Written by Joseph Perry on March 19, 2012.
Not very much about St. Patrick’s Day is hidden! What with parades, green beer and the wearing of the green, the Irish and Irish wannabes come out in droves to celebrate. For many, it’s a chance to remember and honor their heritage; for others, it’s an excuse to blow off some steam on an early spring day after a long winter. Regardless, it’s become a tradition— a big, fun event.
Believe it or not, behind all the revelry are some real takeaways –for life and for business. A bit of a stretch, you say? Take a wee look and feast on some food for thought.
Takeaway #1: The power of storytelling.
How many of us think St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland? Surprisingly, that didn’t happen! But it’s a story that’s been passed down through the centuries and that endures today. Why? Because there’s something about this kind of bigger-than-life hero mythology that resonates. We like heroes and so
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Written by Adam Sullivan on March 18, 2012.
Buying a home these days is becoming more and more difficult with stricter credit guidelines and with banks being more picky about who they are going to loan money to. But it’s also getting more difficult with the uncertain economy and fewer people being able to save up the recommended 20 percent for a down payment on a new home. This begs the question: Is it really necessary to have a 20 percent down payment for your home? Here are some alternatives to consider if you can’t come up with a 20 percent down payment.
1. FHA Loans
With an FHA loan, you can get a mortgage loan for as low as 3.5 percent. These types of mortgages are typically available for people who have a low income and also for first-time home buyers. But since the subprime mortgage crisis in recent years, FHA loans have exploded in popularity. Recently, the loan limits for an FHA loan also increased to a maximum of $730,000 which has made it an even more viable option than it was before.
2. VA
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Written by Scott Barnes on March 14, 2012.
I know that there was some noise when the Mac OS X 10.7 Lion was released and Quicken 2007 for Mac was reported by Intuit to be incompatible with any computer running the new operation system. Next, they release Quicken Essentials for Mac which was a neutered version of Quicken which quickly angered long-time customers even more. So they promised they would rewrite it to work on OS X Lion. Cost is $15. Thanks to reader Paul for the tip.
Data migration. According to their FAQ, users can import data from Quicken 2005, 2006 or 2007 for Mac, as well as from Quicken Essentials for Mac. File conversion is not possible for Quicken 2004 for Mac and prior versions.
So now you can pay more to use their 5-year old software, hurray! I still think its pretty clear that Intuit isnt going to spend too much more effort improving Quicken, instead they are spending more money on which is online and free to users (ad-supported). Has anyone tried it out yet?
Written by Joseph Perry on March 11, 2012.
Play now, die later?
Most new retirees face that vexing question. They’ve got their bucket list of things to do. They want to do it now. But each item on their list will require spending more money than they can do safely. This is a real rock/hard place dilemma.
“I want to do these things now, while I can,” reader letters say. “I don’t want to have some future disability make it impossible.”
Well, maybe you can do just that: budget an additional amount in the early years of retirement and spend less later.
One framework for thinking about this is the new taxonomy of aging. Where turning 65 once made you “old,” demographers now identify three groups:
? The “young-old” are those between 65 and 74.
? The “old” are between 75 and 84.
? The “old-old” are 85 and older.
The faces of the “young-old” adorn the covers of magazines for active retirees.
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Written by Adam Sullivan on March 10, 2012.
In today’s finance market, it is rare to find a financial institution that is offering a good rate for their 60 Month CD term, but El Paso Area Teachers Credit Union (TFCU) is providing their current and new customers a chance to earn an astonishing rate
Right now, their 60 Month CD is paying out 3.08% APY. In order to receive this rate, you first must become a member. The membership application process is fairly easy and all that needs to be done is a $25 deposit into a savings account and you must live or work in the El Paso County.
The 60 Month CD is opened with a low $500 minimum deposit and the CD must be obtained in person. T
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Written by Adam Sullivan on March 7, 2012.
The U.S. saw a jump in mortgage applications associated with purchase activity last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said in a recent report.
Mortgage applications overall decreased 0.3 percent week-over-week, the MBA said, but the seasonally-adjusted (taking into account the Presidents Day holiday) Purchase Index jumped 8.2 percent from the previous week. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 0.9 percent week-over-week.
Purchase application volume increased over the week, but remains within the narrow and anemic range of activity we have seen since the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit in May 2010, Michael Fratantoni, Vice President of Research and Economics at the MBA, said in a statement.
According to the MBA, 86.4 percent of all purchase applications seen in January 2012 were for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.
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Written by Scott Barnes on March 7, 2012.
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I’m a BIG fan of PerkStreet, the world’s best debit card rewards program. PerkStreet customers are able to earn fantastic rewards (perks), the best of which is CASH when they purchase the things they need using their PerkStreet MasterCard. These have to be “non-pin debit card purchases” which means you use your debit card as a credit card and signing for it rather than keying in your personal identification number (read: Why Do I get Rewarded for Non-Pin Debit Card Purchases?).
Traditionally PerkStreet customers have been able to earn 2% cash back when their balance was above $5,000 and one percent when their balance was under that. But the vast majority of customers maintain less than $5,000 so PerkStreet decided to alter their rewards program so that more rewards are given back to their customers. I think it
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Written by Joseph Perry on March 2, 2012.
Readers Question: Does money printing/QE always lead to inflation and price increases?
No. Increasing the money supply does not necessarily cause inflation. In particular, we have seen a large increase in the monetary base (narrow money) that hasnt led to an increase in the general price level.
If you look at between money supply and inflation you can see situation in US where increase in monetary base failed to cause inflation.
Readers Question: If the new money is not spent and sits in accounts, how does this lead to inflation?
That is the key issue. In a deep recession, banks dont want to lend, therefore they tend to keep this extra money in their bank reserves. Therefore, the extra money creation has little impact on the overall price level because there is not an increase in bank lending.
If the economy was booming, then this extra money would be lent to consumers and firms.
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