Net price calculators: Will they help with your college search?
November 5, 2011 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
How to pay for college is on everyone’s mind right now. Last week, President Obama announced new, improved student loan rules. The same day, the College Board released its annual report on tuition pricing, indicating that the cost of college has gone way up. In-state public schools (still one of the best deals in town) spiked to $8,244 per year, up 8.3 percent from last year. And private schools jumped to $28,500 per year, up 4.5 percent from last year. This is the worst news I’ve heard since August, when The Atlantic reported that student loans have grown 511% since 1999.
So how can families deal with the crazy cost of higher education?
Is the Greek debt haircut really a victory?
October 27, 2011 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
The Euro leadership and in particular Merkel and Sarkozy deserve some credit for the key Euro deliverable earlier today. There has been much criticism and most of us would agree that more will be required to be done, but there was an important step taken here.
It became a showdown between banks and government. (For government read taxpayers paying up). Merkel has been consistently speaking of bondholders taking a haircut for a year now. The message was clear and she won today. But is it that simple.
Calling Bankers’ Bluff, Merkel Got Europe a Debt Plan | NY Times
But Mrs. Merkel called the bankers’ bluff, said officials present at the discussions. Accept the 50 percent write-down, she told the bankers, or bear the consequences of default. In
Roth IRA penalties
October 21, 2011 by Admin · Leave a Comment
The Roth IRA has certain Early Withdrawal Penalties. But these are not of serious concern unless some rules are not met. The rules of IRS state that original contributions can be withdrawn at any point of time, irrespective of the purpose, free of tax and penalty. The early withdrawal penalties apply only to the Roth investment gains, states roth-ira.org.
The cases when the taxes and penalties are applicable are:
1.Lesser age than stipulated
2.When the 5 yr rule is not met
The above cases are discussed in detail below:
Age stipulations:
You must be at least 59.5 years old in order to be relieved of early withdrawal penalties and taxes.
For example, if your birthday is in November, you will reap the benefits of this rule only in the tax year that follows the year of your 59th birthday. Read more…
Stocks rise sharply on solid corporate earnings
October 16, 2011 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
Stocks rallied Friday after several big U.S. companies reported solid third-quarter earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 200 points.
Fast-food giant McDonalds Corp. rose 2.8 percent after reporting a 9 percent increase in income. The results beat analysts expectations and marked McDonalds ninth straight quarter of gains.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. leaped 7.1 percent after reporting a 25-percent jump in third-quarter income. The fast-casual chain raised prices, sold more burritos and opened new stores.
Harman International Industries Inc. jumped 11.9 percent, the most in the Standard & Poors 500, after the audio equipment makers income came in far ahead of analysts expectations.
The encouraging corporate news was in line with recent indications that the U.S.
Cash Only Living
October 9, 2011 by Jackson Beirne · Leave a Comment
While many people struggle with the continued economic crisis and the devastation that it has caused, credit card debt is rising. Getting out of debt seems like an impossible task when you are living paycheck to paycheck or using your credit cards for the electric bill. There are ways to manage money and budget your expenses, but it does take some effort. It sometimes feels impossible to budget an entire family, but when accomplished, this budget will be well worth the effort. To begin the journey out of debt-ville, start with a little experiment.
For a single month, carry a journal with you to work, shopping, home, where ever you go. This journal will be your best friend for at least one month. You will need to write down every penny you spend and how it was spent during this period of time. Every bill that you pay gets recorded in the journal, every time you visit the grocery store, record that as well.