Analysis Topic: Personal Finance
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Monday, December 22, 2014
UK Christmas Sales 2014 High Street Start Dates List / Personal_Finance / Shopping
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Britain's election economic boom is in full swing with the UK economy looking set to bust above a 3% GDP growth rate, further boosted by the collapse in the oil price that is acting to depress inflation (general prices) and put extra money into the pockets of consumers that is manifesting during the holiday season as consumers go on a debt fuelled spending binge at the cathedrals of modern Britain, jam packed with shoppers afflicted with sales fever hunting for bargains as Christmas has morphed into a month long relentless advertisement to spend, spend and then gain spend some more into January.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Retirement Planning - Five Rare Birds Sing a Wise Tune / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Dennis_Miller
In the spirit of the holidays, I’m sharing a happy truth: many people do, in fact, retire rich. Who are these rare birds and what can they teach us?
Rich Retire #1—The Pension Holder. If you have a large pension in 2014, you likely are or were a government employee. Many government workers receive pensions equal to 75-80% of their working salaries. In some government departments, it’s the unwritten custom for department heads to bump a worker’s salary 20% or so when he or she is a year or two from retirement. This boosts the employee’s base for his retirement pay.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
How Inflation Changes Retirement Benefit Choices / Personal_Finance / Inflation
By: Dan_Amerman
One of the most important financial questions someone of retirement age in the United States faces is when to start collecting their Social Security payments ─ and this crucial decision deserves the best possible information to work from.
Recently, there has been quite a bit of publicity about studies showing that for a retiree who lives to an average age, there is a six figure advantage to waiting until age 70 to begin the collection of Social Security payments. That is an amazing advantage ─ but does it hold up under close scrutiny?
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
UK CPI Inflation Falls - ‘Bah humbug’ Christmas for Savers / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
Inflation figures released today show that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell from 1.3% to 1% during November.
To beat inflation, a basic rate taxpayer at 20% needs to find a savings account paying 1.25% per annum, while a higher rate taxpayer at 40% needs to find an account paying at least 1.67%.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Take Back the Retirement You Dreamed of at 40 / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Dennis_Miller
Is it even possible today to retire rich? The short answer is “yes.” We all know people who have done just that. Watching your neighbors Bob and Betty Rich live the good life well into their 90s only tells you it’s possible, not whether you’re prepared to do it too. So let’s forget about the Riches and focus on you.
The first question you should ask yourself is: “Do I have enough money for the duration?” Or, if you’re still in your 30s, 40s or 50s: “Am I on track to save enough?”
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 24, 2014
How should I select a Binary Broker? / Personal_Finance / Investing 2014
By: Boris_Dzhingarov
When you’re starting out at options trading, you need to consider carefully a range of service providers that will enable you to execute your trades. In this article we will investigate the key characteristics that you should evaluate in order to determine which service provider is best suited to your needs and budget.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 03, 2014
Moral Hazard and Socialism in Collective Security Agreements Such as NATO / Personal_Finance / GeoPolitics
By: MISES
Patrick Barron writes: The economic phenomenon known as the "tragedy of the commons" instructs us that commonly-held resources that are insufficiently protected will be plundered to extinction. The phenomenon was recognized in the early nineteenth century to explain why the commons in England quickly came to be denuded by sheep. All sheepherders had an equal right to graze sheep on the commons. There often was no agreement as to how many sheep each could graze, so it was sheer rational self-interest for each to graze as many sheep on the common ground as possible. In short order the commons came to be overgrazed. What later came to be called "the tragedy of the commons" was a simple and imminently understandable explanation.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Investing While in Debt: Reasons You May Want to Think Twice / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Boris_Dzhingarov
Thinking about investing in your financial future? Whether it’s the stock market, real estate, or retirement savings, smart investments can definitely lead to financial gain. However, it seems that there is an overwhelming understanding that being in debt while investing is okay…While it would be nice to essentially use our investment opportunities as a method for paying off our debts, the likelihood of that happening is slim to none. You see, you need to have money to invest in order to turn a profit, and if you’re in debt, chances are you don’t REALLY have money to invest. As long as you owe someone, the money you’re investing is not your own.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 27, 2014
Annuity Rates Plummet Amid ‘Perfect Storm’ / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
The latest Moneyfacts Personal Pension and Annuity Trends Treasury Report, has revealed how the annuity market endured a perfect storm during Q3 2014 as a combination of plummeting gilt yields and a marked slowdown in demand following the 2014 Budget took their toll on annuity rates.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Annuities - Afraid Your Money Will Vanish before You Do? / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Casey_Research
By Andrey Dashkov
Unlike Jack Nicholson’s character in A Few Good Men, we trust that you can handle the truth. No matter your age, securing a comfortable retirement is a huge concern. Folks want the whole truth about their financial outlook, but straight answers are hard to come by.
Both sides of the mainstream media habitually present opinion-tainted partial facts. Case in point: the unemployment numbers announced earlier this month. One side is cheering because unemployment dropped to a six-year low, while the other side is calling it pure fraud.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, October 20, 2014
Perpetual Debt Slavery... / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis
There is an unspoken difference between debt that is designed to be paid back and debt (disguised as perpetual flow) to finance pre-existing streams of debt service.
