The #1 Principle for Personal Financial Success
SOME SUCCESS PRINCIPLES ARE SO OBVIOUS that they would not seem to require repeating. On the other hand, as we become immersed in our live’s activities, accomplishments and problems, it’s possible to lose site of the fundamentals of living an enjoyable life. One such principle centers upon how we manage our personal finances. In this [...]
Consumer Credit Crisis: Getting Worse?
MORTGAGE DURESS, JOB LOSSES AND CREDIT CRISIS FOR CONSUMERS. CNN Money has written about the findings of a new report (see link below). In brief, the report is characterizing the relative credit worthiness for each of the states in the U.S. (Sort of like a credit score across the nation). The report shows a credit [...]
Falling Credit and Soaring Unemployment
BLOOMBERG REPORTS THAT U.S. CONSUMER CREDIT FALLING: “Borrowing by U.S. consumers dropped in May for the fourth straight month after the unemployment rate reached the highest in more than 25 years and accessing loans remained difficult.” The article also notes that there is “evidence that more consumers are falling behind on payments as unemployment cuts [...]
What is a Credit Crunch?
A CREDIT CRUNCH IS A REDUCTION IN THE GENERAL AVAILABILITY OF LOANS, or even a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from the banks. Either scenario is not good for you and I. The current credit crunch was partially caused by careless and inappropriate bank lending which resulted in losses for [...]
Signs of Economic Improvement
HAVE YOU STARTED YOUR PERSONAL FINANCIAL RECOVERY? Bloomberg reported today that “The index of U.S. leading economic indicators rose in May for a second consecutive month and a regional factory gauge climbed more than forecast in June, showing the worst recession in five decades may soon end.” That is good news for the economy. But [...]
ECONOMY AND MONEY, HOW IS IT SUPPOSE TO WORK?
DEFINITION OF ECONOMY You’ve heard the word “economy“, in fact, it’s probably just part of the continuous hum that is in the news. But, what heck does it mean? Why is it so complicated? How come it is made to be something only well educated people seem to know about and yet, it gets all [...]
I HAVE DEBT, BUT I DO LIVE WITHIN MY BUDGET
GOOD DEBT – BAD DEBT It’s been said that there is “good debt” and “bad debt” and this is true. There is debt that helps you to make money. For example, if you have a good product to sell on the market place but you need some investors to help manufacture it, then you can [...]
INFLATION AND DEFLATION – WHAT IS IT?
INFLATION IS PRICES GOING UP and deflation prices going down. Maybe you’ve never heard of “deflation” because it’s not popular for businesses, but it does exist. Recently, the gas prices hit the roof going up as high as $4.50 a gallon. That dramatic increase in price is called Inflation. But, the price of gas suddenly [...]
PAYDAY LOANS – GOOD IDEA, OR TROUBLE?
YOU NEED CASH RIGHT NOW! You can’t wait because if you do, whatever you need will be gone, or you will die. Really? PAY LOANS AND CASH – WHAT TO DO? Payday loans are a great way to get cash right now at the sacrifice of your paycheck, meaning, you will not get all of [...]
A SENSIBLE ECONOMY VS. SPECULATION
DEFINITION OF “ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY” The word, “economy”, means the management of money. It began with money management in the household, then it grew to governments, etc. “Philosophy” is a word that means a description of living, why things go up and down and how to explain life. When you couple the 2 words together, you [...]
HOW DID WE GET SO FAR IN DEBT?
This is the question one asks at the 11th hour of the financial collapse. HOW DID WE GET SO FAR IN DEBT ? First, the obvious answer is that it is easier to spend it than make it. You can go in debt with the “hope” that you will be able to manage it and even [...]