Weekly Round Up – January 24, 2014

Before we get to the good reads!

Check out this beastly resource on Tips for the Online Marketer, and let me know what you think.

A Few Good Reads

Here are a few of my favorite reads from the past week.

1. Debt advice clinic: put your questions to our panel

The third week of January can be a struggle for many people, and debt charities report that it is one of their busiest times. It feels like a long time since the last pay packet, and bank balances could be running low. Bills for credit cards and other borrowing will start to go out over the coming days, and could be the final straw for some people’s finances.

We are running a live advice clinic on Tuesday 21 January to help answer readers’ questions about debt and how to deal with it.

If you feel overwhelmed by your financial situation, need information about debt management plans and the other options open to you, or advice on how to deal with your creditors, our panel can help. Matt Cooper, an online debt adviser from advice charity StepChange, and his team of colleagues, and Jane Clack, a money advice consultant from Payplan, will be online to answer your questions. Published here

2. Bankruptcy judge turns down Detroit deal with banks on pension debt:

A U.S. bankruptcy judge rejected a deal on Thursday that would have allowed Detroit to pay two banks $165 million to conclude a disastrous pension debt agreement, which has been partly blamed for bankrupting the city.

Judge Steven Rhodes turned down the compromise on the premise that it was “just too much money.” He said that Detroit must not make poor financial decisions as it endeavors to get out of bankruptcy.

It is not the first time Rhodes has struck down such a deal. Back in December, he rejected a plan to pay the banks $230 million. Published here

3. What does this terrifying debt chart portend for America’s future?

OK, so another scary debt chart. At least we’re not Japan, right? The OECD projects Japan’s gross general government debt-to-GDP ratio will hit 231% in 2014. Not only is the US is nowhere near that level — and might not be even a generation from now — but Japan seems to have little trouble handling its much higher debt levels.

But maybe not for long. From “Why hasn’t Japan’s massive government debt wreaked havoc (yet)?” by Charles Yuji Horioka, Takaaki Nomoto, Akiko Terada-Hagiwara:

The current situation is even more tenuous than appears at first blush. The increasing share of foreign holdings and the shortening of maturities on Japanese government securities – especially on foreign holdings – increase the difficulty of rollover and the risk of sudden reversals in trends, as we are now observing. Published here

4. Smart Money Moves for Dealing With Holiday Debt:

Let’s face it – it’s hard to get through the holidays without overspending. For a lot of us, that means relying on credit cards to handle all of the expenses. Come January we’re all looking to get the budget back in line and make some smart moves for the rest of the year. That doesn’t mean you have to cut up your credit cards and swear never to touch them again! There are some smart ways you can continue to use credit wisely, and even come out on top.

Bring Down Holiday Debt:
Most of us know that it’s a good idea to pay off our credit card balance every month, before interest kicks in and finance charges increase the debt. But if sit down to look at your bills in January and find that you’ve charge a bit more than you can pay off right away, you’re certainly not alone. There are a couple of ways to deal with this dilemma. Published here

5. Selling Out At Graduation? Student Looks To Wipe Out Debt With Ads On Cap

One college graduate has an ingenious plan to cut down on his student loans.

WWJ’s Russ McNamara reports that a University of Michigan – Flint student is calling attention to a problem plaguing millions of college grads across the country.

About 62 percent of graduates leave college with substantial debt, and one of those students is 22-year-old international business student, Alex Benda of St. Claire, but he has a plan … sell advertising space on the top of his graduation cap! Published here