The Life Cycle Of A Purchase - From Desired Object To Tossed Clutter

RDS of SmartFinancialValues.com left an intriguing comment in response to a recent weekend post asking readers if they would be willing to sell all material possessions to become debt free.  RDS mentions that when it comes to their possessions “ ... payments, and the increased insurance premium.  After all, I worked hard. For those first few days [more...]

Date: 2009-01-07 11:00:37

Blog posts (186) | Videos (96)
 

Top 1000 most expensive keywords updated 725-825

Updated the next 100 from 725-825 wow did you know that enterprise web hosting costs you $32 , ... rate $32.89 mesothelioma attorneys $32.88 student debt consolidation $32.88 irs ... countydui attorneys $32.76 platinum visa credit card $32.75 term insurance quotes online [more...]

Date: 2008-12-17 21:46:00

What Did Hank Know? And When Did He Know It?

The indispensable Carol Loomis takes on AIG in Fortune. Having an overview of the government’s bailout (and re-bailout) ... of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that were loaded with mortgage securities, some of them ... from AIG’s healthy insurance businesses, which could then be sold for enough money to repay [more...]

Date: 2008-12-25 15:00:41

Odd search keywords and phrases

One of the biggest sources of traffic to the Blogland is from search engine referrals ... and underhanded debt collection practices is still a top ten read), there are often well over 500 ... ", "insurance mailbox hit", "law hitting mailbox with car", and "offense for hitting a mailbox with car [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 11:39:00

Bail us Out, say Madoff Victims

As I suspected those (who are not earning minimum wage you can be sure) ... with interest. SIPC is essentially insurance. If the decision is made to payoff more than ... the SIPCs fees to pay off the debt. This is also helpful by setting up a constituency that doesn’t want [more...]

Date: 2009-01-06 13:47:35

Andy Funk: Entrepreneur Turned Socially Conscious Venture Capitalist

The story of Andy Funk left me impressed, amazed, envious and motivated. I think it will do the same for you ... Gruppe, the largest privately-held and non-American owned insurance brokerage company in Europe ... these cards back,” he commented. By 21, Funk faced almost $250,000 of debt. “I was building my business [more...]

Date: 2008-12-10 11:39:17

Protect Insurance Companies PSA

Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm and a few other Hollywood celebrities got together and put together this PSA explaining why it’s important for Americans to protect the big insurance companies.   These Guys Are Some Rich Dicks New Credit Card Laws Dow Joes - He'll Put You In Debt Online Q&A With Will Ferrell Will Ferrell Fights With A Bat Padded Light Posts - Protecting Bodies Not Smart Enough To Protect Themselves [more...]

Date: 2009-09-22 16:00:09

Five Factors That Can Determine the Fate of the U.S. Dollar

As many economists and analysts have noted, the stability of the US dollar is a key issue in our current times of economic turbulence ... of as default insurance; the buyer makes regular payments, and the seller makes a payoff ... will not be able to pay off its debt, or will have difficulty doing so, it introduces concerns [more...]

Date: 2008-11-11 09:37:37

Fed Lending Another $38 Billion to AIG

There is a new press release up at the Fed on its latest loan to troubled insurer AIG (hat tip Dealbreaker) ... . This new program will allow AIG to replenish liquidity used in settling those transactions, while ... debt you have. It's going to be like this until after [more...]

Date: 2008-10-08 21:30:54

Roger Baker : Capitalism and its Minsky Moment

Minsky's Burlesque. Photo by Peter Stackpole, 1938 / Life / © Time Inc ... the mountains of debt they took on to acquire them. Losses on such speculative assets prompt lenders ... the risk through derivatives, basically default insurance based on good-time thinking. This risk [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 03:01:00

eHealth Insurance; Options For Your Health Care

Do you have health insurance? eHealth Insurance is basically an online insurance store, ... and one for $20, and will just continue your account along, without sending it to a collection agency ... , the fastest growing debt load in America right now is the defaulting of paying back medical claims. Even [more...]

