This has not been the best time to earn some good interest on your money. If you are trying to keep your money in low interest investments or accounts, you really don’t stand much to gain. Most online savings accounts are running around the 1.5% APY mark, and the best you can expect from a shorter-term CD (ie 6 months to a year) is around the 2.0% range. You can stretch that interest rate out to around 3 - 3.5% if you’re willing to tie your money up for 5 years, but that is probably not a wise move at these low rates. I mean, really, interest rates have nowhere else to go but up at this point.

So, what options do you have right now?

Well, John Waggoner over at USA Today suggests looking into municipal bond funds if you’re willing to risk a little bit more. Currently, you can get around 3.5% yield, which isn’t really that great, but beggars can’t be choosers. As Waggoner puts it, “muni rates are higher than usual. A 10-year, high-grade muni now yields 3.54%. Someone in the 28% tax bracket would have to earn 4.92% in a taxable bond to get 3.55% after taxes.”

This might be a good option for someone looking for a slightly better yield that a CD or money market account though the risk of loss begins to creep into the picture.

We’ve touched on a few things now and again about the recession, both bracing for its arrival last year and then settling in once it arrived.

Here are five good things about the recession you may not have thought about before. Apparently, people actually become healthier during a recession.

This last year or so has been a rough time for many folks. Obviously, you can’t avoid the bad news as headline after headline features more dire predictions about the economy and more sad stories of people losing their jobs and homes. We’re seeing more and more people falling into debt and looking for ways of reducing debt. The good news is that there are resources and services designed to help people solve their debt problem and get their finances in order.

Debt Free Destiny has created a place where you can obtain information on a number of different debt and credit problems and solutions. These include things like debt settlement, credit counseling, debt consolidation, bankruptcy and more. You can obtain a free, no obligation consultation on their website to help guide you through the maze of choices and decision you need to make when faced with reducing or eliminating your debt.

The years of easy credit and the endless flow of money appear to over for now and it’s really time to get serious about any lingering debt problems you might have.  Your debt load might feel out of control, but it’s crucial that you get it worked out.  The folks at DebtFreeDestiny.com have the resources and information to help you claw your way back into a prosperous and healthy financial future.

We’re usually pretty pro-save around here, regarding it as a key aspect to an overall sound personal finance plan. However, there is the larger issue of how your saving affects the overall economy. Some folks believe that when the economy is sagging that throwing money in the bank is further aggravating the problem. Conversely, others feel that putting money in the bank allows the bank to lend more money out–thus helping to stimulate the economy.

For the most part in the US, what we see in a recession, much like we’re seeing now, is that savings rates tend to climb. That is, more people start socking their money away in order to, presumably, weather the storm.

In the US in fact, there is currently a campaign called Feed the Pig designed to encourage folks to save. The site has some great advice on saving money and many tips for putting a little extra aside.

In Finland, however, the government is encouraging people to spend money in order to boost the economy. They’ve begun an ad campaign with an evil piggy bank–implying that in these tough times the thing to do for the good of the economy and the country is to keep on spending in order to spread the money around.

NPR has a nice little feature comparing the different approaches from the US and Finland.

Well, yesterday we saw the inauguration of a new president with many promises of change just around the corner.

Of course, among the many other, much larger, issues that are pressing on this country right now, we have to wonder how this will affect our own personal finance situation.

Specifically, how will President Obama’s stimulus plan change your financial situation.

There’s an interesting article here that covers some of the basics.  A lot of specifics–at least in a general sense.  For instance: “$145 billion in tax cuts for working individuals.  The tax cut would be $500 per person ($1,000 for a couple) and would phase out for people making over $75,000 a year ($150,000 for couples). You can get the money either by claiming it on your tax return, or through a reduction in the taxes that are taken out of your weekly paycheck.”

This will obviously be one of the biggies, but the article also mentions quite a few other programs–notably many improvements to the nation’s infrastructure, the education system and healthcare.

It will definitely be interesting to see where this goes.

Structured settlements can certainly be a handy method to settle a personal injury lawsuit.  In fact, the financial agreement is an often overlooked tool to help the parties in a lawsuit reach an agreement that is acceptable to both the injured party and the defendant.  In this case, instead of a, sometimes, large lump sum settlement, the structured settlement would spread the compensation out over an extended time period.  It is also possible, however, to sell structured settlements if you find you later need access to a lump sum amount.

In the case of selling an annuity payment like a structured settlement, you would be able to get the money now instead of waiting months or years to receive the total of your payment.  You can basically get direct access to your cash.

