Civil War shipwreck creates hurdle for government's $653M plan
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Before government engineers can deepen one of the nation's busiest seaports to accommodate future trade, they first need to remove a $14 million obstacle from the past -- a Confederate warship rotting on the Savannah River bottom for nearly 150 years. Confederate troops scuttled the ironclad CSS Georgia to prevent its capture by Gen. William T. Sherman when his Union troops took Savannah in December 1864. It's been on the river bottom ever since. Now, the Civil War shipwreck sits in the way of a government agency's $653 million plan to deepen the waterway that links the nation's fourth-busiest container...
Published on Monday 14th of May 2012 11:28:38 AM
How The U.S. National Debt Could Drain Your Savings
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How the U.S. National Debt Could Drain Your Savings January 9, 2012 By David Zeiler, Associate Editor, Money Morning Now that Congress has allowed the U.S. national debt to grow bigger than the American economy, it won't be long until the American public suffers the consequences by losing most of its savings to inflation.Figures for last year show the national debt officially exceeded 100% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). According to government figures, the national debt stood at $15.23 trillion at the close of 2011, compared to a GDP of $15.18 trillion. "The 100% mark means that your...
Published on Monday 14th of May 2012 11:28:38 AM
Are You Saving Too Much for Retirement?
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high earners need to save extremely high percentages of their income -- as much as 77 percent for the 45-year-old just starting to save for retirement at age 62 -- to produce that 80 percent. The concept underlying Munnell's paper, and a lot of other retirement planning advice, is that you can figure out how much you need to save once you have a number for that 80 percent replacement rate. But there's reason to believe that oft-quoted 80 percent figure is wildly on the high side. That, in turn, makes the retirement calculations based upon it also wildly off....
Published on Monday 14th of May 2012 11:28:38 AM
Saving the New Year (Why you are not saving enough for retirement)
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In between the happiness of Christmas and the promise of the New Year, permit me to introduce a sour note, a hint of a scold. If you're like, well, almost everybody, you're not saving enough. 15% of each paycheck into the 401(k) is the bare minimum you can get away with, not some aspirational level you can maybe hope to hit someday when you don't have all these problems. I mean, obviously if one out of two workers in your household just lost their job, or has been stricken with some horrid cancer requiring all sorts of ancillary expenses, then...
Published on Monday 14th of May 2012 11:28:38 AM
Peter Schiff: Before the Congressional Committee of Oversight & Reform
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"You see, the only way a society can really increase it's future consumption is to save. and by definition saving is under-consumption, it is a lack of consumption, it represents self sacrifice. But when you save and reduce your consumption today, you have money that you can invest, compound interest, and returns, ultimately you can enjoy enhanced future consumption. In America, we have indulged ourselves in the present at the expense of the future." - Peter D. Schiff 2006
Published on Monday 14th of May 2012 11:28:38 AM
The Sector Financial Balances Model of Aggregate Demand (Deficits vs. Private Savings)
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OK, just go to the link. It's mostly based on Paul Krugman's data (yeah, I know), so its suspect, but the jist of it is that if the government runs a surplus, it's on the back of the private sector, who will have a negative savings and investment rate as a result. Is this true, and, if so, is it possible to have a surplus and shrinking national debt with a growing economy that saves money? Hoping someone who understands this better than me can explain it.
Published on Monday 14th of May 2012 11:28:38 AM
Gave up cable TV -- now what?
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I gave up cable TV a few days ago. I watched perhaps five or six channels, at most, and it just wasn't worth the money. Now, I have no TV at all since my set is pre-digital and I don't have an antenna. What now? Do I have to get a special antenna? I would like to have at least broadcast TV if only for sports.
Published on Monday 14th of May 2012 11:28:38 AM
Saving Money With Phone Line Replacements Part 1: XLink
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At one time, having a dedicated land-line phone in your house was a requirement. Like heat or air conditioning, every house had it. With the advent of cell phones I have found it impossible to justify the cost of keeping a land-line phone—I just don't use it that much anymore. When you include taxes, the minimum cost of having a land-line phone in the house (in my state) is $45 a month ($540 ayear). I only used the land-line phone for 5-10 calls a month, which worked out to be over $5 per call. I thought about getting a land-line...
Published on Monday 14th of May 2012 11:28:38 AM
Retirement Planning Advice for My 20-Something Son
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Establish smart spending habits. Live like you're poor. How do you do that? Drive your cars into the ground, don't eat out very much, avoid expensive and potentially unhealthy processed foods, buy food in bulk, buy just enough clothes to fit your needs, and use public transportation. ... Use credit cards only as a convenience to avoid carrying cash; limit your credit card spending so that you can easily pay off the balance each month. Make every dollar count with your spending, so you can free up money to invest in the future. Get healthy. One of the best things...
Published on Monday 14th of May 2012 11:28:38 AM
More than 8 million drop out of credit card use(
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NEW YORK (AP) -- More than 8 million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year. The decline stems from a combination of consumer choices and bank actions. An analysis by credit reporting agency TransUnion found that use of general purpose credit cards bearing MasterCard or Visa logos, or issued by Discover or American Express, fell more than 11 percent in the third quarter, compared with the July to September period last year.
Published on Monday 14th of May 2012 11:28:38 AM
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