Personal Finance Advice and Commentary

Consumer confidence in the economy is rising slightly and so are predictions about home prices. Mortgage company Fannie Mae reports that its January survey showed 30 percent of respondents believe the economy is on the right track, up from 22 percent in December. Respondents also predicted home prices will increase by 1 percent over the

Leaving a charitable bequest is as easy as treating the charity as an heir on your various accounts. But combined with annual gifts during life, your donation could pack a lot more punch — for you and the charity.
Here are three easy ways to make a bequest to a charity:

Name the charity as a beneficiary

Is President Barack Obama’s latest plan to allow millions more struggling homeowners to refinance their mortgages actually further stalling a housing market recovery? Critics of the proposal, announced last week, say the chief drawback is that it’s setting up a delay in foreclosures, which, in turn, prevents home prices from hitting bottom.
Republicans, who believe government

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney defended his comment last week that he’s not concerned about America’s poor by explaining that his campaign focus is the majority of those in the middle class. But in an interview with CNN, he also said he’s not concerned about the very rich either, because they’re “doing OK.” The very

Part of the fallout of the housing crisis means that rental demand is up – and so are prices. As home prices have been dropping and supply increasing, it’s a cruel twist for renters who are blocked from getting a mortgage because of bad credit to see their monthly payments go up. It’s also frustrating

Interested in working your way into the top 1 percent of wage-earners? You’ll need a career that pays top dollar for a start, but how to determine which one has the most potential? The New York Times recently broke it down and uncovered a few surprises. For instance, only 1 in 8 attorneys are in

The fact that it’s still a buyer’s real-estate market is no surprise. Despite small fluctuations, mortgage rates are low and so are home prices. The problem is that few are buying.
A survey by the mortgage company Fannie Mae shows that while 71 percent of Americans think it’s a good time to buy a home, only

What tops the financial list of what the rich want? It may not be what you think. Although they do want to get richer, the top concern is probably the same as everyone else’s: to maintain their lifestyle in retirement.
Cerulli Associates/Phoenix Market International surveyed high-net-worth individuals to find out what they are looking for from

The housing crisis and resulting drop in home prices has cost $7 trillion in household wealth, according to a statement this month by the Federal Reserve. Despite recent upticks in sales, it’s only projected to get worse unless the increasing supply of foreclosed properties is removed from the market and more homeowners are prevented from

Do you need to have money to make money? Not necessarily. With dedication, consistency and time, it’s possible to start from scratch and end up at least in the top 10 percent of wealthiest Americans by the time you retire.
According to researcher Spectrem Group, the number of U.S. households worth $1 million or more in