-
Want a Loan? Check the Mirror First
Tweet Share on Facebook March 17, 2009 Comment (3)Before you visit the bank for a loan, you might want to consider getting a makeover first.
A new study from Rice University and the University of Washington finds that people's physical appearance can affect whether they are deemed trustworthy, which in turn affects their access to loans. The researchers used data from the peer-to-peer lending site Prosper.com, where borrowers share information on their credit history, education, and income, as well as photographs of themselves. Lenders examine those profiles and decide whether or not they are willing to make loans, and at what interest rate. -
How to be a Successful Blogger
Tweet Share on Facebook March 16, 2009 Comment (9)For an upcoming story on making money from blogging, I've been interviewing successful bloggers about their secrets. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:
- Don't be intimidated. Jim Wang, 28, author of the Bargaineering blog, says that even though his background in software development helped him with some of the theme design for his blog, it really wasn't necessary. People get turned off and think they can't handle a blog because of the technology involved, but it's really pretty simple once you put some time into understanding how it works, he says.
-
Travis Henry: Football Fame Leads to Financial Hardship
Tweet Share on Facebook March 13, 2009 Comment (14)Travis Henry, the former pro-football running back, must pay around $170,000 a year in child support for nine children, each with different mothers, the New York Times recently reported. That's a lot, even for a star football player. (And it's hardly his only financial problem; Henry has also been charged with cocaine trafficking.)
Henry's story brings up just how hard it can be to juggle fame, fortune, and financial pressure. He told the Times that he thought the women tricked him into fathering their children, and that it wouldn't have happened were he not wealthy and famous. -
Is the American Dream Dead?
Tweet Share on Facebook March 12, 2009 Comment (18)These days, the American Dream is looking a little less dreamy.
With people feeling less financial secure, visions of large houses and other outwards signs of success are dwindling, according to the 2009 MetLife Study of the American Dream. Some of the developments are welcome, such as a renewed emphasis on family life, while others, such as worrying about paying the next mortgage bill, are not. Here are some of the report's key findings: -
Why Young People Are in Trouble
Tweet Share on Facebook March 12, 2009 Comment (6)The plight of retirees and soon-to-be-retirees is well-known: They've lost much of their savings just as they're about to start living off that money. But less discussed is the plight of 20 and 30-somethings, who find themselves facing a different kind of financial crisis.
Because younger households tend to have more of their assets invested in housing (purchased through loans), they tend to have much more debt compared to older households that are more heavily invested in the stock market, according to JPMorgan Chase Bank. As housing prices have fallen, reducing the value of those leveraged investments, young people are finding themselves increasingly strained. -
Why the Recession Might Cause a Baby Boom
Tweet Share on Facebook March 11, 2009 Comment (8)Kids are expensive -- so a recession would cause people to have fewer kids, right?
Actually, no. Research from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that once you control for divorce and the proportion of young marriages, then an increase in the unemployment rate increases fertility, suggesting that recessions can lead to mini-baby booms. (But without subtracting out those factors, fertility declines when the unemployment rate rises, suggesting that higher unemployment may cause marital stress which leads to divorce, hence no more babies for those couples.)
One possible explanation for the findings is that when people are laid off or under-employed, they see it as an opportunity to have more children because they have more time.
-
Audio: Why All-Inclusive Vacations Pay Off
Tweet Share on Facebook March 11, 2009 Comment (1)Over the weekend, I spoke with WTOP about why pricey all-inclusive vacations can actually end up saving you money. Part of the reason is psychological: People don't enjoy paying for things. In fact, research shows that it activates the pain centers of our brains. So if we can pay in advance, we might end up enjoying our vacation more. Pre-paying also lets us stick to a budget, since we know how much the hotel, meals, and activities cost in advance. (Of course, you want to make sure to check out the deal and make sure it really does include what you think it does.)
Why All-Inclusive Vacations Pay Off
Subscribe to Personal Finance With Kimberly Palmer
-
Don't Pay for Your Free Annual Credit Report
Tweet Share on Facebook March 10, 2009 Comment (33)The Federal Trade Commission is fighting back against advertisements that trick consumers into spending money on services they don't need or want when they're trying to get their free annual credit report. There is only one site that offers the annual credit report at no charge, and that is www.annualcreditreport.com.
Eileen Harrington, acting director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, says the FTC has received complaints about the website www.freecreditreport.com, which provides credit reports only if customers sign up for additional services that cost money. "Consumers are confused," says Harrington, despite the FTC's lawsuit and settlement with the website that now requires its advertisements to carry disclosures. She wouldn't comment on whether any further enforcement actions were pending.
Check out the FTC's new public service announcement -- do you think it's as catchy as Ed McMahon's rap spot for www.freecreditreport.com, which helped to popularize the site? -
Nadya Suleman Gets a New House
Tweet Share on Facebook March 10, 2009 Comment (69)Ever since giving birth to eight newborns, who join the six kids she already has, Nadya Suleman has faced the daunting challenge of paying for 14 kids. With the Agriculture Department estimating that the total cost of raising each child up to age 17 is around $204,060, her bill could come out to roughly $2.9 million. (That figure doesn't even include college costs.)
But now, the so-called Octomom's financial life just got a little bit easier. TMZ, People, and the LA Times are reporting that Suleman just purchased a new, larger home for $564,900. Her father apparently made the purchase, with funding help from public donations. Meanwhile, Suleman will accept nursing help from the nonprofit Angels in Waiting, a deal that was originally in question because the group specified that they did not want to be part of any potential reality tv show. The nonprofit says the help, which will be provided at no charge, would normally cost around $135,000 a month.
So it seems that through a combination of luck and the outpouring of support from an initially repulsed public, Suleman will be able to pay for her mega-size family. The outcome is somewhat surprising, given the vitriol that so many have expressed towards Suleman. One smart decision that helped Suleman has been her outreach to the media, some of which she's been paid for. After two of her publicists quit, Suleman herself has been hitting the airwaves every few days, speaking out and defending her reputation. That seems to have helped convince some people, at least, that they want to help -- if not her, then her eight tiny newborns. -
The Reason Behind Capital One's Rate Increase
Tweet Share on Facebook March 9, 2009 Comment (140)Today's guest post comes from Bill Hardekopf, chief executive of the credit card comparison website LowCards.com:
Last month, Capital One raised some eyebrows by significantly increasing their rates on new customers on the majority of their credit cards. The advertised annual percentage rate on these 15 cards increased from an average of 12.45 percent to 17.24 percent. One could ask, "What's left in your wallet?"
But Capital One is not alone. Many issuers are increasing the rates to new customers on selected cards.
