Archive for posts by Kent Irwin

There has been constant chatter about JP Morgan Chase’s $2 billion loss on the news, but what does it really mean to you with your personal finances?  How will it affect you? If you own their stock, you have experienced at 12% reduction in value, but it will probably recover in time. If you bank… Read More »

A few years ago, researchers discovered that most people driving on highways in blinding fog, drive much faster than they can see ahead, and even some people actually drive faster. When it comes to debt some exhibit the same behavior: debt is increasing, but we don’t slow down life, somehow like the fog, we think… Read More »

Life Insurance Defined Insurance providing for payment of a sum of money to a named beneficiary upon the death of the policyholder. In other words, it is insurance of a risk (death) to replace the financial loss suffered by those dependent on the deceased. History of Life Insurance Life insurance is nothing new, its history… Read More »

A few days ago the Wall Street Journal had a very interesting and thought provoking article “Renting Prosperity.” This fascinating article may interest you if you: Are renting and considering buying Used to own a home, but are renting now Wonder about the effect of the housing crisis on people’s buying and renting trends

According to a study by Fidelity Investments a couple retiring this year will incur $250,000 in costs not covered by Medicare Parts A and B. Those with medi-gap or employer based retiree health insurance will have less expenses. Many companies today either do not provide or are cutting back on retiree health care, so they probably… Read More »

There are many times throughout the year to buy certain items, or to check on things that might save you money! The Spring is a good time to buy a refrigerator, since that is when new models come out and manufacturers are trying to get rid of old models The Fall is a good time… Read More »

The Columbus Dispatch reported significant errors of credit agencies combining the credit history of other people, usually family members or others with similar names, that have bad credit. Bad credit and other bad information on the reports prevents people from obtaining all sorts of loans, such as for cars or from their home equity. Bad credit… Read More »

Monday the Census Bureau announced that the percentage of people owning homes fell to the lowest level in 15 years to 65.4%, after peaking at almost 70% in 2004.

Source: Wall Street Journal The U.S. personal savings rate has been decreasing this year. Looking back at 2011, it has been steadily decreasing from 5.2% in January to 4.30% in September, but it began to increase by the end of the year to 4.70%. Although March showed a slight increase to 3.80%, the overall savings rate is not good… Read More »

Source: Kenneth Harvey LA Times A real estate short-sale occurs when someone sells their home for less than they owe the bank. People considering them are trying to get out of a mortgage payment they can’t afford, usually caused by unemployment, health care bills, divorce, or over use of debt related to these circumstances or not. … Read More »