Date: 2008-10-24 23:37:06

Personal Bankruptcy and Health Care Reform

by Meg Brown If you want to thicken the air in any given room these days, bring up the subject of national health care reform. Opinions and emotions are guaranteed to fuel a heated conversation while at the same time some key issues are often left out of the informal debate. It is hard to blame participants for these oversights because of the subject’s extreme complexity. But the bottom line remains that this is a subject our country needs to intelligently tackle before it bankrupts us. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 07:10:04

Basics About The Finance Information - Part 1

Savings. Pay yourself unrivaled. Start now stashing 10% of your income in an “Emergency” savings. Don’t aid it for anything but real emergencies. Keep a “For Sure” savings account for yearly expenses you know are coming and you can essence (e.g. Christmas, insurance, taxes, etc.). Also have a Buy Stuff account. If you do, you’ll symbolize producing to flee many financial disasters which bequeath face you, and you can escape borrowing iva or debt management from high-rate lenders. Borrowing. [more...]

Date: 2009-04-30 10:46:55

The Sad Tale of Gansel and Hetel

The plight of Hansel and Gretel is known to many but have you ever heard the sad story of Gansel and Hetel? Two middle class kids “adrift” in the consumerist shopping mall culture take a bath in debt and almost ruin their lives… can they be saved? Bad Health & Bad Luck Gansel and Hetel had it rough growing up with divorced parents.  Their dad didn’t take care of his health and didn’t buy enough life insurance so their mom was left to raise them totally alone after he passed away.  [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 12:57:44

GDP’s Debt to Credit

The FDIC is considering tapping its emergency line of credit with the Treasury. FDIC Chair Sheila Bair recently hinted after a speech at Georgetown University that all options are on the table when it comes time to replenish the dwindling Deposit Insurance Fund. We’ll find out more in the next few weeks after the FDIC board of directors meets. Stock market bulls aren’t concerned about the inevitable acceleration in bank failures — at least for now. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-23 18:10:17

GDP’s Debt to Credit

The FDIC is considering tapping its emergency line of credit with the Treasury. FDIC Chair Sheila Bair recently hinted after a speech at Georgetown University that all options are on the table when it comes time to replenish the dwindling Deposit Insurance Fund. We’ll find out more in the next few weeks after the FDIC board of directors meets. Stock market bulls aren’t concerned about the inevitable acceleration in bank failures — at least for now. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-23 22:12:34

The 7 new rules of financial security

In a world turned upside down, you must re-examine some basic assumptions. A good place to start: understanding the true nature of risk.John Maynard Keynes, the Depression-era economist who’s having quite the comeback, once quipped when he was accused of inconsistency: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”Money has long advocated the benefits of consistency in your investing and financial planning. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 10:57:27

Public Option Vote Could Pit Democrat Vs. Democrat

WASHINGTON — It'll be Democrat vs. Democrat as lawmakers go back to work on health care Tuesday. The Senate Finance Committee is expected to consider whether the government should offer its own insurance plan for the middle class in competition with private carriers. A public option is the top goal for liberals, but it has no Republican support and moderate Democrats say the Senate will never go along. So Tuesday's debate is expected to pit Democratic liberals against moderates. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 13:15:36

Public Option Vote Could Pit Democrat Vs. Democrat

WASHINGTON — It'll be Democrat vs. Democrat as lawmakers go back to work on health care Tuesday. The Senate Finance Committee is expected to consider whether the government should offer its own insurance plan for the middle class in competition with private carriers. A public option is the top goal for liberals, but it has no Republican support and moderate Democrats say the Senate will never go along. So Tuesday's debate is expected to pit Democratic liberals against moderates. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 12:31:54

