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The crippled United States economy has had a number of “bubbles” burst over the past 15 years. It started with the dot com industry in the late 90s and was followed by housing market bursting in the Mid 2000s. Many experts believe that student loans are next. The warning signs are evident: Going to college is gaining popularity, college tuition is paid for mostly with borrowed money and there isn’t a lot of research done to see if the recipients of the loans are a good fit. These are similar to the signs that we saw with the housing market as banks were giving out loans to just about anyone, which increased the number of houses being bought by unfit mortgage recipients.
How to Avoid Being a Victim
If you are a college student or a recent graduate there are a number of ways to avoid getting caught up in the student loan “bubble”. Unlike mortgages, student loans will not go away if you declare bankruptcy. There is really no way to back out of student loans, as they must be repaid. There are however a number of options to avoid defaulting on your student loans. [ continue reading… ]
Now might be just the right time to refinance your mortgage. Even if you already have a low interest rate mortgage, you could still benefit, thanks to the record-low rates that are present right now. Indeed, even someone with a 5% interest rate on a mortgage could save money, since rates on 30-year fixed mortgages are even lower.
Consider an adjustable rate mortgage, and you could end up with an even lower interest rate. With financial policymakers still trying to keep interest rates and Treasury yields low, there is a good chance that you will be able to take advantage of low rates for some time. However, since no one truly knows what’s coming, it helps to consider your options now.
Just remember: If you have costs associated with closing your refinance, you want to make sure that you will be in the home long enough for your interest savings to matter. [ continue reading… ]
Novelty and spontaneity are grand, but don’t forget that tradition has a very important place, especially for children. Our traditions give us a sense of security and a link to the past while we look forward to the future. Even though we’re living in tough economic times, one thing that any family can afford to do is start a new tradition. In fact, when talking to others about their favorite family holiday rituals, I find that many of them were born out of a need or desire to make something special out of not a lot. You don’t have to be struggling to see the value in initiating traditions that place the emphasis on togetherness and creativity instead of conspicuous and wasteful consumption.
Here are three inexpensive and easy to do holiday traditions that you can tweak to suit your own family’s taste, resources and current abilities. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself enjoying the same activities with your grandchildren 40 years from now! [ continue reading… ]
We should do nothing, absolutely nothing. Don’t get me wrong, as the day we become debt free is an important point in our lives. Having no debt payments will also drastically increase our cash flow, but we really shouldn’t wait until the day we are debt free to act.
Becoming debt free doesn’t happen overnight, and we should know months ahead of time (at least!) before our last payment is due. Therefore, we should plan for the money that will be freed up when we don’t have to put that towards paying off debt.
My mother owned an art gallery for 4 decades. When she bought the business back in the 70s, she was a cocky 23-year-old who assumed that she knew what it took to be an art dealer, custom framer and small business owner because she had minored in Art History at college. Of course, life often has a way of humbling you, particularly if you own a small business. Mom made a lot of mistakes throughout the years, but she kept her gallery and has made it one of the premiere businesses in the area.
Her success made it clear to me that anyone with a vision and a great work ethic can make a small business work, but there are certainly some insights Mom wishes she knew since the beginning. It would have relieved some stress and made some decisions easier. If you are considering starting your own small business, here are the secrets my mother would share with you to keep you from repeating her mistakes: [ continue reading… ]
As part of the U.S’s Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), health insurance companies now submit a standardized form for all medical services and products billed under a health plan. This form is called an Estimation of Benefits (EOB), or less commonly a Remittance Advice (RA; these are the EOBs sent to your physician’s office) or Explanation of Medicare Benefits (EMOB). Your Estimation of Benefits is the primary tool for tracking and disputing what is paid out-of-pocket for your medical care. Trusting that your insurance company is billing accurately is a mistake that can cost you money. Billing errors and miscommunication regarding your medical care are common, and can adversely affect how much you are deemed responsible to pay.
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