The government of North Korea has decided to devalue its currency at an exchange of 100 old Won to 1 new won. Allegedly an attempt to punish those that have profited from the black market, the government is limiting the amount each resident may exchange to $150,000 won. This limit has caused stores, restaurants, and all other forms of commerce to close until the new currency takes effect. It has also led to at least 2 suicides as residents deal with the harsh reality that their life savings has been reduced to at most, $150.
This act is not unique to North Korea. Many countries including Argentina have replaced currency in the past in order to curb inflation.
photo credit: sludgegulper
03.Dec.09 
Budgeting 
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Americans with an AGI of less than $75k are eligible for a $400/per person stimulus credit. The making work pay stimulus has been attracting noticeably less attention than other stimulus offerings. For those that have normal paychecks the stimulus is applied directly through reduced withholdings. Those that are self employed, do not have withholdings, or otherwise need to claim the credit may do so by filling out an IRS schedule M and requesting $400 on their 1040.
A video on the IRS’ channel on Youtube (The IRS is on Youtube!) explains the credit in better detail. It can be viewed here.
photo credit: alancleaver_2000
03.Dec.09 Financial Planning Comment (1)
A new stock exchange is experiencing astonishing growth on the African continent: the Somali Pirate Exchange. Having quickly grown from 15 to 72 ‘maritime’ firms, the exchange allows local residents to contribute supplies, manpower, or funding to piracy efforts. With 10 successful ransoms paid, the exchange has offered an impressive return on investment to financiers from Somalia and neighboring countries.
Taking place in a small fishing village, Piracy has dramatically affected the local economy. According to Reuters:
“Piracy-related business has become the main profitable economic activity in our area and as locals we depend on their output,” said Mohamed Adam, the town’s deputy security officer.
“The district gets a percentage of every ransom from ships that have been released, and that goes on public infrastructure, including our hospital and our public schools.”
With piracy efforts commanding up to $4,000,000, a single ransom plays a dramatic role in changing the wealth of investors. One investor in the recent Spanish ransom hijacking received over $75,000 for her investment of a rocket-propelled grenade.
photo credit: twicepix
02.Dec.09 Financial Planning Comments (0)
2009 has been an exciting year for us here at MoneyDesktop. Our company launched a software program that not only lets you track your personal finances, it also eliminates debt. With the average American household carrying over $9,000 in credit card debt our product has been able to help many save on interest and get out of debt.
We’ve been inspired by Chris Anderson’s book Free to try a give away of our product for ‘Cyber Monday’. The first five hundred to signup with the promo code [EDIT: This promotion has expired, thanks to all our new users!]. No credit card required. It’s our $200 gift to you. All that we ask is that you please use our product to save yourself from wasting thousands more servicing debts.
Thanks for giving us a great year.
photo credit: alancleaver_2000
30.Nov.09 Debt Free Comments (0)
A new infographic (click the image or here to expand) seems to indicate that the median home should cost about three and a half times the median salary.
Additionally, it’s surprising how much interest rates have fallen since the mid-eighties when a sixteen percent mortgage could be considered a good deal. The considerable reduction in interest paid makes it so today’s median debt to income ratio is at a thirty-five year low.
25.Nov.09 Upside Down Comments (0)
Warren Buffet is infamous for his investment strategies, favoring long holds of profitable companies to quick trades of speculative ones. His portfolio history is an impressive timeline of decisions made with incredible foresight.
The complete opposite of a day trader, his investment strategy focuses on long term goals. Proper budgeting for one’s personal finances can also benefit from good planning.
While many know of his success with Geico, few realize he has owned large portions of everything from See’s Candies to Fruit of the Loom.
Click here, or on the image to view full size.
16.Nov.09 Financial Planning Comments (0)
Unless a user specifically opts into the service, effective July 1st, banks will be banned from charging overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions. Overdrawn checks will not be affected by this ban. As we mentioned previously, this may have a drastic affect on how many banks make money.
According to Reuters:
ATM and debit card transactions are typically discretionary purchases, the officials said. Consumers frequently use checks for bills that they want paid no matter what.
Bank regulators have been under pressure to beef up consumer protections following a financial collapse brought on in part by reckless lending practices. Lawmakers critical of regulators’ failure to rein in those practices are considering stripping consumer protection functions from the Fed and other financial regulators and entrusting them to a dedicated consumer protection agency.
This may spell the end of free checking accounts. Banks will no longer be able to cover the cost of offering checking service to consumers without some source of income. Of course, banks may just as easily find a way to force users of their accounts to opt-in to the overdraft service before receiving an account. Should this be the case, the benefit to consumers remains minimal at best.
photo credit: See-ming Lee 李思明 SML
12.Nov.09 Credit Card Debt Comments (0)
Of the million Americans that filed for bankruptcy, an overwhelming majority of them were employed and making less than $30k a year.
28.Oct.09 Debt Free Comments (0)
This Wednesday, October 28th, at 7pm a MoneyDesktop Founder will be providing a second free seminar on personal debt elimination and home finances. There will be no obligation to purchase anything or to endure any high pressure sales.
The public is invited to attend, the event is being held at on the ground floor of: 251 W. Riverpark Way, Provo UT, 84606.
photo credit: Rafiq Phillips
16.Oct.09 Debt Free Comments (2)
The New York Times has run an excellent article on the usurious overdraft fees charged by banks. Overdraft fees on debit cards earn banks more than all credit card penalty fees combined. For this reason, they are increasingly being relied upon by banking institutions as a strong source of income.
Unfortunately, it appears that many banks are now using these fees as their only real source of income. When a user of a debit card has a purchase that exceeds the amount of funds in its corresponding account, it results in an overdraft. The bank still pays the charge, and then charges the consumer roughly $40 in fees for every day and/or transaction that takes place until the account is again positive.
Essentially, banks use these overfrafts as a form of offering pay-day style loans at extremely high interest rates.
The article in the New York Times points out that the elimination of these fees would likely result in the immediate closure of hundreds of banks and credit unions. As a result, most flat out refuse to permit consumers to turn off ‘overdraft protection’ even for mentally handicapped or disabled users.
The Times also offers a guide to avoiding these fees suggesting that consumers find a different bank if they are unable to disable the overdraft ‘feature’ on their account. One item which the guide fails to mention, most large banks are willing to forgive a single overdraft fee as a courtesy, and may forgive even more if provided a reasonable excuse.
photo credit: B Rosen
12.Oct.09 Credit Card Debt Comment (1)
