Most children go to college thinking that they are going into a no-lose situation. Impressive government statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reinforce the belief that at the end of the commencement stage awaits a career earning $20,000 more than a high school graduate. That’s just not how real life works.

Any decision in life carries with it a plethora of risks. When taking out a mortgage, you are betting that your income won’t decrease in the next 30 years and that home values will increase. When you invest in a retirement account, you risk losing all of your investments in a massive stock market crash the day after you clean out your desk. For college students borrowing for their degree, they are actually betting on two things. The first is that they can find a job after college and the second is that the job they find will be more than enough to cover their loan costs.

Why the Risks are Different for College Students

Before going off to college, someone is going to hold two numbers under your nose and it is going to convince you to go to college. One statistic will be the 22.9% unemployment rate of recent high school graduates and the other will be the 8.9% unemployment rate for college graduates. What are you to think? Something along the lines of “I best go to college, otherwise I’ll be unemployed.”

Empirically, your odds of employment are better with a college diploma, but did you ever think that you could be part of the 8.9% unemployed? Just because the odds of being unemployed dropped, those odds did not drop to zero. In terms of odds, one in eleven college graduates will be unemployed; are you satisfied that those odds are low enough for you?

Also, did you stop to think about the difference between what your life would be like as an unemployed high school graduate versus an unemployed college graduate? Would anyone choose unemployment with no debts over unemployment with unforgivable student loans?

My Economics Degree is a Gamble

If I were to pick a degree strictly on how wealthy it could make me, I’d have to say you can do little better than an economics degree. According to academic studies, 8.2% of those with an economics degree make it to the top 1% of the wealthiest Americans. One in twenty of the wealthiest 1% has an economics degree. This makes economists the largest represented degree holder among the rich.

The catch? Georgetown shows that economists don’t just have one of the highest starting salaries. They also have one of the highest rates of unemployment for new graduates standing at 9.4%. That’s compared to an average unemployment rate of 8.9% for new graduates. For perspective, Music majors have lower unemployment at 9.2%. (I’m not making a dig at music majors, they know going into their degree that there is rampant unemployment within their graduation ranks.)

For economics majors, there are large incomes to be earned, but you may also be waiting in the unemployment line.

A Second Degree Reduces Your Risks

If you are concerned about the one in eleven odds for getting a degree and subsequently having no income to pay back student loans, then you are thinking of ways to reduce your risks. That’s why I have some options for you. I’ll explain why a second bachelor’s degree is the way to go.

One way is to be a nurse. This is the “go where it’s promising” method. Instead of getting my economics degree, I go for nursing where unemployment is only 4%. Sure, I may hate nursing and might be a lousy nurse (increasing my chances of falling into the 4% unemployment). However on average, I did lower my odds of unemployment at graduation.

You could get a graduate degree or the “I’m smarter than bachelor graduates” method. Getting a master’s degree would lower my unemployment prospects to 4.6%. Not as good as nursing, but at least I’m doing what I like. The problem with this option is the other risk I mentioned at the beginning. I need to take out more loans to stay in school. This increases the odds that I will find a job, but I might not make enough to pay off the debt. Or worse, I could be part of the one in twenty who is unemployed and has even larger amounts of student debt.

Two bachelor’s degrees, at least from a numbers perspective, is the best option. One of the benefits is that four-year schools often structure their tuition costs so that students can obtain a second degree with little to no extra cost. Also, thanks to the rules of probability, you can lower your chances of unemployment. Let’s say that in addition to economics, I also obtain an accounting degree. Graduating accountants have an unemployment rate of 6.8%. Using probability, the odds that I fall into unemployment in both fields are about 1 out of 156.

I should note that a graduate degree is the best ticket to being wealthy; but if you are trying to avoid unemployment, two bachelor’s degrees is the way to go.

Shaun is the author of the blog Smart Family Finance, a site dedicated to exploring the challenges of family finance; from starting a marriage to starting a family, from teaching your children about finance to helping them pick a college, from single income to multiple income. The intricate world of family finance unlocked, one post at a time.

Why I Switched Car Insurance Companies

It was just recently that I got sick of my car insurance company. To make a long story short, my car had been broken into and it took way too long for the insurance company to take care of it. It was in the several months that I was dealing with the claims adjuster that I decided it was time to shop around. They obviously didn’t value me as a customer, so why should I continue to pay them for horrible service. I had been meaning to see if  I could reduce my insurance expenses and going through this experience with my previous insurance agency pushed me to finally do it.

How I Found Better Coverage for Less Money

If you have been driving for a long time, I am sure you remember the days where you had to call up different agents to get a quote for insurance. While I never had to experience this myself, I am sure it took hours of conversations with real people just to get a few quotes. Fortunately, with the internet now, I can get free car insurance quotes online in a matter of minutes. It really is quite simple. There are various places to search for quotes, but the important thing to remember is to get a number of quotes now. You don’t want to have to go through the hassle of changing plans in a few months because you didn’t do your research now.

I was surprised to find insurance coverage with another company that offered slightly better coverage for about $200 less each year. I think you will be surprised to see what kind of savings you can find.

Have you had success in finding better rates for car insurance?

Why People Will Lose Interest in Gold

People naturally stick to conventional wisdom. I believe that the American people have grown accustomed to fads, such as buying gold, and are hesitant to jump on board. Just like the fact that people are becoming more blind to advertising, investors fail to seriously consider the possible benefits of investing in nontraditional investments.

While it can be a profitable investment for some, the unpredictability of long term leaves the every day investor uncomfortable with making such a leap. If you are getting modest returns with what you are familiar with, why would you risk jumping on the band wagon of something you suspect might plummet months later? I certainly understand that gold will remain a commodity and rare item as there is only a fixed quantity of it in existence. Yet, its recent rapid increase in price suggests a volatile investment, if you ask me.

