Category Archives: Financial News

Peter Schiff: The Dollar’s Collapse Is (Still) Coming

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Peter Schiff. (Photo: AP)

C’mon, Schiff—we’re waiting. Where’s the dollar’s collapse, the sky-high inflation, societal chaos, the oceans of fire?

The last two may be a stretch, but the outspoken head of Euro Pacific Precious Metals has warned of the dire consequences of Fed action for what seems like forever (or at least since the first round of quantitative easing). Those consequences have yet to reveal themselves.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that he didn’t believe the Fed was fueling a stock market bubble with its accommodative policies.

Schiff told The Daily Ticker on Friday that the Fed couldn’t see a bubble if it popped in its face.

“In fact, Ben Bernanke himself said there was no real estate bubble even after the real estate bubble burst,” Schiff told the website. “I don’t think there’s necessarily a bubble in the stock market. There’s certainly a

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Best Interest Rates in Kansas: Historical Comparison

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In recent years, interest rates on banking deposit products have steadily fallen, making growing savings an increasingly difficult task for depositors. However, some parts of the country have experienced greater drops than others, and GoBankingRates is performing historical rate studies to examine how interest rates have changed over time by state.

This study focuses on Kansas banks and credit unions, finding average interest rates on savings accounts, as well as 6-month, 1-year and 2-year certificate of deposits today, and comparing them against averages from 2011. Kansas is also ranked against the rest of the U.S. state

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February 2013 Net Worth Update (+$8,144)

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Highlights for February

  • We like to take advantage of 0% APR balance transfers and other credit card offers for free money.
  • We earned a $500 credit card bonus this month after meeting a spending threshold on a Capital One Spark Business Credit Card promotion we received in the mail.
  • We used Amazon payments to boost our spending this month to take advantage of the credit card promotion. As a result we had additional cash (and corresponding credit card liabilities) on our balance sheet this month.
  • Our properties are listed on our balance sheet based on their cost basis, not current market value. We did this while the real estate market was riding high and we continue to do it now during the slide. I believe real estate is too illiquid to list based on recent sale transactions.

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How We Plan to Pay Our Mortgage Off Early – Mar (2012)

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Do you have a mortgage? Have you ever taken a look at just how much you will pay over the course of a 15 or 30 year fixed rate mortage? Even with mortgage rates below 5%, the amount you can expect to pay on a home in 30 years can be an eye opener.

I personally dont care for any debt, which is why my wife and I have made it a priority to pay off our home early. When it comes to buying a home, most people dont have the means to use cash to buy a home so they take out a mortgage. This is the situation that my family is in and we are working hard to pay down this debt.

A little over a year ago, my family decided to refinance our mortage and take advantage of historically low interest rates.
By doing so, we ended up lowering our interest rate to 4.375% on a 30 year fixed mortgage and were able to save over $200 per month in payments. Since then, we have taken that extra monthly savings and used it to lower the principal on our home.

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Houston, We Have a Spending Problem—News Analysis

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Steep cuts in government spending are set to kick in starting Friday—and the handwringing is growing more intense.

The Daily Beast chimed in with a charming catalogue of horrors called “Eight Ways the Sequester Could Ruin Your Life.” On the list were things like scrapping that family vacation to Yellowstone because cuts to the Department of the Interior will force the termination of ranger programs and reduce park admissions. Life just has no meaning any more because I can’t look for Yogi.

The article warned of scarier things, like a future of unwitting horse meat dinners because the Food Safety and Inspection Service will be forced to furlough inspectors.

One wonders, how did we keep Mr. Ed out of our TV dinners in 2005 when the federal budget totaled $2.4 trillion?

At that time the federal budget totaled a little less, actually, than the $2.45 trillion that the federal government collected in taxes last year. And, ye

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Save Up Series: How Much Should I Save for Mortgage Loan Down Payment?

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Saving money can be tough when things just keep getting more expensive. Gas prices are on the rise, as is the cost of food and health care. It doesnt help that we all just lost a chunk of our paychecks to the expiration of the payroll tax cut.

Even so, there are major milestones in every persons life that require a sizable savings account, and our new Save Up series will help you understand and plan for how much money youll actually have to put away in order to reach your goals.

Our first installment covers how to save money to buy a house read on to find out how much money you need to save up for a mortgage loan down payment.

How Much of a Down Payment Do I Need?

If you plan on applying for a mortgage to finance a home purchase, you will have to contribute a down payment (a portion of the total home cost up front). Theres no way around that.

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