The Fine Print on the U-Return Plan by GM

In an effort to spur sales after the wildly successful “cash for clunkers” program, GM unleashes a new promotion: if you don’t like the car you just bought, you can bring it back. It’s called the U-Return plan. But, as with anything that sounds too good to be true, there are a few caveats of which buyers must be made aware. Time Limit – You are only allowed to bring the vehicle back between the 31st and the 60th days after the purchase. You cannot return it during the first 30 days. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 15:34:29

How Baucus Plans On Hiding Costs

Thanks to the Wall Street Journal’s article , we now know how Sen. Baucus’s legislation hides the total cost of the legislation: One reason it allegedly “pays for itself” over 10 years is because it would break all 50 state budgets by permanently expanding Medicaid, the joint state-federal program for the poor. Democrats want to use Medicaid to cover everyone up to at least 133% of the federal poverty level, or about $30,000 for a family of four. Starting in 2014, Mr. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 03:37:07

More support for Del. North Aqueduct bid

More support for Del. North Aqueduct bid One of the region’s most powerful union-led construction organizations is throwing its support behind a Delaware North Cos. Benefit show raises $8M for Agassi school in Vegas Officials say a weekend benefit concert raised nearly $8 million to support tennis star Andre Agassi’s public charter school in Las Vegas. People in the news quiz Can you name these eight people who were in the Las Vegas Sun this week? 1. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 19:11:57

Operation Rollback

Posted by Review-a-Day, September 29th, 2009 3 CommentsFiled under:Review-a-Day. The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business by Nelson Lichtenstein Reviewed by Jefferson DeckerThe Nation In October 2003 employees at more than 800 chain supermarkets in California walked out of their jobs after management demanded pay cuts and a reduction in health insurance benefits. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 09:54:00

FDIC Seeks Prepayment from Banks – Analyst Blog

In order to replenish the declining fund of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) that insures regular deposit accounts when banks fail, the agency may ask U.S. banks to prepay fees for three years. Under the plan, banks would have to prepay their insurance premiums of $12 billion a year for 2010-2012, for a total of about $36 billion. The fees could, however, vary somewhat according to growth in total insured deposits. The FDIC board will discuss the issue today at its public meeting. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 14:11:26

Kratovil Takes Constituents’ Healthcare Reform Concerns To House Leadership

Leads Freshman Colleagues on Letter to Leadership highlighting the need for inter-State competition, tort reform, and deficit neutrality. Washington, DC – In a letter sent to House Leadership earlier today, Congressman Frank Kratovil and a group of his fellow freshman Members of Congress urged their party’s Congressional leaders to consider adopting a number of proposals raised by their constituents regarding healthcare reform. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 12:55:00

Paulson Said to Mull Merger of CIT and IndyMac

Hedge fund manager John Paulson is kicking around the idea of merging troubled U.S. finance company CIT Group with failed mortgage lender IndyMac Federal Bank, The New York Post said, citing people familiar with the matter.Mr. Paulson was part of the consortium that purchased IndyMac from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. earlier in the year, an the hedge fund manager also holds debt in CIT.The merger, a plan floated by a number of CIT’s creditors including Mr. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 09:04:40

Reform the Market for Ratings Agencies

Kevin Drum wonders what can be done about the ratings agencies: Beyond that, I’m also a bit flummoxed about what the answer to the ratings agency problem might be. There’s probably a reasonable regulatory solution for fraud and negligence, but there seems to be wide agreement that the real problem is incentives : since issuers are the ones paying for ratings, it’s inevitable that agencies are going to lean into the wind to provide ratings the issuers like. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 14:14:11

Having Problems Paying Your Bills?

Take a few minutes off and answer the following questions.1. What financial concerns are giving you headache right now?a. Credit card billsb ... in debt, try this next suggestion. My Fapturbo is an automated trading system that will help ... 1?a. File a loan to pay other loansb. Drop the insurancec. Declare bankruptcy d. Take second [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 20:15:28

The Debt Bomb and You

Lots of folks these days are concerned about the ever growing national debt and our ability (or lack thereof) to pay it. For those of you out there that are actually concerned (I guess that excludes any liberals that might frequent JBM) this article ought to scare the living shit out of you.Assume you had put much of your savings into U.S. government bonds and then you learned the following. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 01:47:50

Debt Consolidation.

