All General money Articles

As shell-shocked American consumers limp into the 2008 holiday season, most plan to have fun with less emphasis on spending. In October, a Gallup poll reported that 35 percent of Americans intend to spend less this holiday season than they spent in 2007. In October last year, only 19 percent of Americans planned to spend less than they had the previous year. Gallup reports that the Read more...

Even when you love your job, you probably don't like getting to it much of the time. There's the time on the road, the traffic jams and occasional accidents, not to mention the cost of gasoline. Mass transit has its hassles, too -- crowded trains, waiting for a bus in the rain, and in some cases, it takes longer than driving because you have to make all sorts of connections. Your boss Read more...

When adult children ask their parents for money, it creates a quandary: To give or not to give? For T. Scott Gross, a motivational speaker and management training consultant in Knoxville, Tenn., the choice is easy: "My answer starts at no, then hell no, then, over your dead body," he says. Such an answer is nothing new for his grown son. "Because we made him Read more...

Consumers have plenty to worry about during a challenging economy, and making a wrong move in personal finances could make a bad situation worse. Obtaining cash through credit cards, retirement plans and home equity could end up being a costly quick fix. And complacency over personal investments and looming college costs could lead to missed opportunities for keeping hard-earned Read more...

Ever wish for a financial adviser you could consult anytime, day or night, for an up-to-date picture of your finances, along with a pointer or two on how to improve them? Oh, and since money's tight nowadays, could you make it free, to boot? Well thanks to the Internet, such help is available -- or at least an automated, digital version of it. Online personal finance tools are rapidly Read more...

What's the toughest money question? It's the one that can't be solved with a calculator, or even by a smart accountant. In fact, you may need the combined insights of a family therapist, psychologist and financial planner to find the answer when someone asks: "I need money. Can you help?" You want to help. But should you? And if so, how and how much? With millions struggling Read more...

A few years ago, you probably never gave the FDIC, or the deposit insurance it provides, a second thought. But with banks falling like dominoes and struggling financial institutions of all stripes in the news, you're probably wondering if there are exceptions to the FDIC's $100,000 guarantee. It is almost always there for you. But understanding FDIC rules is worth the effort, because Read more...

Breaking open the 401(k) plan piggy bank can be tempting if you're in a financial jam. And it appears that more Americans are giving in -- jeopardizing their futures to meet current financial needs. Several retirement plan providers, including Fidelity and T. Rowe Price, have reported increases in loans and withdrawals for 2007. Anecdotally, Bankrate has received an increasing number of Read more...

Dear Terry, We are thinking of buying a new car. Would it build my credit if I apply for a car loan separately instead of doing a joint loan? My husband has a 20- to 30-point higher credit score, so he is getting a better interest rate. But I would still like to apply for a loan in my name as I am thinking that would help build my credit history. Am I right in assuming that? Or Read more...

Why is it you know all about your best friend’s sex life, but nothing about her salary? Why will your brother reveal intimate details about the house he’s building—complete with the cost of every last fixture—but not tell you his income or the size of his last bonus? And why are your parents hiding their money secrets along with the other skeletons in that closet? The answer in each Read more...

See also: bonus, money, salary

As the FDIC mops up the mess that was once IndyMac Bank, consumers are left with unpleasant images of long lines of worried customers waiting to get their uninsured deposits back. There was approximately $1 billion in uninsured deposits spread among consumers, businesses and nonprofit organizations. The sad reality for those customers is that they're getting $0.50 on the dollar for their Read more...

Let’s start with a pop quiz. (Don’t worry. We won’t be grading it.) Which of the following people is a financial success:     A. Mr. Apple who has all the money he needs, thanks to his stock picking prowess.     B. Ms. Blue, who is currently living the way she wants—writing columns for an on-line company that doesn’t pay much—thanks to the current income being generated by Read more...

See also: assets, finances, money, portfolio

Do you live from a sense of financial abundance? Or does a belief in scarcity cause you to live in fear? I meet many people who do not feel they live in financial abundance, despite the fact that their wealth far exceeds the basic human requirements of food, shelter and clothing. It's important to move from a fear of financial scarcity to a sense of abundance. This transformation Read more...

Spring has sprung, an old children's poem goes, which means many people are knee-deep in spring cleaning -- scrubbing floors, clearing out the garage and tossing all the clutter that's gathered over the winter months. It's also an ideal time to consider sprucing up your financial life. It's not just about tossing out old paperwork; it's about doing the regular maintenance to ensure that Read more...

Your wallet is stuffed with crumpled currency and raggedy receipts while loose change clutters the floor of your car. That doesn't have anything to do with your ability to build a sound financial future though, right? Wrong. The way you handle your day-to-day cash speaks volumes about your money personality, according to personal finance experts. "Our outer financial life is really Read more...

After years of listening to women, Suze Orman arrived at a troubling conclusion. Despite the remarkable social advancements of the past four decades, little has changed as far as how American women deal with their money. When it comes to personal finances, women generally are still not good at taking charge, she says.In her latest book, "Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Read more...

When Moses brought the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai, he was trying to straighten out the world. Here at Bankrate, we have a less ambitious -- but still very important -- goal in mind. We're trying to straighten out your finances with our version of the Ten Commandments of personal finance. "Think of these Ten Financial Commandments as your Read more...

A new year gives you the chance to start fresh with goals and plans for the coming 12 months. It's a time to take stock of the past year. This is my eighth year writing a column that suggests steps readers can take to improve their finances in the coming year. Here's hoping you have a safe and prosperous 2008. 1. Define or refine your life goals. What do you want out of life? How are you Read more...

Everyone knows the secret to investment success is to buy low and sell high. The problem is most of us lack clairvoyance. We asked experts to weigh in on some of the most common mistakes investors make, and while it's easy to see that chasing hot stocks (the most frequently cited mistake) would be an exercise in futility, they reported other less obvious pitfalls to watch out for. There Read more...

John Hanger, president and CEO of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) called the switch to daylight savings time on March 11 "no magic bullet for saving energy," despite the intentions of Congressional sponsors who inserted the provision into the Energy Policy Act of 2005. "Just shifting to an hour of daylight later in the day will do little to save energy, unless Read more...