It is also important to consider that very few people are talking about gold in 2012, or so it seems. In the peak of the recession and when Gold prices were doing well, it was being talked about on every personal finance blog out there. Yet, it seems to be just a memory. Have you experienced the same thing?

Buying gold may still be a solid investment, but you have to make sure to consider the long-term prospect of growth. Do you estimate that this investment will bring a good return over decades? Or will you have to watch its production or prices to ensure that you don’t lose your money? If you are like me, you probably prefer to invest in something for the long term and save yourself the headache. Then again, with the recent Facebook IPO, the opportunity to jump on a good investment at the right time can be worth the risk.

Increased Consumer Purchases

Recent years have seen consumers spending more money online than ever before. With the growth of online businesses like Amazon, consumers are able to receive the same quality product for less money. Businesses often feature free shipping promotions or other voucher codes to encourage online purchases because of the lower overhead costs. Instead of having to pay an employee (or multiple employees) to manage a physical store, businesses can manage everything online and reduce costs.

Increased Number of New Jobs

Many people suggest that the internet is ruining the economy. That the shift towards an online economy is taking away the jobs that we once had. After all, the ‘mom and pop’ stores, which exemplify American capitalism, are becoming fewer and far between. The core of this economy is changing and becoming more dependent on technology. Technology may be replacing many of the jobs that we once knew to be common, but it is also creating more jobs than ever before.

While the shift in the economy has meant the end of certain jobs, it also means the creation of new jobs. There are more positions that allow people to work remotely than ever before. While this offers flexibility and more employment opportunities for individuals (like stay at home parents), it also means a larger gap between the rich and poor. Because companies can literally have anyone from around the world fill these positions, it means lower wages for the entry-level positions and more profit for the high executives. This shift towards the online market has been one of the major reasons for the decrease of the middle class.

While it is hard to simplify the effect of the ever-changing technology to a simple for or against, it is clear that the negative consequences overshadow the positive. The greed and resulting abuse of increased efficiency taint the potential benefits of this global phenomenon. The internet may offer cheaper products to consumers of the U.S. and more job opportunities/flexibility, but at what costs? If we are honest with ourselves, it is hard to overlook the negative consequences that accompany the advancement of the internet.

Luckily for me, I respect and enjoy watching both teams!  In honor of such hard working teams with superstar quarterbacks, I’m going to scatter a few pictures throughout the carnival today!

I chose the title “Superbowl Clones Game” because in many ways the teams have much in common, even the the first part of their names “New”.  Plus they have played each other in the Superbowl before (2008 Giant’s Win).

Oh, and from a stock market prediction perspective, it would be better if the New York Giants win for some spurious statistical reason, but I’m totally indifferent!

And now onto the Yakezie Carnival.  In case you aren’t familiar with the Yakezie Network, it is the largest network of personal finance and lifestyle bloggers on the web and I’m excited to share this weeks submissions!

Totally Money: 10 ways to make the most of a ‘make do’ job – How to make the best of a job you don’t really like

Watson Inc: Goals Are NEVER Enough: 3 Reasons You MUST Cultivate Your Desires – A strong desire towards high goals is a phenomenal way elevate your performance. Here are 3 reasons to cultivate your true desires.

My Journey to Millions: Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! – Let’s get an update on Daniel Ruettiger, the man the movie Rudy is about.

Invest It Wisely: These Three Jobs Are a Great Way for a Teen to Earn Money and Learn Something About Life at the Same Time – My opinion is that one of the best ways for a teenager to learn about making and saving money is to get a summer-job, or work part-time. These are absolutely amazing ways to gain valuable experience in helping others and learn about responsibility, endurance, and teamwork, and earn money in the process.

Money Q&A : How To Raise The Next Millionaire Entrepreneur – Giving them a solid foundation to launch their creative ideas will help them achieve a financial freedom. A true millionaire entrepreneur knows that they can’t wait for opportunities to find them.

Master the Art of Saving : My Biggest Financial Fear – Sometimes fear can motivate us and other times, it can paralyze us or dictate our decisions. I have plenty of fears, and I’m not afraid to admit it.

The Penny Hoarder : How to Make Money Buying Virtual Real Estate – Real estate is such a valuable investment, you no longer need it to be real to make money. Learn how real-life virtual real estate entrepreneurs have made millions.

Money Reasons : Why Taxing Dividend Income Hurts The Elderly – Taxing dividends at a higher percentage hurts the elderly and the young.

Frugal Confessions : Double Tax Benefits for Mid to Low Income Households Who Contribute to Retirement Accounts – When you think about retirement, are you stuck in disillusionment somewhere between your dreams and the reality of an empty retirement account?

Your Finances Simplified : 10 Easy Tips for Saving Money on Car Insurance – Everyone has to have car insurance, but it can be a pain to find something that works for you and that you can afford. If you are tight on funds, or if you simply want to save some money, here are ten easy tips for saving money on your car insurance.

My Broken Coin : How “Do Not Need” Lists Can Save You A Buck – I am on a three month no-buy resolution. I figured it is a good prelude to start implementing my next resolution – de-cluttering. Where do you usually start? I, of course, started with my favorite place which happens to be (you guessed it, right!) my closet.

Darwin’s Money : Confidence is Great, Right? Nope, It’ll Wreck Your Life – We’re all taught to be confident from childhood. You know, those confidence boosters like getting a trophy no matter where you placed, parents telling you that you can do anything in life and so on. On some level, having confidence in yourself and what you can achieve does allow you to think big, stretch your your limits and achieve great things.

