Stock Investing

I started organizing all of my tax documents, and while I was gathering all of my 1099s, I realized there are several accounts I am no longer using and which I should close. One of those happens to be my SmartyPig account. When SmartyPig burst onto the scene a couple years ago, they promised to revolutionize the savings industry. And in a way, they did. For awhile, anyway.

SmartyPig added a social element to saving, and turned it into something of a game. To top it off, they added some of the best interest rates in the nation (at the time), and the opportunity to save toward a goal at high interest rates, then redeem your money for discounted gift cards, which in effect, would increase your savings even more.

Eventually, the depressed interest rates caught up with SmartyPig, and they had to continually lower their interest rates.

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Robert Miller with the main City and business news as many Asia markets are shut for the Chinese New Year Europe’s bourses hope for a speedy resolution of the terms for an orderly Greek sovereign debt default; the week-end attacks in Nigeria that claimed 200 lives have not yet affected the price of crude oil, despite the fact that the country is Africa’s largest crude exporter; the founder and largest shareholder in EasyJet, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, tells the Sunday Telegraph he will vote against the senior directors’ pay awards and UK dividends hit a record in 2011 and could top £75bn this year.

New York – The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the nation’s unemployment rate in December fell to 8.5%, an increase of 0.2% over November’s 8.7%.

212,000 jobs were added to the U.S. labor force in December, compared to 120,000 jobs in November.  Overall, economists were forecasting a 150,000 increase in the unemployment rate for December.

The average work week rose to 34.4 hours in December, compared to 34.3 in the prior month.  Wages increased 0.2%.

While the news is encouraging, the U.S. economic recovery remains on a slow pace while the present administration in Washington continues to play party politics and Congress remains in a stalemate between Parties over economic stimulus and burgeoning U.S. bu

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The report from Moneysupermarket.com revealed that the average amount of non-mortgage debt paid off each month is GBP322 a month, around 25% of the average monthly net salary for a UK adult, while a shocking 8% claim to have spent over 80% of their wages repaying debt. And despite women having the reputation for being prolific shoppers, it is men that appear to have 15% more personal unsecured debt compared to their female counterparts – on average GBP7,944 compared to GBP6,739.

MoneySupermarket.com’s head of loans and debt, Tim Moss, said: “With the cost of living continuing to rise, consumers are feeling the squeeze on their wallets more than ever. Full Post…

For generations, the way most Americans defined success was a singular, mythic dream that included having a high-paying job, buying a home, driving a fancy car, and having a family. While that traditional American Dream isn’t dead, a recent study by MetLife reveals that our mindset has evolved into something much more complex.

I’ll tell you more about the new American Dream and give you 5 ways to build safety nets for your personal finances that give you financial security.

Our new outlook has been coined the “Do-It-Yourself (DIY) American Dream.” It’s the result of many factors, including:

• fundamental shifts in the way we view adulthood, marriage, and family
• our emphasis on social networking and sharing
• financial challenges due to the long recession

Americans are now taking longer to become financially independent. They’re s

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