The folks at Settlement Capital do not plan or structure a settlement, but they can help you if you are looking to Sell Structured Settlements.  They are experts in the field of specialty financing, working since 1988 to provide payments in the secondary market of structured settlements.  They can help you understand the implications of such payments and get you a free quote so you can know exactly what you’re looking at should you choose to pursue this option.

In addition to obtaining a free quote, you can educate yourself on the nuances of structured settlements and other annuity payment options. Settlement Capital also has an informative blog and podcast for even more, varied  and timely information.  If you’ve been looking to SELL STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS you should definitely spend some time on their website or contact them soon.

We’ve been hearing bad news followed by more bad news for nearly a year now.  The housing market began to implode, the stock market plummeted, the credit markets came to a complete standstill, and company after company began to fail and declare bankruptcy.   Of course, now we’re in the midst of a government bailout in which yesterday’s plan is replaced anew each day by another, more expensive plan, with more money and more companies in need of a fix.  Unemployment rates are on the rise, as well as bankruptcies and foreclosures.

If you pay any kind of attention to this mess you’re likely to become depressed in no time at all.  In light of this fact, it might be worth it to look for some sort of silver lining.  Well, if one thing is for sure, home prices have fallen in most cities around the U.S., and are now lower than they’ve been in many, many years.  Coupled with this decline, we’ve seen record numbers of foreclosures and banks desperate to get rid of repossed houses.  This perfect storm has created a buyer’s market for the few lucky enough to have the resources to buy a house now.

CNN/Money has a nice little slideshow featuring some families that have been able to afford houses that they otherwise might not have been able to qualify for in these last few heady years.  One family had just been able to buy a house for $155,00 that had last sold for $364,000.  That’s certainly a silver lining in this unforgiving real estate world.

We’ve spent a bit of time here talking about various ways to prepare your finances, in both good times and bad.  Oftentimes, we’re dealing with a savings or investment plan, but in these difficult times it might be more appropriate to be thinking about some debt settlement services, especially if you’ve begun to find yourself in a serious debt situation.  It’s good to keep in mind that debt relief services can help you become debt free, lower your overall debts and combine your payments into one, low monthly payment.

The process, also referred to as debt negotiation, usually involves your creditors receiving a lump sum payment in lieu of a reduced overall amount.  As a result of this payoff, the creditor will report to the various credit bureaus that the debt has been paid and the consumer no longer owes any money on this loan or credit card.  The experts at Franklin Debt Relief are quite skilled at handling debt negotiations as they specialize in debt settlements.  They also have a lot of information on their website, including a great FAQ on credit card debt consolidation and other debt consolidation programs.

If becoming debt free is important to you, spend some time on their website and learn more about debt relief and credit card consolidation.  There is enough information to really help you understand the process involved and figure out what is best for your situation.  You can always give Franklin Debt Relief a call and learn if you qualify and get more information that is specific to your situation.

The economic crisis has certainly given everyone a lot to think about these last few months, and I’m sure things aren’t going to stop being interesting anytime soon.

And, although it’s hardly any consolation at this point, at least for those folks realy suffering right now, we can take some time to appreciate the fact that we’re living during a very historical moment that will likely be studied by future generations for some time to come.  Of course, we won’t know the exact interpretations since we can’t yet see all the ramifications of our situation, nor do we know for sure what the future will hold.

Be that as it may, it’s worth the effort to read as much as possible now to try to understand how we got here and where we’re going–even if we can’t be sure.

If you haven’t had a chance, I seriously recommend reading Michael Lewis’ fantastic article in Portfolio.com, entitled The End of Wall Street’s Boom.  An excellent perspective from the author of Liar’s Poker, that great chronicle of the late 1980s Wall Street life where, perhaps, the seeds of this current mess were sown.  This current article provides a pretty detailed account of what has lead us to the point in our economy with specific regard to the sub-prime implosion.

Well, we’ll see if this in fact the end of Wall Street as we know it or just another hiccup on the way to future glorious successess and failures.

We’ve seen the government step up and bailout a slew of companies and their most recent endeavor, the bailout of Citigroup, might just be hitting closer to home than the previous few.  The question, however, is how that might be affecting your own finances.  This is especially true for those of you who have a bank account with Citibank.

As Gerri Willis over at CNN/Money reports, “the government is guaranteeing some of Citigroup’s bad investments and injecting another $20 billion on top of the $25 billion it’s already put into the company from the $700 billion bailout passed by Congress last month.”  This means you’ll see no real changes to your checking account, but you might want to verify your FDIC-coverage limits.  The limits are now $250,000 for a single account, or for joint account, $250,000 per account owner.

