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Bankruptcy and Divorce

If you believe that you and your partner are headed for divorce, and you
both have a lot of debt between you, it might be a good idea to decide to
file for bankruptcy before you begin to file for divorce. This will pave
the way for the divorce to proceed much more easily because it will allow
you to get rid of some of your debt and to clear the way for a clean break.
If you can file for bankruptcy, then you can have a better idea of how to
deal with the debts that do remain between the two of you. It will also
mean that if your ex files for bankruptcy later on down the road, you can
be protected because you are going to take care of your debts before the
divorce.

The way it works is rather simple. When one or (more…)

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Tips for a Smooth House Purchase

Making the decision to buy your own home can be one of the most stressful
but rewarding choices of all. If you’re a first time buyer, the entire
process can seem very intimidating. A few common sense tips can help you
ease your way through it much easier.

First off, go visit your local library and borrow a few books on basic real
estate principals. Make a sincere attempt at learning the jargon associated
with the real estate process, so once you’re sitting in a meeting with a
seller, a real estate agent and a bank officer, you’ll have a better idea
of what everyone is talking about.

Second, know what the difference is between “pre-qualified not pre-
approved”, “pre-qualified” and “pre-approved”. Sound confusing? It can be.
It all relates to how serious of a buyer you are. If you’re “pre-approved
not pre-approved” it simply (more…)

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The 1987 Stock Market Correction

The events of October 19, 1987, at the time, were looked upon as a full-
fledged stock market crash. In retrospect, no depression or even a
recession was sparked by this dramatic fall in prices, but the event is
historic nonetheless. One of the aspects that makes it so memorable is the
fact that to this day, no one really knows what caused it. There are many
different theories as to the reason of the correction, but its all
speculation.

The ’87 correction, known now as Black Monday was the first ever global
stock market crash. The final numbers are staggering, with the Hong Kong
stock exchange losing over 45 percent of its value, the Australian stock
market losing almost 42 percent of its value, the UK lost over 26 percent,
while the New York Stock Exchange lost 22.6 percent.

The October 1987 fall ended (more…)

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Where can you buy mutual funds?

For those that are new to investing and have decided that mutual funds are
the way to go, the next logical question is how do you go about purchasing
them? There are many different ways to go about investing in mutual funds,
and you have several different options to choose from.

One of the most popular ways to buy mutual funds is directly from the
companies. The type of fund you want to look for is a no-load mutual fund.
No-load funds are free from fees and additional costs that load funds tend
to have. Since you’re going directly through to the fund company, you will
save a transaction fee that you would normally have to pay through a
broker, and since you aren’t paying any fees, all of your money goes
towards investing.

Going about investing directly is easy. Once you’ve chosen (more…)

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Bankruptcy fraud

Even though a bankruptcy can sit on your record or on your companies record
for a very long time, and even though it can make it nearly impossible for
you to get loans, get credit or even do any large financial trading, there
is still the factor that remains that once you have filed for bankruptcy,
your debts are most likely going to be taken care of. This had led to many
advancements in bankruptcy fraud, and has led in turn to a crackdown on
this fraud by the government, which is going to hopefully be able to take
care of too many different bankruptcies and get more and more people back
on their feet in the correct manner.

Bankruptcy fraud can be done in several ways, and some of them are quite
hard to catch. One thing that is done is when someone files for bankruptcy
but really (more…)

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The 1920 Bombing of Wall Street

When most people think of terrorist attacks in New York City, images of
September 11th instantly spring to mind. But that wasn’t the first major
attack in New York’s history. The World Trade Centre was attacked earlier
in 1993 with a bomb in the building’s basement. But there was yet another
terrorist attack in New York, this one right on Wall Street that attempted
to shut down the New York Stock Exchange for good.

On September, 16th, 1920, a wagon full of explosives was detonated at “The
Corner” of Wall and Broad streets. A man was seen fleeing the wagon moments
before it exploded, but no one thought to stop him. A few seconds later, a
large explosion ripped through the square, leaving behind it a scene of
unfathomable destruction.

Once the smoke had cleared, 39 people had been killed. This ranked as the
most deaths (more…)

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Buying a Home Overseas: Practical?

For those of us that have been lucky enough to travel to Europe, Asia or
Australia from North America, we have seen some of the most beautiful land
on Earth. The people, the sights and especially the food make international
travel one of the most exotic and special things you can do. But what about
making that trip to another country permanent? If you can afford a second
home and the thought of spending your summers in the Hamptons isn’t doing
it for you, what about buying a little place in Italy? Or Ireland? Here are
some tips on making your dream a reality.

First off, rest assured that you’re not the first person to do this. It’s
estimated that about four million US citizens live abroad right now. The
first thing you should do is check the local country’s property rights.
There are websites run (more…)

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Money and consolidating Debt

Debt Consolidation is a means of simplifying payments of debts. It is a
method wherein you pay all your debts using one single loan. On the other
hand, it may extend your repayment time. It would also mean an increase on
your finance charges. Refinancing is one option to lower interest rates.

Let us take a peek on the advantages and the disadvantages of debt
consolidation.

As its plus points, it requires only one monthly payment rather than
numerous. This simplifies bill paying. It assures also that the bill is
paid on time. When it comes to interest, it may also have lower interests
than other debts.

As its minuses, reduction in the monthly payment may tempt you to take on
more debt. What’s worse is that you may lose your home if you take out a
mortgage to pay off unsecured debt.

A well-chosen consolidation plan (more…)

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What is automatic investing?

For many, the idea of investing in mutual funds, stocks and bonds is
appealing, but it all seems too complicated. Too much jargon, too much
danger, too much hassle. Thankfully, the companies that run mutual funds
know this and have come up with a way for new investors who may not have a
big wad of cash to invest right off the bat.

It’s called automatic investing and it is highly recommended for those new
to mutual funds and for those that want to invest but don’t have a lot of
up-front funds.

Automatic investing is done through a mutual fund company, and what happens
is, you sign up to purchase a set amount of funds either every month or
every few months (usually quarterly). You buy a bit at a time, whatever you
feel you can afford, and your shares are managed by the mutual fund
company (more…)

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The Prediction Game

While discussion on the state of the current US housing market is pretty
much finished, experts have turned their attention from Is the housing
market falling to Where is it going to fall first? And hardest?

There are many methods to predicting, and while none of them can even be
qualified as scientific, there are trusted voices in the din that people
look to to see a glimpse of what might happen with real estate markets
around the country.

Mark Zandi is one of those voices. He works for Moody’seconomy.com, and he
has taken it upon himself to attempt to formulate a prediction as to which
housing markets are doomed and which may get off easy.

The results? Zandi predicts dire results in Cape Coral, Florida, where he
sees a decline in home values of almost 19 percent. Reno, Nevada will be
hard hit as well, with a (more…)