Below is a chart of the breakdown of government spending from 50 years ago, 25 years ago, and today. There are many differences between the political and economic environments of 1962 vs. 1987 vs. 2012, but I still think its still very interesting. Image credit to Lam Thuy Vo of , using data from the . Click on chart to view original post and additional commentary.
When you apply for a credit card, you may get approval for a credit card but not at the spending limit you were counting on. Credit card providers are stricter with their guidelines these days as more consumers are struggling with credit problems and debts they can’t seem to eliminate.
Credit card companies can not afford to take big risks with consumer defaults so if they are willing to offer a preliminary approval of a credit card but not at the credit card limit you needed, don’t give up just yet. There is still some hope.
Understand the Role of a Credit Score
Credit card providers will investigate the application for credit and ensure the applicant meets their eligibility requirements. In addition to have steady employment, card providers look carefully at the credit score and credit histories of the consumer.
Exchange rate is undoubtedly a useful way to measure the economic health of the country. But it is also a very significant point in terms of how nations relate to each other. In other words, the exchange rate is another factor which decides international affairs or relationships between countries. Realizing the importance the currency exchange has on our life many companies like Caxton FX provide services on getting the best exchange rates and money transfers.
You can understand the impact of the exchange rates as no newspaper or broadcasting channel can afford to miss reporting on them. However, if these rates have immense importance in world affairs, their local importance can not be ignored. Many companies are depending on the currency exchange rates when they deal with international partners.
It is true that the exchange rate determine many things as far as the socio-economic issues are concerned. Read more…
Updated March 2012. is another online investment tool that rolls portfolio management, trading commissions, and rebalancing into one website. It started in 2010 and opened an account with $1,000 to see under the hood. Since then, theyve actually made several changes in response to feedback and constructive criticism, and I think the moves have been in the right direction. Instead of a new post, I will update this existing review to incorporate the changes.
The main attraction of Betterment is simplicity. It boils everything down to a big dial (see above) to indicate your risk preference, and takes care of everything else in the background. ETF buying, ETF selling, rebalancing, and so on. On the surface, its as easy as having a bank account, besides the critical fact that you can lose money!
Application Process
The new account application was conducted entirely online.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, “The Hunger Games” movie came out this week. For those who have been living one soil layer below said rock, “The Hunger Games” is the first book in a trilogy series by author Stephenie Meyer—whoops!—I mean Suzanne Collins. The series focuses on the efforts of one bow-and-arrow wielding teenage girl, Katniss, who rebels against all of the awful things the Capitol (the center of the dictatorship run by evil President Snow) does to oppress and subdue the masses.
Although the young adult series generally focuses on the life-and-death struggle that the citizens of the nation of Panem face, I’d like to take a step back to show you how the Hunger Games give us several lessons in strict frugality.
Be resourceful!
Katniss is the queen of resourcefulness, at home and in the arena, where she fights to the death in the Capitol’s cruel “Hunger Games.” Katniss’ family survives mainly on the heroine’s hunting.
After a long period of trying and a month before our planned IVF procedure, we recently found out Mrs. MMB was pregnant! We were being carefully optimistic so we kept things rather quiet until now. We just had another ultrasound at 20 weeks that indicated we were going to have a little girl. We are beyond excited.
Of course, this discovery has also opened the floodgates to baby shopping and Mrs. MMB is itching to start nesting. As this is our first child, we started reading a but are still rather lost.
For the parents out there In financial terms, how was having a baby different than you expected? Did it cost more money than you thought? Less money (ha)? What items were really important to buy properly? What things did you buy that werent very useful? General advice, specific recommendations, whatever.
As predicted after the banking fee debacle of 2011, big banks are searching for more ways to generate revenue from their customers.
The first to step forward with new fees is repeat-offender Bank of America, the second-largest bank by assets with more than 55 million U.S. households as customers. Last year, the bank’s proposed $5 debit card fee led to a media backlash and, eventually, a revocation of the proposed fee.
Now, the big bank is back at it.
What are the fees?
Bank of America is testing a couple of fee structures, reports The Wall Street Journal. First, the “Essentials” checking account may come with a $6 to $9 flat fee with no qualifying actions to get you out of paying the monthly fee. Second, checking accounts with monthly charges of $9, $12, $15 and $25. The difference is that these accounts will come with ways to avoid the fee, such as maintaining minimum balances, signing up for online banking, using a Bank of America credit card, or getting a mortgage with the bank.