Filed under: College, Retirement advice, Taxes-advice
With Christmas and New Year’s just days away, WalletPop hopes to spread some holiday cheer. Here are answers to some of your questions to help usher in 2010 on the right financial footing.
Filed under: Insurance, Insurance-home
You probably wouldn’t send a holiday card depicting the family dog biting the boss. Or one that shows a brand new flat screen falling out of the back of your truck.
While these scenes aren’t ones you’d like to experience at the holidays, experts say it’s wise to keep in mind that accidents (like these, as well as ones similar) do happen. Even at the most wonderful time of the year.
The Project on Student Debt recently released its Student Debt and the Class of 2008 study and the results are sobering, to say the least.
The average graduate of a four-year college with loans is now leaving with $23,200 in debt, up from $18,650 in 2004.
The Project on Student Debt recently released its Student Debt and the Class of 2008 study and the results are sobering, to say the least.
The average graduate of a four-year college with loans is now leaving with $23,200 in debt, up from $18,650 in 2004.
Filed under: Insurance, Health, Insurance-health
Early Saturday morning the Senate gave unemployed persons a Christmas gift. Through a trick in legislation, unemployment benefits were extended for the long-term unemployed who were slated to lose those benefits December 31. The Senate bill also provides up to 15 months of help with health insurance benefits through COBRA subsidies. Without the legislation benefits would have ended for any unemployed who already received nine months of help with their health insurance benefits on December 31.
Filed under: Banks, Home, Investing, Mortgages
Signer beware! Turns out the forms homeowners fill out to apply for lower monthly mortgage payments for three months while waiting for more permanent relief contain a potentially lethal booby trap courtesy of the U.S. Treasury Department.
Filed under: Retire, The Dolans, Fraud, Retirement advice
Seniors are one of scam artist’s favorite targets. More than 25 million seniors were victims of fraud last year according to the Federal Trade Commission. Seniors become targets because they are easy to reach by phone, are often home during the day, often live along, and are often more willing to talk to strangers. Here, Ken and Daria Dolan expose seven top scams that target seniors. Even if you aren’t a senior yourself, keep reading and warn the seniors in your life about these scams.
Filed under: Banks, Extracurriculars
Well, 300 years is a good run for just about anything, but it seems that the era of the paper check might just be drawing to a close across the pond.
In the U.K., a board made up of major banks called the U.K. Payments Council voted to phase out paper checks by 2018. According to this Reuters article, the number of checks written annually in Britain has been falling sharply over the past decade as a growing number of people use online banking and credit or debit cards to pay for goods and services. The article also says it costs banks one pound (about two bucks) to process a hard copy of a check. A related article from the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph projects that check usage in the U.K. will continue to fall, dropping to 1.6 million per day nationwide by 2018, as compared with 3.8 million a day last year. (Continue the story…)
Filed under: Credit, Debt, Credit cards
Credit card companies are racing against time and sending out a flurry of mail, hoping to implement last-minute changes before the February 2010 deadline when the CARD Act takes effect and credit card companies must play by the new rules set by Congress. Ignore the mailings and these changes could cost you hundreds, or possibly thousands, of dollars.
According to a recent poll from the Pew Research Center, 13% of parents with grown children have had at least one grown child move back in with them over the past year.
Ten percent of respondents between ages 18 and 24 had moved back in with their parents because of the recession.