Before we get to the good reads!
Check out this beastly resource on Determining your Target Market, and let me know what you think.
A Few Good Reads
Here are a few of my favorite reads from the past week.
1. 7 pieces of terrible debt advice:
Asking for advice is one of those things that can either be helpful or disastrous — it depends on the topic and who’s offering tips.
When it comes to get-out-of-debt advice, the stakes are high, so choose your advisers carefully and keep an open mind when it’s time to make decisions. It’s not so much that there are good choices and bad choices as it is being able to decide what’s best, based on your unique situation.
Gerri Detweiler, Credit.com’s director of consumer education, said consumers looking to get out of debt need to explore their options to make sure they’re making the best choice, but they also need to be wary of getting overwhelmed by the options. Visit now
2. Sallie Mae Wants Me To Pay Down Debt By Opening Up A Credit Card:
On the surface, this e-mail that reader S. received from Sallie Mae doesn’t seem like a bad idea. It’s offering a new credit card, which maybe you were going to get anyway. You can use the card’s cash-back rewards to save for a loved one’s college education, or to pay off your own student loans. Yet it doesn’t sit right with S.
We’re not saying that credit cards are bad. Indeed, we encourage judicious use of them instead of debit cards to extend the warranty on major purchases, and to protect yourself from card skimmers or payment information breaches. Protecting yourself from fraud: good. Losing track of your monthly spending by flashing plastic: bad. Racking up huge amounts of debt: really bad. Visit now
3. Private Credit and Public Debt in Financial Crises:
Recovery from a recession triggered by a financial crisis is greatly influenced by the government’s fiscal position. A financial crisis puts considerable stress on the government’s budget, sometimes triggering attacks on public debt. Historical analysis shows that a private credit boom raises the odds of a financial crisis. Entering such a crisis with a swollen public debt may limit the government’s ability to respond and can result in a considerably slower recovery.
In financial crises, steep declines in output worsen the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) even if the nominal amount of debt remains unchanged. Progressive tax systems cause government revenues to decline at a faster rate than output. Meanwhile, other automatic stabilizers, such as unemployment insurance programs, quickly swell public expenditures. Visit now
4. Student loans trending in opposite direction of other forms of debt:
A recent report from The Federal Reserve Bank of New York revealed that consumer debt is back on the rise, albeit in a healthier form, as approval standards have changed since before the recession.
But while Americans are taking on credit card, auto and mortgage loans at a renewed and more responsible rate, one type of debt continues to accumulate and pose a serious threat to the lending environment going forward: That of student loans.
According to a recent New York Times report, not only are levels of student loan debt and delinquencies still on the rise, but people continue to borrow for their education without necessarily expressing ample ability to repay. Visit now
5. Student loan debt relief bill gets no GOP support:
Student loan debt looks to be a large and growing problem for many Wisconsin residents. Thursday was a nationwide “Higher Ed, Not Debt Day of Action.” Legislation from state Representative Cory Mason would allow Wisconsin residents to refinance their student loans at a lower rate. But the bill from the Racine Democrat has no Republican support with the legislative session coming to an end.
“Just for an undergraduate degree, (it takes) almost 19 years to pay if off,” Mason said at a Capitol press conference. “But we’re hearing from people with professional degrees talking about taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, with no end in sight as to when they’re going to pay it off.” Visit now
Recent Posts On This That and the MBA
Repayment Option For the Borrower’s
Right Use of Loan To Build Your Personal Wealth
Carnivals
This That and The MBA was included in several carnivals over the last weeks:
1. http://www.saveandconquer.com/carnival-money-pros-march-9-2014/
2. http://thevaluegeek.com/yakezie-carnival-march-2014/
3. http://www.moneysmartguides.com/carnival-financial-camaraderie-heck-spring-edition
4. http://blog.avantcredit.com/weekly-financial-round-ups/carnival-of-financial-planning
Thank you for the mentions last week. I really appreciate it. Have a great weekend!
-Christopher-