January 9th, 201870406The holidays might be over, but nobody told your credit cards.
A Magnify Money poll found Americans added an average of $986 in debt during this holiday season. That might not seem like a huge number – but let’s not forget those pesky interest rates and daily expenses. Consumers making the minimum $25 payment each month on a 15 percent rate credit card could rack up about $400 in interest.
They could also take almost 10 years to pay off that holiday debt. And what happens if they wrack up more holiday debt the next several years?
So, let’s try to avoid that nightmare after Christmas, shall we? Here are some solid tips for...
January 8th, 201828190Here’s some bad news for those struggling with less than stellar credit scores: you may have a difficult time getting a new car loan in 2018.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates three times in 2017 and is predicted to raise rates at least that many times again in 2018. And that, of course, means interest rates on new car loans have risen – and will continue to rise.
For buyers with stellar credit (think a score of 660 or above) this trend likely won’t be a big deal, according to a USA Today article. They’ll likely see a increase of about $4 a month in their payments and could still be able to find rates as low as 4...
January 8th, 201856102Banks, retailers and technology firms came together late last week to send a letter to the House Energy and Commerce committee asking for new federal regulations governing data breaches that would preempt state law, according to Credit Union Journal.
The groups called for regulations that would create a "flexible, scalable standard" of data collected by a company. The regulations would also create a "notification regime" that would require the timely notice of a data breach to consumers, law enforcement and regulators.
"For the first time in over a decade, the banking, payment, retail, telecommunication and technology industries have...
January 5th, 2018229893The new year has long been a time to focus on weight loss. New year, new you, right?
Unfortunately, that mentality can also feed into the success of companies hawking phony and costly weight loss products that do more harm than good to your body.
Beginning in 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration noticed many over-the-counter “diet pills” contained “hidden active ingredients that could be harmful.”
“Consumers may unknowingly take products laced with varying quantities of approved prescription drug ingredients, controlled substances and untested and unstudied pharmaceutically active ingredients,” according to a...
January 4th, 201834140So, you’re hosting a College Football Championship party Monday night.
A noble endeavor – you were surely voted “most likely to be carried away on a blanket of school spirit” by your friends. And that’s great! You’re probably ready to deck everything out in red and black (Go Dawgs!) or in crimson and white (Roll Tide!) and really get the team pride going.
But take a timeout and a little time to huddle with your budget, first. You don’t need to spend half your life savings on hosting this one-night party.
Check out these Pinterest-worthy tips for hosting a supreme College Football Championship party on a budget.
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January 4th, 201854104The Dow Jones topped 25,000 points for the first time Thursday, according to the Washington Post.
That continues a streak that lifted stocks by more than 20 percent in 2017.
According to the Post, the Dow has risen steadily since 2009, but saw much greater strides through the past year. It passed the 20,000 threshold just after President Donald Trump took office and ended the year by posting 71 record highs.
Read the Post's entire article here. ...
January 2nd, 201835377Freelancer Fonda Semerjian wrote this post.
New year, new you, right? New diet, new workout routine and – for many of us – a new budget are all on the horizon in 2018. Here are some tips to keep you on track with your financial goals in the new year:
Keep your budget and goals realistic – Goals need to be manageable. If you’re looking to pay down debt, make sure you can afford the payment you want to include in your budget.
Account for all expenses and seasonal changes – Evaluate your bills from each month in 2017 for a reminder of the fluctuating expenses. Perhaps your power and water bills increased during the summer...
January 2nd, 201827110The United States Congress will begin the new year trying to avoid a government shut down.
“People are not going to come back singing the Sound of Music together. January is going to be contentious,” said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-NC in an interview with Bloomberg Politics.
The federal government is scheduled to run out of money Jan. 19. To avoid that shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel, R-Ky., will need to strike a deal with the Senate’s Democrats, who recently chopped the GOP’s majority to 51 votes with the victory of Doug Jones in Alabama, according to the Washington Post.
Negotiations aren’t likely to be easy....
December 28th, 2017199If you could use a few extra million dollars, you might want to consider buying a Powerball or Mega Millions ticket today.
That's according to USA Today, which reported the current jackpot prizes for both lottery games are over $300 million each. The Mega Millions jackpots is at $306 million while the Powerball announced early Thursday that its jackpot has reached about $384 million after no winning jackpot tickets were sold in its Wednesday drawing.
The winning Powerball numbers were 3, 9, 16, 56 and 60. The Powerball number was 3.
Powerball tickets are $2 per play and drawings are held on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. The next...
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