Personal Finance and Money

Rising gas and food prices, higher mortgage repayments and lower investment returns have punched a hole in household budgets with much more money going out than coming in. The only way to manage the higher outflows is to either earn more or spend less. Winning a pay rise or working an extra job is not [...]

>The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households, declined even further in June. In recently released figures the index now stands at 50.4 (1985=100), down from 58.1 in May. The (outlook) Expectations index also declined to 41.0 from 47.3 in May. Consumers’ assessment of present conditions grew dimmer [...]

How fickle financial market pundits are. Just a few weeks ago many experts were saying that the worst of the credit crisis was behind us and that company valuations were looking extremely attractive. In fact, a number of these so called experts were saying that people should even get back into financials and other distressed [...]

In tight economic times like we have now, many people turn to their credit cards when they need money. But racking up extra debt to deal with financial difficulties is a strategy that’s almost sure to backfire. Even when you have less money in your wallet, you should remember that the most important thing is [...]