May
22
What The New Credit Card Law Means For You
May 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Now that President Obama has signed a federal law to protect consumers who use credit cards, you are going to want to know what this means for you. Well, MSN has a great article that will tell you. It's a good article that shows you the good, the bad and the ugly of the situation. [...]
May
14
Banks Will Give You Free Money
May 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment
MSN Money has an interesting article about getting free money from banks. It's worth a read. Banks will actually pay you money to open an account with them. Why would they do that? It's simple. They want to snag you as a customer, hoping that they then keep you for life. Or sell you a [...]
Apr
15
Keeping Teens Financially Safe
April 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment
MSN money has an interesting article about how to guide teens toward financial safety. As they point out, teens can sign themselves up for all kinds of debt, even before they are able to legally drink. They can spend their whole lives trying to pay off student loans for instance.
It's a bit of a hot [...]
Jan
2
New Year's Resolution Number 1 – Pay Off Your Credit Cards
January 2, 2009 | 1 Comment
The new year is a time for a fresh start. I have a suggestion for new year's resolution: pay off your credit cards.
The economy isn't looking to good in 2009. People have lost their jobs and more will lose their jobs this year as the economy continues to free fall. So what can you do? [...]
Nov
5
Credit Card Rates Going Up
November 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
If you're like millions of Americans you may be getting a surprise. You're credit card company is probably raising your APR (interest rate). What should you do?
Don't Carry a Balance
I use a credit card but don't care about the APR. How can that be? Am I too rich to care? No, I just pay my [...]
Oct
30
The Right Time To Save Money
October 30, 2008 | 3 Comments
So the economy has taken a down turn. You've decided you might need to start saving some money. Well, it's too late. You should have been saving five years ago. But there's hope.
There's a Chinese proverb about the best time to plant a tree.
The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.
The second [...]
Oct
29
Securitization – Good Idea Gone Bad or What Just Happened
October 29, 2008 | 1 Comment
I used to work for a credit card/finance/mortgage company. I always wonders how they got around the capital requirements I learned about in Money and Banking class. Well know I finally understand the big picture. Most of the expansion in the last 20 years has been a result of securitization.
What the Heck is Securitization?
The government [...]
Oct
9
Bank Loans Have Not 'Dried Up'
October 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
It's important to note that even though the hysterics of Washington bureaucrats indicate otherwise, lending has not stopped. It may cost you a little more, and you might have to actually, well, you know, qualify for the loan, but the banks are still lending money.
I talked to a banker buddy of mine and he confirms [...]
Oct
3
Back To Basics
October 3, 2008 | 1 Comment
The major news right now is the so called credit crises. Banks aren't lending to each other so the government is going to spend close to A TRILLION dollars to fix the problem. It's depressing but we can't dwell on it. (Just remember if your congress(wo)man voted for it in November, voting is the best [...]
Oct
2
Warren Buffet On the Credit Crises
October 2, 2008 | 2 Comments
When Buffet dies I guess we're all in trouble. Nobody can explain this stuff except him. (end sarcasm)
Warren Buffet is interviewed about the credit crisis on CNBC. You can read some excerpts here: http://mathoda.com/archives/433
One quote I'd like to point out:
Beware of geeks with clever computer models: “I mean they had all these types from Wall [...]