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Category Archives: Mortgages

Tuesday Top 5: Things to Consider Before You Get a Mortgage

Greetings and welcome to this week’s edition of our Tuesday Top 5, our weekly tips post to help you manage your money in five easy steps.
The deadline for that juicy $8,000 new homebuyer’s credit is rapidly approaching, but how do you know if you’re ready to own a home? Ask yourself the following five questions to [...]

The Financial Benefits to Renting vs. Owning

Most people believe owning a home is the American dream, right? Not necessarily. The idea that you’re just throwing your money away by renting is no longer the rule — in fact, over the past few years, many more people have thrown their money away by buying.
The government offers several financial incentives to homeownership. From [...]

Is Walking Away From Debt An Ethics Issue?

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, such [...]

Econ4U Webinar on the Financial Crisis

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 10:30am.
Have a [...]

The Financial Rise and Fall of Lenny Dykstra

Pro athletes often seem uniquely poised for epic declarations of bankruptcy, but baseball legend Lenny Dykstra is giving other sports figures a run for their money (so to speak).
Former Mets and Phillies slugger Dykstra filed for bankruptcy last week with reported assets totaling $50,000, despite claiming in April that he was worth $60 million.
According to the [...]

Ways to Save Money Through Twitter

Savings.com compiled this list of 30 deal-hunting Twitterers who post useful advice about where to find good deals on household purchases.
Econ4U wanted to go a step further, so we went exploring and found 12 of the most prolific personal finance gurus (both big and small) on the popular social networking website:

OnTheMoney — from CNBC’s personal finance program of the same [...]

Money Columnist Opens Up About Personal Debt

New York Times economic columnist Edmund L. Andrews got real with his readers this week and shared an enormous secret: Even personal-finance experts aren’t immune to poor money management.
In an article adapted from his upcoming book, he explains how easy it was for him to get in over his head in debt, starting with buying [...]

Mortgage Scams Proliferate in Hard Times

When newspaper headlines focus on the mortgage crisis and foreclosure rates, crooks’ ears tend to perk up. And that means more and more people are getting sucked into mortgage scams.
Because government foreclosure documents are public record, many homeowners are receiving personalized letters filled with false promises of hope. The people who fall for these con [...]

A Fun Way to Manage Your Debt

For those who have debt, paying off credit card balances, repaying college loans, and trying to figure out the best strategy for the mortgage  can seem like a pretty tall order. As we have reminded you here at Econ4U, getting out of debt is completely achievable, so long as you have a plan and educate [...]

Graduating in a recession? Econ4U is here to help!

If you are graduating from college in 2009, you’re entering one of the tightest job markets in decades. There’s no question that finding work is tough right now, but there’s no need to panic. Some planning and preparation now can go a long way toward smoothing your transition from school to employment.
Career-advice blogger Lindsey Pollak [...]