Owner: USAinDebt URL:http://www.usaindebt.com/ Join Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:45:25 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Debt, Credit Cards, Student Loans, Investments, Finance Management: News, Comments & Reviews. Site statistics:Click here
The 401(k) plan and what’s in there for you 2007-09-26 23:34:44 Probably everybody have heard that there is something called 401(k), but a lot of you don’t know what it is. Well, 401(k) is a voluntary retirement investment plan, and in simple words that is money you save for retirement.
There are two types of 401 plans. There is a 401(k) and also a 401(k) SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees). What makes them different is their allowances:
The SIMPLE plan is generally for companies that have 100 or less employees. Employees with SIMPLE can contribute maximum of $10000 per calendar year, or 12000 for individuals of age 50 and up. Employers are also required to contribute 2 to 3% employee contributions if SIMPLE 401(k) is offered.
Regular 401(k) plans (for companies with 100+ employees) allow workers to contribute up to $15500 per year, or 20500 for employees of age 50 and older. Employer matching is not required but most companies do match certain percentage.
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[WallStreet Journal] When recession rules, cash is king! 2007-09-26 11:06:54 A pretty interesting article by Jonathan Clements, who gives some good advice on how to be ready to face recession: reclaim savings, downsize debt. Short tips on 401(k), Roth IR and other savings accounts; mortgage & refinancing; debt.
Getting Going on WSJ.com
Tags:
wall street journal |
jonathan clements |
savings |
debt |
cash
Read more:Journal
US government going bankrupt: National debt keeps climbing 2007-09-26 10:42:16 $8,993,695,814,457.91 or almost nine trillion us dollars. This is the current debt that our government is liable for. That’s more than the national debt of Japan, Germany and Italy combined. And even though Bush’s administration recently announced that 2007 deficit has dropped $90 billion below the reported in 2006, we’re still up to our ears.
Why is the government sinking in debt? Why is there a deficit? The federal budget deficit is the yearly amount by which spending exceeds revenue. So, they dropped the deficit. Great accomplishment! But in the real world reducing the deficit only means that less is added to the current national debt. Until deficit exists, this thirteen-digit number will continue going up. In the beginning of 2004, it was just above the 7 trillion mark. By November of 2005, this sum was way above 8 trillion. With the an estimated population of the United States already above 300,000,000 souls, each citizen’s share of this debt averages to a Read more:National
, keeps
, climbing
What is APY? 2007-09-25 07:50:28 The Annual Percentage Yield is a financial formula, used to calculate how much a deposit earns as interest. The higher the APY, the better the investments & the return!
As its name suggests, the Annual Percentage Yield is calculated for the period of one year. APY is a compound interest (you earn interest on your initial deposit + on your earnings). Different companies compound on a different time basis-daily, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, yearly. Accounts with frequent deposits usually tend to have more frequent compounding periods. Higher compounding frequency means better return, better APY.
When choosing investment accounts, inquire about the compounding frequency. The account with the higher frequency is the one you want to put your money in
Tags:
apy |
credit |
apr |
investment |
interest |
compound
The sinking dollar 2007-09-24 22:28:45 WiseBread.com has an interesting article on the slowly “sinking
” US currency. The author has pointed out a couple of things that directly affect us because of that.
“It takes more than $1.40 to buy one euro today. It cost less than $1 as recently as late 2002. A Canadian dollar is worth just about exactly a US dollar–a parity not seen since the 1970s. Should Wise Bread readers care? If so, what should they do?”
Read full article
Tags:
us currency |
euro |
inflation
USAinDebt updates are in progress 2007-09-24 12:34:08 USAinDebt just moved to its permanent hosting at SAVVIS data centers in US. We can now enjoy faster loading time and 99.9% server uptime!
More updates
are to follow as new features are implemented, some downtime is possible.
Tags:
usaindebt |
hosting |
updates
Read more:progress
Mint: money management made easy 2007-09-24 12:17:07 Introduced just recently (September 18th) Mint is the new “must have” in your Favorites. “Refreshing Money Management” is the company slogan behind this free finance management system.
My first good impression is the design and the usability of Mint’s interface. Light, very intuitive and easy to use. Everything is well-organized and in the right place. Mint offers a whole set of helpful money-management tools. Checking the balance on all your credit cards and bank accounts at the same time is done in a snap. The system can automatically retrieve your financial information from more than 3000 US banks and credit card companies. Email and text alerts can also be set-up to give you an early warning if something goes wrong with your account(s).
