Jul
29
More Reasons to Pay Off Your Mortgage
July 29, 2008 | 5 Comments
What is it about the mortgage that makes so many people rally to its defense? You would think it's a member of the family. I'd really like to change my mind on the mortgage just to be a contrarian. However there is just too much evidence that paying off your mortgage is the best move [...]
May
16
Believe It Or Not – Gas is Cheap in the United States – Gas Prices – Part 2
May 16, 2008 | 3 Comments
Do you believe that gasoline is cheap in the United States? According to CNN Money, fuel (gas, petrol, oil, diesel) in the US is relatively cheap in the US compared to other countries. Why is that and could it be even cheaper? This is the second article in a multi-part series on gas prices in [...]
Apr
3
Peer to Peer Lending with Prosper Et Al.
April 3, 2008 | 4 Comments
Maybe you’ve heard of peer to peer (p2p) lending. It’s also known as social lending or person to person lending. What is it and how does it work? I have some experience in this area so read on to find out what p2p lending is all about. Borrowers Consumer loans are big business. According to [...]
Mar
25
The Federal Reserve (the Fed), the central bank that everyone loves to hate, has lowered its target interest rate to 2.25%, down from 3%. The Fed is reducing rates in an attempt to stimulate the economy and prop up weak financial markets. What does this mean to you? Well it’s either good or bad depending [...]
Mar
12
Financial Derivatives Still Considered Harmful
March 12, 2008 | 1 Comment
In the five years since Warren Buffet’s warning about long term financial derivatives contracts the volume of such derivatives has increase five times from $100 trillion to $516 trillion. This according to BIS via Paul B. Farrell of CBS Marketwatch.com, implies “a massive new derivatives bubble is driving the domestic and global economies, a bubble [...]
Jan
25
Maxed Out: The Movie
January 25, 2008 | 1 Comment
If you’re in the mood for a movie and you need a little more convincing to pay off your credit cards then I have just the movie for you. Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders is a documentary about both consumer and government debt in America. The video is [...]
Dec
19
Make More Money
December 19, 2007 | 3 Comments
Everyone wants to know how, at least, everyone claims they want to know how. It’s strange that so few make the effort to learn how to become wealthy, let alone actually do it. If you want to become wealthy, the logical first step is to find out how to make more money. The secret to [...]
Dec
30
Are Credit Unions Better Than Banks?
December 30, 2006 | 6 Comments
I was listening to the radio the other day on my way home from work and heard an advertisement for a bank, then a few seconds later I heard and advertisement for a local credit union. Then I drove by a bank and then I passed a credit union. I had been mulling over switching [...]