Filed under: College, Simplification, Tax, Investing
Many parents have been using the popular 529 Plan to set money aside to pay for their childrens’ college education. However, I know some parents who are not too happy about their money being tied up in a 529 plan now that it has come time for them to pay the actual tuition. With the stock market down almost 50% from its high in October 2007, it’s likely your 529 Plan has been taking hits with no end in sight.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Real Estate, Mortgage Confidential
On Monday, Freddie Mac reported that 97% of prime borrowers who refinanced adjustable-rate mortgages in the fourth quarter opted to switch into fixed-rate loans. Of borrowers who were refinancing fixed-rate loans, an astounding 99.7% opted for another fixed-rate mortgage.
In January of 2006, 41.9% of all mortgages originated were of the adjustable-rate variety. At least for now, consumers appear to be wising up to the dangers of ARMs. That’s probably partly a result of the headlines about ARMs destroying people’s lives, with low-interest rates also playing a major role.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Banks, Bargains, Budgets, Fantastic Freebies
As a Bank of America customer with a checking and savings account, this is a deal I plan to take advantage of.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Budgets, College, Kids and Money, Career, College on a Dime, School
A small liberal arts college in Oneonta, N.Y. is offering students an option to get a degree in three years instead of four, saving more than $40,000.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: College, Extracurriculars, Technology, Career, Relationships, School
In today’s New York Times, Patricia Cohen explored the growing perception among university students and administrators that the humanities are of questionable value in a world where technological advancement is the measure of progress and economic stability. As she noted, many universities are reducing or eliminating their humanities classes, and students are increasingly moving (or getting pushed) toward more useful, vocational majors.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Borrowing, Wealth, Relationships, Bankruptcy, Mortgage Confidential
Famed celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz is broke. The woman who shot John Lennon on the same day that Mark David Chapman did, the one who has done portraits of everyone from Queen Elizabeth to a pregnant Demi Moore, has had to sign away the copyrights, negatives, and contracts for all her work to a high-class pawn shop. That includes everything she’s going to shoot in the future. In return, she gets $15.5 million to pay her debts, given at an interest rate of between 6-to 16%.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Banks, Ripoffs and Scams, Tax, Fraud
Maybe there just isn’t a mattress big enough to stuff that kind of cash. But that’s where thousands of UBS’s millionaire clients are likely wishing they’d kept their savings, rather than in the illegal offshore accounts now under investigation by the SEC for tax fraud.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: College
With college textbook prices soaring right alongside other college expenses, the average college student now spends upwards of $1,000 per year on textbooks.
One courageous college is innovating to cut the cost of textbooks and save trees: At Northwest Missouri State, 500 students are participating in a digital textbook pilot program. By eliminating the expenses associated with traditional textbooks, colleges can help their students save 50% on their textbook bills with e-Books. And the e-books might actually be better than the traditional tomes. According to NPR, “Some e-textbooks are just on-screen versions of the bound copies. But the newest books are interactive – you can search, mark pages, highlight, and cut and paste passages. You can share notes in a kind of social network with the rest of your class – or even click on a video.”
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Borrowing, Budgets, Home, Real Estate, Mortgage Confidential
The San Francisco Bay Area has the fewest homeowners in the country who are eligible for the refinancing included in President Obama’s housing rescue package, according to a San Francisco Chronicle story.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Insurance, Ripoffs and Scams, Recession, Bankruptcy
Yes, folks, that’s right. The awesome institution that is American International Group (AIG) has now gone to the United States government for a third handout. You might remember that little old bailout given to AIG last year worth $85 billion. In no time, AIG went back to the feds and got its welfare upped to $150 billion.
(Continue the story…)