20s Finances : Passive Income Done Right – Do you often think about how you could create a passive income? Maybe you’re just itching to get out of your job and would love to create a real estate empire, or perhaps a franchise that is run completely by someone other than you. These dreams are all well and good, but you must first have your finances in order before you can pursue opportunities such as these…

Newlyweds on a Budget : How do you talk about money with your husband? – Who manages the finances in your relationship? And how do you decide how to spend your money?

Financial Success for Young Adults : How You Can Build Wealth – Building wealth takes time and knowledge. There is no get rich quick method. There are a few ways to begin building wealth. Passive income is the key.

Krant Cents : Protecting your home when on holiday: top tips – Whatever kind of neighbourhood you live in, you will want to protect your home while you are away from it. Should you be embarking on a big holiday in the coming weeks and months and you find yourself away from the house for two weeks or more, there are a number of things you can

Married (with Debt) : Frugal Living is All About Creating the Debt Free Magic in Your Life – This site is about helping people, both financially and in all aspects of their lives. Because I want this site to be a community, you will see from time to time, guest posts from readers and fellow financial bloggers.

My Retirement Blog : 2012 IRA Contribution Limits – Curious what the 2012 IRA Contributions Limits are?

Beating The Index : Investing in Canadian Well Completion & Drilling Companies – The oilfield services industry provides investors with exposure to the oil and gas commodity sector minus the inherent risks associated with exploration and development drilling.

Finance Fox : Airline’s Charge to Check Bags = One Big Cash Grab – Despite a pretty smooth trip overall, I had the pleasure of paying $25 to check my bag. Three different airports, three different starting points and that’s $75 less I had in my wallet.

Small Business Resource : Top Tips For Small Businesses To Survive The Recession – Here are some tips for small businesses to survive the recession …. courtesy of the everywoman network!

Thousandaire : Cheap Things That Make Life Easier – Sometimes people get so caught up in the idea of saving money that they won’t use their hard earned cash to buy something that would improve their quality of life. What the heck are you working for if you can’t buy yourself something that will make you happier?

Personal Finance Journey : How to Host a Superbowl Party on the Cheap – The Super Bowl is just around the corner and if your house is about be invaded by party-goers, you might be worried about what hosting a huge party is going to cost you. Potlucks and BYOB are always a good way to host a party on the cheap!

Sweating the Big Stuff : Paypal Income Reporting Requirements for Bloggers – The IRS required PayPal to issue Form 1099-K to those making over $20,000 a year on PayPal. Since it was so confusing, the IRS did something smart.

Smart Family Finance : Mistakes Young Families Make When Financing Their First Home – Money mistakes made by young, educated and affluent families were a direct cause of our current economic turmoil. If families fail to learn from those home buying mistakes, we are doomed to repeat the consequences.

Money Spruce : 37 Must-Read Posts for Tax Savings – A collection of the best tax tips posts that cover a wide range of tax topics, including deductions, tips for filing, and working with an accountant.

Funancials : Are You A Mental Accountant? (Grand Finale) – Remember when Jeff Foxworthy came out with his unforgettable series, ‘You Might Be A Redneck?’ It was a huge hit that led to book deals, TV shows, and enough riches to fund every redneck’s retirement. Read my take on being a mental accountant with a Jeff Foxworthy spin.

Young Family Finance : Cheap Romantic Dates – Cheap romantic dates are great on the budget and relationship. Find creative ideas here.

Money Smart Guides : What to Look for in Mutual Funds – Part 1 – This is my first part of a 2 part article on what to look for in Mutual Funds.

Money Q&A : The Beginner’s Guide – How To Find A Mutual Fund – There are tens of thousands of mutual funds out there for investors to choose from. It is very intimidating for new beginner investors to learn how to find a mutual fund.

Broke Professionals : Simple Home Maintenance Anyone Can Do – If you own a home, you can save time and money by learning to do some common and simple home maintenance. The time you save is the time needed to locate a repair person, wait for them to arrive and do the task. The money you save is their labor charge.

The Ultimate Juggle : Unexpected Crisis – Find out how I managed to take care of a lot of things in a short amount of time.

Passive Income To Retire : Early Retirement – In preparation for early retirement, what are you doing? Find out what I am doing to prepare for early retirement.

101 Centavos : Redneck Dividends – As I was editing the notorious 101 Centavos Dividend Portfolio that is featured on this site, it occurred to me that some of the dividend picks shared …

Financial God : Is Canada Immune to a Financial Blowup? – My Own Advisor recently wrote about the heavy austerity in Greece, and thanks his lucky stars that things are nowhere near this bad in Canada. I agree that those in Canada are very lucky that the country has weathered the financial storm in relatively good shape, and not only that but the Canadian government has wasted less of the people’s wealth on ‘stimulus’.

Steadfast Finances: Fake Prosperity: U.S. National Debt Growth vs. GDP Growth – If you’re a member of Gen X and Gen Y, this is probably the scariest chart you will see about the US Economy well-being, and possibly, right up to the time you’re old and gray…

World of Finance: What is Personal Finance? – This article provides an overview of what personal finance is and the specific components that it is made up of.

The College Investor: The Occupy Movement Is Still Going On? – A look at the true costs of the occupy movement, and why it needs to stop.

My Multiple Incomes: How To Boost Your Salary – Without Asking! – A simple trick to boost your salary by over 4% without even asking for it!

Money Cone: A Review of OptionHouse’s iPhone App – Despite a few quirks, I’m impressed with the App! This is by far the best trading App I’ve come across! The feature list is just right and not overwhelming. Though I don’t like the dark background, the screen doesn’t look too cluttered.

