In October of 2008, America began to sink economically. It took economists a while to agree but a few months later, the United States was officially declared in a recession. One of the first business to be hit were banks and boy were they hit hard. Hundreds of banks were forced to shut their doors and interest rates plummeted almost weekly.
21 months later, here we are, unsure of whether or not we’ve actually improved. The county in which I live in, Miami-Dade, sees unemployment at a rate of 13% and no matter which banking institution I choose, the interest rate will be less than 1.5%. Loans are near impossible to obtain, homes are still being foreclosed on at an alarming rate and the stock market is stuck at 10,000.
As of things weren’t tough enough for consumers, banks are now about to ramp-up fees on savings and checking accounts to counter-act the measures taken on former credit card and bank fees. The days of totally free checking and savings accounts are soon to be extinct because banks have lost a serious amount of their annual revenue with the removal of certain fees. Annoying bank fees have been around for some time now but with monthly maintainenece and teller fees, I’m considering an all-cash system or a simple prepaid credit card with little to no fees.
Frustrations aside, let’s take a look at the best money articles from the past week.
9 Surprising Facts About Your Credit Score @ US News: Not sure why the author couldn’t come up with a nice round number of 10 but your credit score is the most powerful 3 digit number you’ve ever known.
Financial Reform Could Hurt Consumers @ The Street: Exactly the sentiment I have above, it would appear the new financial reform is taking away from those that have followed the rules and giving to those that haven’t. Sounds awfully political if you ask me.
How To Complain and Get Your Money’s Worth @ PT Money: I’ve written on how complaining is an excellent refund strategy and it would appear Phil agrees with me. Just make sure to keep your cool and you’ll come out with something in the end.
How to Run a Private Island @ The Wall Street Journal: I bet this is a career path that you may overlooked but one day I hope to own an island of my own. I’m looking for something the size of Australia that hasn’t been discovered yet so we’ll see if my dream comes true.
The Secret To Getting Out of Debt: Forget Snowballs and Interest Rates @ Frugal Dad: Dave Ramsey says pay your debts off smallest to largest and smart men suggest to pay debt with the highest interest rate first. Frugal Dad adds one more theory into the fold… work your ass off to make more money as fast as you can. Combine approaches two and three and you’ve got a great debt busting strategy.
When Bad Investments Happen To Good People @ Five Cent Nickel: Rather than take the “why me” approach, learn from your mistakes and hopefully, the next investment you make will be a good one. A string of bad investments though and you may want to consider seeking financial advice from a professional.
How To Take Charge of the Bush Tax Cuts @ The Simple Dollar: Believe it or not, from a tax perspective, things will get worse for consumers after the 2010 fiscal year is up. Those earning less than six figures shouldn’t be affected to much while those earning more will see an extra chunk of change donated to Uncle Sam.
Let Financial, Not Fashion Sense Run Your Back-To-School Shopping @ Personal Dividends: For most students, school is only a month or so away and getting all of the new gear and supplies you need can be costly. Make sure you go for what works the best and not what looks the best (the older you get, the more you’ll realize this).
And this past week, we participated in the Carnival of Personal Finance, Carnival of Financial Independence and Credit Cards Truthiness
Published or updated May 23, 2011.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Michael, Thanks for including Personal Dividends article in your round up. I have to say that owning an island is a fantasy that I share with you, but I will be happy with a slightly smaller one than what you desire