The mortgage crisis has affected many people and their ability to pay their mortgages over time as the economy has been rapidly declining. Many were tricked into believing they could afford homes or were naive enough to think that they could easily sell their homes when they could no longer afford their payments. Inflated prices and adjustable mortgages led to many foreclosures and many had to sell their homes at a loss after job losses and defaults on payday loans or credit cards. Those who were foreclosed on had previously lost their jobs due to a shrinking economy, but many will eventually be able to move into a rental and slowly build their savings up to buy a new, more affordable home as home prices go down. Others aren’t so lucky and ended up homeless or living with relatives, unemployable or just not willing to take a step down pay-wise to get by. There are a million stories of hardship and misery due to the mortgage crisis, but there are also stories of home loss that really have little to do with the mortgage crisis, but with other unrelated hardships.

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It’s not bad enough the stock market crashed, the housing prices plunged, and a lot of wealth has disappeared for retired couples. Activities and plans are being changed as the bad economic news impacts older generations. However, even if you are years away from retiring, you might want to keep tabs on what’s happening with Social Security in 2010 also. This is the first year where the program is now paying out more in benefits than it is receiving in revenues from younger workers.  The deficit is estimated to be around $29 billion over all.

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If you’ve looked at the fares online right now, you’ve probably wondered where all the deals have gone. On top of paying huge fares for tickets, airlines are now charging to check in bags too. Is there any way a traveler can get a good deal these days? The answer is yes! There are still ways to plan ahead for the vacation and either get lower prices while shopping online or securing tickets via mile rewards programs. (more…)

In the panic to avoid losses in riskier investments, many investors fled into the treasury market only to find that the Barclay Treasury index on 20-plus year investments have returned -20% in 2009. When investing the stock market is seen as risky, the conventional wisdom is to go to government backed bonds. However, now that the economy is on the mend and higher yields are expected elsewhere there is a rush to sell these bonds. (more…)

In the past, blue collar workers were mechanics, plumbers, and construction workers. They made less than their white collar counterparts who sat in offices and made bigger salaries for being “knowledge workers” and not manual laborers. While both blue and white collar workers are suffering job losses, the fact is that if you have a manual skill, you may be out of a job, but you’re hardly if every out of work. You can use those skills to pick up temporary gigs, save you money on your own expenses, and network your way into better jobs. If you have time and money to diversify your skill set, take a look at some of these manual skills to help you both make and save money when times are tough. (more…)

While it can be quite easy to grow accustomed to a certain lifestyle when our weekly salary can help cover it, many don’t give a second thought to how they will maintain their current lifestyle once it comes time to retire. Even something as simple as going out to dinner every night can put a crimp in the budget of someone who is now on a fixed income. Once you retire, you do not have the luxury of extra hours to fall back on in order to generate extra cash to cover your monthly expenses. Once retirement age arrives, many choose to continue working in order to maintain the lifestyle they have grown accustomed to, or they choose to make drastic lifestyle changes in order to make their retirement money last longer. While these are the most common options, they should not be the only ones you have to choose from. Here are some ways to save enough money for retirement so you can still enjoy the lifestyle you have grown accustomed to. (more…)

With the economy experiencing a period of instability, consumers have a growing interest in ways they can save money. Saving is in vogue again and more and more people are finding that holding on to money far outweighs the benefits of the consumer-based lifestyle of the past 30 years. There are different ways to go about the work of saving, some more high risk than others. (more…)

Everytime you turn on the news or open the paper, it seems like another bank has folded or been merged into the embrace of another, larger concern. Here are a few that have withstood the financial crises of centuries past. Although at least one may not be around for much longer.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Siena, Italy

Established in 1472 to grant loans to “poor or miserable or needy persons,” Monte di Pieta, or Monte Pio as it was then known, translates as mountain of piety. The idea for a lending institution that catered to the needy came from the Franciscan Friars who advocated interest-free loans to the needy. That idea had been tried as early as the 14th Century when the Michael Northburgh, the Bishop of London, left 1000 marks of silver to establish a bank that would lend money on pawned objects, without interest, providing that the expenses of the institution be defrayed from its foundation capital. The capital was eventually consumed, and the bank closed. The mercantile families of Siena who started the bank doubtless had this in mind when they established the interest rate at 7.5 percent.

The bank was awarded a new charter after Florence’s Medici family was given the Republic of Siena for its support of Emperor Charles V in a long civil war. In 1624, then, the new institution was founded, which was to be managed by eight citizens belonging to the nobility. The bank expanded into agricultural and business loans that were guaranteed by a lien on income from the public pasture lands in Maremma, called the “Dogana dei Paschi.” (more…)