A change you might see, however, is a rise in interest rates on Citi’s credit cards as well as an increase in banking fees. Willis reports that Citi is going to raise interest rates on about 20% of its 54 million credit card holders by 2-3%.  And fees for such items such as ATM charges and bounces checks are going up across the board at all banks, not just Citibank.

Living in the desert Southwest has taught me one very important fact: you absolutely must have an air conditioner in your car and it must work well.  The summer heat simply requires a properly working ac compressor.  Whether you need a Volkswagen ac compressor or one for a BMW or Mercedes, Discount AC Parts is a great resource to use.

In addition to a great selection of a/c compressors, DiscountACParts.com offers free shipping on orders over $50 and doesn’t charge a core deposit like most online AC retailers.  They simply ship your order quickly and include an ARS label for you to ship your core back to them.

In addition to A/C compressors, they provide a nice selection of other auto ac parts like accumulators/driers and a/c expansion devices.  So, get ready for the summer heat and get your automotive a/c working like it was new again.  Spend some time checking out Discount AC Parts.com and see how they can help you find the A/C parts you need.

Everyday we’re barraged with more bad news about the economy and the state of our financial world.  Journalists and economists alike are frequently peppering their articles with visions of layoffs, bankruptcies,  recession, and even the occassional depression,  This increasingly worrying situation is sure to cause a bit of anxiety regarding one’s own financial situation.

This situation obviously didn’t appear out of nowhere without any warning.  We’ve been writing for some time here featuring ideas to prepare for a recession and how to save money when the going gets a little rocky.

The NY Times has another nice little feature with some ideas on quelling your financial anxiety.  One important recommendation they make is that if you’re going to get anxious and spend a lot of frustration on your finances, you should “be systematic about it and get it over with. If you’re concerned about your finances, for example, meet with a financial planner and decide what steps to take to protect assets as best you can. If you’re worried about losing a job, update your résumé and lay all the other initial groundwork for a job search. Then focus on the job you still have; that is something you can control, as opposed to some horrific future scenario that may never occur.”

Sometimes budgeting your money and time include getting things organized.  At this time of the year, when children around the country are getting back to school it becomes more important than ever to get things organized and put together.  An amazingly helpful tool for doing just that is the DYMO Labelmaker.

There’s really just about no end to the things that could use a little label to help identify ownership or simply organize a mass of papers and folders. Your child’s lunchbox certainly faces enough peril during its daily trip to school, you can make sure it’s claimed if lost by using a handy label. You can also throw a label on the boxes and containers in the lunch box if they get left behind during the lunchtime chaos.

Homework time can be difficult enough without the added trouble of jumbles of paper and folders. The DYMO labelmaker can help you straighten out the mess and organize folders and notebooks into intuitive sections or sets.  The papers and text used during homework itself provides another use for a label as your student can neatly mark important sections or projects.

Once you have a labelmaker in your home, used daily for a variety of school needs, you’ll certainly find plenty of opportunities to utilize a label or two for your own files and paperwork.  This will not only help you organize and control your life but will also be of great use as you file your personal finance papers and budgets.

Understanding your credit card’s credit limit is an important facet of owning and using a card.  We all know you can get into trouble exceeding your limit, and that trouble could lead to fees as well possibly a higher interest rate on your card as well as a lower credit score.

CNN/Money has a pretty concise article listing some of the benefits to not only knowing your credit card limit, but also the advantages of increasing that limit.  The article notes that keeping a low debt-to-limit ratio is a good move since the “lower your debt-to-limit ratio, the better your credit score will be. And to that end, there are two basic ways to improve your debt utilization: raise your credit limit or lower your debt.”

The article goes on to list some of the pitfalls you should avoid with credit cards making the point that “signing up for new cards to boost your total available credit and make your debt utilization appear lower can work against you…and opening new accounts can even lower your credit score”

I’m frequently asked by aspiring personal finance bloggers for suggestions regarding the best place for web hosting a blog.  To be sure, it’s not always an easy answer.  The simple reason is that although there are a large group of reliable and affordable web hosting companies they are not one-size-fits-all.

Some web hosting companies focus on price, some on reliable unix hosting, and others on business web hosting.  Fortunately, WebHostingGeeks.com offers a review and rating system to help sort out the choices and clear up the confusion.

One good example of their review guide is a page on the best blog web hosting.  This page would be of use for someone looking to start a blog on personal finance.  There are several other featured guide pages including best forum hosting, best email hosting, best ecommerce hosting and so forth.

If you’re looking for a new web hosting service I’d recommend you spend some time on WebHostingGeeks.com to get a good idea of the best web hosting companies for your specific needs.