Written by Hugo Pethebridge on October 31, 2011.
You hear people say “this is the happiest day of your life” or “this is the most important day of your life” or maybe even “this is the first day of the rest of your life”. It most certainly can be, but not just for yourself, but also for your money. While your money doesn’t have a mind of its own, it will experience some up moments and down moments as well. So what are the most important days of your life as far as money is concerned? Do they align with the happiest or saddest days in your life? Let’s find out:
These are just 4 of the most important days of your financial life. Can you think of more? Are there events even more important than the ones listed above?
Written by Benjamin Woods on October 31, 2011.
The following is a guest post from Bethany Collins
Recent statistics show that more than half of classic car owners have taken out standard insurance policies on their cars. Why is this so impractical? Because standard car policies might leave you high and dry when you really want your insurance to work for you! It’s easy to find an auto insurance company that provides classic car insurance, but what should you be looking for? This article will give you some tips to keep in mind before insuring your classic car.
What is a ‘classic’ car?
Any car between 10 to 20 years old can be considered a “classic” car. However, different car insurance companies may have different classification standards. Some might classify cars older than 15 years as classic cars. Basically
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Written by Benjamin Woods on October 30, 2011.
First, what is credit utilization? Credit utilization is how much of your available credit limits on credit cards you currently have used up, expressed as a percentage. Credit utilization is calculated for two categories, revolving and installment. Revolving accounts are credit cards that don’t require payment in full and installment accounts are mortgages, auto loans and student loans. For credit cards, utilization is how close you are to your credit limit. For installment accounts, it is based on how much of your loan you have paid off.
Indebtedness represents 30% of your credit score, which is the second most important factor. Both installment and revolving utilization are included in the score, along with individual account utilization.
Revolving accounts
Revolving utilization is calculated by dividing the total balances of your open credit card accounts by their total credit limits and multiplying that amount by 100. For example, your balances total $2,000 and your credit limits total $10,000. Utilization is calculated by dividing $2,000 by $10,000 which is .2; .2 multiplied by 100 is 20%. You have
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Written by Hugo Pethebridge on October 28, 2011.
September homes sales in the beleaguered Las Vegas real estate market showed signs of improvement over September 2010 sales, although the numbers were predictably lower than in August due to the onset of school and the holidays. Cash buyers and absentee buyers made the bulk of sales in the region while new-home sales continued to drag, which has been the norm since the start of the recession in 2008. Many sales are focused in the market for distressed homes in the sub-$150,000 price range as investors snap up foreclosures and short sales. For more on this continue reading the following article from TheStreet. Las Vegas-area September home sales dipped from August, as they normally do, but climbed above the year-ago level as this year’s lower prices and ultra-low mortgage rates continued to attract a steady stream of investors and first-time buyers. The region’s median sale price rose modestly from August but remained 11.5% lower than a year earlier and 63% below its late-2006 peak, a real estate information service reported. Full Post…
Written by Jai Borchgrevink on October 26, 2011.
Young people under the age of 40 who are struggling with a bad credit rating could be too financially dependant on their parents.New research from Churchill Insurance found 62 per cent of parents with adult children say their offspring are reliant on them for day-to-day tasks.Financial contributions to supplement income have been received by 44 per cent of under-40s from their mums and dads in the past year.These come to an annual average of £1,800 a year and range from help with a major purchase such as a car or for daily expenses.A Christmas present is bought on behalf of these adults by one in seven (13 per cent) of their mums and dads.Psychotherapist and author of Too Young to Get Old Christine Webber attributed this to the baby boomer generations desire to be more in touch with their children.”Now we have a situation where they are heavily subsidising their grown-up offspring [but] trouble can arise when they feel that they are taken for granted,” Ms Webber remarked.Recent research from the Co-operative Bank found parents are saving less for their childrens future, but many keep such fund secret as they are not confident their kids are sufficiently financially aware.
Written by Jai Borchgrevink on October 21, 2011.
I came across this post regarding objections to giving to the poor.
Giving to the poor always seems to be one of those sticky issues that polarize, but that neednt be the case.
Giving, especially to the poor, when rightly filtered through the lens of the Gospel, is a great way to glorify God and show others the love of Christ.
Consciously or subconsciously, we each have objections to giving to the poor that we must recognize. When we see exactly what our issues are with giving, we can rightly correct our view.
Below is B. B. Warfields response to three common objections to giving to the poor as quoted in the great book by Tim Keller, Ministries of Mercy:
Objection 1. “My money is my own.”
Answer: Christ might have said, “my blood is my own, my life is my own.” Then where should we have been?
Objection 2. “The poo
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Written by Benjamin Woods on October 21, 2011.
Charles Schwab, the San Francisco-based discount brokerage firm that began rolling out its own exchange-traded funds in November 2009, rolled out a high-dividend ETF that will undercut the price on two dividend-focused ETFs from Vanguard Group.
The Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEArca: SCHD) comes with an expense ratio of .17 percent, just below the .18 percent cost of both the Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index ETF (NYSEArca: VYM) and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEArca: VIG).
Schwab said its dividend-focused ETF, which will choose companies that consistently pay dividends and have strong “financial ratios” relative to their peers, is based on the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index. That benchmark is a subset, excluding REITs, of the Dow Jones U.S. Broad Market Index, according to regulatory filings Schwab has made.
Dividend-focused investments loom largely in an investment universe fraught with anxiety and volatility as the developed world stumbles toward an unclear future in the wake of the market crash of 2008-2009.
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