US Finance World

Its a lot easier to make a Will than you might think….

Yesterday, I finally got around to writing a Will. I’ve been meaning to do it for ages, but have been putting it off and putting it off. So I was surprised by the intense sense of relief I felt once it was done. Knowing that my husband and I – and any children we will hopefully one day have – will not die intestate gives me real peace of mind.

Why? Because, without  a Will, your spouse and children could be put in a very difficult financial position, particularly if you have an estate worth more than £250,000 and/or you do not own your home as joint tenants. Read The Rules of Intestancy on adviceguide.org.uk for more detail on the ins and outs of who will inherit what if you die without a Will.

But even if you are joint tenants and have an estate worth £250,000 or less, it’s still tricky. According to DirectGov, when someone dies without a Will, it can take months or even years to sort out the inheritance. Your loved

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If you read the weekly highlights post that I run every week, youll notice that I often highlight Mint.coms infographics. Im kind of a data nut and using visual art to simplify the intake of data is something that I have a fond appreciation for.

Thats why I was excited to hear that a few friends that formerly ran the Mint.com blog were venturing out to create a new startup that was dedicated to being a hub and platform for infographics called visual.ly.

Visual.ly serves as a medium to:

1. share your work with others to win new clients if youre an infographic designer (or aspiring one).
2. see a ton of great infographic work that others have designed (over 2,000 submissions already!)
3. find and hire infographic designers if youre a publisher.
4. create your own infographics this looks to be in development, but youll find an application that allows you to visualize your twitter account.

If you have some graphic design skills and are looking for a medium to promote your work and earn some additional income, or you simply love a good infographic like I do (including plenty of financial related infographics), head on over to visual.ly to check it out. W Read more…

As lawmakers consider raising taxes as part of the current deficit-reduction talks, a separate bill moved one step closer to giving consumers a much-needed break — on their cellphone bills.

See our chart to find out how much you pay in your state.

On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of sending the Wireless Tax Fairness Act to the full House for a vote. A date for that vote hasn’t been set yet. The bill calls for a five-year freeze on tax hikes and the introduction of any new taxes and fees on mobile devices which have a service plan, including cellphones, smartphones and tablets. Consumers currently pay about $92 a year on average, or 16.3% of their total bill, in taxes as part of their cellphone plan — the highest amount ever, according to the Heartland Institute, a public policy research organization. That’s up from a 14.1% tax rate in 2006.

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Its not all doom and gloom! There are 10 reasons to be cheerful, says Harvey Jones.

I picked a bad week to write an article claiming there’s more good financial news out there than you think. Stock markets are crashing, Italy and Spain are in turmoil, high street chains are closing, energy costs are soaring and a new report suggests house prices won’t recover for a decade. Yes, there is certainly plenty of bad news out there.

But it isn’t all doom and disaster. There is some good news. Honest. And you need to know what it is, if only to avoid being swamped by negativity.

So here are 10 reasons to be cheerful.

Mortgage rates have hit an all-time low, Moneyfacts recently proclaimed. Actually, “all-time” means since 1988, when it started collecting the data. This still makes them the cheapest in 23 years. The average five-year fixed rate is 5.29%, and the average two-year tracker is 3.37%. Some lend

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When I filed for Bankruptcy in 2007, the main question was: Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.

The majority of individuals end up filing Chapter 7. Why? Well, its cleaner than a 13, and most individuals dont have enough income to qualify for Chapter 13.

Ultimately, the judge can decide which number you file. If you have substantial assets and/or income and try to file a Chapter 7, when you could support a Chapter 13, the judge can change your filing to a Chapter 13.

In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, court-ordered payments are setup to payoff some of your creditors over a set period of time. Chapter 13 filings account for about 30% of all individual bankruptcies.

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy all debts are discharged (except student loans, child support, taxes, and a few other special circumstances). The large majority, 70%, of personal bankruptcies are Chapter 7s.

I still feel strange about filing Bankruptcy.

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