Tag Archives: personal-finance
- Women and Financial Insecurity
A recent article in the online version of the Wall Street Journal caught my attention. It was called “Clients From Venus.” Source It began by pointing out that women are becoming increasingly involved in personal finance. “Women control $8 trillion in assets in the U.S., and by 2020 are expected to control $22 trillion, according [...]
- Should I Be Paying Myself First?
“Dear Paul, Can I run my vanguard index fund assett allocation by you? Also planning to move and buy a more expensive home and would love some guidance there. So, I’m still sort of polishing up the exact percentages, but contributing roughly $4-5k each month approaching $250k total in our Vanguard taxable investment account this [...]
- Will Baby Boomers Have Enough to Retire?
It’s no secret that the housing bubble and recession of the last four years has caused financial heartache for many of us. One group that has been especially hard hit is the baby boomer generation. For years boomers have believed that they would retire in their mid-sixties and enjoy their golden years playing golf and [...]
- A Little Difference With Compound Interest
Sometimes the difference between success and failure is very small. Occasionally you’ll see a race (NASCAR, horse or foot) that will be decided by just an inch or two. Such a tiny amount determines winners and losers. What’s also striking is how much difference that can make in the future. Our stock car winner will [...]
- 3 Critical Tools for Paying Off Debt
This is the time of year when many people look at their debt situation and shudder. They dream of what it would be like to be out of debt. And, if they’re brave, they begin to plan a strategy to reduce the amount of debt they carry. They’ll begin with high hopes, but many of [...]
- Heartless Criminal Activity In Foreclosure-Related Scam
Last week a man whom operated a foreclosure-rescue scam agreed to plead guilty after collecting $1.6 million from 1,100 distressed homeowners. The man, Frederic Alan Gladle, of Austin, Texas, ran his scam in Los Angeles and elsewhere where he falsely promised the owners of more than a thousand distressed properties that they could indefinitely postpone [...]
- Fraudulent Rescue / Equity Skim Scheme Costs Dozens Over $6.2 Million
Between 2006 and 2008 real estate agent, Joanne Seeley, defrauded 34 homeowners and 14 mortgage companies in Pennsylvania out of more than $6.2 million in a fraudulent Foreclosure Rescue/Equity Skim scheme. Seeley was found guilty earlier this month on four counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering; each punishable by a maximum [...]
- Franklin Drywall Cheats The Law And The Law Won
The owner and president of Franklin Drywall was sentenced in federal court last week for one count of providing false statements to two labor union pension and benefit funds. These acts by this Little Canada-based union sheet-rocking company was part of a scheme to underpay employees for overtime and underpay the union for pension and [...]
- Homeowners In Financial Distress Lose Over $1.2 Million To Mortgage “Rescue” Fraud
To the tune of a MasterCard commercial: $4.7 million in fradulent mortgage loans… $944,224 lost by lenders…. $1.2 million lost in equity to homeowners…. Shameful. Mary Ann Dean and Charles Donaldson pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme of Sunset Mortgage Company. Dean was [...]
- Deceitful Debt Relief And Mortgage Operation Shut Down
A United State district court has shut down two related operations who apparently failed to provide promised debt relief services and jeopardized clients’ privacy by at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s request. Apparently one firm charged consumers a $1,495 up front fee for a mortgage relief assistance program that was never given as well as [...]
- Root Canals and Appendectomy Were Expensive and Landed Me in Bankruptcy. – Ray
“Dear Lewis, Made many not so smart mistakes which put me into serious credit card debt over the past 8 years or so. Followed by some dental work (multiple root canals) that had to be paid with credit card. Last year, had an emergency appendectomy that ended up in an medical insurance mess up. Ended [...]
- I’m a Nurse and Just Barely Making Ends Meet But My Husband Won’t Help Financially. – Kaye
“Dear Steve, I am married and work as a nurse, making a good salary. I currently have around $32,000 in debt. This includes a debt consolidation account, car, bank loan, student loan medical bills, and back taxes. I am able to pay my monthly payments but have not been able to cover the taxes and [...]
- Should I Hire All State Law Group to Modify My Bank of America Mortgage? – Charles
“Dear Andy, Tried twice to to get a modification with BOA with no success,have ask a law firm to help, but cant find any info on the firm Should I retain this law firm from calif. THEY WHAT THREE PAYMENTS ONE TO START, THEN ONE IN THE MIDDLE AND THE REST AT THE END. 1500-1000-500. [...]
- Secret Credit Bureaus You Don’t Know About, But They Know About You
So let me tell you a story about secret credit bureaus that you don’t know about. Most of us have some knowledge about the three major credit bureaus that hold our credit report and credit score. The three biggies are Equifax, Experian and Transunion. But there are more places that hold information about you. Have [...]
- So You Have to Use Your Credit Card In An Emergency – Personal Finnance Bloggers Question of The Week
This weeks personal finance brain trust question was: What goes through your mind when people say that they HAD to use their credit card to get by? Is using a credit card when you can’t afford to pay a smart or necessary thing to do? WC – A 27-year-old writer living in Chicago and writing [...]