When you trace the roots of the record-busting foreclosure rate and the havoc that has wrought on the American economy over the last few years, San Francisco’s mailboxes probably don’t come to mind as a logical starting point. But they should.
Archive for category Personal Finance
In a prior post , I took a shot at venture capital firms’ lackadaisical interest in funding financial services innovation. Now two recent events signal increasing activity in the sector: Green Dot Corporation’s $150 million initial public offering filing and Kwedit’s venture capital-backed launch. At a high level, it’s great to see payment service funding activity pick up because the sector needs newer, more consumer-friendly products
“Funny how falling feels like flying, for a little while.” - Academy Award Winner Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart I’ve been making the final edits on my upcoming book, Big Money and Why People Blow It , and came across a fascinating statistic. A Sports Illustrated article called ” How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke” noted “that only one out of 30 highest-caliber investment deals works out as advertised.” You can do better than that by playing slot machines or scratch-off lottery tickets. If only one of out 30 of the highest-caliber deals work out, what chance does the bar your brother-in-law is dying to start have
WASHINGTON D.C. — “Joblessness is here to stay. One current assessment rates the chances a laid-off worker will ever regain his or her income level as only one in four,” said Edward Corcoran , a Senior Fellow on national security issues at GlobalSecurity.org .
Now that the Credit Card law has fully gone into effect, it’s time for you to reevaluate your strategies about how you use your credit cards. The credit card issuing banks have changed many of their policies, and it’s time for you to react and make the most of the opportunities that have been created and avoid the biggest pitfalls. Here are a few areas for you to consider: Interest rate hikes : Many banks hiked the interest rates on outstanding balances to well over 20% and in some cases as high as 29.9%, even for customers who have always paid on time
Disputing a credit card charge by asking for a “chargeback” can lead to being put on a blacklist that merchants can check for customers who might try to defraud them. Getting off the list costs $99, although the fee is waived if the customer didn’t know they were committing “friendly fraud,” said Brien Heideman, founder of BadCustomer.com, which keeps such a customer list for retailers that don’t want to get hit with costly credit chargebacks
Boomerang kids. You’ve probably read articles about them or may even have one yourself. That’s where parents reopen their formerly empty nests to adult children who are trying to pay off student loans or bills, save for a down payment or regroup after losing their job.
Adam Baker, blogger at Man vs. Debt, canceled all his credit cards 15 months ago.
Out of college, money spent See no future, pay no rent All the money’s gone, nowhere to go The Beatles College seniors are entering a world of money — and without very much preparation for what is about to hit them. College is good for many things, but preparing students for “real world” finance is not one of them. There are three things a college graduate should know about money: How to make it, how to keep it and how to use it to develop a lifestyle that that will give you long-term happiness
This is an interview with Catey Hill, author of the hot new book SHOO, Jimmy Choo as well as the Money & Business Editor for the NY DailyNews.com 1. What motivated you to pen SHOO, Jimmy Choo?
