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New Website Uses Math to Give Money Advice
Tweet Share on Facebook July 31, 2012 CommentAs Michael Carvin prepared to buy a home in 2010, he figured he would be good at it: He’d been working in finance for seven years, helping companies make financial decisions. But he discovered that buying a home was far more complex than his day job. “There were tax consequences, financing alternatives, and I had Realtors telling me I could afford twice what I thought. I was left with a lot of confusion,” he says.
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Do Olympians Know How to Manage Their Gold?
Tweet Share on Facebook July 25, 2012 CommentIt turns out Olympians aren’t just fitter than the rest of us—they’re more financially savvy, too. That’s according to official Team USA sponsor TD Ameritrade, which surveyed 254 Olympic athletes. Most of them said that they thought their athletic training contributed to their financial discipline.
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8 Ways to Stop Wasting Money (and Energy)
Tweet Share on Facebook July 24, 2012 CommentIf reducing your carbon emissions didn’t require a big sacrifice—and in fact could mean some lifestyle upgrades—would you go green? What if doing so also meant you could save upwards of $500 a year?
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Olympic Trial Athlete’s Day Job: Accountant
Tweet Share on Facebook July 19, 2012 CommentUnlike many of her fellow Olympic trial competitors, Alisha Williams has another full-time job, too: She’s a certified public accountant, working for a mining company near her Colorado Springs home. Williams, 30, competed in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter running trials in Eugene, Ore., last month, as well as the marathon trials in Houston in January. She didn’t make the Olympic team, but her accounting work is still there for her.
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Your Credit Score Will Soon Get More Scrutiny
Tweet Share on Facebook July 16, 2012 CommentYour credit score is now being watched even more closely. And that’s probably a good thing.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created in 2010 to serve as a watchdog over credit cards, mortgages, payday loans, and other consumer financial products, announced Monday that it will start supervising the consumer reporting agencies. Those agencies collect information on consumers’ credit worthiness and are best-known for calculating credit scores, which often determine the availability and affordability of consumer loans.
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Video: Starting a Wine Business
Tweet Share on Facebook July 12, 2012 CommentWe love stories about people who launch side-gigs and second acts in retirement, so this report from CBS caught our eye.
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5 Savvy Summer Money Moves
Tweet Share on Facebook July 10, 2012 CommentThis week, we asked financial experts just what Americans should be doing this summer to get their finances in tip-top shape. They suggested a range of strategies, from boosting earning power to overhauling spending habits. Now, we wanted to share five of our own summer money tips, based on the stories we’ve been reporting on recently.
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The High Cost of a Power Outage
Tweet Share on Facebook July 5, 2012 CommentWhen the lights go out, as they did for millions of people across the Midwest and East Coast after a storm last Friday, the costs can quickly add up. First, there’s the cost of food going bad, which it starts to do after the power is out for around four hours. According to the Health and Human Services Department, any type of thawing meat or poultry should be discarded, along with soft cheeses and dairy. For a family with a full-stocked freezer and fridge, those guidelines could easily result in $200 of tossed food.
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5 Ways to Plan a Better, Cheaper Vacation
Tweet Share on Facebook July 3, 2012 CommentMost Americans—three out of four—will take a vacation this year. One-third will spend $1,000 or more per family member, and 17 percent will spend $2,500 or more per family member. And since most don’t put money aside in advance to pay for these getaways, about three in 10 Americans will rely on credit cards to fund their trips.
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Alpha Consumer
Kimberly Palmer, senior editor for U.S. News & World Report, writes about making smarter financial decisions. She’s the author of Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back.
Generation Earn
Senior editor Kimberly Palmer’s book, Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back, is now available.
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