6 money dilemmas

If you sometimes have the feeling, you’re just « running the numbers » and that you wonder why, this can be an interesting article. It shows six common financial quandaries and the math is already done. The right answer may depend on things that you can never know for sure and at times, emotional considerations may tip the balance.

Pay off a credit card OR fund your 401(k)

You really should do both, but if that isn’t possible, pay off the plastic first. Good saving habits are also important. The bottom line is that if you have a big credit-card balance, you should wipe it out before you open a 401(k).

Save in a Roth 401(k) OR a regular 401(k)

With the arrival of the Roth 401(k), you may have a second chance at a tax-free income. Our advice: grab it. Unless you’re on the verge of retiring and know your income will drop, the Roth wins.

Lease a car OR buy a car

Buying a car costs less if you own your car till it drops, buying is the cheapest on the long term. But with leasing, you can always drive a shiny new car and your monthly payments are lower.

Prepay your mortgage OR invest

The feel-good choice isn’t necessarily the smart choice. By preparing your mortgage, you are reducing your liquid assets and if you can always pay off your mortgage later with the money you invest now.

Buy a home OR rent a house

Buying is the best as long as you’re confident you’ll be staying put for several years.

Take Social Security early OR late

If your healthy and don’t need the money, it’s best that you wait.

I think it’s an interesting article, certainly for people who haven’t seen this at school. There are so many questions to which people don’t have an answer to. This could really help them out, even though you should consider the answers by considering your own lifestyle.

Laura

Source: http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/11/pf/right_call.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2007121111

CREDIT CRISIS SHOWS AN IMPACT ON HABITS OF PAYMENT

An investigation of credit insurer ‘Atradius’ shows a first impact of the international credit crisis on the habits of payment of European and Belgian traders. 1200 companies are sounded out about the habits of payment of their business relations in Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Belgian companies pay their foreign outstanding accounts after an average of 35 days. That’s six days faster then the premising terms of payment. To their Belgian suppliers is the average 41 days, that’s ten days faster than last year. The investigation shows that traders search for alternative and cheaper manners of financing. One of them is the decrease of terms of payment for customers. Belgium and France are the only countries who undertake more steps this year to protect themselves against risks of payment.

Companies have to perform these manners if they want to see their money in the future. If you give customers a lot of time to pay off your bill, they will be inclined to pay first other debts and maybe afterwards there is nothing or less left for you. It’s a nowadays problem that people can start too many credits even if they have the financial possibilities to pay them back.

Jan

http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF06122007_016&kanaalid=3

Know your home's future

Whether you're thinking of moving to a new city or are you just curious about your own neighbourhood, the Web let you see your town like you've never seen it before.

scoop out the houses: if you choose a town, you can see with satellite view a streetmap of the place. But you also can ask for the "Heat map", there you can see which places are most wanted and popular are, based on prices and sales. You also can ask questions about the area or read discussoins of it. There is also a website where you find the value and prices of your neighbour's houses. And ofcourse there are also internetsites where you can search for available and nearby shops.

check out the schools:there are sites where you can find the public schools testresults and information about private schools. Both sites have a parents review, so you can always follow the discussions.

meet the neighbours:through surfing on the wordwildweb you get a lot to know about your neighbours, you can read their blogs or find forums and discussions. There is also a website to get to know each other, so new habitants can meet and learn each other

It scares me a lot that you can find so much about other people and their way of life, just by typing some words on the internet. It's true that a lot of people put information themselves on he internet, but schoolresults and value of houses, must be something private. Not everybody wants that such a things are known.

Els

source:http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/29/pf/bestweb_home.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2007120806

Makeover tips that can sell your home

People are going through the home like detectives. If the home doesn't flow, even if it doesn't smell right, they'll pass.

Here's what you should look for to avoid a home makeover misstep:

Pre-'60s homes:
Vintage homes do not have the ability to power modern appliances, upgrade the power.
Plumbing is your second priority.
Homes built before the 1960s often have hardwood floors. They are a hot commodity today.

'60s homes:
Single-pane windows are dated, upgrade those.
Change your kitchen by replacing cabinet hardware with stainless steel.
If you have termites, treat this annually.

