In the face of overwhelming debts and rising costs, individuals sometimes find that best option may be to file for bankruptcy. Although it sounds to many like the end of the world, the bankruptcy laws in the U.S. allow many individuals and families to file and then move on with their lives.There are two basic types of bankruptcy filing for individuals: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. The latter is more inclusive; almost anyone can file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, provided that they owe no more than $360,475 in unsecured debts and $1,081,400 in secured debts. Chapter 7 filers, on the other hand, are “means-tested” and have to undergo a counseling session with a credit counselor. Read full post…

Retirement planning is largely centered around, or even predicated on, interest rates. Unfortunately for many retirees (and would-be retirees), as the stock market has been volatile to say the least (e.g. “flash crashes” followed by near-historic gains), there has been just one constant – low interest rates. In fact, interest rates are so low that bond yields have dropped below 1950-levels (less than 2.6%), leaving many retirees and would-be retirees wondering how the difference can be made up.

The problem is that most retirement plans assume a return of at least 5 percent, a rate that was taken as a given even on savings accounts not but ten years ago. With

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Whilst the summer holidays are pretty much over there may still be many people that are looking to book a winter holiday or even book their break for spring of next year. However, for many holidaymakers the various horror stories about airlines and holiday firms going bust has made them nervous about who they book with.

Over the course of 2009 over fifty airlines and travel companies went bust, and this has continued into 2010. For travellers that were not ATOL protected this meant losing money hand over first, losing their holiday, and even being stranded abroad unable to get back for lengthy periods.

Whilst many travellers and holidaymakers would never have dreamt about going abroad without any form of travel insurance anyway there are now many that may be reconsidering which policy they take out.

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Identity theft. You’re hearing the words more and more, on TV and especially online. And there’s good reason. Identity theft is among the largest growing crimes in the world, and it costs consumers millions per year. Here are some facts about identity theft and how you can prevent it from happening to you.

Don’t miss out on all the info. Check out the fullsize graphic.

Here are some eye-popping stats about ID theft.

• There were 10 million victims of identity theft in 2008 in the United States (Javelin Strategy and Research, 2009)
• 1 in every 10 U.S. consumers has already been victimized by identity theft
• 1.6 million households experienced fraud not related to credit cards (i.e.

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Investment banking is not an exact science. At its most basic, investment banking is a balance between risk (e.g. stock crash, bank failure) and reward (e.g. return on investment, annual percentage yield). This basic understanding has led many people, anxious to find a predictable investment, to turn to bonds. They think that because a bond has a listed maturity and return that those figures are stable and dependable; however, investment banking is more complicated. Interest rates must also be accounted for.

The value of a bond will actually go down as interest rates go up. On your monthly statement, you will still see the return as promised but the actual value of the stock will go down; this rule holds true whether your own individual stocks or interest in a bond fund.

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