Carnival of Passive Investing #16

Written by 4 Comments

 Welcome to the 16th Carnival of Passive Investing!

For those that aren’t familiar, a blog carnival is a place to show off the best articles in a particular niche.  Publishers submit articles they think would be a great fit for a carnival and the site running it that week determines what articles make the cut.  It’s a great way for a site to show off their best stuff and a great way for readers to learn about a subject and get introduced to new sites.

This particular carnival deals with Passive Investing (hence the name).  The purpose of the carnival is to get knowledge out about passive investing and to have a place where those interested in passive investing can learn more and share articles.

If you have a site with an article that would be a great fit for the Carnival of Passive Investing then make sure to submit your article via the carnival submission form.

Over 50 articles were submitted but only 18 made the cut.

And now to the 16th Carnival of Passive Investing!  Continue Reading

Visa® Black Card™ Review – A Luxury Card That’s Expensive But Full of Benefits

Written by 7 Comments

For years, American Express has had the luxury/executive card market to itself with its wildly successful Platinum Card®.  Visa® has entered the upscale luxury card market with its Black Card (the card is backed by Barclays Bank Delaware).

The Visa Black Card is working to differentiate itself from other credit cards with its appearance and exclusivity.

The Visa Black Card is made with carbon (no, you shouldn’t concern yourself with how a card looks but it is kind of neat that’s it’s carbon – maybe it could come in handy in a MacGuyver situation?).  Also, membership is limited in order to ensure top-quality service for members.  That’s a big distinction from most of the plastic credit cards on the market today.

Let’s take a look at the features and benefits that the Visa Black Card offers, shall we?

Visa Black Card Benefits

Continue Reading

Student Loan Debt Bubble – Is This Our Next Economic Crisis?

Written by 23 Comments

As if the student loan problem wasn’t already approaching crisis levels, it may get a lot worse.

In 2010 more than $100 billion worth of student loan debt was taken out, making the total amount that Americans owe for education now more than $1 trillion.

The average graduate leaves school with $25,250 in student loan debt and faces decades of payments.

Although the recent student loan reform may ease the burden by making it possible to lower the payments based on the borrower’s level of income, some students face loan payments that are higher than they would pay on a modest size home mortgage.
Continue Reading

What is Mortgage Amortization and How Does it Work?

Written by 11 Comments

Paying off a mortgage is an overwhelming task.

A mortgage is a big debt—almost as big as your house—so the best most of us can hope to do is to shorten the term by prepaying as much of the loan that we can as quickly as we’re able.

Why should we want to do that?

Owning your home free and clear is a good place to be.  You’re living in your home with no mortgage payment and that’s when saving money and life in general get easier.

But there’s something more.

The cumulative interest on mortgage loans makes your loan balance even bigger.

A mortgage of $200,000 will require nearly $350,000 in monthly payments over a 30 year period.  Anything you can do to shorten the term can save a lot of money.

What is Mortgage Amortization?

Continue Reading

New Technology Makes Shopping With Your Credit Card Easier

Written by 13 Comments

Most of us can’t remember a time when credit cards weren’t a part of our wallets.

Remember the Diner’s Club card?

Credit cards actually go back to the 1920′s when gas station attendants wanted to provide a system of payment for the increasing amount of automobiles on the roads.  The first cards were made out of card stock making them easy to counterfeit but as is the case with every good idea, evolution took over.

As of this year, of the households who have a credit card balance, the average amount of debt is $15,956 per household which equals total outstanding balances of $609.8 billion nationwide.

The evolution of the credit card is far from over.

Continue Reading

New Bank of America Fees – Savings and Checking Ain’t What it Used to Be

Written by 16 Comments

It’s was nice to feel like we won, at least for a short period of time.

Banks are once again dreaming up new fees to recoup losses that have come from tighter financial regulation as a result of the 2008 and 2009 financial collapse but until now it’s only been a dream.

What the Fees Are For

Happy March 1st to Bank of America (BAC:NYSE) customers who may have read the reports that the nation’s second largest bank is piloting a program in Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts that would charge $6 to $9 for what they are calling the Bank Essentials program.

Taking away the marketing lingo, this means that customers will pay a monthly fee to have a checking account at Bank of America and it doesn’t stop there.

Other fees being tested by BAC include fee structures of $9, $12, $15 and $25, a price sure to turn off many customers. Continue Reading

Marginal Tax Rate VS Effective Tax Rate – What are They and How do They Affect You?

Written by 6 Comments

Most of us have no idea what either our marginal or effective income tax rates are.

They only seem to matter at income tax filing time, usually appearing as supplemental numbers in a computer generated income tax return.

One of the reasons we tend not to track these numbers is because they’re calculations, which for the most part, have no immediate relevance to us, but also because of complications in calculating them.

Because we have a progressive income tax system — tax rates rise with income — and because there are multiple taxes, the actual numbers can be difficult to calculate.  In addition, each rate can change from one year to the next or from complications in the tax code.

We have two tax rate classifications then, marginal tax rate and effective tax rate.

What is the marginal tax rate and the effective tax rate and how and when do they apply?

Continue Reading

Obama Proposed Corporate Tax Reform – Cut Tax Rate But Seal Up Loopholes

Written by 7 Comments

It’s yet another example of something that most lawmakers agree on yet it most likely will not get done.  Washington gridlock is alive and well even when there is no disagreement on the core issue.

That is the main problem with the corporate tax.

Currently, American corporations pay a 35% tax rate, higher than any other advanced country and most lawmakers, tax experts and, of course, corporate CEOs believe that this is too high.

Because of that, President Obama proposed lowering the tax rate to 28% in an attempt to make America a more corporate friendly place to do business.

The chances of this issue gaining enough traction to get through Congress is essentially none.

Here’s why. Continue Reading

Four Places Not to Use Your Credit Card

Written by 22 Comments

Americans are in love with credit cards.

Many of us have replaced the cash in our wallets with our cards, charging everything from a cup of coffee to large purchases like automobiles.

Although credit cards are convenient, they aren’t right for all purchases even if you can get rewards points or cash back.

In what cases are credit cards a bad idea?  Here are some places NOT to use your credit card: Continue Reading

There’s Some Orange in Your Pocket – Capital One Gains Approval to Acquire ING Direct USA

Written by 8 Comments

This story didn’t make front page headlines in the financial media but behind the scenes, a battle took place with Capital One emerging as the winner.

Capital One, well known for their “what’s in your wallet” commercials agreed to purchase ING Direct USA for $9 billion paving the way for Capital One to become the 5th largest bank in the United States based on total deposits.

This acquisition faced tougher than expected scrutiny by Federal Regulators although they recently approved the deal.

By banking standards, this was not a large deal so why did it face such tough headwinds? Continue Reading