Living in Financial Excellence: Hidden Treasures – You think to yourself that you would take that diamond in the rough home in a heartbeat if there was just some kind of refinishing product that was easy to use, non-flammable, non-caustic and nearly odorless, and that worked really well. There is

Live Real, Now: Can Bad Credit Cost You Your Job? – Many companies feel that your credit report gives them a sneak peak at your true character. Having a good credit history indicates that you are a responsible person with excellent character. Having a bad credit history means that you are an unreliable person of poor character. True or not and fairly or not, this is the current belief running throughout company hiring departments

Free Money Wisdom: The Consumerist Treadmill – Material possessions are not a bad thing in and of themselves. They can be a huge blessing or they can be an enormous burden. You must ask yourself do you own them or do they own you?

Stock Trend Investing: Buy a Stock as Long-term Investment or Short-term Gamble – Here are two aspects of being a long-term investor. Have you covered both aspects to avoid that you are gambling with your savings in the stock market? Share here your long-term stock market investment strategy.

Smart on Money: Do You Save Your Pocket Change? For One Indiana Man, It Adds Up To a New Car Every 10-15 Years – What if you were always paying in cash, and every time you got change it went directly into your change jar? How much money would it add up to, and how much could you save in change alone?

Novel Investor: 7 Tax Tips You Should Not Overlook – Looking to speed up your refund, lower your taxes or just get your return in on time? Here’s a few tax tips to get you started.

Narrow Bridge Finance: What’s In Your Wallet? – I recently upgraded my wallet from a back pocket “Costanza” wallet to a front pocket, minimalist style wallet. Slimming down my wallet has been great for me, but it really made me think about what I needed to carry around and what was just taking up space.

Money Is the Root: Blog Goals and Updates 2012 #4 – I want to announce that I have also created another site with a fellow Yakezie, which will soon be announced. And I have bought another site, which is being finalized now, so that will be announced soon as well. That will bring my total blogs I own/co-own to 5. Life is going to be busy!

Smart Wealth: Our Frivolous Guilty Pleasures – Although I hate Starbucks’ regular coffee, I love their lattes and cappuccinos but every trip started costing upwards of $9 for two lattes. It took a while, but I’m happy to say that we only go to Starbucks every couple of weeks now. We picked up a very nice coffee maker and although it is not as good, it is good enough to save $9 or more per day.

Prairie Eco Thrifter: How to Keep Your House Clean without Spending A Lot of Green – With many people looking for ways to cut costs, there are a number of things that you can do to keep your house clean for cheap.

The Frugal Toad: Customer Service – How to Get a Refund Without Losing Your Dignity – Ever notice how the Complaint Department in stores have been replaced by the Customer Service Department? There is a reason for that. Nobody likes a complainer and that includes the person behind the counter. To resolve your issue as quickly and painlessly as possible follow these simple suggestions:

Beating Broke: I Quit My Job: Overcoming the Fear – One question I’ve been asked over and over when talking about quitting my job is how I overcame the fear of not being able to find a new job, or not being able to pay my bills. Obviously, both of those questions played a part in the decision. My answer might surprise some. I didn’t.

Cult Of Money: You owe $100,000 more on your house than you think – Affecting what you pay for your monthly mortgage, your appartment rent, and how you plan for retirement, this is something that needs to be planned for, but in most cases is not.

Don’t Quit Your Day Job…: Predicting the S&P 500 – January 2012 Edition – Options allows bets on size, direction, and time-frame. Stocks only allow direction… even if you care about the other two! What if you can use the prices of options contracts to predict the price of stocks at a certain date? Well you can, and I did… for SPY, a fund tracking the S&P 500.

American Debt Project: Soend Your Blogging Time Efficiently:Learning from the Pros – Not exactly personal finance, but my most popular article this week about how people from “Beginner” personal finance blogger to “Advanced” personal finance blogger.

Money Beagle: No Thanks, Magazine Subscription Company! – Note to people trying to sell me things: Don’t annoy me, then try to pitch a sale.

So You Think You Can Save: Save Money By Laundering Your Own Dress Shirts – I used to automatically take my shirts to the cleaners. Now, I keep them at home. It’s easy!

Investor Junkie: How to Choose an Online Broker – No online brokerage is going to be ideal for everyone, so you will need to prioritize the characteristics that are most important for you.

Budgeting in the Fun Stuff: Health Update #4 – Crystal Light Challenge – I have been very, very bad. I am so sorry. I took a trip to L.A., my husband quit his day job and is now working from home, I am freaking out about everything, and my diet and exercising routine went to hell.

Money Talks Coaching: How to Win at Monopoly and Real Life – I’ve been playing too much Monopoly on the computer the last few days. At first I wasn’t very good at it, but then I started applying the good money principles I talk about here and I started winning. Here are some money lessons from Monopoly.

Cash Flow Mantra: Blogging Goals for 2012 – I haven’t spoken too much about specific blogging goals for this year in numerical terms despite having put together a few SMART goals at the beginning of the year and mentioning that I wanted to make $30,000 this year by blogging. In order to get that accomplished, though, I figure that I should have some targets as far as traffic and other types of measures.

Making Sense of Cents: How We’ve Cut Our Budget – There are many ways to cut your budget, and here’s how we cut out $15,308 per year or $1,276 per month.

Simply Investing: The Secret to Successful Investing Can Be Reduced to Two Simple Words – “The secret to successful investing can be reduced to two simple words: know value.” These famous words were uttered by Arnold Bernhard more than 25 years ago.

Poor Student: Cash Back Credit Cards – Most students are not taking advantage of rewards credit cards. My cash back just arrived on my statement and I have never made easier money.