Mint categorizes and tracks all your transactions, and displays neat colorful charts that give you better view of your spending. It also has a built-in feature that tracks your spending habits and suggests ways to save
How to score a discount on your monthly cellular bill 2007-09-23 23:04:47 jkOnTheRun has an interesting article that can help you out by saving you some $$$ with your cell phone bill. Good tips for Verizon, AT & T, T-Mobile USA and Sprint customers.
Read full article here
Tags:
verizon |
t-mobile |
at&t |
sprint |
cingular |
save |
cellphone
Read more:cellular
OurCommunityPower.org is the all-in one finances community 2007-09-23 22:57:57 I personally often have questions that people around me cannot answer. That is when I turn to Forums. Well, I had a lot of finance-related question, and after digging trough Google’s search results I stumbled upon a great websites. A bunch of them, I should say.
OurCommunityPower.org is a coalition of 4 different communities: Debt, Mortgage, Credit and Insurance. The website is stuffed with useful articles, calculators and a bunch of other things. I have already registered in 3 of the communities and the members that post there a friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The Debt community
has partnered with a debt counseling service that gives free consultations to forum members.
And another plus: ever felt that you should be rewarded for posting - well, at OurCommunityPower.org you actually get paid to write! Each of the Forums there has its own point system, which automatically calculates your rewards and displays them in your profile. You can request your rewards to be sent by Pay Read more:finances
Foreclosures in US rise 115% since last year 2007-09-23 22:39:21 Newsday has published some disturbing numbers: just for the period of one year, foreclosures nationwide have jumped with the whopping 115%. Exactly 243,947 were the filings in August, hitting the highest point in a single month since foreclosure statistics were tracked by RealtyTrac starting back in 2005.
”The jump in foreclosure filings this month might be the beginning of the next wave of increased foreclosure activity, as a large number of subprime adjustable rate loans are beginning to reset now,” said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s chief executive.
Full article
Tags:
foreclosure |
filings |
realtytrac |
mortgage
Read more:Foreclosures
USAinDebt hosting “Twenty Something Finances” on BlogCarnival 2007-10-01 13:04:08 Thanks to Lulu @ howisavemoney I am now hosting a BolgCarnival! The topic is “Twenty Something Finances”. If you want to submit your article, follow this link. The next edition of the carnival of Twenty Something Finances will be held on October 15th, so articles are accepted until the 13th of October.
Submit your article for “Twenty Something Finances” on BlogCarnival
Hosting a carnival gives you great exposure! :wink:
Tags:
blogcarnival |
saving money |
finances |
twenty something
What if I dislike talking to robots? 2007-10-01 05:27:26 “Welcome to xbank. For payments press one….” We all know the trend. Automated systems, endless phone number, account number, access code punching. It is getting harder and harder to speak to a living, breathing human being when calling customer service. So next time, before you call your bank / insrance / mortgage lender or just any other customer service phone number, take a look at GetHuman. Save yourself some times and nerves!
Tags:
automated phone system |
bank |
insurance |
mortgage lender |
customer service |
live person
Read more:robots
Pedro and his IRS tales 2007-09-30 18:01:46 This 2-year old story came up on CNN again this morning: In 2005, Pedro
Zapeta, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala tried to leave the country with $59,000 in his duffel bag. At that time, U.S. customs seized all of his money.
Pedro, who doesn’t speak English has worked illegally in the US for 11 years, earning about $5.50 per hour, being a dishwasher. The Guatemala native said that he didn’t know that he is supposed to declare any sum larger that $10,000. He did, however acknowledge that he was working illegally and has never paid taxes. “They are treating me like a criminal when all I am is a working man,” he said.
Zapeta had two attorneys working on his problems: one trying to get his money back, and the second one handling his immigration case. Federal prosecutors have offered Pedro to take $10,000 of the original cash seized, plus almost $10,000 of donations. He said “no”.
Last week, Pedro has given official status in the US. He can now work an
US Dollar losing the currency battle? 2007-09-30 12:36:45 If you have missed the recent financial world news coverage, here’s an update on the “hot” topic: the U.S. dollar continues to lose value on the world market. How far will the depreciation go?
