Weekly Round Up – August 9 , 2013

A Few Good Reads

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

1. Average Student Loan Debt Could Cost A Household $208,000 Over A Lifetime: Study

The real cost of student loan debt is far greater than you may think, according to a new analysis.

A household with $53,000 in outstanding student debt — which is the average college loan balance for a family headed by two people with 4-year degrees — will be about $208,000 poorer over a lifetime than a similar household with no debt, a study released Thursday by public policy research organization Demos found.Read this article

 2. US debt six times greater than declared – study: 

The United States has accumulated over $70 trillion in unreported debt, an amount nearly six times the declared figure, according to a new study by University of California-San Diego economics Professor James Hamilton.

The unique aspect of Hamilton’s study is that he examines federal debt that has not been publicly released, specifically the government’s support for “housing, other loan guarantees, deposit insurance, actions taken by the Federal Reserve, and government trust funds.” Read this article

 3. Average credit card debt? 

When it comes to credit card debt, that average Joe is one elusive fellow.

All of the numbers above are from impeccable sources of “average credit card debt” for Americans — and depending on how it’s measured and who’s doing the measuring, we’re either doing pretty well when it comes to managing our credit cards, or horribly. Read this article

4. Europe, United States dealing with debt crisis in different ways: 

Debt has been a signature issue of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, and he’s been warning that if the United States doesn’t deal with its borrowing and spending, we could face a crisis like the one that has kept Europe in deep recession for five years. FOX6?s Mike Lowe traveled to Europe this summer to explore how both Europe and the United States are dealing with debt.

The Brandenburg gate in Berlin is the old dividing line between the East and the West, and it may also be a symbol of the different ways the United States and Germany deal with debt. Read this article

5. NHS debt crisis may close a string of hospitals: 

Several trusts could be forced to close because of their financial difficulties or those of next door trusts which are saddled with massive debts.

Many have debts running into tens of millions of pounds and their only way of staying open is to axe services.

Last week campaigners won a High Court battle to keep open Lewisham Hospital in south-east London after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s plan to close its accident and emergency department was ruled illegal. Read this article

Carnivals

This That and The MBA was included in several carnivals over the last weeks:

1. http://onecentatatime.com/yakezie-carnival-back-to-school-edition/

2. http://yourpfpro.com/carnival-of-moneypros/

3. http://www.fitnancials.com/financial-carnival-for-young-adults/

4. http://reachfinancialindependence.com/financial-independence-carnival-22/

5. http://midlifefinance.com/2013/08/carnival-of-retirement-81st-edition/

6. http://www.tortoisebanker.com/2013/08/the-tortoise-banker-carnival-4th-edition.html

Thank you for the mentions last week. I really appreciate it. Have a great weekend!

-Christopher-