savings

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Once Again, We're Spending More, Saving Less

Spending rose twice as much as income in March

(Newser) - Well, that didn’t take long: Americans are back to spending more and saving less. While personal income rose 0.3% in March, spending rose at twice that rate, Business Insider reports. Personal savings, on the other hand, slipped that same 0.3% from 3% of income in February to...

Straighten Out Your Finances in 2010
 Straighten Out 
 Your Finances 
 in 2010 
resolutions
Jan 3, 2010 4:53 PM CST

Straighten Out Your Finances in 2010

Some simple moves can net $1K or more

(Newser) - On the eve of the first serious workday of the New Year, take a hard look at your finances and see where you can cut back in 2010. A relatively small investment in time can result in some serious savings, Kathy Kristof writes for the Los Angeles Times :
  • Save automatically:
...

Don't Let the Recession Rule Out Retirement

Save more, use 'catch-up' tax law provisions to turn things around

(Newser) - Retirement savers have been facing grim truths, like the fact that a 50% portfolio loss requires 100% in earnings to recover. But middle-of-the-road investors could recover in as little as 2 years if they make contributions, receive a company match, and see fair long-term portfolio returns, writes Linda Stern in...

Obama Offers New Options for Retirement Savings

Americans can have tax refunds sent as savings bonds

(Newser) - President Obama used his radio address today to roll out several initiatives aimed at making it easier for Americans to save for retirement. One move will allow people to have their federal tax refunds sent as savings bonds by checking a box on their tax return; another has workers automatically...

Oldsters Refusing to Step Aside to Free Up Jobs

Reliance on volatile 401(k)s breeds reluctance to retire

(Newser) - Their retirement savings devastated by the financial crisis, older workers are increasingly postponing retirement, the New York Times reports, creating even more competition for scarce jobs. A recent survey found that four in 10 workers over 62 have remained at their jobs longer than they planned thanks to the recession....

Euro Bulb Ban Begins, But Many Take Dim View of CFLs

Consumers stockpile aesthetically pleasing old-school bulbs

(Newser) - Though proponents plug the financial savings and good climate karma of compact fluorescent light bulbs, not everyone thinks the European ban on most incandescent bulbs that kicks in tomorrow is such a bright idea, the New York Times reports. Consumers across the continent are hoarding old-school bulbs, worried over the...

DC Deficit Fixer: Print on Both Sides of Paper

$102M in painfully obvious cuts shows how outdated gov't is

(Newser) - A short while ago, President Obama called on his Cabinet to make budget cuts in their departments totaling $100 million. They came up with $102 million, but some of the cuts were so obvious one wonders why it took a presidential edict to elicit them, the Wall Street Journal notes....

Stimulus Boosts Americans' Incomes
Stimulus Boosts Americans' Incomes
Jun 26, 2009 2:11 PM CDT

Stimulus Boosts Americans' Incomes

Consumers tuck funds away: Savings rate hits 16-year high

(Newser) - Incomes in the US got a big boost from federal stimulus dollars in May, the Commerce Department reported today. But weary consumers stashed most of that lucre away, sending the savings rate to a 16-year high. “Households are reverting to a more sustainable spending path vis-à-vis income,”...

How China's Boy Boom Hurt US Economy

Preference for boys may lead to 'savings glut'

(Newser) - Lots of theories have been floated about the how the US housing and credit bubbles came to be, but this one gets points for originality: New research suggests that China's overabundance of males played a role, reports the Wall Street Journal. It begins with this: Because of the high male-to-female...

Experts Fret as Americans Squirrel Away Income

Savings rate jumps over job, portfolio fears

(Newser) - Even after the economy rebounds, the US will likely remain a nation of penny pinchers—and that has economists worried, the New York Times reports. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the country’s GDP, but Americans, fretting over job security and losses in the housing and stock sectors, are...

Frugalistas Rejoice: Recession Is a Validation

'Frugalistas' embrace new thrifty values

(Newser) - Shredding credit cards and buying less may sound like consumer America's version of hell, but some—especially those penny-pinchers long scoffed at as miserly—are downright gleeful. "This validates the choices I've made," one tells the New York Times. With the savings rate up a remarkable 4 points...

Spend, Baby, Spend &mdash;or We're Sunk
 Spend, Baby, Spend 
 —or We're Sunk 

OPINION
Mar 15, 2009 6:38 PM CDT

Spend, Baby, Spend —or We're Sunk

(Newser) - Our massive economy will remain stuck until hoarders open their wallets and "roll the dice" once again, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek. Investors and consumers alike must regain their "penchant for gain and risk... some of the essence of what makes us American." Until that caffeinated, delirious...

Consumer Spending Rises in Jan.

But experts don't expect boost to last

(Newser) - Consumer spending rose in January after falling for a record 6 consecutive months, pushed higher by purchases of food and other non-durable items. But the increase is expected to be fleeting given the problems facing the US economy. Spending rose 0.6% in January, better than the 0.4% gain...

Prepaid Cell Phones Are New Frugal Chic

Pay-as-you-go replaces contracts as consumers cut spending

(Newser) - More customers are turning to Tony Soprano-style, pay-as-you-go cell phones, and not just to avoid wiretaps. As the recession forces consumers to cut costs, all-inclusive prepaid plans are the new frugal option, reports the New York Times. "In today’s economy, it’s not cool to pay $120 a...

Krugman: We've All Been Madoffed
 Krugman: We've All 
 Been Madoffed 
OPINION
Feb 16, 2009 8:38 AM CST

Krugman: We've All Been Madoffed

(Newser) - Bernie Madoff’s investors thought they were getting richer every quarter. Then, one day, they discovered their wealth “was a figment of someone else’s imagination,” writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. And sadly, that’s a pretty good metaphor for America’s experience this decade....

Crisis Paradox: How to Spend When You Need to Save

How to stimulate the economy without draining your account

(Newser) - While leaders encourage Americans to stimulate the economy by spending, those who have lost jobs or investments are a lot more inclined to hoard their remaining assets. But there's a way to avoid this "paradox of thrift," in which the frugal behavior that's best for an individual...

Newfound Thrift Battering Economy

Sharp rise in savings rate expected to lengthen recession

(Newser) - Americans worried about the recession are stashing away cash at the highest rate in decades—but economists fear that the thrift will prolong hard times, reports the Wall Street Journal. The national savings rate has rebounded from less than zero to levels expected to hit 5% or higher this year...

Shoppers Go Whole Hog for Piggy Banks

Newly frugal consumers use little pink pals to help save

(Newser) - Piggy banks have been flying off the shelves this holiday season, reports Reuters. Newly frugal consumers see the pigs as symbolic of the need to save, retailers say. The savings rate across America has shot up from zero to 2.8% as worried households start to sock away cash—although...

Ways to Cut Your Bills Down to Size

Usual belt-tightening suspects abound: Eat at home, cut out luxuries, get a second job

(Newser) - Spendthrift Americans from all rungs of the income ladder are taking a page from Scrooge these days, adopting new, cash-lite strategies to get through hard times, USA Today notes. They're managing to save by:
  • Hocking whatever's collecting dust in their closets: The average household has $3,200 worth of
...

Crisis Looms for Credit Cards
 Crisis Looms for Credit Cards 
ANALYSIS
Nov 14, 2008 3:10 PM CST

Crisis Looms for Credit Cards

Soaring defaults could fell normally resilient industry

(Newser) - Credit cards may be the next industry to be pummeled by the financial crisis, Time reports. The charge-off rate—money that lenders don't think they'll collect—is set to hit 10% in 2009. That's double the rate of the last decade and amounts to $96 billion in unpaid debt. Typically...

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