Since 2001, the depreciation of the US dollar against EUR and other currencies has been causing growing concerns in the world market. America’s currency is slowly but surely losing value: At the end of 2005, a record USD EUR exchange rate of 1.3623 was reached; For the year of 2006, the United states currency lost 11% versus EUR. USD value has been gradually declining for the current year. Depreciation reached 5.3% against the euro and 7.3% against the yen. Last week, since the Federal Reserve cut interest rates the dollar has been sliding even more. Yesterday, it fell to a record low, setting a record for the Canadian dollar, which was traded at $1.0091, hitting its highest in 31 years. British pound & Japanese yen followed the trend, jumping record high. Oil prices Read more:Dollar
[The Digerati Life] Rent vs Buy A House: How To Evaluate Your Options 2007-09-29 19:05:33 Silicon Valley Blogger posted a nice article on the million-dollar question “Should I rent or buy?”. Side-to-side comparison of your options and some good tips.
Rent vs Buy A House
: How To Evaluate Your Options
on The Digerati Life
Tags:
rent |
mortgage |
digerati |
homeowner
What is FICO and why should you care about it 2007-09-29 11:26:42 Fair Isaac & Co has developed FICO as a method of calculating how credit-worthy individuals are. It represents an individual’s “pay-ability” as a number, called a credit score. The FICO score is watched closely by lenders, insurers, landlords, employers, utility companies and other creditors. It helps determine credit interest rates, credit limits and credit eligibility.
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[Forbes] Washington getting ready to invest $3 billion in the Army 2007-09-28 12:32:14 Defence Secretary Robert Gates is “inclined to approve” a nearly $3 billioninvest
ment, targeted to accelerate the Army’s growth plan. Army secretary Pete Geren is pushing the accomplishment of a planned 74,000 increase in four years rather than five, the total cost of which comes up to $2.8 billion in added personnel costs.
US Army Wants to Grow Faster at Forbes
Tags:
army |
robert gates |
pete geren
Read more:Washington
, ready
Balance transfers: Benefits & Drawbacks 2007-09-27 23:05:46 0% on balance transfers! How many times have we seen the big “0″ on various flayers, TV commercials and posters? Probably a million. A lot of people get very excited when they receive a “0% APR on balance transfers” offer, because it can save them money with high-interest balances. Unfortunately, however, most of the time there is a “fine print”. And that is where it can get really ugly if you are not careful.
The first thing to watch for in a 0% AR transfer is the grace period. Usually you will be given a 0% APR for 6 or 12 months. This where you are saving - you won’t be paying interest for half an year or a whole year - it can spare you hundreds and even thousands on higher balances. But be careful - one missed payment on any of your credits (including mortgages, insurance, even a phone bill) can kill your 0% APR.
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Read more:Balance
, Benefits
[Lifehacker] Become an Online Power-Shopper 2007-09-27 12:04:22 Adam Pash at Lifehacker
has published an interesting article with a bunch of tips on how to save some cash while shopping online. He also throws in some interesting websites to take a look at.
Become
an Online Power-Shopper on LifeHacker.com
Tags:
lifehacker |
hackattack |
save money |
savings |
online shopping
How to Raise Cash Quickly if You Have a Low Credit Score 2007-10-13 07:21:19 Individuals often fall into situations when they need cash fast but have no way of getting it. Credit is not an option, since your score numbers are really low. So here are a couple of alternative ways to raise some cash quickly.
Seek help from family and friends. This is the first thing on your To-do list. Talk to your parents / offsprings and other relatives. Call your best friends and ask them to lend you some money. Don’t take money from your colleagues. Make sure that you pay those loans on time. You won’t be charged interest if you don’t but you will never get a loan from them again.
Sell your old stuff. And the new stuff also.Look around and see what you can get rid of. You can easily sell electronics and furniture on Craigslist. If you don’t have anything old to sell, price your new belongings. You can always get another TV, DVD, stereo when you are in a better financial shape. Sell your books, CD’s & DVD’s, video and computer games. You Read more:Score
The Citibank Supervisor That Made My Day 2007-10-12 10:23:22 I was just complaining about Citibank
’s bad customer service a couple of days ago. Yesterday I have noticed that they have bumped up my interest on one of my cards to 32.32%! I called to see what happened and they said that I was late on a payment back in August and that’s when the APR went up. So I argued a bit and then asked to speak with a supervisor. She deserves to have her name mentioned here - Jennie lowered my APR to initially 17.4%, then, without me even asking her for a lower one, she lowered it to 10.4% and then once again, before I could say “Thanks” she said that she will give me a 0% APR for 4 months and 10.4% thereafter. I just couldn’t believe I felt like it was my birthday!