The second type of debt is a Ponzi large enough to make Bernie Madoff blush. And crash the system. In the current system, debt is money for nothing used to create asset bubbles. Including the equity lift-off we see today.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
9 Ways to Retire Rich / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.”—Yogi Berra
It’s October, AKA the major league baseball postseason. As a lifelong baseball fan, I take the wisdom of Yogi Berra seriously. And when it comes to planning for the autumn of life, Yogi is spot on.
It seems as though every day an article titled “5 Tips for Retirement Saving” or something similar hits my inbox. I scan for the author’s name, and I’m amazed by how often it’s distinctly contemporary—Jennifer, Brandon, or another name of that vintage. Jennifer’s title is something like “staff writer,” and I immediately picture a fresh-faced young person with a newly minted journalism degree. After work, maybe she jumps in her starter BMW and heads to a local watering hole with her friends to gripe about student loan repayments.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
UK Savings and September 1.2% CPI Inflation / Personal_Finance / Inflation
By: MoneyFacts
Inflation figures released today show that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell from 1.5% to 1.2% during September.
To beat inflation, a basic rate taxpayer at 20% needs to find a savings account paying 1.5% per annum, while a higher rate taxpayer at 40% needs to find an account paying at least 1.9%.
Of the 621 non-ISA accounts in the market today, there are 170 that basic rate taxpayers can choose to negate the effects of tax and inflation.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 09, 2014
Yield-Hungry Baby Boomers Are on a Death March / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Donald_W_Dony
Today’s forecast: yield-starved investors forced into the market by seemingly permanent low interest rates will continue to be collateral damage. For some, that collateral damage may involve more than the loss of income opportunities… many could be wiped out completely.
At the Casey Research Summit last month, I asked the participants in our discussion group: “If there were safe, fixed-income opportunities available paying 5-7%, would you move a major portion of your portfolio out of the market?”
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, October 02, 2014
Don’t Expect a Life Vest to Save You from Low Interest Rates / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: Don_Miller
Touring the Alamo, presenting on how retirees can succeed in a crisis economy, and picking the brain of one of the world’s top economists, Dr. Lacy Hunt, about the future of low interest rates were among the highlights of my recent trip to San Antonio for the Casey Research Summit. In addition to authoring two books and countless articles for leading financial publications, Dr. Hunt is executive vice president of Hoisington Investment Management Company, a firm that manages $5.4 billion.
Lacy is also a favorite speaker of mine because in addition to being a terrific economist capable of running rings around the likes of Alan Greenspan, he can relate the big economic picture to average investors. He rates very high on the common-sense scale—a good philosophical fit for the Miller’s Money team.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, October 01, 2014
The Single Most Important Lesson from the Casey Summit / Personal_Finance / Investing 2014
By: Casey_Research
By Louis James, Chief Metals & Mining Investment Strategist
At our San Antonio summit, Rick Rule gave a talk that, as always, was well reasoned, packed with facts, and powerfully cogent. His message was simply that bear markets are for buying and bull markets are for selling—and in the future, resource investors with staying power would look back on the current market as “the good old days” when they were able to buy great stocks cheap.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Don’t Be a Freedom Wimp: Live from the Casey Research Summit in San Antonio / Personal_Finance / Learning to Invest
By: Casey_Research
By Doug Hornig, Senior Editor
On Day Two of the Casey Research Summit in San Antonio, the emphasis was decidedly on the “deep state,” as Doug Casey termed it: what it is, what it’s doing, and how to thrive despite its ubiquitous reach.
The deep state begins with government, an institution Doug describes as intrinsically evil and destructive. That’s because it’s empowered by enforced coercion—one of only two ways in which humans interact with one another (the alternative being voluntary cooperation).
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, September 25, 2014
5 Factors That Impact Your Credit Score / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
By: Submissions
Boris Dzhingarov writes: Your ability to obtain credit is crucial to securing many of the biggest purchases in life, and this ability is largely dependent on your credit score. In many cases, the higher your score, the cheaper your credit will be. The key to maintaining a healthy score involves knowing exactly what factors contribute - and here are five of the most common.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
£15K Cash ISA Limit Fails to Ignite Savings Industry / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: MoneyFacts
Not even the biggest hike in tax-free allowance since the launch of ISAs has stirred the savings market from its apathy. Moneyfacts.co.uk can reveal that the ISA sector has remained largely subdued and the majority of rates have actually fallen further since the increased allowance was announced.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Getting the Most Value from Your “Geriatric Cruiser” / Personal_Finance / Shopping
By: Don_Miller
For many a car lover, retiring rich requires the end of a lifelong love affair. I empathize with them all; I’ve had my own romance over the last 50-plus years.
Cars have a special resonance for people of my generation. George Lucas’ classic coming of age film American Graffiti is proof positive of that. As teens we flocked to auto dealers when new models came out and fantasized about actually being able to own our favorite. And let’s face it: cool cars were chick magnets. In our 20s and 30s, with the help of a friendly finance company, those dreams became reality, and every few years we’d get the new car itch again.
Read full article... Read full article...