My University Money: More Rewarding: Earning vs Saving – Us personal finance nerds seem to have an ongoing debate raging (ok, maybe a slightly aggressive term) concerning who is cooler, the guys/gals that save more, or the guys/gals that earn more. Clearly the coolest peeps are the ones that save as much as possible and instead of wasting valuable time partaking in a fairly mundane exchange of stale views, earn more than the rest of us as well.

Passive Family Income: What Is the Best Weight Loss Program for Me? – My family’s health is directly tied to our finances. If one of the members of our family gets sick – we go to the doctor and shell out a $30 medical copay. When one of my children needs some medication, we go to the pharmacy and pay our prescription copay. These are just the low cost examples of how our health is related to our finances.

Saving Advice: Frugality as a Challenge – Once I started turning frugality into a challenge, it became more fun and something that I really wanted to do. Beating my prior “scores” became fun.

Rambling Fever Money: Creating Income From a Dying Profession, The Stay-At-Home-Mom – “Stay-at-home-mom” has become an elusive title that more and more mothers can only dream of. See how my wife has been able to provide a steady income while staying home with our children.

The Dividend Ninja: Why Should I Invest In Bonds? Part-1 – These days, bonds are getting a bad name. Stock markets are off to a tremendous start in 2012, dividend stocks are outperforming, and not surprisingly investors are losing their confidence in government issued bonds. But everyone should have bonds in their portfolio…

Sustainable Personal Finance: How to Spot a Work from Home Scam – Before you sign up for a great work from home “opportunity,” consider these signs that it might be a work from home scam:

Bucksome Boomer: 4 Things that Used to Be Too Expensive – While visiting my mom during the holidays she shared a story about a winter road trip where she barely made it to her grandmother’s funeral. I questioned why she drove instead of flying. She replied “it was too expensive back then”. Her response really made me think. What do I take for granted in my daily life that was prohibitively expensive a short time ago? I came up with this list.

Good Cents Savings: Make the Most of Dining and Restaurant Coupons – Save on eating out by taking advantage of restaurant coupons. Tips that will help you actually use them rather then just having to toss them once they expire.

The Money Trail Blog: Teaching Your Kids about Money: Investing and Growing Your Money – Investing and growing money is an often overlooked area of financial literacy with kids. Find out ways to go beyond the standard savings account and get your child actively involved in investing and money growth.

Squirrelers: Is it Important to Buy Organic? – Buying organic is touted as being better for us. The question is: does buying organic always make sense, from a financial perspective? Are we getting value for our additional expenditures for organic items?

Family MoneyValues: How to Raise a Millionaire – Developing Your Child’s Entrepreneural Aptitude – Want to give your child a kick start on being an entrepreneur? Read how 12 financial bloggers from the Yakezie network would go about making their children millionaires.

Everything Finance Blog: Can You Live a Cash Only Life? – Yes, a credit card is helpful for many situations; but a necessity it is not. If you work on your budget, plan for the unexpected, and research alternatives to credit cards you can make it without having one.

Free From Broke : What is a Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL) and is it Worth It? – A refund anticipation loan (RAL) sounds like a great way to get your tax refund fast. But beware the fees that are tacked on. See what a refund anticipation loan is and some alternatives.

Parenting Family Money: 5 Kids Expenses to Budget For – Apart from College – There are other expenses for kids-not on the magnitude of college-that are also worthy of budgets all there own. Make sure you budget for these kids expenses!

Little House in the Valley: January Progress Monitoring – This year my goals were fairly simple; save money ($6,000 for the year), continue to grow my blog (375 readers daily), and ride my bike (1,000 miles this year). So how am I doing at day 31?

Money Green Life: I Don’t Need An Emergency Fund – I Have Credit! – I heard someone tell me that they don’t need an emergency fund because they have enough cash advance credit limit on their credit cards to use them as emergency funds. While the statement can be true, it is a response of a typical financially irresponsible person.

The Millionaire Nurse: Disability: Nothing to Quack About – You owe it to your family to make prudent plans to protect them in the event you are injured and can’t work. Read all about why you need disability insurance and what to look for in your coverage.

How To Save Money: Calling Retentions Can Really Slash Your Bills – The big secret here is that you don’t have to wait until you are unhappy with your service or you want to cancel before you call retentions! They are overcharging you now, so why wait?!

Thriftability: How to Save Money: 7 Success Tips – When you start paying attention to where your money goes, budgeting isn’t as hard as one might think. Whether you utilize computer software programs like Quicken, a Smart phone app, or even just a ledger pad and pencil, tracking your finances can lead to personal fulfillment each month, when you still have money left until the next payday.

PT Money: Improve Your Finances in 31 Days – A month-long series aimed to help readers make incremental changes in order to positively affect their finances.

Wealth Informatics: Stay at home or to work : What is the financial & professional price? – Stay at home or to work : This is not a post to convince anyone that they should stay at home or that they should be a working parent. Rather this post is a thinking process on what changes financially/professionally so that we can better prepare for it (as much as possible).

One Frugal Girl: Do You Save With a Specific Goal in Mind? – Do you save just to save or do you find it difficult to save if you don’t have a specific plan for the money?

Frugal Living: Money Saving Clubs: To Join or Not to Join? – “To join, or not to join?” That certainly is the question when it comes to saving money. Every company would have us believe that by applying for their credit card, joining their rewards program or becoming a member of their club we will save more than we ever dreamed possible. But while that idea may seem too good to be true, there is some truth to it: we may sometimes save money by jumping on the bandwagon. So the question you really need to ask yourself is this: is it worth it to me?

One Cent At A Time: Yodlee MoneyCenter review – Yodlee MoneyCenter gives you more ways to manage your personal finances and track your net worth than its competitors. In its newest avatar Yodlee became more manageable and user friendly.

