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Tag Archives: loans

Time is Money (Really!)

February 26, 2010 – 3:38 pm

You may have noticed that different kinds of loans tend to have very different interest rates. For example, a typical 30-year mortgage today has an annual rate of about 6% (which is very low by historical standards). That might not seem like much, but 30 years is a very long time.
Imagine you’re buying a house, [...]

Posted in Credit, Mortgages, Personal Finance | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Frugality Now, Prosperity Later

October 23, 2009 – 1:34 pm

Are you ever accused of being a cheapskate? If so, you have something in common with Linda Beech, a columnist for The Garden City Telegram, who wrote her latest opinion piece on why she bought a used car (instead of a new one) for her teenage daughter:
Years ago, when I had two small children and my [...]

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Retailer Tricks That Only Pretend to Save You Money

September 15, 2009 – 3:41 pm

No doubt about it, retailers have been hit hard by the reduction in consumer spending. But a few new trends in retail marketing could lead even the savviest shoppers into a financial trap.
MSN Money columnist M.P. Dunleavey wrote last week about the way outlet malls use psychology to seduce consumers into paying more for lower-quality [...]

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Is Walking Away From Debt An Ethics Issue?

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, such [...]

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What to Do When Your Clunker Eats Your Cash

August 11, 2009 – 10:23 am

All the recent headlines about Cash for Clunkers mean that a lot of people have new cars on the brain. But not every old car qualifies for the credit, so it’s hard seeing all your neighbors pull up in brand new rides when you’re still slogging to work in the same car that saw you through college. [...]

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