'70s homes:
You can lose the time warp easily with a fresh coat of paint.
Sometimes the siding and brick can be painted to give the home a modern look

'80s homes:
If you want to replace your kitchen counters, look around your neighbourhood. If everyone has granite, then you're going to have granite, too.
Wallpaper is another '80s trend that may date your home. Pull it all off.

'90s homes:
home appliances wear out when they are 12 years old. items that may need replacement include the water heater, the stove/oven, the washer/dryer, the refrigerator and the dishwasher.
Don't hurry into a new roof. Have it inspected.
A clean carpet always says "welcome home" to prospective buyers.

I think it is good to make your house look better, because this way you might sell it at a higher price. But most people don’t know what they should replace or repaint, so they could use some tips from the article.

Kathleen

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/103990/Makeover-Tips-That-Can-Sell-Your-Home

THE PURCHASING POWER OF THE BELGIANS DROPS AGAIN FURTHER OFF

Belgium drops further off on the European classification concerning purchasing power. That shows an annual study that reckons with the local costs of living and the level of the social cash benefits. The available net income per person for this year has an average of 17.143 euro.
Belgium knows a little bit of a slump concerning the purchasing power because with this average we finish on the twelfth place on a total of forty European countries. In comparison with two years ago we have lost four places. Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Norway represent the European top three. Their average amount is about 10.000 euro higher than ours.
The inhabitants of the central -and east-European countries have less purchasing power than the Belgians. Especially these countries dangle at the bottom of this list. Although emphasized the study that some regions in central –and east-Europe do it better than in the west. There are big regional ranges within western countries as well.

According to the study is the Belgian inhabitant not able to buy as much goods and services with an amount of money in comparison with other European countries. It’s still good to life in Belgium if we can keep up with the top fifteen in Europe. I think the high cost for the social system that other countries perhaps not have, has a big part to do with it.

Jan

http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=MS1K3T0A&kanaalid=3

Divorce is negative for woman’s income

Men become financial better than women after a divorce. It appears after an inquiry from the University of Antwerp. It says that women lose almost 142 euro per month from their income and that the revenue of the men increases with 100 euro per month. It takes at least 5 years for the women to reestablish her income again. The reason for all that, we can find in their work- and family situation. Married women, with children mostly work part time. They also get often the custody after the divorce and that makes it harder to find more flexible work. This inquiry stirs up again the discussion on the new law, there they think that women get financial better out a divorce than men. What apparently isn’t!

A divorce is always a painful thing, but the financial side can be even tougher. I think it’s very important that these ex-lovers can’t bankrupt each other and have a normal life after their relationship. But if this inquiry shows that women are discriminated on that part, then the law certainly must be revised.

Els

Source: http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=B20615741071129&kanaalid=3#

Person-to-person lending online gathers steam

Services match up borrowers with lenders, avoiding traditional banks.

Social lending has been around since the days when needy families turned to the richest man in town, but the Web is breathing new life into the practice. Loans on Prosper and Facebook’s LendingClub is rising. By 2010, the report forecasts $1 billion in peer-to-peer loan originations.

The idea behind the sites is that borrowers can find better rates than traditional banks offer, while lenders can earn higher returns than investment. Borrowers on Prosper post how much money they need, the purpose of the loan and what interest rate they can afford. Lenders bid on the loans of their choice, typically funding only partial amounts and diversifying their risk among hundreds of loans.

The opportunities for social connection appeal to users and lenders enjoy the satisfaction of seeing their money help someone in need. Each Prosper borrower is assigned a grade based on their credit score to help lenders evaluate their risk and the site verifies borrowers’ identities. Prosper reports late payments to credit bureaus, you have to keep up with these payments just as you would with any other financial obligation.

It are the borrowers who are crucial to the future success of peer-to-peer lending. As soon as you put $10,000 out there to 10 people and six do not pay you back, would you want to do it again?

I think this is very good for both lenders and borrowers and you can diversify your risk by funding little amounts to several different people.

Kathleen

Source : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21993720/