Fiscal Phoenix: Do You Really Want a Typical Valentine’s Day? – Showing your love on Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be through the gifts that companies and marketers make you feel you have to buy. Instead of using your hard-earned money on consumables that will be gone in just a few days, choose a different activity that will help you create a memory.

Dollar Versity: Business During the Recession: How to Deal with Mistakes – Poor, or unforeseen decisions are bound to happen, even with big businesses. Unavoidable as they are, the important thing is how those mistakes are handled

Invest in the Markets: Holding Stocks during Earnings Annoucements – Holding stocks during earnings announcements has inherent risks… but that’s not to say you shouldn’t do it. We’ll examine some options for those who already hold, or are considering buying a stock, during earnings announcements.

See Debt Run: Good Buy, Baby! – Having a new baby is one of those times in life when people seem to spend money without even thinking about it (probably 2nd to only Weddings). This article offers a number of great tips for saving money when you have a new baby. Baby Food, Diapers and Diaper Bags, Clothes, and more are included.

Whew!  A huge list and some great reading!

Shout out to Wez Welker, my favorite of the players above!  He shows that if you work hard, continually improve, and believe in yourself, anything is possible!

Enjoy the Game!

Corey  (and Calvin – I’m the Wes Welker fan, lol)

The Price of Paying Higher Premiums

There are many other personal finance websites that will recommend that everyone increase their deductibles in order to have lower premiums. It’s unlikely that you will have to file an insurance claim, so there no reason to have a low deductible. At least, that is the logic of many of my colleagues. Should insurance be something that only protects you for the emergencies that will put you in the poor house?

What many fail to mention is that with higher deductibles, it means more money out of your pocket when something does happen. Instead of trying to cut corners, I would rather budget in a slightly higher premium for the benefit of lower unexpected cost. I would much rather have the security of knowing that I will never have to lose a decent part of my savings because I was trying to save a few bucks a month. Think about what would be more detrimental to you – spending a few extra dollars a month and not having any major unexpected expenses OR saving those few bucks and digging into your savings when something does happen?

When Paying for Security is Okay

When I realized that I prefer to pay higher premiums for the bigger safety net, I realized that there was one area of insurance that was lacking: property insurance. I had been renting for a couple years and would occasionally think about what would happen if my apartment burnt down or if someone broke into my apartment. Truth be told, if something did happen, I would be completely devastated. I didn’t like the idea of feeling vulnerable.

While I was saving about $100 each month, it wasn’t worth the risk to me. So, I finally decided to get renter’s insurance. It is costing me a little more money and even though nothing has ever happened before, this guarantees me that I am covered. I will never have to go through my emergency fund for something that I could have prevented. I would hate to regret not doing it and if that means paying a little more for security, I am going to do it. If you are limiting your coverage and putting yourself at risk of going through your emergency fund too easily, it may be time to reconsider your insurance coverage. Is it really worth the extra dollars each month?

Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are entitled to a free credit report once a year. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only official site for this free service. Keep in mind that while the report is free from each of the three credit bureaus, there is a fee to find out your credit score.

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 9 million Americans experience some form of identity theft each year. If someone is using your credit to open accounts, you can be certain that they won’t be making any payments. This could cause your credit to be riddled with delinquent accounts and you’ll end up owing money for items and services you never even knew you purchased. As a victim of identity theft, you’ll have to take several steps to clear your good name, including placing a fraud alert on your credit report, attempting to close the fraudulent accounts, and filing a police report.

Credit monitoring companies such as LifeLock are proactive about identity theft protection. At the first sign of compromised personal information, the company will contact you and follow through in ensuring that your information remains secure. Most of these types of services monitor new accounts, credit inquiries, balance changes, name and personal information changes, and reactivation of inactive accounts.

One of the quickest ways to improve your credit score is to fix errors. SmartCredit.com is a service that allows you to check your report and correct any mistakes quickly online. The site highlights items that have a damaging impact to your credit and allows you to effortlessly report corrections to the right place. Though it is a paid service, they do offer a short-term subscription that allows you to check for errors. If none are found, you are free to cancel within the five-day trial period.

What the Recession Meant for Me

When the 2008 recession hit, it meant a lot of significant challenges for me and those closest to me. It was just before I was graduating college. As a result, I graduated in one of the most difficult times to find a job, even with an undergraduate degree. The four year degree that I had been deceived into thinking would be the ticket to a high-paying job and financial security left me disenchanted. I went through college thinking that the world would allow me to follow my passion and I could change the world for a better place while earning a living. I hate to say that I was wrong, but the recession shocked me into reality. It taught me that my naive understanding of life after graduation was mistaken. While the recession taught me to wake up and be pro-active in terms of a career, it is just one of the many lessons that it taught the U.S. society.

What the Recession Taught Those Closest to Me

My brother and sister in law, were in a much different situation. Both were in their careers and had been for a couple years. They were doing well and just starting their family, meaning that she quit her job to be a stay at home mom. Unfortunately, they had purchased a house just before the housing market crashed. As a result of their small down payment, they now owed more money than the house was worth and were stuck in an adjustable mortgage, sending their monthly payments even higher. Things only got worse as my brother faced possible layoffs and was forced to go part-time for a few months.

While the recession taught me the importance of work experience and a career, it taught them the importance of living well below their means. They had been over-spending for too long because they could afford to, but when things got worse, they realized how susceptible they were to an economic downturn.

The recession, even though horrible, has taught many people valuable lessons. Through a difficult time, it has forced many to wake up to financial responsibility. As I have learned, sometimes it takes huge financial mistakes to learn responsibility.

What has the recession taught you?

