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CDs and savings again earning a decent return
August 22, 2008
For the first time in a good while, you'll finally be able to earn much better rates on savings. You can now actually keep pace with inflation!
5-year CDs are again earning over 5% -- that's after months of 5-year terms yielding around 2.5%. 1-year CDs, meanwhile, are in the steady 4% range. For the shorter term, Clark suggests you might want to look at an online savings account.
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CLARK'S TIP TOPICS
Find more consumer advice in Clark Howard's book, "Get Clark Smart" |
So how do you find these deals? Many of the best ones are at community banks and credit unions in your hometown. Look on billboards or signs when you're driving around. Just don't look at the giant monster mega-banks!
You can also get a good survey of rates around the country at BankRate.com.
No one knows where CD rates are going from here. That's why Clark recommends laddering your CDs. The easiest way to do that is to split your money into 3 piles -- a money-market or savings account; a 1-year CD; and a 5-year CD.
A more sophisticated laddering approach would involve a 6-tier setup. Splitting your money into 6 even piles, you'd have the following set-up: A money-market or savings account; a 1-year CD; 2-year CD; 3-year CD; 4-year CD; and a 5-year CD.
Then when your 1-year CD comes due, you re-up in a 5-year CD; ditto for your 2-year CD, your 3-year CD, etc. That way you don't lock all your money into a 5-year CD if rates go up or down.
New book highlights modern financial challenges
August 8, 2008
Clark has been reading a new book titled "High Wire: The Precarious Financial Lives of American Families." Author Peter Gosselin's story dovetails very neatly with Clark's talk of the recent generational shifts that make our current economic slowdown more painful.
It's no secret that there's no longer a "lifetime contract" between employers and employees. We "rent" them and they "rent" us. Gone are the days of pensions after a lifetime of work or the promise of employer-provided healthcare in old age. To complicate matters, people have long since stopped paying cash and now live on borrowed money.
These factors in combination make for an explosive mix that creates financial insecurity. Gosselin talks about being on a wire without a net. Think about your own life: Are you without a net? If so, are you prepared for the consequences that can come if you lose your job?
Here's Clark's advice to get things back on track in your life: ¥ When it comes to a house, buy with a down-payment. Go for a 30-year fixed rate loan to keep things simple. ¥ With cars, limit your loans to 42 months or less -- or risk being upside-down in your car. ¥ Do not use debt for lifestyle; it only creates obligations, not opportunities. On the other side of the ledger, are you saving? The average American family is spending more than it takes in. But, again, what happens when you lose your job??
Beware of bridge loans and 1031 exchange scams
August 6, 2008
How would you like to make 5% on your money in less than a month? Sound impossible? It is. But that's precisely the lure a businessman named Anthony Christou used when he stole $14 million from 20 wealthy investors, according to BizJournals.com. ... More
Clark reveals his personal investment strategy
July 3, 2008
It's not often that we have back-to-back Clarkonomics segments on the show. But there's been so much in the media about the bear stock market that Clark felt compelled to do it. ... More
New student loan rates in effect
July 1, 2008
Good news for students and potential students! There are new loan rules in effect as of today (July 1, 2008). While it's a confusing system, the deals are better now than those that existed under the previous student loan rules. ... More
More recent Money Management Tips from Clark:- Avoid the full-commission stock broker trap
- Avoid the full-commission stock broker trap
- Scams heat up when economy cools down
- The dangers of purchasing employer stock
- Free budgeting tools online!
- Clark explains confusing investment terms
- Avoid money-market funds that break the buck
- Don't let the state decide what to do with your estate!
- 75 million have no access to retirement-savings plans
- New rules coming for 401(k) investments
Have fun
An Excuse to Celebrate
National Hunger Awareness Month
November is Hunger Awareness Month. Ways to curb hunger in America: 1. Volunteer your time or money to charities that feed the hungry. 2. Eat some good food so that you are no longer hungry. We can help you do both!
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Best Barbecue Restaurant [poll]
Here's where you get to tell the world what you think. Every week you get to vote on the best that the Dayton area has to offer in entertainment, restaurants, recreation & and a few other bizarro categories.
Voting in this category ends on Nov. 24.
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Kenny G and ice, what could be better? [things to do]
What would Brian Boitano do? If he lived in the Miami Valley, he'd check out "Skate for the Heart" featuring saxophonist Kenny G. and Olympic and World Champion figure skaters at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Nov. 19, at the Nutter Center. Boitano won't be there, unfortunately, but here's who will: Ekaterina Gordeeva, Irina Slutskaya, Viktor Petrenko, Jeffrey Buttle, US Pairs Champions Rockne Brubaker and Keauna McLaughlin, Shae-Lynn Bourne, Caryn Kadavy, Jozef Sabovcik and Steven Cousins. Tickets are $42 to $100. More »
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What's happening this week
- Skate for the Heart featuring Musical Guest Kenny G at Ervin J.
- Auntie Mame at Dayton Playhouse
- Mothergrove at Peach's Grill
- Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra with Violinist Vadim Gluzman at Schuster Performing
- The Cover of Life at the Dayton
- Third Friday Fling in Yellow Springs
- 103.9 The X and Live Nation Present Staind, Seether and Papa Roach in Concert at Hara Arena
Movies
Movies & Showtimes
'Quantum of Solace'[movies]
Men have curious ways of getting over a romantic betrayal. Some try avoidance. Some go on the rebound. James Bond's method, as seen in "Quantum of Solace," involves shooting, ducking, running, bleeding, locking dudes in car trunks and the massive destruction of parts of Italy and Bolivia. Obviously Daniel Craig is back as the shoot first, drink cocktails later version of 007 in the follow-up to 2006's "Casino Royale". More »
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Food & More
Local Dining
Amelia's Bistro, Bellbrook, restaurant review [review]
Call it comfort food, gourmet style. From crab raviolis with vanilla lobster sauce, to a hand-cut and brined pork chop served with a fig jam, to a simply "Big-Ass Cake" that's a chocolate lover's dream, Amelia's has the potential to become a destination restaurant — worth the drive to Bellbrook. More »
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