It is indeed a material world. When it comes to spending, the U.S. is a culture of consumption. The result: rising levels of consumer debt and declining household savings rates. But in 2008, this culture was hit hard by economic reality. According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. household debt grew steadily from the time the Fed started tracking it in 1952. It declined for the first time in the third quarter of 2008. As a result of the credit crisis and ensuing economic recession, savings rates also rebounded. For those who had been living beyond their means for years, it suddenly got a lot harder to make ends meet. And, although the government tends to encourage spending during economic downturn and statistics may lead us to think that overspending is normal, it is often a risky choice. Here we’ll take a look at seven of the most common financial mistakes that often lead people to major economic hardship. Even if you’re already facing financial difficulties, steering clear of these mistakes could be the key to survival.
Mistake No. 1: Excessive/Frivolous Spending
Great fortunes are often lost one dollar at time. It may not seem like a big deal when you pick up that double-mocha cappuccino, stop for a pack of cigarettes, have dinner out or order that pay-per-view movie, but every little item adds up. Just $25 per week spent on dining out costs you $1,300 per year, which could go toward an extra mortgage payment or a number of extra car payments. If you’re enduring financial hardship, avoiding this mistake really matters – after all, if you’re only a few dollars away from foreclosure or bankruptcy, every dollar will count more than ever.
Mistake No. 2: Never-Ending Payments Ask yourself if you really need items that keep you paying for every month, year after year. Things like cable television, subscription radio and video games, cell phones and pagers can force you to pay unceasingly but leave you owning nothing. When money is tight, or you just want to save more, creating a leaner lifestyle can go a long way to fattening your savings and cushioning your from financial hardship.
(CNN) After seeing the chaos that took place in Georgia today, I had to raise the question are some people way to dependent on government assistance? I really believe that for most people who receive government assistance get into the habit of expectancy and the assistance begins to become a crutch instead of a stepping stone. The welfare system is in high need of restructuring.
This has been a bitter sweet year for Reggie Bush the New Orleans Saints running back. On the heels of winning NFL Super Bowl, Reggie was hit with the new that he had been found guilty of receiving over $300,000 worth of gifts from marketing agents during his time at USC.
Bush and USC have been in hot water since June 10, when the NCAA sanctioned the school with four years of probation and a two-year ban on postseason bowl games. The Trojan football team was also forced to forfeit all its victories during the three seasons Bush played, and it was stripped of 30 football scholarships intended for new players over the next three years.
Bush proclaimed his innocence in a public statement, saying, “I very much regret the turn that this matter has taken, not only for USC, but for the fans and players. I am disappointed by {the} decision and disagree with the NCAA’s findings. If the University decides to appeal, I will continue to cooperate with the NCAA and USC, as I did during the investigation.”
Now it seems things are getting a bit worst because the IRS is taking a look into the case to see if they can get their paws on some possible back taxes from Bush’s $300,000 worth of gifts. If the IRS is creative enough its saidthat Bush will have to cut them a check upwards of $150,000.
Decisions, decisions, decisions; it’s so unfortunate that the USC program and Bush’s former teammates will have to suffer such harsh penalties because of his foolishness. It really doesn’t matter how well he does in the NFL the rest of his career, he will forever be remembered as the person that killed the USC legacy; what a shame!
We can’t turn a blind eye to what is going on in our African American communities people. There must be something done to raise awareness on the necessity for African Americans to become more financial literate. I found this article in theNew York Times and the wealth distribution statistics between blacks and whites floored me. I had no idea that African Americans financial position as a whole was this despairing. If this story isn’t a wake up call for us I don’t know what will be; check it out:
A single father, he worked for FedEx and also as a custodian, built a handsome brick home, had a retirement account and put his eldest daughter through college. Then the Great Recession rolled in like a fog bank. He refinanced his mortgage at a rate that adjusted sharply upward, and afterward he lost one of his jobs. Now Mr. Banks faces bankruptcy and foreclosure.
“I’m going to tell you the deal, plain-spoken: I’m a black man from the projects and I clean toilets and mop up for a living,” said Mr. Banks, a trim man who looks at least a decade younger than his 50 years. “I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. But my whole life is backfiring.”
Not so long ago, Memphis, a city where a majority of the residents are black, was a symbol of a South where racial history no longer tightly constrained the choices of a rising black working and middle class. Now this city epitomizes something more grim: How rising unemployment and growing foreclosures in the recession have combined to destroy black wealth and income and erase two decades of slow progress.
The median income of black homeowners in Memphis rose steadily until five or six years ago. Now it has receded to a level below that of 1990 — and roughly half that of white Memphis homeowners, according to an analysis conducted by Queens College Sociology Department for The New York Times.