Why Mitt Romney’s Taxes Matter So Much

It has recently been released that Mitt Romney is paying significantly lower taxes than the marginal rate. Democrats have scrutinized his tax return because of this fact. In fact, it has led many to question the system of tax rates. Are the rich paying enough taxes? Are they paying too much? What’s the best tax system? These are all questions that have been circling in popular media.

Yet, few have asked why it matters so much. While Mitt Romney has yet to be selected as the republican candidate, even if he were chosen, he wouldn’t be running on the grounds of paying the most toward the U.S. deficit. When has financial information ever mattered so much as it does now?

I believe that there are two reasons that Romney’s facing so much criticism for his effective tax rate, or more generally, why politician’s finances are being scrutinized more than ever. The first reason is the same that it has always been. In electing a president of the U.S. we are electing not just any ordinary person, but someone that we think represents us. The president’s role, among many others, has always been to be an image for the American people. If we elect someone who appears to be “cheating” the system or is extremely wealthy and paying a lower effective tax rate than middle class workers, what does that say about what we represent? Ultimately it also comes down to being able to identify with this image as well. If a person is making as much as Bill Gates does, odds are that voters are going to have a difficult time relating to such a figure. I believe many voters are hesitant to support someone who is too wealthy.

The second reason why personal finances is taken into consideration now more than ever in political campaigns is the financial status. With the national debt rising each and every day and the economy shaky, it is only reasonable that the finances of the image of U.S. is going to be scrutinized. Just like how Obama’s finances is always closely followed, all presidential candidates will be scrutinized for their personal finances.

While no one can say how much personal finances will influence voters, it is clear that this financial stress has pushed the U.S. population to include how one manages their personal finances as a criterion for election. Ultimately, politics is about upholding an image and playing a certain game. No matter how much speculation, it always comes back to playing this game and presenting yourself to the public in a certain way. The candidates better be prepared to face increased scrutiny over the next year.

Philly.com reports that “Advocates say the bullying law, which passed with bipartisan support, is the toughest in the nation.” Apparently it was too rigorous of a legislation that caused too high of a financial stress on the schools. It was just announced that the legislation, that was effectively working to reduce or end bullying in schools, has been ruled unconstitutional because it has failed to supply funding to help carry out the tasks needed to fulfill new requirements.

Should Lack of Funding Make a Law Unconstitutional?

New Jersey’s law was one of the toughest on bullies and rightfully so. Legislators saw a series of events within the past two years that forced their hand. If they did not respond by passing such a law, it would have appeared that they were endorsing what was happening. And as we all know, they did act. They passed a law that was pro-active and aimed to change society for the better.

As the story is told, it was simply because schools were unable to find creative uses of current money to meet the requirements without additional funding it was revoked. The lack of additional funding was putting a financial stress on schools and shouldn’t be required of them. But, is it really about money? Or is it about reversing legislation that was too progressive?

City and state laws and ordinances change every year. It was this past year that my city passed an ordinance that required landlords to install fireproof doors in any multi-family dwellings. This caused a financial burden on all landlords as they had to pay (out of their own pocket) to make this change. No additional funding was provided and a higher financial burden resulted  on landlords because of this new law. Is the law that expresses concern for residents in my city (with respect to fire regulations) unconstitutional because it lacks to provide additional funding? Should it too be ruled unconstitutional?

The simple fact is that while it may have been placing a financial stress on schools, I have difficulty believing that this law was revoked truly for the sake of funding. While a lot of things are indeed motivated by money, perhaps there is something else at work here. It might end up being beneficial for legislators to revisit this law in an attempt to find funding to supplement the regulations, but at what cost? Where will tax-payers feel the burden because funding was taken to meet this regulation?

The two wealthiest socio-economic demographics made up the largest share of foreclosures during the housing bust. These individuals had the highest average salary, highest level of average educational attainment and the greatest amount of financial promise. How do the most promising Americans lead a foreclosure tsunami?

No doubt the reasons for the Great Recession will be argued for decades. However, judging from the political narratives that have already taken hold, you probably never would have thought low closing costs were a major contributor.

The Importance of Closing Costs in a Mortgage

All first-time homebuyers should be thankful for those giant, upfront cash requirements banks establish as a requirement for a mortgage. I know. It’s a lot of money and a massive one-time expense. I’m certain that there are plenty of people who think it’s overly burdensome or even unfair. However, there is a very good reason the bar is set so high.

First of all, coming to the closing with a hoard of cash is a benchmark for soon-to-be homeowners. Like a test, banks make the initial investment requirements large to see if you have the ability to come up with the money. If you struggle saving for down payments and origination fees, how can you expect to weather a mortgage payment and additional costs associated with homeownership?

Additionally, by putting up a large chunk of your own cash when buying a house, you are putting skin in the game. If you paid no costs at the time you bought the house, what would you lose if you decided to never make a mortgage payment? Putting your own money on the line makes it harder for you to walk away from the house. It does one more thing, too:

The motivations above are effective enough to decrease your chances of foreclosure.

Few People Have to Front Closing Costs Anymore

Now that I’ve explained the importance of closing costs in preventing foreclosure, you should know that many homebuyers no longer pay them out of their own pockets.

Many opt to bargain for the seller pay their closing costs instead of asking for a price reduction. A survey by a California realty firm listed seller paid closing costs as the most common concession offered to buyers in purchase agreements. Nearly 66% of all home sales included these provisions. HUD found that homeowners with FHA loans where sellers paid closing costs were three times more likely to end up in foreclosure.

If it’s not the seller paying the closing costs, it is mom and dad. The same California realty survey reported that on one in four homebuyers receive assistance from their parents to pay closing costs.

