In looking at the most recent statistics among most Americans, one cannot feel frustrated about current trends. Many people are simply juggling their debt around with no thought of the consequences. Many people have decided to use their home as a bank, and when that has tapped out, they then decide to use credit cards. Then individuals have refinanced and started the process all over again. Amidst the refinance boom, households are experiencing high levels of debt accumulation. According to a Demos analysis of the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer […]

The Millionaire Next Door says that one of their rules to wealth-building was to buy a house worth two times your annual income or less. This is an exceptional idea that few people are following. It could be argued that with the decrease of long term rates that three times a persons salary is the most one would pay for a home using a 30 year mortgage. Another method would be to determine the percentage of a person’s mortgage payment amounts to the monthly total after tax income. Most people […]

By most economic measures, 2006 was a great year. Despite rising interest rates, high oil prices and the sharpest housing downturn in 15 years, inflation was low, productivity rose steadily, corporate profits reached a 40-year high, the stock market soared and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.6 percent — the lowest level in more than five years. Strong hiring in service businesses like education, health care, finance, travel and entertainment more than offset big job losses in the auto and housing sectors. But in the midst of this booming economy, […]

Many people filed their tax returns at the last minute. This should not be of much surprise as it is typical. Taxes can most certainly be an uncomfortable experience. This is especially true when you discover that Uncle Sam wants more than what you have paid. It can be a shocking experience. What is frustrating is that the tax code keeps getting bigger and bigger. The code is now more than sixty thousand pages long. What to do? Call your congressmen and demand change! What happens if you have a […]