Less than a week ago, Tennessee voted to require a personal finance class of all graduating high school students, starting with this year’s seventh graders. Unfortunately, less than 20% of states have similar requirements. We’ve made a fancy-schmancy graphic to show which states are teaching tomorrow’s citizens how to manage money, and which states are likely to be great places to set up payday loan shops. Inside, see the chart nice and big.
personal finance
Low Income? You May Qualify For Tax Saver's Credit
By 1.30.08
If you’re single and earned less than 26,000 last year, or married and together made less than $52,000, then you can qualify for a tax credit of up to $1000 if you contributed to a retirement savings account during the year. To get the maximum credit, you’ll need to have socked away $2,000 and earned less than $15,500 as a single tax filer ($31,000 if married). And yes, this is a credit, not a deduction (something this writer has confused in the past), so it can make a significant difference on your final tax bill.
Woman's Credit History Goes Missing, Giving Her A Credit Score Of Zero
By 1.29.08
When Cindy X pulled her credit report from TransUnion recently, it was blank. “I am 48, have an active credit history, and my other credit reports were accurate,” she writes in to Kiplinger. TransUnion, however, told her that she was on her own to fix the problem and would have to contact her creditors individually.
By 1.29.08
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HSBC Direct lowered its online savings account rate to 3.8%. Now my bet in moving all my money to E*TRADE, currently running at 4.4%, has paid off.
Tyson Foods To Raise Prices "Substantially"
By 1.29.08
Eat that chicken and your wallet takes a lickin. The CEO of Tyson Foods, makers of fine chicken, beef, and pork products, said in a conference call yesterday, “We have no other choice but to raise prices substantially…We are raising prices because we can’t absorb these costs. Despite concerns about the economy, people have to eat, and they will continue to eat protein.” 2008, the year of tightening wallets… and belts?
How Companies Make Money Pissing You Off
By 1.28.08
A story in Bob Sullivan’s new book Gotcha Capitalism shows one of the first points when companies realized they could make more money by getting rid of their customers. The year was 1995, and First National Bank of Chicago decided to charge customers a $3 fee for talking to a teller. The move was lambasted in the press and by comedians, and analysts predicted a severe decline in profits as customers fled in protest. Instead, First National Bank’s percentage of customers producing an “adequate return” went from 33% to 45%, and profit went up 28%. How does this work? Bob writes:
…satisfying the right customers is the goal, but pissing off the wrong customers is equally important…[D]epositors with large accounts were exempt from such fees…Only irritating customers with tiny bank accounts who asked a lot of questions went elsewhere….Chasing away undesirable customers with outrageous fees has been an important element of the banking business ever since.
And every other service industry as well.
Poll Results: How Will You Spend Your Tax Rebates?
By 1.28.08
Last Thursday we polled our readers for what they plan on doing with their money when they get their tax rebate checks. The result is that Consumerist readers mainly plan on using their money in precisely the opposite way that the politicians want them to, paying off debt (46.3%) and saving it in the bank (30%). All the other options combined, which would have a supposedly more directly stimulating effect on the economy, add up to only 23.8%. Food came in at 1.5%, depreciating assets 8.2%, discretionary spending 4.5% and stimulating the critical beer and cigarette industries 9.6%. It seems our readers are more concerned about their personal finances than the national economy. Good. Maybe if more people were like them we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.
30 Free Ebooks On Personal Finance
By 1.28.08
Mint has gathered 30 of what they consider the best free personal finance ebooks around, grouped into categories like “Basics,” “Saving & Investing,” and “Security & Privacy.”
Senate To Scuttle Timely Economic Stimulus Plan
By 1.26.08
Smarting from its continued failure to check the expansive growth of the unitary executive, the Senate has decided to assert itself by derailing an agreed upon economic stimulus plan. Senate leaders are now insisting that the stimulus plan contain an extra $25 billion to fund road work, tax cuts, and extend unemployment insurance.
By 1.26.08
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Bill Clinton and Arnold Schwarzenegger are teaming up to help poor Californians open starter bank and checking accounts so they don’t have to turn to cash checking and payday loan places with usurious fees. [WSJ]
By 1.24.08
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The first tax rebate checks will be sent out in May and just about everyone should have them by July. [AP]
Credit Card APR Magically Raises From 7.99% To 21.99%
By 1.24.08
I keep reading and it says that I can “reject this amendment” by doing so in writing by 2/29/2008.
How Will You Spend Your Tax Rebates?
By 1.24.08
Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you’re viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.
Economic Stimulus Plan Passes
By 1.24.08
Accord was reached and the economic stimulus plan has passed. Here’s a brass tacks breakdown:
By 1.24.08
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Personal finance blog FiLife’s Ron Leiber on why he bought stocks this morning: because he’s nowhere close to retirement. [FiLife]
Tentative Economic Stimulus Deal Reached
By 1.24.08
The Administration and Congress have negotiated the outline of how the proposed economic stimulus plan will play out. Here’s how much in rebates you could be getting back, depending on your situation:
By 1.23.08
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On investing in scary times: “The bottom line: If you don’t have a plan, develop one. If you do have one, stick to it,” – Larry Swedroe. [All Financial Matters]
