Monthly Archives: August 2011

Personal Finance in the News: Health Care Law Being Challenged

Posted on August 23, 2011 by ajkeown

Since President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act in March 2010, this act has stirred up a good deal of debate.  For example, in January 2011, almost immediately after the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives, … Continue reading →

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Teaching Tip: The New Health Care Law

Posted on August 23, 2011 by ajkeown

If you’re using the 5th edition of Personal Finance, Turning Money into Wealth, there has been a significant change in the law since the book was published – the passage of the Affordable Care Act.  One easy way to bring … Continue reading →

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Mortgage Rates Drop and Refinancing Jumps

Posted on August 16, 2011 by ajkeown

As the stock market bounced up and down, the rates on new home mortgages fell.  According to Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, also known as Freddie Mac, last week 15-year fixed rate mortgages (15-yr FRM) fell to 3.50%, which is … Continue reading →

Posted in Ch. 8, Home and Auto, Personal Finance In The News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How Long Do You Think You’ll Work?

Posted on August 13, 2011 by ajkeown

In the SmartMoney.com blog, Encore, there is an August 10th, 2011 article about retirement by Alicia Munnell, the director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.  The article titled “8 Reasons Older People Are Working Longer” examines the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ch.16, Retirement Planning, Personal Finance In The News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

An Unplanned Expense of $1,000 Would Be Tough for Most Americans to Handle

Posted on August 13, 2011 by ajkeown

What would happen to you if you needed to come up with $1,000 for an emergency?  If you’re like most Americans, you’d be in trouble.  This is a question that CNN.Money looks at in an August 10th article titled “Most … Continue reading →

Posted in Ch. 2, Measuring Financial Health and Making a Plan, Ch. 5, Cash Management | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Jean Chatzky on Surviving the Downturn

Posted on August 12, 2011 by ajkeown

Jean Chatzky, one of the best personal finance writers around, just wrote her first column for Newsweek.  This column is titled “How to Protect your Portfolio from Politics” and also appears with a slightly different title, “Jean Chatzky: Surviving the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ch. 2, Measuring Financial Health and Making a Plan, Ch. 5, Cash Management, Ch.11, Investment Basics, Personal Finance In The News | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Avoiding Credit Card Late Fees

Posted on August 11, 2011 by ajkeown

At some point in your life you’re probably going to be hit with a credit card late fee – things just seem to happen.  Fortunately, as you learn in Ch. 6, the new credit card rules that went into effect … Continue reading →

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Ponzi Schemes and Heisman Trophy Winners

Posted on August 10, 2011 by ajkeown

Ponzi schemes have been around for a long time, and there just doesn’t seem to be any end in sight to them.  The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi who became rich and famous in 1920, making, at his peak, … Continue reading →

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The Market Drops – Is It Time For Panic?

Posted on August 9, 2011 by ajkeown

August 9th was a tough day for common stocks as the three major indexes – the S&P 500, the DJIA, and NASDAQ all fell between 5% and 7%, making August 9th the worst day on Wall Street since 2008.  In … Continue reading →

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What To Do With Your Cash

Posted on August 9, 2011 by ajkeown

Certainly, if you want to survive this, or any, economic storm you need something in the way of an emergency fund.  In fact, in Ch. 1, Principle 5: Stuff Happens, or the Importance of Liquidity speaks to this very issue, … Continue reading →

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