It is quite alarming to know that families find it hard to get by from day to day on average combined salary of two working parents ... . Most resort to having multiple credit cards and multiple loans to have basic needs met - mortgages, insurance, car payments, tuition fees of children. This is because their monthly ... [more...]

Date: 2008-12-22 18:06:45

Senate Finance Committee Votes Down Public Option – Updated

The Senate Finance Committee met today for a vote on a public option for health care. This is the headline at the top of The Wall Street Journal’s home page : Breaking News: The Senate Finance Committee has voted against the creation of a new government-run health insurance plan I’ll update when more information is available. Update: From the New York Times Live Blog : DOWN TO DEFEAT| 2:51 p.m. The Rockefeller amendment is voted down, despite Mr. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 19:03:17

Top 10 Ways To Save Money - Number 2 - Live On A Budget

Let’s take ten minutes and create your new budget for December. Write down your expected monthly income.  (Use your take-home pay.) ... , mortgage, insurance, food, clothing, gifts, miscellaneous, cell phones, credit card payments, etc.  Need ... !  This is the amount that you can budget for extra savings or extra debt reduction payments.  Did [more...]

Date: 2008-11-29 21:41:51

Sellers of Tribune CDS Protection Face Large Payout

Matthew Cowley reports: The dire conditions facing media companies were highlighted by this week’s auction to settle credit derivatives ... agency, had already suggested that recovery values would be “negligible” for the bonds, at between zero and 10% for secured notes and debentures, senior unsecured debt, and subordinated debt [more...]

Date: 2009-01-07 09:50:00

Sellers of Tribune CDS Protection Face Large Payout

Matthew Cowley reports: The dire conditions facing media companies were highlighted by this week’s auction to settle credit derivatives ... agency, had already suggested that recovery values would be “negligible” for the bonds, at between zero and 10% for secured notes and debentures, senior unsecured debt, and subordinated debt [more...]

Date: 2009-01-07 09:50:00

The Poverty Business

Sorry if this appears to be an older article, and not latest headlines, just thought it was interesting - loki The Poverty Business Inside U.S ... into Byrider, Tsosie drove off, jubilant, in a 1999 Saturn subcompact she bought entirely on credit ... access to credit has put cars, computers, credit cards, and even homes within reach for many [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 00:45:24

The Valuation Blues (aka How FAS157 Is Tortuous)

I'm all for transparency and mark to market. As Roger Ehrenberg has blogged about consistenly, investors need to know what the underlying securities are worth inside banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, hedge funds, private equity funds, and yes venture capital funds. The FASB (which governs accounting standards in this country) [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 13:03:55

A Buyer of Structured Settlement Annuity Can Lead the Way to Financial Relief

We could all use a little bit of relief these days – in the financial arena to be sure ... and our families through the tough times. But when debt is piled on your back, mortgage payments are staggering, property tax is unseemly, school loans are due, car payments have to be made, health insurance keeps [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 03:07:18

Devise your own Credit Repair Plan

by Rob Kosberg You found yourself in a very bad financial situation. You may feel emotional, hopeless, guilty or all of them ... habits. It doesn’t mean a “debt consolidation,” program or a home equity loan .The word is PLAN. You will start by collecting all your credit reports, bill payment statements, and credit card [more...]

Date: 2009-01-14 23:53:58

The Friday Gathering Ask the M-Network Edition

The M-Network is starting the year off with a bang by beginning something that I think is really awesome: Ask the M-Network ... to make the lawyers happy: Our answers are opinions not professional financial advice – Please remember ... not be considered professional advice and we assume no responsibility of any kind. Please consult a certified [more...]