Tags:
citibank |
apr |
charges |
reversal |
supervisor
Read more:Supervisor
How to Lower Your Car Insurance Premium 2007-10-11 08:55:13 Driving around in a car really costs more and more these days. Besides the high gasoline and maintenance prices, vehicle insurances also can take a solid bite out of your pocket. Your insurance companies charge well, but thankfully there are some ways in which you can help lower your auto insurance premium.
Your insurance premium is computed on the basis of many factors, such as the year, make and model of your vehicle, your driving experience and record, your place of residence, driving habits and even your credit score.
(more…)
Read more:Lower
, Premium
, Car Insurance
Subscribe to USAinDebt via Email 2007-10-10 11:46:37 I have added the option to subscribe to USAinDebt via email. If you subscribe, you can be receiving all the new headlines from this website into your mailbox! Check the “Subscribe
via RSS or Email
” block on the right handside of this website.
How to Choose a Credit Card 2007-10-10 08:25:52 Credit cards can either help you out or ruin your life. This is why choosing the right plastic is an important task which shouldn’t be underestimated. Picking the right one involves understanding of how credit cards work, shopping around and comparing and finally selecting “the winners”.
There are several types of different credit cards out there, each one comes with it’s different benefits and drawbacks.
Travel and Entertainment Cards. These have to be paid in full every billing period. They usually don’t have a predetermined limit. Examples: Diners club.
Bank Credit Card
s. MasterCard, Visa, Discover are all examples of a bank credit card. Your bank will define your credit limit according to your credit profile. You will have minimum payments per month, finance charges and some of them will come with benefits, such as cash-back or gift points, depending on your bank.
Retail Store Credit Cards. Macy’s, Sears and others are retail store cards which yo
Gasoline Prices Rising, Wallets Emptying Out 2007-10-10 08:24:50 $1.59 was the price per gallon of gasoline back in 1970s. This year however, this precious liquid approached and quickly surpassed the $3 per-gal mark.
What causes gasoline prices to soar? There are multiple reasons for that. Typically, rising costs are common for the summer, because a lot of people are going on vacation and more driving is involved. Holidays, such as Thanksgiving are also a precondition for a higher demand and respectively higher price. Major disasters, such as hurricanes can also be “helpful” (for example, when hurricane Katrina hit, refineries went out of order, causing a spike in prices due to higher demand and lower supply). The cost of crude oil, refinery processing costs, marketing and distribution costs, and taxes are directly reflecting on what the consumers pay at the pump. Some states such as California and Chicago require clean-burning fuel which can only be supplied from certain refineries, once again resulting in elevated prices.
(more&he Read more:Gasoline
, Prices
, Rising
, Wallets
Citibank’s Customer Service is Gone Bad to Worse 2007-10-09 10:10:11 Since 2004 when Citibank
acquired the Indian company e-Serve International, which provides call-centre, transaction-processing and data-management services their customer service has gone from bad to worse. Whenever I call the 1800 customer service number I get to speak with an incompetent agent, who doesn’t even speak proper English. I have to repeat myself and explain over and over again numerous times. My solution to the problem: “Can I speak with a supervisor please?” At least they haven’t outsourced the supervisors team yet…
Tags:
citibank |
customer service |
outsourcing |
india
Read more:Customer
, Service
, Customer Service
[Brip Blap] Cost of War 2007-10-08 08:21:49 A very interesting articles on the real cost of war with some good point stressed you can read today on Brip Blap.
“The Iraq War has cost the United States almost 457 billion dollars as of today, not to mention untold military and civilian lives…”
Cost of War on Brip Blap
Tags:
war |
iraq |
cost |
petrol |
oil |
afganistan
Getting Out of the Debt Hole: Calling Your Creditors 2007-10-08 07:47:37 If you have read the first two parts of the “Getting Out of the Debt Hole” series by now you should have figured what you owe, what are your monthly expenses and approximately how much your debt costs you per month. You You should also have reduced your spending and optimized your costs of living
Your next step in dealing with debt is to negotiate your rates with your creditors. Now that may sound impossible but you may actually be surprised that some lenders are willing to work with you.
So, open up your “accounts file” and start calling. Make sure to write down the names / numbers of representatives you speak with , you may need them for future reference. Be polite, explain that you are facing some financial difficulty and ask them to help you out by lowering your APR. You may encounter a stubborn rep who won’t be willing to work with you - then just call again, and if you don’t have any success the second time, ask to speak with a supervisor. Th Read more:Calling
, Creditors
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