How the Shifting Economy Changes (and Doesn’t Change) Personal Finance Advice

Written by Jessica Clark on June 14, 2011 – 4:54 pm

When I first started writing The Simple Dollar, it was quite easy to find savings accounts that offered interest rates as high as 5%. Even more amazing, banks offered certificates of deposit (CDs) that had rates that approached (or sometimes crossed) 6%.

In that environment, there were a lot of pieces of personal finance advice that made sense that might not make sense now.

I’ll give you a clear example: CD ladders. I wrote about the idea of CD ladders almost four years ago, but the concept is simple to explain. Let’s say that a bank is selling 3-month CDs at 5%.

On January 1, you buy a CD. On February 1, you buy a second CD. On March 1, you buy a third CD. On

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Government fraud examiner says Bank of America ‘significantly hindered’ probe of foreclosure practices

Written by Robert White on June 14, 2011 – 1:56 pm

Apparently, distressed homeowners aren’t the only ones getting the run around from big loan servicers. Federal regulators are, too.

The Huffington Post reported today on a stinging declaration given by U.S. Housing and Urban Development fraud examiner William W. Nixon in an Arizona lawsuit against Bank of America. 

Nixon, tasked last year with investigating the bank’s foreclosure practices on behalf of the Federal Housing Administration, says Bank of America “significantly hindered” a review of the loan servicer’s foreclosure practices on FHA-insured loans.

Nixon, an assistant regional inspector general for audit for HUD’s Office of the Inspector General, said the bank delayed interviews of employees and refused to allow some employees to answer some questions. Full Article…


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Is 3-D Video Hurting Our Eyes … Or Saving Them?

Written by Jessica Clark on June 13, 2011 – 11:04 am

From television to BB guns to pointed sticks, it sometimes seems like everything that’s fun is also a potential threat to your eyesight. With this in mind, it’s hardly surprising that 3-D movies, games and TVs have drawn fire from critics who worry that they could cause long-term eye damage. Full Article…


Tags: Eyes, Hurting Eyes
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My First Credit Sesame Update

Written by Robert White on June 13, 2011 – 12:25 am

A few weeks ago I wrote a review of Credit Sesame, the online credit scoring company that didn’t charge me anything to see my credit score from Experian. Seeing your credit score for free is great but most companies only let you peek at it once … then the charges begin. The great thing about Credit Sesame is that they send you a monthly update on your score on a regular basis and included in each update are potential windfalls you could gather from their analysis of your personal financial situation.

While not all of their recommendations may suite you personally (though you DO have the option of changing your goals in their system), having someone constantly on the lookout for a better deal for everything from a mortgage to a credit card AND not relentlessly spamming your email inbox AND having it automated is a great deal in my book. Add

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Tags: Credit Sesame, Sesame
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Search Phoenix Homes By Partial Or Full Address

Written by Jessica Clark on June 12, 2011 – 4:49 am

So you’ve got the address of a Phoenix property or maybe you just remember part of the address like a house on 40th Street or the house number was 3119, but you don’t know the full address. search_homes_by_full_or_patial_address_245

How can you find out about that home?

You could try Google and get hundreds or even thousands of results, many of which won’t even be houses for sale.

It’s Easy with inPhoenix.com!

Using the advanced custom Phoenix homes search you can put in part of the address, could be the street or name or house number or street and you’ll quickly get all homes listed that include that number or are on that street.

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Tags: Address, Full Address
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