Black middle-class neighborhoods are hollowed out, with prices plummeting and homes standing vacant in places like Orange Mound, Whitehaven and Cordova. As job losses mount — black unemployment here, mirroring national trends, has risen to 16.9 percent from 9 percent two years ago; it stands at 5.3 percent for whites — many blacks speak of draining savings and retirement accounts in an effort to hold onto their homes. The overall local foreclosure rate is roughly twice the national average.
The repercussions will be long-lasting, in Memphis and nationwide. The most acute economic divide in America remains the steadily widening gap between the wealth of black and white families, according to a recent study by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University. For every dollar of wealth owned by a white family, a black or Latino family owns just 16 cents, according to a recent Federal Reserve study.
The Economic Policy Institute’s forthcoming “The State of Working America” analyzed the recession-driven drop in wealth. As of December 2009, median white wealth dipped 34 percent, to $94,600; median black wealth dropped 77 percent, to $2,100. So the chasm widens, and Memphis is left to deal with the consequences.
The stock of U.S. money as measured by ‘M3′ money supply fell to $13.9 trillion from $14.2 trillion during the three months ending in April.
This 9.6% annualized contraction is unprecedented in the post-Depression era, and shows how, in this sense, America isn’t printing more money. There are actually less dollars in the system since U.S. money supply is crashing, even well into the recent economic recovery.
The positive take on this is that we don’t have to worry about either inflation or the Fed tightening significantly any time soon.
The negative take is that this crashing money supply will lead to both deflation and a double dip recession:
“It’s frightening,” said Professor Tim Congdon from International Monetary Research. “The plunge in M3 has no precedent since the Great Depression. The dominant reason for this is that regulators across the world are pressing banks to raise capital asset ratios and to shrink their risk assets. This is why the US is not recovering properly,” he said.
Mr Congdon said the Obama policy risks repeating the strategic errors of Japan, which pushed debt to dangerously high levels with one fiscal boost after another during its Lost Decade, instead of resorting to full-blown “Friedmanite” monetary stimulus.
“Fiscal policy does not work. The US has just tried the biggest fiscal experiment in history and it has failed. What matters is the quantity of money and in extremis that can be increased easily by quantitative easing. If the Fed doesn’t act, a double-dip recession is a virtual certainty,” he said.
The danger, critics such as Mr. Congdon say, is that Bernanke as a Keynesian may fail to appreciate the significance of the recent money supply drop, failing to avoid a new recession.
The white house must have put out a memo to the IRS to start going hard body on celebs that owe taxes; its like every week someone else is being smacked around for owing taxes. This week the lucky contestant is Pamela Anderson, check it out:
According to sourcesPamela Anderson has spoken out to address reports she has failed to pay almost $500,000 in taxes – insisting she’s working to resolve the “temporary but embarrassing situation”.
The California Franchise Tax Board released its annual list of delinquent tax payers earlier this month (Apr10), and named the Baywatch beauty as one of the main culprits.
According to records, Anderson has allegedly failed to pay a staggering $493,000 in income tax installments. But Anderson is adamant the situation will be set right soon – blaming “events out of my control” for the failure to pay.
In a post on her Twitter.com page, she writes, “I’m not trying to avoid any tax obligation. Certain events occurred, outside of my control which caused this temporary but embarrassing situation. All of my tax obligations will be resolved in the very near future
With in the 5mins of this interview Paul Mooney really had some profound things to say in my opinion. He talks about the movie Precious, “reverse racism”, Richard Prior and Marvin Gays’ drug addiction and much more. Leave you comments I would like to hear your thoughts.
According to sources AT&T Inc. said Thursday it would no longer sponsor Tiger Woods, joining Accenture in dropping support for the world’s top golfer, who’s taking a break from the sport to focus on his marriage after his admitted infidelity.
The phone company hasn’t used Woods’ image extensively in advertising, but its logo appeared on his golf bag. That deal had been billed as a “multiyear” agreement when it was signed early in 2009, after Buick ended its endorsement one year early because of its financial woes.
Woods has also been the host of the AT&T National PGA Tour event since it started in 2007. Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said that since Woods is on indefinite leave from professional golf, he will not serve as host for the 2010 event. However, his Tiger Woods Foundation will continue to be the beneficiary of the AT&T National, under a contract that runs through 2014, Votaw said.
AT&T said it would continue to sponsor the event.
Woods won the 2009 AT&T National in July at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. The AT&T National is moving to Aronimink Country Club outside Philadelphia the next two years as Congressional prepares to host the 2011 U.S. Open.
AT&T has also been the presenting sponsor of the annual Tiger Jam concert event in Las Vegas, but that contract has expired, according to AT&T spokesman Michael Coe.
AT&T, which is based in Dallas, did not comment on its reasons for dropping Woods, or how much the relationship was worth.
Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, had no comment on AT&T’s decision.
Alexis Diaz has always been a natural born Actress. From the start of a young age she had participated in plays and competed in talent shows. Always driven she had attended Temple university in Philadelphia, where she received her Bachelors of Arts Degree in theater.MORE
