If youre considering a payday loan this holiday season, I hope my story changes your mind.

I dont remember how long ago exactly, but a few years back I was strapped for cash and couldnt pay my rent. Thats when a friend of mine told me about the magic of payday loans! I could write them a post-dated check for up to $500 and theyd spot me the money until I got paid. Sure, Id be charged $75 for the convenience but that was a price I was happy to pay when the roof over my head was at stake.

What I didnt anticipate is that this one-time loan would snowball into a years long obligation that cost me thousands of dollars and countless hours of stress and guilt.

Had it been a one-time thing, youd be reading a success story. The problem is that payday loans prey on people who live paycheck-to-paycheck.

Read full post…

Landlords always want to find right tenants. This is very important for income stream and allows avoiding problems. Also a resident who needs some help with taking over the lease can find a tenant through tenanthunter.com. A professional tenant find agency can save you a lot of money and time in getting right tenants.

If you prefer to choose a tenant on your own, then there are some steps you should know about. Always check if a tenant has a good credit history. It seems reasonable for young people to have little or no history. Read full post…

Read full post…

Just in time to dull the sting of news of this falls hike in college tuition, President Obama announced yesterday his administrations plans to help ease the burden of student loan debt. Though these changes will not affect current college students, many of those out of school saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in debt could start to feel some relief real soon.

According to a new report released by the College Board, state tuition and fees at 4-year colleges rose an average of $631 in the fall of 2011 an increase of 8.3 percent. This doesnt bode well for the future of student loan debt, as U.S. graduates already owe $1 trillion in student loan debt. Thats more than the entire nation owes on our credit cards!

Keep in mind that student loan debt has ballooned to this mammoth proportion despite the federal grants and tax credits that help students cover the cost of tuition, room and board.

Read full post…

For a lot of people, especially for those who belong to the salaried class, it is indeed quite a tough task to come up with a down payment for your mortgage, so that you get to enjoy full ownership of your house. There are so many ways you can arrange that kind of money, and one such way is to use your Roth Ira funds to help you claim back your ownership as the rightful owner of your house. Roth Ira is a retirement account that is one of a kind! Read full post…

With the current state of the economy, Americans are cutting back on basic necessities. Healthy nutrition and medical practices are declining; stress and anxiety are on the rise. See how the economy is really affecting our quality of life with this somber look at our mental, physical and financial health:

In the last year, there’s been a .6% increase in Americans who smoke. This is accompanied by a 2% decrease in Americans who say they eat healthfully all day, a 1.9% decrease in those who eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables 4 days a week, and a .7% decrease in those who exercise for at least 30 minutes 3 days a week.

Women have decreased their fruit and vegetable intake by 2.2%–men only 1.6%. Peo

Read full post…

The headline news is that S&P 500 companies spent $299 billion on stock buybacks in 2010, up $161 billion or 117% from the $138 billion they spent in the 2009 – both the percentage and dollar value increase are record highs. The details explains the reason for the headline is because of the 76.5% decline in buybacks (2009 from 2007, down $451B), with the 117% or $161 billion bounce back resulting in the year-over-year record. We remain, however, at half of the 2007 $589B level.

The attached reports give the details, along with charts, tables, and some issue level for where we have been.

Read full post…