Kevin Colby: News, culture, political blog

Some interesting articles from Clark Howard’s website:

Americans now saving a nickel out of every dollar

CLARKONOMICS: Over the last several years, we as Americans became “negative net savers” — a pointy-headed term that simply means we spent more money than we made. It got to the point where the average family debt versus income had roughly doubled in less than 10 years.   Read the full story.

Cash-out refinances going away as of April 1

Clark has always despised cash-out refinances — the kind where you refi your mortgage for more than you owe so you walk out with cash. This was very common over the past 10 years and it’s been a part of the foreclosure problem.  Read the full story.

Dollar cost averaging through the Great Depression

CLARKONOMICS: Dollar cost averaging is an idea that Clark has touted a lot recently. Yet many people are still skeptical about this concept of putting equal amounts of money into the market month-by-month — much like you would by making a monthly or bi-weekly contribution to your 401(k) at work.  Read the full story.

Some interesting articles from Clark Howard’s website:

Ponzi schemes infiltrate the commodities trading market

RIP-OFF ALERT: There’s a new warning from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission about an infiltration of Ponzi schemes that they’re now seeing.  Read the full story.

Cost to rent vs. buy a home is key metric for housing recovery

CLARKONOMICS: There’s frightful news about housing everywhere you turn. Existing home sales have dropped to a 12-year low. Meanwhile, almost half of all homes sold across America in January were foreclosures. That’s a startling statistic.   Read the full story.

More customer no service to come from zombie banks

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been testifying about the bank bailout and the threat of galloping inflation. He’s also been denying any further nationalization of our financial institutions.   Read the full story.

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Some interesting articles from Clark Howard’s website:

Hospitals use wallet biopsies to deny treatment

Hospitals across America are doing covert “wallet biopsies” to deny life-saving treatment for patients, according to BusinessWeek. This is even happening to those patients who have insurance!  Read the full story.

Beware of bogus domain registration expiration notices

Small business owners need to be aware of a new round of scam letters, e-mails and faxes relating to website domain registrations.  Read the full story.

Clark’s tips on refinancing your mortgage

We’re currently in the midst of the greatest mortgage refinancing frenzy of the past 5 or 6 years. Rates are now the lowest they’ve been since mid to late 2003, which had been the best time since the golden era of mortgages in the ’60s.  Read the full story.