Personal Economics 101

Business, technology, environmental and economic changes are a part of life, and they are coming faster all the time. All of these changes and advancements can be distracting and make us more vulnerable to cyber scams. That's why protecting your credit is a critical part of protecting yourself from cyber security threats. Security researchers have reported that hackers and scammers are using any opportunity or vulnerability to target both individuals and companies. You may have already seen these attempts in the form of fake emails or calls. Here are the top five questions Equifax ®  has received about how individuals can protect themselves from cyber security threats and help to improve your credit protection. 1. How can I better protect my credit? Check your credit reports frequently. You can get free credit reports from the nationwide credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian ®  and TransUnion ® ) at annualcreditreport.com. Check your credit reports frequently to closely...

By SABRINA KARL , Investopedia Rates on 30-year mortgages rose again Monday, adding to the jump they saw Friday and pushing the flagship average almost back to the historic 22-year high it registered earlier this month. Averages for most other loan types were flat to mildly up Monday, with only a couple of averages declining. Rates on 30-year new purchase mortgages gained 6 basis points Monday, after jumping 16 basis points Friday. That raises the 30-year average to 7.82%, which is just barely below Sept. 7's historic reading of 7.84%—its highest mark since 2001. Monday rates on 15-year loans rose only a minor 2 basis points, nudging the average to 7.15%. Like 30-year rates, the 15-year average is now back within a couple of basis points of its recent peak—a 21-year high of 7.17% reached in mid-August. Jumbo 30-year rates held steady for a second day Monday, at the average's high-water mark of 7.02%. Though daily jumbo averages are not available before 2009, it's reasonable...

By Stephen Culp , Reuters The mood amongst U.S. homebuilders took an unexpected dour turn this month. The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market index (USNAHB=ECI) slid five points to land at 45 - the lowest since April - defying analyst expectations that it would hold firm at a neutral 50, which is the dividing line between optimism and pessimism. Coming on the heels of a 7-point drop in August, the residential construction sector is feeling the stress of rising mortgage rates; the average 30-year fixed contract rate has been above the 7% level since early August, and applications for loans to purchase homes are down 27.5% from a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. "High mortgage rates are clearly taking a toll on builder confidence and consumer demand, as a growing number of buyers are electing to defer a home purchase until long-term rates move lower," writes Robert Dietz, NAHB's chief economist. Home construction initiall...

The wheels are coming off the economy and the stock market has suffered one of its worst two month sell offs in American history, but that’s not the way our esteemed Fed Chairman Jerome Powell sees things. Here are his comments from last week: “The underlying strength of the U.S. economy is really good right now. The U.S. economy is strong, the labor market is extremely strong. It is still at very healthy levels. Retail sales numbers, the economy is strong. Consumer balance sheets are healthy. Businesses are healthy. The banks are well-capitalized. This is a strong economy.” Now isn’t that reassuring? Never mind that the growth rate of this “strong economy” so far this year is less than one percent. But he wasn’t done with his happy talk. When the Fed chief was asked about whether he is behind the curve on raising rates (which he clearly is), Powell had this to say: "By the standards of central bank practices in recent years, we've moved about as fast as we have in several dec...

 

Buried in the Budget Reconciliation Is the End of Right-to-Work, Independent Contractors; Climate Change Among the various major provisions of the PRO Act is effective nationalization of California's AB5 law that passed in 2019. This law makes hiring independent contractors much more difficult and specifies that contractors must be reclassified by businesses that hire them as employees, unless they meet specific and rigorous standards allowing them to stay independent. Read full article... Biden on Energy Crisis: Begging Others to Save Him From Himself It is on the costs of energy where Biden’s failures are most starkly visible. On his very first day in office, Biden scrapped the Keystone XL pipeline, killing 11,000 jobs in the process and making good on his campaign promise to be hostile to the fossil fuel industry. Continuing his assault on natural resource development, Biden suspended oil and natural gas leases in Alaska. Former President Donald Trump had propelled America to en...

Liz Ann Sonders shares her perspective on the U.S. stock market and economy in this monthly Market Snapshot video. https://youtu.be/pA7r1efrtJE Subscribe to the Charles Schwab channel: https://www.youtube.com/charlesschwab

Is it better to pay off the entire balance on a credit card each month, or to always leave a small balance to carry over? There is a common myth that carrying a balance on your credit card from month to month can benefit your credit scores, but that is not true. Ideally, you should pay off your credit card in full every month. Leaving a balance will not help your credit scores. All it will do is cost you money in the form of interest. The most important factor in credit scoring is always your payment history — whether or not you make all your payments on time. The second most important factor is your utilization rate, or balance-to-limit ratio. The lower your utilization rate, the better for your credit scores. It's Best to Pay Your Credit Card Balance in Full Each Month If you are trying to establish a strong payment history, you can do so by making small purchases on your credit card each month, paying the balance in full, and making sure all payments are made on time. If you can...

I know it's just FaceBook, as awful (who in the hell programmed that mess) as it is, but for those of you who do banking etc online, you must check your accounts several times a week. And have alerts set up. For example, I went shopping at Costco today and by the time I got home, I had an email on my phone alerting me that my card had been used and for how much. Very cool.  If your bank or financial institution doesn't provide this service, change banks. (I use Chase for most of my day-to-day transactions and Schwab for investing). My credit union also sends me fraud alerts on that account via text (Navy Federal Credit Union). Protect yourself. And check your credit reports every month. Chase allows me to do this for free. (I've frozen my credit accounts so no one can use them to create new accounts.)  More details on the FaceBook breach from Experian: Facebook announced a data breach on Friday, Sept. 28, in which the personal information of 50 million user accounts ...