Category: personal finance

The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning: Inside Tips From an Expert (Part 2)

Chapter 1 ADVICE, ADVISORS, AND WHAT’S NEW The following experience did not end well for anyone involved. Frank’s wife, Lu, felt a twinge in her neck as she jerked her head left, away from the overdue mortgage notice, toward her husband’s shout. “Bastards!” he yelled, crushing the annuity carrier’s letter. “What?” she gasped, simultaneously wiping…


What Are the Two Types of Prescription Drug Cards?

More than 66 percent of all adults in the United States use prescription drugs. And with or without health insurance, prescription drugs can be high-priced. Adults spend nearly $73 billion on prescription drugs. It equates to 16 percent of total health costs. Any help you can receive in prescription drug discounts is welcome. Two forms…


Closing Prices for Crude Oil, Gold, and Other Commodities (July 7)

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for August delivery rose $2.06 to $73.86 a barrel Friday. Brent crude for September delivery rose $1.95 to $78.47 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for August delivery rose 5 cents $2.59 a gallon. August heating oil rose 8 cents to $2.56 a gallon. August natural gas fell 3 cents to $2.58 per…


How Major US Stock Indexes Fared July 7

Wall Street drifted to a mixed close after data suggested the U.S. job market is still warm enough to keep the economy growing but maybe not so hot that it stokes inflation much higher. The S&P 500 gave up a midday gain and ended 0.3 percent lower Friday. The Dow fell 187 points, or 0.6…


FTC Imposes Industry Ban On Extended Vehicle Warranty Scammers

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has instituted an industry ban on operators of an extended vehicle warranty scam that defrauded millions of dollars from Americans. In February last year, the FTC charged Kole Consulting Group and its owner Daniel Kole as some of the defendants who ran the American Vehicle Protection (AVP) operation and…


IN-DEPTH: Bank Branch Closures Leave Vacant Buildings, Inconvenienced Customers

When Pamela Bigelow, a lifelong resident of Duncan, Arizona, goes to the bank, she must make a day of it. Duncan, population 677, lost its last bank branch about six years ago. Now, when Duncan residents need cash, a cashier’s check, or to get a loan, they must travel 40 miles to the copper mining…


The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning: Inside Tips From an Expert (Part 1)

This is the first of a series in which The Epoch Times will publish, chapter by chapter, the book The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning: Inside Tips From an Expert, by Dan Gallagher. Introduction For more than three decades, until my December 2017 retirement, I’ve asked clients about the financial strategies and experiences they had prior to…


Is Pet Insurance Worth the Cost?

Pets are big in America. Sixty-six percent of U.S. households own a pet. Many of these pet owners look at their pup or kitty as one of the family. While loving a pet is priceless, their medical bills aren’t. That’s why pet insurance is increasing in popularity. Pet insurance was an unknown product for years….


Digital Banking Reality in Australia: Booking Appointments to Get Cash

Australians may have to book appointments the next time they want to withdraw cash as several major banking institutions accelerate their digitalisation process. This comes after a Queensland woman recently gained public attention after a Tiktok video describing her ordeal of withdrawing cash from a local bank branch went viral. According to the video, Taryn…


Americans’ Excess Savings From The Pandemic Are Now Depleted, Say Federal Reserve Economists

A team of Federal Reserve economists found that the cash surplus accumulated by American households over the past few years since the start of the pandemic has now largely evaporated. The expenditure of household excess savings by U.S. consumers partially came from government pandemic stimulus checks, which caused the spur in economic growth over the…