planning can keep your aging parents relax as far as finances are concerned. The Money Times gives you some tips to take care of your aging parents' finances.Your parents might not ask for help when it comes to money. However, your foresight... more
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Alstom
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1 year ago
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By David P Shirk
Over the news we have been hearing about the idea of congress raising the debt ceiling. It has been pointed out that if it is not raised, then many entitlements will not be paid. On the flip side if the debt ceiling is to be raised even higher to cover the cost of all the programs that were promised, then there will be no way to meet that debt no matter what you raise taxes to. Indeed both of these options present some very serious problems.
If government entitlements and are not paid, and other contracts are not honored, then there is a very high chance that riots will indeed ensue when peoples dependency on receiving government checks is severed. However if the debt is raised to meet those contracts and entitlements for the coming year, then the amount of resulting debt extension will make the consequences for the following year more dire. Qe2 will not suffice as it still results in more government debt that we the people are bound as citizens to pay. Monetizing the debt (increasing the money supply to meet the debt), will only result in even greater damage for reasons to numerous to name.
Yet as serious as this problem sounds, it is at this point irrelevant. The amount of unfunded debt from 2010 going into this year (which is far more than merely raising the debt ceiling can cover) remains a problem that I have not even seen the news address yet (for more information on the exact amount and to whom it is owed, go to http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd.htm and for the exact breakdown, go to http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/feddebt/feddebt_dec10.pdf ). What you must keep in mind is that the number 4,624,007 is not expressed in the dollar amount, but rather in the millions, meaning that the real rolled over debt is 4,624,007,000,000 – 4.6 trillion.
Politicians on the hill have grown complacent to this number. After all, the same number at the end of 2008 was 4.3 trillion. So if we can continue to carry over debt from one year into the next without a catastrophe, why should they pay it any notice? Given this simple way of looking at things, it would seem like the debt can be allowed to simply continue to go up.
Yet here is the part that no politician wants to mention – how the debts were funded, and how were they rolled over. Heck, your average US subject would never even bother to go to http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd_sbredemptionsissuesbyseries.xls , and find out how this happens. This oversight of tracking how the debt is funded is what will cause the catastrophe. If you want a real jaw dropper as to the impending danger of what is happening, I encourage you to open the link. The amount of bonds outstanding (the money received by the government for the sale of the bonds), is not nearly enough to meet the debt rolled over from 2010 into 2011, let alone to fund this year’s budget. This is why the raising of the debt ceiling is irrelevant. The outstanding debt was 4.6 trillion – the amount of bonds it had to back it was only about 2.2 trillion, meaning that for the first time, we have 2.4 trillion dollars of debt, and absolutely no way to answer it.
In 2008 people like Peter Schiff, Gerald Celente, and Ron Paul warned of this danger. Yet so blind are most people to the nation’s economy, they laughed at them. The three people I just mentioned attempted to break the problem down into laymans terms knowing that most people would be lost if they dug into the specifics – and because people attack what they do not understand, they mocked them. The sad reality is that people missed the point of their arguments completely, and what is coming very soon is the result.
Yet those 3 (amongst many others) made 1 last warning knowing that the spending of government would not slow – and that was the danger of monetizing the debt. Monetizing the debt would mean that the FED would simply print the money into existence. Outside of running the very high risk of creating hyperinflation, there is of course another danger.
The Federal Reserve is not a government entity. It is a private banking institution owned by people who have little to do with our government. Their sole responsibility was to create a ....
http://www.peacefreedomprosperity.com/?p=3872By David P Shirk
Over the news we have been hearing about the idea of congress... more
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By David P Shirk
Technology is a very useful tool, especially if you happen to be a bank or financial institution seeking to maintain control of a nation’s monetary means. Or – a government that hails such nonsense as the only way to bring about order and peace. The truth is that the wheelbarrows of inflated money probably will not happen thanks to the wonders of technology, but what is to come is far worse. The reality is that those who clamor for financial regulation fail to see how such regulation furthers government power at our expense – not the fat cats.
For instance, Qe2 (quantitative easing) has the goal of injecting 500 Billion dollars into the market. Well, that’s the common misconception anyway. Sadly, despite this insane amount of money being tossed about (nearly $1,600 for every living man, woman, and child in the US), I would bet my bottom dollar that at least a third of the US population has never even heard of it. Of the two thirds that have, about one probably thinks it is simply the treasury printing more money, giving it to banks, and the banks will simply be lending it out to we the people to help our finances. The final third is divided, but smell a rat.
The main complaint of Qe2 seems to be the all too real threat of hyperinflation. The most historic example of such a policy gone wrong was after WWI when Germanys’ currency was printed to an excess so extreme that their money became worthless. Too much money, not enough goods. Yet inflation itself has little to do with the price of goods – that is merely the result of inflation. Inflation is in all reality the increase of money supply (hence the term), and until recently, was not measured by the price difference in a gallon of milk (a layman’s example – CPI for the more savvy). Yet the idea that such a thing happening today to such an extreme as in post WWI Germany is a little misrepresented, and therefore people tend to miss the bigger picture.
