Big Mac Index
Economy is the word, and in the world of business and personal finance, when there is an economic downturn such as the globe has experienced in the past four years, people need to find some markers for judging the impact of damage to global markets. In other words, we need something that’s part Wall Street, and part Main Street, to gage it by. Thankfully, there’s an answer: The Big Mac Index. Who would believe that the going price of a McDonald’s Big Mac could be any kind of reliable indicator of the strength of a country’s economy? And yet, that is just what...
read moreSave on Textbooks
The cost of textbooks for the average US college student per year is about $900! Some pay more, some less, but either way that’s a whole lot of money. Not only are textbooks bulky, heavy, and hard to get your money back for when you’re through with a course — but generally, most students report that they only use those text books for short periods of time during a class, for only select bits of information. The rest is pretty much useless. Could there be a textbook racket going on in higher education? Who knows. But what we do know for sure is there’s a...
read morePhone Finance Budget
Starving for the newest tech but can’t afford to even fill up your gas tank? I know how you feel so I want to share some budgeted ideas to help with your finances. One of the biggest budget killers are the things we use all day, every day, but never like to figure in. The horribly expensive cell phone plan. While there are alternatives they are usually mediocre at best. However, I found one that stands above while saving the most money: Straight Talk! Now I know what you are thinking; “Oh god. You mean that plan from Wal-mart?” Well, how about this. The service is...
read moreFinancial Markets Explained
The following video/slideshow presentation by Hamilton Lin is an introduction to understanding the financial markets. Lin, CFA, is acting president of a corporate training firm that instructs on the fundamentals of financial analysis, modeling and valuation. Clients include prestigious firms, some of the world’s largest investment banks, countless boutique investment banks, buy-side asset management firms, research firms and commercial banks like Banc of America Securities, Capital Group, CIBC World Markets, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Dow Jones, Fidelity, GE Private...
read moreThe Cost of Kids
Kids cost a lot of money to raise; but it might still be surprisingly less than what you think it costs. From the time a child enters the household, expenses begin racking up, and from age 0-17, the average single parent will have spent about $149,000 on one child, while the average husband and wife will have spent closer to $160,000 on the same child. The information is quite staggering and eye-opening. Some bank calculators rate the cost of raising a child as being more like $190,000. Here is an interesting infographic that outlines some of these costs and what people can expect....
read moreSpending Tech Dollars
If you knew that Amazon.com was going to bring forth the next big thing in tablet computing before Christmas season this year — 2011 — would you consider giving up your iPad? Or your hopes or plans for buying an iPad? Maybe not, or maybe so when you consider that Amazon, the maker of the world’s first and insanely popular modern ebook reader, is on the verge of something big in terms of book borrowing. Imagine a Netflix-like service, but for digital books instead of movies! Yes, it would be like a digital book rental service, and it is expected to really take off...
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Finance
- S&P fails to break key level February 22, 2012