Date: 2009-01-09 12:01:47

Planning for a Rainy Day

There may be nothing worse for a business than to have its owner suddenly die. . . especially if it’s your business. Let’s look at what can happen when an owner dies. Joe Carpenter was the 55-year-old sole owner ... as well and decided to call in his company’s debt — debt Joe personally guaranteed. Within weeks [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 18:18:00

Top Ten Things to Know if You’re Interested in a Reverse Mortgage

Reverse Mortgages are becoming popular in America. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created one of the first ... that lets a homeowner convert a portion of the equity in his or her home into cash. The equity built up over years of home mortgage payments can be paid to you. But unlike a traditional home equity loan [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 19:53:15

The Massachusetts Mess

By The Honorable Arlene Wohlgemuth News coming out of the Massachusetts experiment with “socialized medicine lite” – the combination of insurance coverage that is free, subsidized, or mandatory to make it near universal – continues to be distressing for reasons other than the predictable, ever-escalating cost to the state [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 19:10:42

Full Text: Barack Obama on Economy | Economic Recovery and Reinvestment | January 8, 2009

(Source: Office of the President-Elect) Throughout America’s history, there have been some years that simply rolled into the next without much notice or fanfare.  Then there are the years that come along once in a generation – the kind that mark a clean break from a troubled past, and set a new course for our nation [more...]

Date: 2009-01-08 18:00:11

Liberals seek health-care access for illegals

By Stephen Dinan / Washington TimesFearful that they’re losing ground on immigration and health care, a group of Houseassociated press Rep. Michael M. Honda, California Democrat, is one of the 20-plus Democrats who are calling for health coverage of illegal immigrants.Democrats is pushing back and arguing that any health care bill should extend to all legal immigrants and allow illegal immigrants some access. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 03:09:58

Suze Orman’s Free Book - Fixing Your Finances in 2009

Barack Obama’s speech warning of devastating unemployment levels and a lengthy recession was no surprise to most Americans ... to do this year. For example, the general Credit advice for 2009 is: Make it a priority to pay off your credit ... to get your FICO credit score above 720. Be very careful where you turn to for help with credit card debt [more...]

Date: 2009-01-09 13:29:00

Economic Potpourri December 26, 2008

The barrage of noteworthy economic news continues unabated. I took a lot of time off posting Christmas Eve and Christmas ... and corporate debt deplete capital. The industry, which puts about 10 percent of its invested assets ... have not seen a mainstream media discussion of one of the big problems facing life insurers [more...]

Date: 2008-12-26 11:26:00

Risky Times (For Payment)

As companies suffer from slowing sales, growing inventories, and failing clients and suppliers, payment risks are at the front of many people’s minds. But it is no longer eager foreign companies ... of malicious debt evasion and breach of contracts by importers in certain nations or regions [more...]

Date: 2009-01-15 09:46:27

The Insurance Value of High Home Equity

Awhile back, I talked about how home equity serves as insurance against unexpected costly events, ... welfare payment develop where home-owners cash in on their homes, in boom times: to support children ... home – is a factor in the recent escalation of personal debt. However, these findings also suggest [more...]

Date: 2008-12-11 08:33:00

Financial Forecast for 2009, Considering Resource Limitations

In this post, I consider some major issues contributing to our current financial problems, before making a financial forecast for 2009. These are 1 ... from the bottom: Layer 1. Household Debt (Mortgages, auto loans, credit card debt, student loans ... debt-based financial system operating. 3. Where we are now, and the role reduced resources [more...]

Date: 2009-01-06 15:10:32

Is There a Future for the Bank?

In the good old days of plain vanilla finance, intermediaries were distinguished, and clearly distinguishable , between bank and non-bank intermediaries. The former, it was explained, were "special" in that they collected funds (mostly) in the form of short-term, sight money deposits, and lent them out (mostly) in the form of long-term, personal, non-marketable loans. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 18:53:18

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