Category Archives: Ch. 8, Home and Auto

Class Discussion & Video: Why do we buy so much?

Posted on January 4, 2012 by ajkeown

American Public Media’s Market Place recently aired a program titled “The Truth About What We Buy” that dealt with happiness and buying “stuff.”  Much of this story focused on a new book by James Roberts, a professor of marketing at … Continue reading →

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Personal Finance in the News & Class Assignment: 30-Year Mortgage Rates Fall Below 4%

Posted on October 12, 2011 by ajkeown

In Chapter 8 we discuss home buying and taking out a mortgage, and we use the techniques we developed in Chapter 3 to calculate our mortgage payments.  As we learned in those chapters, how large your mortgage payments are depends … Continue reading →

Posted in Ch. 3, Time Value of Money, Ch. 8, Home and Auto | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Student Exercise: A Closer Look at Credit Unions

Posted on September 25, 2011 by ajkeown

The Wall Street Journal recently carried an article titled “Credit Unions: a Cheaper Banking Option.”  This article deals with the fact that credit unions typically have lower rates on loans and often have better deals on savings and checking accounts … Continue reading →

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Podcast Class Assignment: Understanding Operation Twist

Posted on September 25, 2011 by ajkeown

A lot has been happening lately in the economy.  Last week the Federal Reserve announced they were going to launch something called Operation Twist.  The Fed, worried about unemployment, is trying to lower long-term interest rates, hoping that this action … Continue reading →

Posted in Ch. 8, Home and Auto, Ch.11, Investment Basics, Ch.14, Investing in Bonds, Heads Up | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

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