I commiserate with prospective home buyers that large initial cash requirements are a tough nut to crack, but an important one to tackle on your own.

But, Is Making Closing Costs Even Higher the Answer?

So if paying large sums of money through closing costs is somehow good, requiring two or three times the current minimal down payment must be extra good for prospective homebuyers?

New financial regulations enacted by the recently passed Frank-Dodd bill aim to make it more costly for homebuyers with less than a 20% down payment to obtain a mortgage. While I’m clearly a proponent of going it alone in obtaining money for your closing costs, I think the new regulations are taking this concept too far.

It isn’t necessary to raise the amount of money people need to pay at closing. Homebuyers just need to pay the rates, as they currently are, on their own.

Shaun is the author of the blog Smart Family Finance, a site dedicated to exploring the challenges of family finance; from starting a marriage to starting a family, from teaching your children about finance to helping them pick a college, from single income to multiple income. The intricate world of family finance unlocked, one post at a time.

When you are in need of borrowing money, there are two different options that you could pursue. Both secured and unsecured loans are available for borrowers. With a secured loan, you have to put up some type of collateral to ensure that you pay the loan back. For example, a typical mortgage is a secured loan because the house acts as collateral for the loan.

Unsecured loans represent another option for you to get the money you need and these loans do not require any type of collateral. Unsecured loans are offered strictly based on your credit and your ability to repay the loan in the future. If you default on this type of loan, the creditor cannot automatically take any collateral that you have pledged. Instead, the lender can file a civil lawsuit against you and try to get the money from you through the court system.

When applying for either type of loan, you will have to meet the standards of the lender to make sure that you are credit worthy. The lender will look at your capacity to repay the loan, meaning your income must be sufficient to handle the debt payments. The lender will also scrutinize your credit history to make sure that you do not have too much debt already and that you have a good record of paying your bills on time. The lender may also look at your bank statements to ensure that you have enough money to handle the loan payments if you were to lose your income.

Once the lender is satisfied that you are worthy of issuing credit to, the loan will be approved. If you are not worthy of getting credit on your own, you may be able to get credit by using a cosigner. If you know someone, such as a friend or family member, who can vouch for you, it could significantly increase your odds of getting approved for a loan. The cosigner will sign the loan and become equally responsible for repaying the debt with you. The lender will then evaluate the credit history and the income of the cosigner along with your information. If you do not repay the loan, the cosigner will be expected to do so.

In today’s lending environment, lenders are much more strict about who they issue loans to. Because of this, it is generally to your advantage to get everything in order before you apply for a loan. Check your credit score to make sure that it is as high as it can be and save up some money for a down payment on the item that you wish to purchase. These steps can increase your odds of getting approved for a loan in 2012.

Brief clip:

Insider trading on the stock market: if you are a member of Congress, those laws are deemed not to apply.

So Congressmen get a pass on insider trading?

They do. The fact is if you sit on a healthcare committee and you know that Medicare, for example, is considering not reimbursing for a certain drug. That’s market moving information. And if you can trade stock off that information, and do so legally, that’s a great profit making opportunity.

Why does Congress get a pass on this?

It’s really the way the rules have been defined. The people who make the rules are the political class in Washington and they’ve conveniently written them so they don’t apply to themselves. 

Congress persons named:

1. Representative Spencer Bachus
2. Representative John Boehner
3. Representative Dennis Hastert
4. Senator Judd Gregg
5. Representative Nancy Pelosi

The sad truth is these pathetic excuses for leaders are enriching themselves by having information they wouldn’t ordinarily have without their position in public office.

If you or I did this, we would be in jail facing a few 100k in fines. Plus, the unpleasantness of having to fill in the “have you ever been convicted of a crime” when filling out a job application.

Instead, these people get away with it… and making themselves (and their families) rich in the process. Membership has it’s privileges, so they say, which is why the Stock Act will never be passed unless a few million people show up in DC with pitch forks and torches.

Past reading:

• Insider Trading: Illegal for You and I, Not for Politicians
• Do You Know Your Congressman’s Position on the STOCK Act?

• Do You Know Your Congressman's Position on the STOCK Act?
• The 70 Year Dow Jones Trading Channel
• Municipal Bond Funds: The Easiest Way to Find Tax Free Investments.
• The Pros and Cons of Investing in ETFs

• Before You Build A List - Research This First
• 10/31 - ETF Trading - USO, SCO
• One Good Trade: Inside the Highly Competitive World of Proprietary Trading (Wiley Trading)
• 10/23 - ETF Trading - IWM, UWM, EWC, EWT, EWY

If you’re a member of Gen X and Gen Y, this is probably the scariest chart you will see in 2011, and possibly, right up to the time you’re old and gray.

As you can clearly see, the crony capitalism, fake prosperity, recycled Keynesianism memes et al., have been a great benefit to the U.S. economy… right up until we reach the tipping point and it’s time to pay it back.

Let’s hope those folks who started this race to economic ruin in the 1980s (for the sake of winning elections) will get voted out of office see the light and do the right thing: force those who ran up the national debt pay it back (e.g. higher taxes, eliminate tax deductions for all income levels, cut spending, etc.) versus making their children pay for it years from now.

Image Source & Credit
Karl Denninger
The Market Ticker

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Predictably, a vast majority of people thought the markets would soar after a verbal agreement had been reached on the debt ceiling fiasco. Err, wrong.

The bigger problems, at least in my opinion, is a potential breakdown of a 2 and 1/2 year support trendline in the S&P 500 index and a potential close under the 200 day moving average. Breaking support doesn’t mean the market will plunge to zero within a month, but with so many technical traders keeping tabs on such indicators, the probability of heading lower certainly rises.

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