First off all, we need to remember that the bulk of what is on the banks balance sheets does not exist in terms of money that can be used by anyone at a store. In other words – the money that we use in bills and coinage represents less than 10% of what the banks have on their books. This is nothing new and has been going on for well over 30 years now. So the idea that an increase of $1,600 for every living person in the US will see us all pushing around wheelbarrows full of useless paper money is a little unrealistic. It is this fact however that has caused the US in large to completely ignore the danger of inflation for as long as they have.
So a gallon of milk may have gone up maybe a 30% in the last few decades – big deal. As long as people think of inflation as the increase in the price of groceries, some may just be able to justify that. Yet houses have in most cases gone up about 300%, and they cost far more then groceries. The price of renting an apartment has also skyrocketed percentage wise versus the 30% milk. Gas? Well, we all know that one. As to incomes produced from all this money – fairly flat for the last 30 years.
By not having to print wheelbarrows full of cash to pay for houses etc., and keeping the dollar amount on balance sheets only, the banks have figured out how to inflate a currency without people ever seeing it as a real problem. So money supply has become to the average person what the Greek God Zeus would be to a Christian – a mythical being that possesses no basis in reality. If you cannot see it, then it does not exist. Computers and intranets are needed to track the billions of cashless exchanges made each day. These provide the banks with the means to shift billions of dollars around each day that simply do not exist (at least to us peons anyway). So while many of us use technology like the internet to learn and expand our horizons, the banks use it as a dangerous weapon. I think the irony of that fact can only be eclipsed by the irony that our government places banking institutions as the #1 priority when it comes to cyber protection. Using an unconstitutional institution with an unconstitutional controller funding trillions in government debt while indebting an entire nation, the FED has really outdone itself.
But that is hardly the best part.
Qe2 is not new idea, and was already tried back in 2008. In 2008 the Fed purchased 1.7 trillion in US treasury and mortgages backed securities. That did not work, and we were told repeatedly by Obama, Bernanke, Geitner, etc., that the reason why is that it simply was not enough. That was over $5,400 for every living person in the US (1,700,000,000,000/310,000,000). How did such a large amount of money get thrown around, and at the same time, accomplish nothing?
First off – note what the money actually went to – buying the debt from the government and financial sectors (the ones who hold the mortgage backed securities). Keeping in mind that the Federal Reserve funds the US treasury, prints its money, and controls it, we know that the US Government and the Federal Reserve have a symbiotic relationship. This adds insult to injury. The insult is that those who chose to live within their means have their savings diminished by a body they have no say over. The injury is that those who speak up are either labeled as simpletons for attempting to put this problem into perspective in layman’s terms, or an idiot who dares believe themselves to be smarter than the government and FED.
Second is that the FED said something quite brilliant that pretty much sums up the whole mess. Simple put – the belief of people in a policy is the reality. This is after all how they have managed to get away with robbing us blind since 1913. As long as they can prolong the consequences and create the perception that they are acting in our best interest, the FED is in affect untouchable. Naturally it is not a true statement of reality, but rather how they can even flaunt their strategy, and the majority still does not get it despite hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak. Their perception on the whole matter has created a temporary reality that in the end brings ruin to entire nations. Government says a debt based economy is a good thing via central control via the FED. Let’s break that idiocy down shall we?
Debt – something that is owed or that one is bound to pay to or perform for another; a liability or obligation to pay or render something; the condition of being under such an obligation. National – of, pertaining to, or maintained by a nation as an organized whole or independent political unit; national affairs; owned, preserved, or maintained by the federal government; peculiar or common to the whole people of a country; devoted to one’s own nation; patriotic; concerning or encompassing an entire nation.
National Debt – money owed by everyone (that by definition is patriotic to pay – gag). $14,000,000,000,000/310,000,000 peop....
http://www.peacefreedomprosperity.com/?p=3867By David P Shirk
Technology is a very useful tool, especially if you happen to be a... more
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Do you hear that rumble in the distance? That is the Baby Boomers - they are getting ready to retire. On January 1st, 2011 the very first Baby Boomers turn 65. Millions upon millions of them are rushing towards retirement age and they have been promised that the rest of us are going to take care of them. Only there is a huge problem. We don't have the money. It simply isn't there. But the millions of Baby Boomers getting ready to retire are counting on that money to be there. This all comes at a really bad time for a federal government that is already flat broke and for a national economy that is already teetering on the brink of disaster.Do you hear that rumble in the distance? That is the Baby Boomers - they are getting... more
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Notoriously difficult to treat, eating disorders may persist for years, wreaking havoc not just on the patient’s health and personal relationships but often on family finances, as well.
:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/health/04patient.html?ref=healthNotoriously difficult to treat, eating disorders may persist for years, wreaking havoc... more
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suzane
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1 year ago
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Who doesn't want to retire with a comfortable nest egg? These are post of Financial experts explaining specific ways you can retire comfortably. http://tipsforretirement.blogspot.com/Who doesn't want to retire with a comfortable nest egg? These are post of... more
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Below are some of the worst work-study jobs held by students. Sure, not everyone hates these positions, but to most, they tend to be either extremely boring, extremely laborious – more so than the pay would indicate – or below their skill sets.
:http://www.bestcollegesonline.net/blog/2010/10-worst-work-study-jobs-in-college/Below are some of the worst work-study jobs held by students. Sure, not everyone hates... more
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A rapidly increasing number of American families are finding it really, really hard to make ends meet each month. The price of food, gas, health insurance and other basic necessities has continued to escalate, but wages have not followed suit. So more Americans are finding themselves squeezed financially at the end of every month.A rapidly increasing number of American families are finding it really, really hard to... more
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It wasn't until I reached 30 that I started to turn my own financial life around. Unfortunately, by then, the damage was done. In retrospect, I often knew the decisions I was making were not so smart, but I made them anyway because I could always "pay it off later" or "just save more money when I'm older."
One of the cruel facts of life is that it gets more difficult the older you become.
Hopefully, my sharing a few of these bad money moves will prevent others from doing the same. And don’t worry: If you are over 30 and still doing these things, it is never too late to start living frugally.
* Take out three times as much in student loans as your first year's salary. I'm all for following your passions, but if your passion pays $35,000 a year, please reconsider borrowing $100k to get the required degree.
* Trash your college enemies on Facebook and Twitter. It might be funny now, but your future boss probably won’t see the humor in it. Remember, the Web is an open book, and down the line things you say online can and will be used against you.
* Trash yourself on Facebook and Twitter. The picture of you half-naked and partying on the beach at spring break will probably get you a few more followers, but remember that future boss?
* Go to school out of state because you like the football team. I included this one because I did it. Well, sort of. I thought I could walk on for my favorite school's football team, forgoing scholarship opportunities in-state.
* Just get a degree . . . in anything. Don't "just get a degree" for the sake of getting a degree. Learn something, and prepare to apply it in the real world.
* Accept a job you hate right out of school because it pays a lot. Many graduates are so saddled with debt that they think they have little choice but to go after the biggest salary, even if it isn't the best opportunity.
* Form a partnership with three fraternity brothers from college. It's been said the only type of ship that won't float is a partnership. Let the one with the most capital start the business and hire the two others. It's much cleaner, and if the business fails, you can all walk away and still be friends.
* Borrow thousands to start a new business. Entrepreneurship is the spirit that built this country, and I'm all for it. But you should consider saving and starting up with cash.
* Accept your first job offer without negotiating. A little wiggle room often exists in salary ranges, schedule flexibility, paid days off, etc., but you have to ask.
* Spend $2,000 on your new corporate wardrobe before getting your first check. This is one of the classic mistakes by new earners. Buy a couple nice outfits for interviews and your first day on the job, but beyond that, make do with what you’ve got.
The borrower is a slave to the lender
* Co-sign a car loan for your best friend. I no longer borrow money to buy cars. And I especially wouldn’t borrow money to buy someone else a car. As a co-signer, you are on the hook if your friend defaults. And if he needs a co-signer, there's a good chance he will.
* Give up credit virginity for a free T-shirt. When I was in college, I signed up for a Discover card because the company was giving away free T-shirts. Dumb. My running joke is the T-shirt probably cost me $500 in interest over the next few years.
* Borrow money from your parents. Not only does it change the relationship between parents and kids, it also makes it tough to declare financial independence when you constantly have to turn to the Bank of Mom and Dad.
* Pay off a credit card with a credit card, without retiring one of them. A balance transfer from a high-interest credit card to a low-interest one makes sense in the short run -- unless you keep using both cards.
A car won't make you sexier
* Buy a car because you can "afford the payments." Ever wonder why car dealers advertise the cost of a car in monthly payments? Writing $32,000 in window paint isn’t quite as catchy as $379 a month (for 60 months with a balloon payment at the end).
* Drive like an idiot. It's hard to save money on car insurance when you are collecting traffic tickets right and left. Not to mention the hit you'll take on gas mileage.
* Refuse to buy a used car because you don’t want someone else's problem. This tired saying keeps coming up in discussions on used cars. A car transforms from new to used the second it leaves the car lot. A well-maintained, previously owned car can save you thousands of dollars over a new model.
* Buy a new car because it gets better gas mileage. In most cases, you'd have to drive thousands and thousands of miles to break even. Buy a car for better gas mileage only if you already planned to buy another car.
* Don’t shop for car insurance. No, seriously, take the first offer you get. That will save you tons of money.
READ MORE HERE:http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/blog/page.aspx?post=1751999It wasn't until I reached 30 that I started to turn my own financial life around.... more
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Visit my article page for links and to read the wide range of community comments! A polarizing service indeed.
Visit my article page for links and to read the wide range of community comments!... more
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