It seems that the hunch we had in this post came true. Ben Bernanke has publicly proclaimed that key rates will remain at near zero levels through 2013 and well into 2014. While savers must be banging their heads against the wall after hearing this announcement, we immediately went on a hunt to track down the best 3 year CD rates in a number of states.

Fabric softeners, dryer sheets, fabric sprays...and now laundry crystals. Most American laundry rooms are beginning to look like home chemistry labs.

Need to do some quick multiplication and only have pen and paper? You could multiply the old school way using numbers (gasp!) or you can just draw some lines.

You’re still multiplying, just with lines instead of numbers. One gotcha is to remember the “invisible” lines for zeroes and it gets a little messy when the numbers get larger.
From kottke.org

As January winds down, you should have received most of the paperwork that you’ll need to file your taxes. If you’re like most FCN readers — and most Americans in general — you’ll be e-filing this year.

People are fond of pointing out that money doesn’t buy happiness. After all, there are a number of miserable people out there who are rich in terms of finances. However, no matter how fond we are of shrugging off wealth and saying that money doesn’t matter, the truth is that life can be pretty crappy without some money.

Of course it’s important to treat kids occasionally with the newest toy or the latest game. But as the economy sinks and money gets tighter, it seems to me these types of purchases are also some of the first to cut back on. So I’m extremely surprised that even as families would reduce spending on groceries and school supplies, our toy budgets swell: Americans reduced average supermarket spending by about .5% from 2009 to 2010 while in the same period, toy industry sales grew by 2%.

On Wednesday, TD Bank released a study showing that nearly two-thirds of consumers feel valued by their financial institutions. The question is, do you believe them? It seems like the overwhelming public reaction to banks is that they stink, but then again bad experiences tend to get more coverage than good ones.

During the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement, the country was divided by percentages: 99% vs. 1%. Some American’s kept the debate to kitchen tables and closed doors, while others took to the streets to voice their opinion.

SunTrust announced on Monday that they will be acquiring online loan provider FirstAgain, stating that through the acquisition they aim to “enhance [their] capabilities in the direct online lending market.” FirstAgain provides unsecured loans to super-prime borrowers, and does all of this online using no paper whatsoever — even your signature is digital.

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