Have you ever wondered how you compare to others like you when it comes to money? That’s to say, how your income and investing goals measure up. It’s an interesting question. Obviously, you can’t change what other people are doing, but sometimes it’s just nice to know where you fit in the puzzle. And once you see what others are doing it might lend some insight as to where you need to focus more energy.

One interesting thing about this generation are the competing financial concerns. Generation X, now in their 30s and 40s, are stuck in the midst of a terrible economy and high unemployment while trying to balance saving for retirement, raising a family and saving for college, paying down debt, and worrying about aging parents. It’s no wonder this generation is so stressed out.

Unlike older generations who didn’t take on a mountain of student loan debt and likely had at least some sort of pension to help with retirement, this generation is entirely on its own. That means

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Its been awhile since I updated my Lending Club performance, so I thought Id take a moment today and let you guys know whats going on. As Ive mentioned in the past, I havent been adding notes to my portfolio this year. Instead, Ive been pulling the cash out to our savings account as payments come in.

In terms of performance, our net annualized return (NAR) currently stands at 7.86%, which is a bit lower than the 8.30% that we were enjoying as of last May (when I last shared the numbers). According to Moneydance, our real-world performance has been a bit lower, right at 7.60% this difference is mostly due to idle cash.

This dip in performance is to be expected. Since we havent been adding any new notes, the average age of our portfolio is increasing (our oldest notes are around 2.5 years old), and weve suffered some additional defaults. As of my last update, our portfolio looked like this:

And as of now, it looks like this:

So weve suffered six additional defaults in the past five months. The good news is that the later in its life that a note defaults, the less we lose.

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Today, November 12, 2011, marks seven years since the passing of the lovingly remembered Katrina “Katie” Froeschle. Earlier this week, the American Association of Public Insurance Adjusters sent a call out to remember Katie Froeschle and support her foundation:

The American Association of Public Insurance Adjusters “AAPIA” would like to announce its support for the Katie Froeschle Foundation.

Katie, a 2002 graduate of Florida State University, loved scuba diving, snow skiing, basketball, softball, and cooking. She played powder puff football, enjoyed deep sea fishing, and loved to spend time on the beach. Katie loved animals, particularly her pets, and had cats and loved dogs. After graduation, Katie was employed first by State Farm Insurance as an agent trainee, then by Travelers’ Insurance in an administrative position, and finally by Florida Farm Bureau Insurance Company as a claims adjuster. On November 12, 2004, Katie was murdered while adjusting a hurricane claim at a rental property in Tampa, Florida for her employer. The

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When you have a special scheme to opt for any Debt Consolidation program, you will have to be a good navigator. You should be totally informed of the pros of various debt consolidation programs which are user friendly and more helpful to people who are in debt.

Debt consolidation saves your trouble. It can make you happy due to the availability of good features. There is no way to be cheated by selecting debt consolidation loan option. Maybe, you will be guided by specialists in the event of having a tie-up with your online clients/ money lenders who provide the wide scope to borrowers to get relief from massive financial loss and bad credit rating.

There are different types of debt consolidation and you need to check the sites properly what sort of debt consolidation program comes handy to stand you in good stead. You will be given low interest rates, flexible repayment options and excellent backup to overtake loss.

There are many companies which offer a number of extraordinary debt consolidation programs which are conducive to the development of financial condition.
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With the Occupy Wall Street movement hanging tough and fighting for what they believe in, the 99% as they call it, the news coverage on their protests seems to have diminished. Perhaps the majority of the 99% is getting tired of hearing about the sit-ins that really don’t seem to be accomplishing much. The 1% obviously never took much interest in their activities. One thing the 99% seems to be doing though is stimulating the economy with a few of their own small business ventures and purchases. Who knows, maybe they’ll even venture out in some glossy brochure printing efforts, webstores, and kiosks in shopping malls.

They’re already selling t-shirts, bumper stickers and buttons to passersby. Typical trade show type swag indeed, but it keeps them occupied and they are earning a little money. Perhaps the money is going to support their overall cause, or perhaps the money the individuals earn is going directly into their own bank accounts. Either way it’s doubtful they’ll get into the 1% selling their 99% branded items.

Would you prefer a nice crisp $50 dollar in your hot little hands today, or would you prefer to receive $55 in 10 months? Chances are, you chose the instant money, despite the fact that waiting would give you 10% more — a rate you’d kill for from your bank’s savings account.

That preference for instant gratification is human nature, but it’s also the reason why we have so much trouble saving for retirement, losing weight, and quitting unhealthy habits. Our brains are wired to prefer the instant, the immediate and the now over the future. Behavioral economists refer to this psychological quirk as hyperbolic discounting.

Put simply, we “discount” things that will happen far in the future as being less important than those things occurring right now. Yes, I’d love to fit back into my size 6 dress for my class reunion in April, but the chocolate cake is in front of me right now! We have all fallen victim to those decisions that we have later come to regret. Sometimes we even know that we will regret those decisions while we make them, but the instant gratification exerts such a pull that we chow down on the cake while we think “I’m going to hate myself for this in April!”

The hyperbolic discount ceases to have an effect when you place the decision past a certain time threshold. In the money exampl

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Though owning a home is the dream of many, it’s also a major responsibility. Without proper home insurance cover, homeowners leave themselves vulnerable to the “what ifs” in life. Homeowners insurance protects the home and its assets against lawsuits, theft and disaster. However, not all home insurance is the same. Some policies cover the bare minimum, while others ensure the homeowner will never face financial strain for property damage due to unforeseen circumstances.

Replacement vs Market Value

When a homeowner files a claim for total property loss, the amount of money the insurance company pays depends on whether the home was insured for replacement value or market value. The two values may be similar if the home is a relatively new home in an established location. However, in most circumstance, replacement value and market value vary drastically. The replacement value is the cost of rebuilding the same home in the same location, whereas the market value is the amount of money the homeowner could have sold the home for prior to a loss.
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A payday loan or cash advance money mutual is a small short-term financial tool that allows a borrower to cover emergency expenses until the next payday. Generally, the amounts of these loans vary from $ 100 to $ 2500 for a period of two-four weeks, because interest rates are high enough up to 900%. As a recent survey shows, that the average annual interest rate on payday loans in Missouri is 445%.

The official regulations on cash advances

Payday lending is governed according to rules at the state level – each state has its own laws regarding cash advance. Also, there is a law limiting loans to military personnel at 36% APR.
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New York – MF Global tanked Friday in pre-market trading, losing more than 27% by 9:15 AM EST after Bloomberg updated a story quoting ‘un-named sources’ as saying the futures trader run by Jon Corzine had tapped its entire credit line.

Shares of MF were down 39 cents, or 27.27%, at $1.05 following Bloomberg’s updated story, which was first published after the closing bell Thursday.

Just days ago, MF stated that it had $1.3 billion available in credit lines.

Financial pundits believe that the draw down on MF Global’s credit lines, if true, are an indication of serious trouble at the futures trading firm.

The Bloomberg story may prompt Corzine to issue a statement.  The street, never-the-less, has been pouncing on the stock in short sales as day traders bet on MF Global dropping below the $1.00 limit required by the New York Stock Exchange in order to remain trading.

Pension, the nation’s largest clearing firm for securities set new guidelines noting stocks trading below $1.00 would be considered penny stocks with additional fees imposed for trading for those brokerage firms that clear through Pension.  If MF continues its drive south investors should expect to see a notice posted by the NYSE.  The real game will show itself should MF Global comment this morning on its financial condition.