“This week's top Personal Finance stories - Marketwatch” plus 3 more |
- This week's top Personal Finance stories - Marketwatch
- Stocks to Watch - Marketwatch
- Phil Villarreal Unplugged: You'll be laughing all the ... - Examiner
- Kiplinger's Personal Finance: Firms are still on their ... - Washington Post
| This week's top Personal Finance stories - Marketwatch Posted: 27 Mar 2010 04:59 AM PDT
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By MarketWatch In case you missed them, here are the top 10 Personal Finance stories from MarketWatch for the week of March 22-26: What health reform means for you
No more worrying about lifetime limits on health coverage, about whether your insurer will dump you when you get sick, or about whether your adult child will be booted off your plan when he turns 18.
Will bank-reform proposals work to protect consumers from future crises?
Far-reaching legislation aimed at overhauling the nation's financial-services regulatory system is moving forward in Congress, but advocates say some of the proposed consumer protections are too weak.
Are retirees' health costs as steep as some say?
Firm after firm spews out reports about how you'll need hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover health-care expenses in retirement. Are those costs real or is this -- as some cynics suggest -- a ploy on the part of investment firms to gather assets and generate revenue?
Your house can bring big breaks at tax time
A tax credit of up to $8,000 was a big incentive for first-time buyers to buy a house over the last couple of years, but a slew of other tax advantages will keep rewarding those new homeowners long after that money hits their bank accounts.
Worker shortage coming as population ages: report
With millions of unemployed people across the country struggling to find work, it may seem unbelievable that there could be more jobs than workers to fill them in coming years, but a new report predicts exactly that.
Student borrowers get first aid from health-care bill
It will be years before many Americans figure out how they're impacted by the health-care bill signed into law this week by President Obama, and whether they actually benefit. But the law has an immediate potential payoff in my home.
How to climb the market's wall of worry
If you believe some market and media seers, truly the end is near for Mom, apple pie and the American way. Financial crisis in Europe. Health-care overhaul. China trade. Mounting U.S. debt. The specter of rising interest rates. Stocks must be running on fumes, given the Sisyphean challenges facing the planet.
What to do if you can't pay your taxes
If this year you're stuck with a tax bill rather than your usual refund, you're not alone. This year and next, more than 15 million taxpayers may find they unexpectedly owe Uncle Sam because they received more of the Making Work Pay tax credit than they were entitled to, according to a November report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Money may be tight, but homeowners are still investing in their great outdoors
Homeowners love their yards. They plant gardens, create cozy areas for entertaining, and install decorative elements that they're as happy to look at from the kitchen window as they are from their chaise lounge. And despite the weak economy, that love affair is expected to continue.
If you've got kids, it's time to make a will
With a new baby in the house, thinking about death isn't fun. But my husband and I have been planning for our demise because we want to make sure that if such an awful event occurs our six-month-old daughter, Eve, will be well provided for. As unpleasant as estate planning can be -- I really dislike reading the words "my last will and testament" -- it's better than leaving important decisions to a judge.
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| Posted: 27 Mar 2010 10:21 AM PDT marketwatch's Latest Tweets
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"Will all these welfare homeowners who use taxpayer money to erase their mortgage debt share their profits when they sell someday? #tfree" Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Phil Villarreal Unplugged: You'll be laughing all the ... - Examiner Posted: 27 Mar 2010 08:56 AM PDT REVIEW: Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel - 100 Dirty Little Money-Grubbing Secrets, by Phil Villarreal, Skyhorse Publishing, 2009 I know, I know - I may be the only person who actually reads personal finance books in my spare time (hey, it's my job) but this book is hilarious. Separated at birth from Abbie Hoffman's Steal this Book (circa 1971) -- without all the messy illegal bomb recipes and kooky left-wing politics -- Villarreal's book also preaches how to live off the riches of America, with an emphasis on Free: food, household products, movies, airline flights, and lots more. Tongue-in-cheek but with an actual occasional ounce of wisdom, this book will have you laughing all the way to the bank -- a whole lot better than crying. But wait - I thought I had thought up the idea of having lunch (or a hearty snack) by timing your hunger with trips to stores with well-furnished food samples... or making extra bucks moving money around to get account opening bonuses, but no, Villarreal has beaten me to the punch - and taken it way farther. Free sample meals and bank account wins are only two of the tamer suggestions he makes. Want free drink refills again and again? Start a fast-food cup collection and re-use over and over! Tired of being scammed and want to run your own Craigslist scam for once? Be a psychic! Tired of paying for pricey ball game tickets? Go early and let them think you're press! And it gets better (or worse). The only thing holding you back is your pride, and well, your integrity, and say, also your respect for the law, but Villarreal will help you drop all those social niceties. Thank God for the recession, or this book wouldn't have seen the light of day. I even took one suggestion and had my husband cut my hair (he practiced on the dogs first). Sound crazy? Maybe, but have you seen the price of haircuts these days? For students and penny-pinchers alike, this book is golden. But is it worth the $12.95 price? Up to you - and I doubt Villarreal could complain if you stole it. But you didn't hear that from me. Want more crazy (or sane) tips to save money this year? Follow me on Twitter (@upsideofmoney) or be a fan on Facebook! Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Kiplinger's Personal Finance: Firms are still on their ... - Washington Post Posted: 27 Mar 2010 04:16 AM PDT Most companies will make workers pay a larger share by raising premiums, deductibles and copayments. These increases will affect both the medical and pharmacy plans. Surcharges for providing health-care coverage to working spouses will also increase, to encourage those spouses to use their own employer's health plan. But the real emphasis will be on behavior as businesses use more sticks and fewer carrots in pressuring employees toward healthier lifestyles and programs for chronic illnesses. In a recent survey by Hewitt Associates, nearly half of employers say they plan to use financial penalties for workers who eschew certain health programs. "Employers have come to realize that they have to manage their risks, not just costs," says Rick McGill of Hewitt, a benefits consulting firm. Big bucks are at stake. Nearly 70 percent of health-care costs are driven by behaviors. The difference in cost between a diabetic who manages the disease compared with one who doesn't can be tenfold, says McGill. Workers who don't play ball will pay more. Employers are realizing that penalties work better than rewards, and they're planning to ramp them up. To avoid running afoul of federal anti-discrimination laws, businesses cannot base penalties or rewards on results, but they can for example, impose higher premiums for smokers who refuse to participate in a class to stop smoking. More firms are also using their own clinics to cut costs, on-site if the company is big or nearby when smaller businesses work together. Clinics offer low prices, convenience and noteworthy success rates. Also growing: Consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs), combining high-deductible plans with a tax-advantaged savings account. About 60 percent of companies will make them an option in 2011, up from 54 percent this year; and 12 percent will make them the only option, up from 8 percent in 2010, according to a recent employer survey by Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health. Better-educated health consumers are a key goal, with insurers helping firms provide information to employees on cost-effective treatments and comparative pricing. Employers will also provide incentives such as lower copays or no deductibles to push workers toward top plans.
-- Kiplinger's Personal Finance
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