Rates
Podcast Episode - Suze School: Protect Yourself from Rising Interest Rates
For this Suze School, we get a lesson about prime versus discount rates affecting our money.
Only 1 in 3 Americans Takes This Smart Financial Step
Checking your credit report is free. And it is incredibly important to do. But a new survey from CompareCards.com says that just one in three adults checked their credit report last year.
IRA Alert: Check If You Can Lower Your Investing Cost
There’s a wonderful fight going on that will make winners of investors who are paying attention.
Time to Cash in on Rising Savings Rates
You know I believe there is no substitute for keeping an emergency fund in a federally insured bank or credit union account. That is the best—the only way—to ensure your “what if” money is always safe and will always be there for you. Yet I know how frustrating it has been to follow my safe—not—sorry advice since late 2008. That’s when the Federal Reserve pushed safe savings rates down to zero. The Fed’s move was focused to help the economy pull out of recession and then regain some positive momentum. But that was done at the cost of savers earning pretty much nothing.
Step 3: Get to the Point: When It Pays to Buy Down Your Mortgage
Lenders like to give home borrowers choices when it comes to their mortgage rate. You’ll always be presented with a standard rate: what you qualify for based on how the lender sizes up your financial profile (credit score, income, debts etc.) And then you will also be presented with some options to “buy down” or reduce that interest rate.
Credit Card Industry Set to Rake in an Extra $30 Billion. How to Avoid Paying Your Part.
If you have unpaid credit card balances, your situation could soon progress from very expensive to ridiculously expensive.
4 Signs You Should Rent Not Buy
I am a big believer in home ownership, but only if it makes financial sense. If you answer yes to any of these questions you are better off renting:
Beware: 2015 Prime Time for Credit Card Rates to Rise
You know how much I hate credit card debt, given the astronomical interest rates you are stuck paying. Though the average is around 14% I know plenty of you pay more than 20% interest. And next year could be even more expensive for anyone carrying credit card debt.
