Saving for college has some new changes. There are new changes to pre-paid tuition plans and 529 plans, two popular vehicles Americans use to save for and pay for college.The biggest changes are those that pertain to the “kiddie tax.” Effective in 2006, the new law calls for the “kiddie tax” to remain in effect until a child turns 18. Previously, unearned income attributable to children age 14 and older was usually taxed at the child’s tax rate. The new tax law, however, raises the age to 18 effective January […]

Americans are spending with plastic at a staggering rate. Consumer credit-card debt has almost tripled over the last two decades—from $238 billion in 1989 to $800 billion in 2005, according to an analysis of Federal Reserve Board data by Demos, a national research and consumer advocacy group. The average American family now owes more than $9,000 in credit debt.  In addition, credit companies are mailing out a record 6 billion credit-card offers last year (according to Mail Monitor, a market research group.)            The increase of consumer debt has been the […]

We speak constantly about gettting out of debt. Owning a home outright with no debt whatsoever. So why would anyone want to get involved with a reverse mortgage? The first step is to understand what a reverse mortgage is. A reverse mortgage requires a lender to pay you in installments. These payments can be used for immediate cashflow purposes such as retirement income. The amount of money a person can take out depends on the home’s appraised value, the amount of equity in the home, and a persons age. If you […]

There’s no doubt age bias is alive and well in some American workplaces, but older job seekers can generally sidestep it by applying to companies which say they embrace this segment of the labor pool. For instance, Home Depot, Borders, Cingular, CVS/pharmacy, Kelly Services, Manpower, MetLife, New York Life Insurance and Walgreens are just some of the companies on AARP’s list of featured employers — and they’re all companies which say they’re eager to hire older workers.    Often, these companies turn to gray-haired job seekers as a response to […]