Credit

1/4 Americans Have More Credit Card Debt Than Savings – What Does That Really Mean?

February 27, 2013

There’s an article making the rounds this week that makes Americans look like crap.  Based on a recent survey, 24% of Americans have more credit card debt than assets held in emergency savings accounts.  On the face of it, that looks really bad.  1/4 is a highly representative number and we all know credit card [...]

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$1 Trillion Student Loan Tab, Americans Ask “Where’s MY Bailout”?

November 29, 2012

Over the past few years, Americans have seen so many people, companies and entire industries bailed out, that naturally, they start wondering when they get “their bailout”, as if the multiple handouts the administration has doled out aren’t enough (a record 47 Million Americans on Food Stamps, unprecedented 99 weeks of unemployment, years of a [...]

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3% Cash Back and $100 Bonus – The Best Card on Earth

March 8, 2012

If you’re going to use a credit card, you might as well optimize your cash back! I do, and it brings us tax-free income of $700-$1000 a year depending on what we’re up to.  Well, now there’s there ultimate card for what’s probably your single biggest expense – groceries! (and next biggest – gas!)  The [...]

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How the Ratings Agencies Complicit in the Housing Collapse Are Actually Saving the World

January 16, 2012

This is not a theme you’ll see in the mainstream press, but it’s the truth.  Unfortunately, you can’t prove what “might have been” if it doesn’t come to be, but read on and tell me where I’m wrong.  The same ratings agencies that are fodder for everyone from Obama to European leaders for their utter [...]

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Debt – Which Camp Are You In?

September 15, 2011

It’s pretty amazing what a substantial part of our everyday conversation revolves around debt.  Debt issues, deficits and creditworthiness have grabbed national headlines stemming from the downgrade of US debt by S&P and is now a key issue in the presidential candidate debates.  At the household level, virtually all of us incur debt of some [...]

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I’m Borrowing $50,000 From My 401(k) – It’s My Best Option!

August 14, 2011

There are tons of articles out there waring about the dire consequences of borrowing from your 401(k) – you know, not earning money on the withdrawn amount, double taxation, early withdrawal penalties and having to repay immediately if separate from the company…I’m going to lay out why my particular situation and outline why none of [...]

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Debt Ceiling Vote Explained – What Media ISN’T Telling You

August 3, 2011

The debt ceiling vote was consummated on August 2, 2011 just in time to avoid a technical default on US government obligations.  I’ve been tracking this issue of the US hurtling toward bankruptcy for the entire year and this is a more current update to my initial post predicting how this whole charade would play [...]

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5 Ways to Avoid a Bad Credit Rating

July 19, 2011

In an era of extremely tight (albeit cheap) credit, your credit rating is king these days.  Therefore, it’s worthwhile to visit some of the top mistakes people make that knock their credit score down.  Some of these are honest mistakes and one might not even think should impact credit, but they do. Paying Late – [...]

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Multiple Approaches to Resolving Debt Issues

June 22, 2011

With millions of people mired in debt problems, this malady is one of the largest challenges facing society at large.  See, this situation is so widespread and endemic to society that the lack of free cash flow in personal budgets curtails consumer spending and investment.  This then spills over into national GDP output, new business [...]

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3% Cash-Back Card = $500/Year Tax Free!

June 15, 2011

I’d been thinking about our cash-back rewards from the one credit card we do most of our spending on and decided it’s time to focus on the categories we spend the most on and optimize our cards and usage to get even more cash back each year.  For years, we’ve always enjoyed tax-free cash-back rewards [...]

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