Fees may affect credit/debit card choice
The customer isn't always king. Sometimes he's just a pawn.The feud over the so-called "swipe fees" that retail merchants pay banks when customers use credit and debit cards is reaching a crescendo, and will likely hit registers in coming months.Both sides — merchants and card issuers — insist they're fighting for the best interests of the consumer. At... READ MORE
The five best stock funds to hold in 2011
After the wretched stock market returns of the past decade, you can hardly fault older investors — especially those whose investment horizon is not measured in decades — for shunning stocks and seeking shelter in bond funds and bank certificates of deposits.But with CD yields at microscopic levels, and inflation and interest rates highly likely to rise in the near future,... READ MORE
Immediate annuities offer peace of mind
For the past 10 years, my pension check has been deposited directly into my checking account the first day of each month. It’ll keep coming until both my wife, Georgina, and I have died.On or about the second Wednesday — the first time was Aug. 11, after she turned 66 — Georgina’s Social Security payment also gets direct-deposited. Mine will start coming next year... READ MORE
The best ways to invest in bonds today
Long-term, high-quality bonds have had an incredible run.Over the past 10 years, while stocks were going nowhere, the Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Bond fund returned an annualized 8 percent. Over the past three years, the fund returned an annualized 11 percent.This year, through mid-October, the fund returned almost 20 percent. In fact, Treasuries have been on a tear since 1981 when yields... READ MORE
Seniors angry over no Social Security raise
Another year without an increase in Social Security retirement and disability benefits is creating a political backlash that has President Barack Obama and Democrats pushing to give a $250 bonus to each of the program’s 58 million recipients.The Social Security Administration said inflation has been too low since the last increase in 2009 to warrant a raise for 2011. The Oct. 15... READ MORE
The best ways to invest in bonds today
Long-term, high-quality bonds have had an incredible run.Over the past 10 years, while stocks were going nowhere, the Vanguard Long-Term Treasury Bond fund returned an annualized 8 percent. Over the past three years, the fund returned an annualized 11 percent.This year, through mid-October, the fund returned almost 20 percent. In fact, Treasuries have been on a tear since 1981 when yields... READ MORE
Free long-distance calls via the Internet
The first time my daughter went overseas with her college classmates, I called our cell phone company to inquire about international connection plans. For just $6 a month, they told me, I could get “discounted” calls to wherever my daughter traveled.Some $200 in “discounted” calling charges later— which added up to less than two hours of phone time — I... READ MORE
It pays to shop around, even for funerals
Funeral arrangements are among the steepest expenses we’ll face, but many important decisions are made emotionally rather than with a close eye on costs.“It doesn’t matter how much you spend, it doesn’t make a person any less dead. It doesn’t mean you love them any more or less and it isn’t going to bring them back,” said Josh Slocum, executive... READ MORE
Strings attached to high-interest accounts
With interest rates so stingy, making your money grow requires a little extra work.That’s why checking accounts that promise competitive interest rates are get ting so much attention lately. The rates dangled by some banks for these accounts are more than triple the current 0.67 per cent average rate on a one-year certificate of deposit, according to Bankrate.com.Yet high-interest... READ MORE
Time to buy: blue chip stocks are on sale
The U.S. economy is a mess, and Europe and Japan aren’t doing any better. At first blush, shunning stocks altogether seems the wise course — even after September’s rally.But a funny thing has happened in the stock market.High-quality, large companies — blue chips — are trading at steep discounts to smaller, debt-laden stocks. Ditto for mutual funds that invest... READ MORE
Money 2023
