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Showing posts from August, 2012

The Parents Dilemma – Saving for College or Retirement

Should we save for college or should we save for retirement? Whether your little ones are in diapers or about to head off to college, if you are a parent you have probably asked yourself this question over and over. The hefty price tag of higher education seems to be increasing every year. According to the College Board, the average fees for four years at a private college is now more than $150,000 — including $38,589 for the 2012-13 school year. Even going to your state’s university, it costs close to half that total at an average of $17,131 a year. As a result most graduates have amassed significant amounts of student loan debt by the time they enter the workforce. You don’t want that for your children. You want to give them the best start in life, right?   After all, good parents are selfless and ready to sacrifice anything for the wellbeing of their babies. Most experts agree than when it comes to deciding between saving for college or retirement, just wanting the best

How to Take Advantage of This Zombie Economy

It has already been almost four years since the beginning of the Great Depression in 2008 and the economic reports do not seem to get more encouraging. Actually for a while we were feeling hopeful that a recovery is well on its way when towards the end of 2011 and into the first quarter of 2012 unemployment figures were lower, more jobs were added and home prices were slightly rising. The revival was however short-lived when in the second quarter of 2012 the growth rate of the economy slowed down again and the number of jobs added in June was only 80,000 after 77,000 added in May and 68,000 in June making the second quarter the worst in two years. It’s discouraging, to say the least and it feels like the US economy is moving in a slow zombie like state. With interest rates at all time lows, companies holding back on hiring and low consumer confidence, is all hope dead? Not quite. Experts expect things to pick up after the election. And until then there are ways to take ad