Posted on February - 25 - 2010

Life Insurance Quotes ? Save on Taxes and Build Cash Value With Whole Life Insurance

If you have come to a decision to begin a hunt for whole life insurance quotes, then you have made a very smart choice. Obtaining more than a few quotes from a large number of different insurance companies is the best way to confirm you are receiving the most excellent price for the cover you want. By putting side by side the coverage choices and premium cost of a large number of insurance companies and then comparing them makes finding the perfect company for you a competent and easy course of action.

There is a constant dispute between professionals with reference to whether a whole life policy or a term policy is the superior option.

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Posted on February - 24 - 2010

The Credit CARD Act: What you need to know

It’s a new day for credit cards.

As of today, many of the rules of the credit card game have changed. New consumer protections against surprise interest-rate hikes, over-limit fees and easy credit for young people have taken effect through the Credit CARD (Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure) Act of 2009.

Depending on your perspective, the law is a boon for American families who will save perhaps billions by avoiding unnecessary credit card interest payments and fees, or a bust for banks that will lose billions because they’ll no longer be so free to impose those charges.

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Posted on February - 22 - 2010

For Credit Cards, A New Day, Fee

For the first time in three years, credit-card issuers are ramping up their mailbox solicitations. But don’t expect to see your father’s credit-card appeals. Variable interest rates, higher annual fees and a host of new charges will be hidden in the fine print of these offers.

With new consumer protections in the Credit Card Act (officially called the Credit Card Responsibility and Disclosure Act) set to take effect Monday, the nation’s largest credit-card issuers upped their direct-mail solicitations to consumers by more than 45% in the fourth quarter from the prior quarter, according to two leading market-research firms.

But a new credit card these days will cost you. The average annual percentage rates, which climbed steadily most of last year, are now at the highest level in five years.

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Posted on February - 22 - 2010

AIG: The Main CDS Insurer for Greek Government Debt?

Yves Smith and I received a tip at the weekend from a friend who reads the German press regularly about credit default swaps (CDS) on Greek government debt. Read Yves’ piece based on that article here. Below is mine.

Previously, I had mentioned the CDS exposure of the hapless German Landesbanks (banks owned by the individual German states or Länder – hence the term Landesbank). These same companies lost enormous amounts of money in the subprime meltdown – and apparently they have all sorts of other toxic exposure like Greek CDS still on the books.

So I find it interesting that the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine is focussing instead on the AIG CDS connection to Greece. Here’s

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Posted on February - 20 - 2010

Dad Teaches Kids About Debt

This iPhone app idea man is the kind of guy who likes oatmeal in the morning. I am not flashy and I am not really a geeky type. I am simply a dad who loves his kids and wants the best for them. This makes me like most other parents out there, except that I created an app for their telephone to help them manage credit card debt. It is called Debt Dog, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Ever worried about my kids, I am especially concerned with their inability to manage money. This strange obsession I have might exists because of the way I view my job as dad. The dadness in me was tuning in to the recent irregularities that has suddenly appeared in these young adults, AKA my kids.

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