The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 puts more restrictions on credit card lenders and their practices. Most of the provisions aren’t effective until February. 22, 2010, but two take effect this week: …
One of my hiking buddies stays in shape through the year by working out at a fitness gym plus he takes a yoga class a couple of times per week. Those provide a good variety of work on flexibility, strength, and endurance training. They also have an ongoing cost for participation, beyond the time commitment.
I have taken a different approach. I bought a Wii with the FIT board and program. I am working my way through its yoga, strength, balance, and cardio exercises/games. I paid for it once, and now use it. As I spend more time on it and improve my performance it rewards me by …
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. You are also entitled to a free credit report under certain circumstances, such as when you are denied credit because of something in your credit report. You can order three free credit reports each year, but you don’t have to order all three at the same time. If you order one from each of the three credit bureaus every four months, you can stay more current on what’s in your credit accounts, without having to buy a service. If you are married, you can double up by ordering a report for you and for your spouse – that’s six free credit reports per year – enough to order one every other month.
I have been mentoring a friend of mine who wanted to take control of his 401k plan and manage his investments rather than choosing from the standard mutual funds that have performed poorly in the past year or so. As I have shown him the mechanics of expanding the choices in his plan and discussed [...]
Tax Advantaged Savings For College
A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future college costs. 529 plans, legally known as “qualified tuition plans,” are sponsored by states, state agencies, or educational institutions and are authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code.
There are two types of 529 plans: pre-paid [...]
Yesterday President Obama announced the (forced) resignation of GM’s long-tenured CEO and Chairman, Rick Wagoner along, with a demand that the company take stronger action in restructuring in the next 60 days or face bankruptcy. At the same time he guaranteed both GM and Chrysler’s warranty programs and provided interim funding to keep both companies going, albeit on different paths as he announced the arranged marriage for Chrysler with Fiat in the next 30 days. This is huge news in economics, investments, politics, and nearly any other arena. Rush Limbaugh weighed in with the retail store policy, “if you break it you bought it.” President Obama just took away GM’s leadership and then said “you have to do better, and quickly.” If the President is promising sweeping changes in taxes, regulation, and health care to go along with taking control of businesses that are too large to fail, how does anyone plan for and invest in the future without knowing what the ground rules are going to be? The markets reacted strongly to yesterday’s announcements, broadly losing over 3%.
Although there are different policies for homeowners and tenants (renters) and even condominium owners, in the U.S. there are standardized basic forms that insurance companies must use for most homeowner’s insurance (with the exception of Texas, which still makes state unique forms available, too.) This makes comparing coverage offers from different insurance companies somewhat easier if you know which coverage forms they are quoting and what limits/deductibles they include. You also need to know if they have any special endorsements restricting or broadening coverage. For homeowners, policies that include your home and personal property come in three flavors – basic, broad, and special. All three are “package” policies including property coverage and liability coverage. The big difference is in the property coverage.
