Analysis Topic: Personal Finance
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Dark Days Continue for UK Savers / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
Inflation figures released today show the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell from 2.9% to 2.8% during July.
To beat inflation, a basic rate taxpayer at 20% needs to find a savings account paying 3.50% per annum, while a higher rate taxpayer at 40% needs an account paying at least 4.66%.
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Thursday, August 08, 2013
A Lousy Investment that May Be a Good Source of Income / Personal_Finance / Investing 2013
By: Don_Miller
One of the biggest challenges facing retirees is how to bridge the gap between ever-rising expenses and virtually stagnant Social Security checks and other sources of income. While we are all finding ways to be more frugal, many folks still fall short every month.
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Sunday, August 04, 2013
Annuities The Worst Investment You Can Make? / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Investment_U
Alexander Green writes: A couple months ago, I wrote a column about a good friend who’d plunked a substantial part of his life savings into an expensive and unnecessary whole life policy. I explained why this is almost always a terrible investment.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Death Taxes - Don't Make the Same Mistake Tony Soprano / Personal_Finance / Taxes
By: Money_Morning
Greg Madison writes: We were all shocked by the sudden, untimely death of James Gandolfini. Gandolfini was an immensely gifted actor who changed the face of television entertainment in the role of Anthony "Tony" Soprano, a deeply troubled gangster-in-therapy, who had to balance obligations to his family... and his Family.
By all accounts, James Gandolfini was generous and kind to family and friends alike. It has been reported that he left a large legacy, in excess of $70 million, to be divided between them. His net worth is an estimate, and his asset inventory hasn't yet been disclosed, but he did alright for a middle class kid from North Jersey.
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Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The Most Dangerous Myth About Retirement Investing / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Robert Hsu writes: The most dangerous myth out there right now is that Treasuries are the key to safe wealth building.
Forget about Fed Chairman Ben Benanke's latest palliative.
This misconception will turn your nest egg into a pile of sticks faster than you can say quantitative easing.
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Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Will You Still Work When Retired? / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
You may have heard the popular legend about Eskimo tribes sending the elderly off to die at sea. As the stories go, when grandpa and grandma could no longer hunt or earn their keep, the younger folks would put them on an iceberg and ship them off. Fewer mouths to feed gave the younger generations a better chance at survival. I shudder at the thought.
Friday, July 05, 2013
Best Cash ISA Savings Account for Least Stealth Inflation Theft from UK Savers / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Mark Carney has just taken over from the Mervyn King as Governor of the Bank of England, or should I say SIR Mervyn King who as is always the case was rewarded with a knighthood for his failures at the Bank of England because rather than to be held to account for his part in the ongoing banking catastrophe that has yet to see any bankster's go to jail for the financial crimes of the century that literally brought the country to its knees as evidenced by the greatest drop in GDP since the Depression that followed the First World War.
Monday, July 01, 2013
Student Loan Debtors Bamboozled Again / Personal_Finance / Student Finances
By: Money_Morning
Tara Clarke writes: I know a lot of you out there don't have sympathy for student loan debtors who complain about their debt.
You see it as a matter of personal responsibility - they chose to sign a contract and so should suck it up and uphold their end of the deal.
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Thursday, June 27, 2013
How to Make the Most from the Changes in the U.S. Housing Market / Personal_Finance / US Housing
By: DailyGainsLetter
Moe Zulfiqar writes: The housing market in the U.S. economy has gained a significant amount of attention. Even my old friend, Mr. Speculator, who likes to make big bets for bigger gains, told me it’s a good time to buy a house, saying “the prices are cheap, and they are only going higher from here.”What’s certain is that the U.S. housing market has seen an uptick since the home prices hit bottom in early 2012; but is it on the path to real recovery, or is what we are seeing just a minor bounce?
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Friday, June 21, 2013
How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Variable Annuities / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
Last year consumers purchased $200 billion in annuities. On top of that, there are currently $2-3 trillion in annuities already in force. With all the variations, options, riders and strategies available, it's easy to feel lost. At Money Forever, we aim to simplify complex financial topics. To that end I’m going to share a case that jumped out at me as we researched our special report on annuities. The evaluation process used here translates to any sort of annuity you may encounter; its information you can keep in your back pocket and draw on when annuity salespeople try to overcomplicate products and make predictions sound like guarantees.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Are Annuities the Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread? / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
Well, no, but they do make sense for some investors as part of their portfolio. However, we have to shop wisely and not allow sales agents to push us into the wrong products just to fatten their own wallets. Unfortunately, that makes some folks shy away from something that could help them make their money really last a lifetime… or longer.
