December 10, 2009 – 4:12 pm
With the holiday season upon us, most shoppers will be putting the finishing touches on their shopping in the next couple of weeks. We’ve shown in the past that shopping provides an opportunity for money management through assessing costs and budgeting money. An Associated Press article today notes that the economic downturn opens up an [...]
October 30, 2009 – 10:15 am
In this day of high fashion, it seems almost quaint to speak of an inexpensive pair of faded Levi’s jeans. Indeed, for proof that jeans have moved far beyond their role as the outfit of the working man, check out this Wall Street Journal article on “The Rise of Power Jeans.” As designer denim became [...]
October 22, 2009 – 3:10 pm
In the news today is AT&T’s decision to sue a number of major producers of liquid crystal displays (LCDs). These ubiquitous displays are used in televisions, cell phones, and – most likely – the computer screen you’re using right now. AT&T is alleging something called “price fixing” in the market to buy and sell these [...]
October 21, 2009 – 4:11 pm
It has been difficult to pick up a newspaper the past week without seeing a story on the rising cost of college tuition; these articles from the LA Times and the Washington Post are representative. College costs are in the news because of the College Board’s “Trends in College Pricing 2009” report, which I would [...]
September 25, 2009 – 12:37 pm
On Tuesday, I blogged about one group’s state-by-state national scorecard of financial health (released this week), and it got me thinking: Why do more people not just move to where the jobs are? It seems like a no-brainer if you live in an economically depressed area to simply go somewhere with better opportunities. Of course, there [...]
September 22, 2009 – 4:55 pm
The nonprofit Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) just put out its 2009-10 Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, which ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia according to the job, education, wealth-building, and homeownership opportunities afforded to families. Each state was assigned a letter grade based on their performance on 92 policy and outcome measures [...]
September 17, 2009 – 4:18 pm
A CareerBuilder survey of American workers in May and June found that 61 percent of respondents say they are “just getting by.” The increase in the number of Americans who find themselves living paycheck to paycheck is up more than 10 percent from last year, and almost 20 percent from 2007. Surprisingly, 30 percent of [...]
September 10, 2009 – 5:13 pm
New numbers released by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday show that consumer borrowing decreased for the sixth consecutive month in July. A Wall Street Journal article notes that consumers are distancing themselves from debt both “by choice and by force, reflecting a combination of the thrifty attitude and tighter lending conditions that have defined the [...]
August 21, 2009 – 1:06 pm
Megan McArdle at The Atlantic is currently working on a long feature piece about consumer borrowing. But since the article won’t be out until early 2010, she has given us a taste by sharing an interesting observation about people who walk away from secured debt. A secured loan, if you’re unfamiliar, is one backed by collateral, [...]
August 18, 2009 – 4:26 pm
Today we hosted our first webinar: What is a Credit Default Swap Anyway? The Financial Crisis for Capitol Hill Staffers. We had a great group for the presentation (check out the presentation here). For those that were interested and unable to attend we will be hosting a make-up session on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at [...]
