Financial Schools Reviews

Are you overwhelmed by debt? Do you not answer the phone because of harassing calls night and day? Do your kids need school supplies and new shoes, and you’re simply worried about feeding them? Will your electric be shut off soon? Are you scared? Do you feel you haven’t any where to turn?

When you’re drowning in debt, the enticement may be solely to throw up your hands, run away from it all, and file bankruptcy.

When you consider should I file bankruptcy, it most certainly can be worth your while to dig a little deeper.

Bankruptcy should only be your final option, for a variety of reasons.

1. It isn’t that easy to start over with a clean slate any more. An impa

Full Article…

Australian retail sales recorded their largest increase in eight months rising by 1.4 per cent in November adding increased probability of a further interest rate hike in February.

According to new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), retail sales increased to $20.08 billion in November, and the 1.4 per cent growth in sales, far exceeded the 0..3 per cent growth many economists had predicted.

The result followed a revised 0.4 per cent increase in sales in October.

The F&B industry gained the most with restaurants, cafes and takeaway outlets registering the strongest improvement in sales, increasing 1.1 per cent.

Full Article…

Many can only afford their dogs thanks to pet insurance. Owners who failed to compare pet insurance prices and find a policy they could afford may well have contributed to the recent spate of abandoned dogs and cats encountered by the RSPCA.

According to a report by Sky News, a record number of pets were dumped over the festive period and animal charities believe the recession is largely to blame.

The RSPCA told the news provider that its workers rescued 33 dogs and cats across the south-west alone on Christmas Day, and this trend was mirrored across the UK.

Many owners may have made the decision to abandon animals because they were struggling to feed their dogs or cats, or because their lack of pet insurance meant they were unable to afford vital medical treatment.

Deryck Wilson, a spokesman for veterinary charity PDSA, told Sky News: “Families have had to make tough decisions and pets have lost out.

“But there is help out there and they don’t have to abandon these animals.”

The RSPCA expressed particular dismay about two puppies, one of which was dumped in a wheelie bin on Christmas Eve, while the other was left in a public toilet a week earlier. Full Article…

I used to work with a lady who was a foster parent for the SPCA, and every Friday she brought in to the office three or four tiny kittens she was trying to socialize. All day long co-workers would swarm around her desk, oohing and aawing over the little hairballs. We called those days “Fresh Kitten Fridays.”

To celebrate the first Friday of 2010, we at SpendOnLife wanted to do our own “Fresh Kitten Friday” (with a personal finance slant, of course). So enjoy this “cute kitteh” edition of the Friday Grab Bag that shares some of the week’s more interesting tidbits from the world of credit.

Full Article…

Australian lenders may issue as much as $100 billion in offshore debt this calendar year, as they seek to restructure their capital in advance of tough new regulations that are expected to be imposed on the global banking system.

Australian financial institutions are already preparing for new regulations expected to be recommended by both the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Basel Committee, which calls for lenders to hold less of their rival’s commercial debt securities.

The new regulations will demand that globally, banks be requires to hold more liquid assets on their balance sheet, and is in response to the fact that many lenders required emergency injections of capital during the global banking crisis.

The big four Australian banks are among just 11 AA-rated institutions in the world.

NAB became the first issuer of credit in the year 2010, having sold more than US$1.75 billion in debt earlier in the week. E

Full Article…