Friday, June 07, 2013
How to Get Out of Student Loan Debt / Personal_Finance / Student Finances
By: Money_Morning
Tara Clarke writes: Anyone wondering how to get out of student loan debt - or wondering if a slew of student debtors could try to do so - needs to read this.
Yesterday, I wrote about the case of Michael Hedlund, the failed law student who was able to discharge $58,000 of his student loans in a 10-year bankruptcy action.
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Thursday, June 06, 2013
Exposing the Secret to Wiping Out Student Loan Debt in Bankruptcy / Personal_Finance / Student Finances
By: Money_Morning
Tara Clarke writes: Accepted wisdom says that there are only two (rather sobering) ways to relieve the burden of student debt: either pay it off, or depart from this earthly world.
Until now.
On May 22 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals wiped out $58,000 in student loan debt for a former law student in bankruptcy proceedings, sending shockwaves through the formerly impervious facade of student loan debt performance.
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Monday, June 03, 2013
Should You Buy an Pension Annuity? / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
In simple terms, an annuity is a contact between a person and a company. The person gives the company a sum of money, and in return is promised a monthly payout, generally for the rest of their life. There are many cases where annuities make sense for retirees or folks planning to retire soon. At the same time, there are risks and situations where annuities are the wrong choice.
Monday, June 03, 2013
How 401(k) Fees Are Costing You 33% of Your Nest Egg / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Gary Gately writes: If you have a 401(k) chances are you're getting ripped off and you don't even know it.
With all of the associated 401(k) fees, the truth is you could be losing as much as 33% of your retirement nest egg to the financial advisors who run your plan.
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Friday, May 31, 2013
Life Insurance - When Death Is the Best Investment / Personal_Finance / Insurance
By: Investment_U
Alexander Green writes: A good friend recently called me. He was excited.
“I just bought a fantastic whole life policy from a guy I know,” he said. “I can’t believe the benefits. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t do this.”
“Really?” I said.
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Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The Cold, Hard Facts Behind Funding Your Retirement / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
Many folks are afraid they simply won't be able to retire – or stay retired – when and how they planned. We can talk about retiring later, taking a part-time job, and cutting back on expenses, but those are only partial solutions. Of the seniors who are still working, very few are earning as much as they did at their peak. Their life savings still needs to make up the difference.
I receive a lot of letters from very concerned baby boomers and retirees who are watching their principal erode every year, but they don't know what to do about it. Unfortunately, some have unrealistic expectations.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013
UK Savings Catastrophe - Best Cash ISA? There Isn't One! / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The consequences of the Quantum of Quantitative Easing (QQE) is one of systematic theft of wealth from savers / bank depositors by the government and banking sector, unfortunately this trend is intensifying and unlikely to change for at least another year as illustrated by announcements every other month such as the extension of the funding for lending fraud, that looks set to continue to bleed depositors dry in the run up to the May 2015 general election as an desperate, fractious Coalition government will first attempt to bribe the electorate by spending money the country does not have or in the final analysis given a poor standing in the opinion polls decide to follow follow Labours example of 2009 (Labour Governments Bankrupt Scorched Earth UK Economy for the Conservative Government ) by handing the next Labour-geddon government an even more scorched earth bankrupt economy.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Why Are So Many Seniors Still Working? / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Don_Miller
By Dennis Miller Go into any fast food restaurant or retail store and you’ll find a lot of seniors working for minimum wage. Here’s why.
When personal computers hit the scene, numerous retirement-planning programs quickly became available. You entered your personal financial information, along with yield and inflation projections, and the computer would tell you how long your retirement nest egg would last.
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Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Falling Choice in Cash ISA's Current Best Tax Free Savings Account / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: MoneyFacts
Moneyfacts research reveals a 23% fall in the choice of where to place your cash ISA this year compared to April 2012.
Not only have product numbers fallen but the rates last year were around a third higher than today, (one-year fixed has fallen by 32%/long-term fixed by 33%).
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