Romney Formally Accepts the Republican Nomination and Links

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The Republican National Convention went off without a hitch in Tampa this week despite tropical storm/hurricane Isaac.

Romney formally accepted the nomination, Clint Eastwood gave a controversial speech, and pundits everywhere found fodder for articles for weeks to come.

An interesting election is headed our way: two styles of government, two different types of (likely to be broken) political promises, and lots of negative ads.  There’s really one winner every four years — the television and radio markets that get all of that political spending thrown their way.

How would you deal with a surge of income every 4 years that had to cover the remaining 3 years of expenses? Here are some articles to help you manage your finances:

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Have You Thought About the Costs of Being Self-Employed?

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The dream of self-employment is something that has gained a lot of popularity in recent years.  Thanks to the Internet, almost anyone can start a side hustle from home.

Not only is it technically easy to become self-employed, it’s also relatively inexpensive — depending on the strategy you use.

A number of side hustles require only a computer and a fast Internet connection.  Even if you choose a more expensive venture, you can still save money by starting out at home.

Because of the ease involved, and the low startup costs that are possible, many would-be solopreneurs fail to account for other costs that they might run into.  While being self-employed works for many people, it isn’t the only satisfying career path.  And there are costs involved that you might not have thought about.

Some of the costs of being self-employed include:

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How to Create a Low-Cost Will

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Most adults, especially parents, know how important a will is. 

This one document can help determine who will raise your children in the event of your untimely death.  Die without a will and the state determines who will raise your children.  If your children are grown, a will keeps your estate out of probate and retains the inheritance for your inheritors, not the court fees probate generators.  A will can also curb fights over who gets what; your wishes are clearly written in the will.

Even though we all know wills are important, “a staggering 65% of adults do not have wills.”   When asked why, “a large number of people said that a will is too expensive and too complicated” (Mellert Law).

You may likely feel this way, too.  However, there are plenty of ways you can create your will without spending a lot of money.

Consider the following ways to create a low-cost will:

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What is the Student Loan Forgiveness Act and Is It a Good Idea?

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Earlier this year a new bill was introduced to Congress called the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012.

The potential legislation has some massive changes for the student loan industry.  Is this new student debt legislation a good idea or something that should be shelved by Congress?

What is the Student Loan Forgiveness Act?

The Act would make wide changes to the massive student debt load in the country.

In 2010 total student loan debt exceeded total credit card debt for the first time.  The Act is also in response to a poor economy: the idea is that former students are too cash strapped from paying their loans to spend any money in the economy and relieving them of this debt would greatly improve the consumer economy.

10/10 Payment and Forgiveness

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Why Maxing Out Your Credit Cards is Bad

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Sometimes you just need more money—we all do sooner or later.

It could happen because you’re hit with a flood of very large and unexpected expenses.  Medical bills, legal fees and major home repairs are some of the expenses that come to mind.

It can also come as a result of an income disruption.

The loss of a job, or of certain employment related income sources, such as bonuses, overtime or commissions.  You may also decide to leave a steady job to start your own business and that will require money, not only for business investment but also for living expenses for the first few months.

At a time when credit is so available, there can be a temptation to tap credit lines to cover the losses.  You might do that with the assumption that you’ll be able to pay them all back when your expenses have passed or when your income goes back to normal levels.  But we should never assume that.

One of the problems with tapping credit to cover living expenses is that once you get comfortable doing it—or other options fail to develop—you run the risk of maxing out your credit lines.  That’s easier to do than you might think.

Once you max out your credit lines, you’ll have a new set of problems to deal with.

Here is why maxing out your credit cards is a bad idea.

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What the Apple vs Samsung $1 Billion Ruling Really Means and Links

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The jury in the Apple vs. Samsung patent lawsuit came out with a stunning verdict this week that awards Apple over $1 billion in damages from Samsung.

This will be boasted about for the weeks to come as a crushing blow to both Samsung and the Android platform in general.

While it is true that it is a bad day for Samsung, it isn’t quite a crushing blow for several reasons.  First, Samsung will appeal.  There are many more court cases to go likely spanning over many, many years.  (Tech legal blogs have something to write about for the next decade, hooray!)  Second, both sides won’t be happy with the result and the Judge’s conduct throughout the case will likely mean they will press to start over.  (Yes, Apple is probably unhappy with $1 billion since they asked for well over $2 billion.)

Thankfully, none of us have done anything that warrants paying someone $1 billion. Here are some articles to help you manage the money you do have:

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Term Life Insurance Versus Whole Life Insurance

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Life insurance, in general, is not a subject many people want to talk about.

After all, its more about death than it is about life.  But it is a necessary part of financial planning and a form of insurance many people should have!  The two main forms of life insurance are Term Life Insurance and Whole Life Insurance.

Let’s take a look at term life insurance versus whole life insurance:

Term Life Insurance

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Five Habits That Keep You From Achieving Your Goals

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For every successful novelist, blogger, business owner, Olympian, inventor, and innovator you can name, there are countless individuals who never made it to the top of their game.

While luck and talent play an important part in these success stories, these individuals have ultimately succeeded because they have gotten out of their own way.  They have conquered these five bad habits that can keep even the most talented individual from achieving greatness:

The Five Habits That Keep You From Achieving Your Goals

1. Failing to plan.

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9 Ways For Students To Get Textbooks For Less

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When I went back to school some years ago I expected tuition to be higher, and it was.  But I was shocked at how expensive textbooks had become!

I quickly realized I had to figure out how to get my textbooks for less!

Here are some great ways to save on your textbooks and get them for less:

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Standard Chartered Bank Laundered Money for Iran and Links

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The State of New York accepted a $340 million payment from Standard Chartered bank to settle charges it laundered money for Iran.

This surprisingly big news has already been moved to “old news” in the financial press.

Here is why this is a big deal: first, the state of New York has almost a $1 billion budget shortfall this year.  A big payment of $340 million will definitely help fill part of that gap.

Second, it goes to show how impossible it is to monitor every single transaction and track every last cent even from countries under economic sanctions from the United States.

Third, is shows that — at least for now — leadership at this bank can do something incredibly wrong and pay a fee, only to live another day.  (I say at least for now because only the state of New York has settled.  The FBI, SEC, Federal Reserve, and many other government agencies have not, so they aren’t out of the clear yet.)

I never thought a state could solve part of its budget problem by settling charges from people who have done something wrong.  It’s brilliant (and also ticked off the other agencies that were likely still negotiating settlements of their own).

Unfortunately you and I probably can’t settle our budget problems this way, so here are some articles to help you do it the old fashioned way:

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