Personal Finance News Thursday 11/8

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

College Not for Everyone: 4 Alternatives

by Emily Driscoll

Money 101

Published November 05, 2012

FOXBusiness

The persistently weak labor market and increasing student loan debt levels are making some high school graduates think twice about going to college.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 25% of college graduates are currently in jobs that do not require a college degree and of the 30 jobs projected to grow at the fastest rate over the next decade in the U.S., only seven typically require a bachelor’s degree.

In a sea of unemployed grads, a bachelor’s degree has become less attractive and has many students seeking out educational avenues without a hefty price tag, says Srikant Vasan, founder and president of Portmont College at Mount St. Mary’s.

“The return on investment in college education clearly goes down as the return decreases with the decreasing probability of finding employment, especially employment at higher salaries, and investment increases with the rising costs of college…. students should check out alternatives to college degrees,” he says.

With that said, the unemployment rate among college graduates is significantly lower than those without one. According to the Labor Department, the unemployment rate among college graduates stood at 3.8% while the rate among those with a high school diploma was 8.4% last month.

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/11/05/colleges-not-for-everyone-4-alternatives/?link=mktw#ixzz2BdzksReH


Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, & the world around us. -Socrates

Personal Finance News Wednesday 11/7

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Tax Write Offs Every Homeowner Should Know

by Donna Fuscaldo

Published November 07, 2012

FOXBusiness

Home isn’t only where the heart is, it’s also where tax deductions reside.

Home values may still be depressed, but homeowners can rely on some sizeable tax breaks. “It really pays from a tax perspective,” says Les Kramsky, executive vice president and general counsel to title insurance agency Silk Abstract Company. “You can really get great tax deductions.”

The amount of tax breaks depends on the size of your mortgage and your income bracket. In order for it to make financial sense to itemize home deductions, you must exceed the standard deduction, explains Bob Walters, chief economist at Quicken Loans. “If you have $110,000 loan and pay $4,000 in taxes and the standard deduction is $12,000 you’re not exceeding it. The bigger the loan the better.” For 2012, the standard deduction for married couples filing jointly is $11,900.

Exceeding the standard deduction when you own a home isn’t that hard to do. Here’s a look at some of the bigger deductions that can save you money come tax time.

When you take out a mortgage you agree to pay interest on the life of the loan. With the home mortgage interest deduction you are allowed to reduce your taxable income by the amount of interest paid on the loan each year.

“Mortgage interest is the biggest deduction for a homeowner,” says Kramsky. “It’s a big tax advantage for homeowners.” In order to get the deduction you have to elect to itemize deductions and they must exceed the standard deduction. For example, if you have a $500,000 home and are paying 4% interest, you’ll benefit by taking the mortgage interest deduction, adds Walters.


Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/11/07/tax-write-offs-every-homeowner-should-know/#ixzz2BZ5R0P00


Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
If you can't outplay them, outwork them. -Ben Hogan

Personal Finance News Tuesday 11/6

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Best and Worst Buys of November 2012

You'll find the best prices of the year on many items -- but not everything goes on sale this month.

By Cameron Huddleston, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com

November 2, 2012

November is a great month for bargain hunters because the prices on many items fall to their lowest points of the year around Black Friday. Here's what you can expect to find marked down this month -- and what you should wait a little longer to buy, according to dealnews.com, which analyzes deals from past years to predict what will be discounted this year.

SEE ALSO: 12 Things Not to Buy During the Holidays

What's on sale this month ...

Apple products. The best place to score deals on iPods, iPads, iMacs and MacBooks isn't the Apple Store, which only takes 5% to 10% off these products during its Black Friday sale. You'll find more substantial discounts -- up to 20% -- at Apple resellers such as Amazon, MacMall and MacConnection.

Candy. All that Halloween candy that didn't make it off the shelves and into trick-or-treaters' bags gets marked down this month. So you can stock up and freeze it for next year. Now is also the time to find costumes and Halloween decor dramatically discounted.


Read more: http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/kiptips/archives/best-and-worst-buys-of-november-2012.html#ixzz2BSUld8QS

Become a Fan of Kiplinger's on Facebook

Read more at http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/kiptips/archives/best-and-worst-buys-of-november-2012.html#jEegsuLSZlmoU5oL.99


 Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
 Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain

Personal Finance News Monday 11/5

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Secrets of the Credit Score Superstars

By Tim Sprinkle | The Exchange – Fri, Nov 2, 2012 11:55 AM EDT

It's the "white whale" of personal finance — the perfect credit score.

Get there, by reaching the ever-elusive 850 FICO score, and the world is yours. You'll enjoy the best interest rates, the choicest insurance options, the most flexibility in negotiating your debts and repayment plans.

At least that's the fantasy.

The reality is that a "perfect" score isn't really even possible, according to Rod Griffin, Experian's director of public education.

"I've personally never met someone with a perfect score," Griffin says, "and it's simply because there's always some level of risk. When you use credit there's always some risk that you won't be able to repay that debt. You may become ill or be in an accident. It's like driving a car; there's always a chance that you could be in an accident due to no fault of your own."

As a result, he says, perfect credit shouldn't be the goal. (Even defining perfection can be tricky, as each of the national credit bureaus calculates scores slightly differently, with maximums that range from 850 to 990.) But achieving an extremely high credit score — generally considered anything north of 800 points — is very much possible for everyday Americans, Griffin says, and can come with some great benefits in terms of lower interest rates and more flexible financing terms.

"Typically, the higher the score, the more favorable the interest rate," explains Heather Battison, senior director at TransUnion, who says it is in fact technically possible to achieve a perfect credit score based on her company's system. "So it is in the consumer's best interest to aim for the highest score possible."

It's all about perception.

"Lenders aren't looking for perfect scores," Griffin says. "They're looking for good lending risk, that you can manage your credit well."

We reached out to members of our Yahoo! Contributor Network who have credit scores of 800 and above to find out how they got there and how they maintain their stellar credit. A selection of their responses is below.

To read the entire article from Tim Sprinkle | The Exchange:
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/secrets-credit-score-superstars-155549627.html

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Step through new doors. The majority of the time there’s something fantastic on the other side.

Personal Finance News Saturday 11/3

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Beware Sandy scams

Avoid 'storm chasers' while doing repairs

Angie Hicks-Founder of Angie's List

Fox and Friends-Fox News November 1st

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1938089662001/beware-sandy-scams/?playlist_id=163193


Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Success is not permanent & failure is not fatal. -Mike Ditka

Personal Finance News Friday 11/2

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Sandy: Surveying the damage-Part II

What to know about your insurance policy

Fox and Friends-Fox News Friday November 2nd


Real estate guru Bob Massi weighs in:
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1941104775001/recovering-from-sandy-surveying-the-damage/?playlist_id=86912



Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. -Martin Luther King Jr.

Personal Finance News Thursday 11/1

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Sandy: Surveying the damage

What to know about your insurance policy

Fox  and Friends-Fox News Thursday November 1st


Real estate guru Bob Massi weighs in:
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1938248985001/sandy-surveying-the-damage/?playlist_id=86912


Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Many of life's failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up. - Thomas Edison