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PayPal Makes Accepting Charity Difficult

by Flexo

Around the holidays, for-profit companies see an opportunity to do something charitable, even though they’re not technically registered non-profit organizations. The concept reminds me of college. I was in my university’s marching band, and we frequently traveled as a group to performances. At the end of the trips, someone on the bus collected money from ... Continue reading this article…

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Year End Reminder: Donate to Charity

by Flexo

The year is quickly coming to a close, and the first priority for many people right now is getting through the holidays with as little stress as possible. Focusing solely on the holidays at the expense of your household’s financial needs can only add to stress later, so it might help to get a few ... Continue reading this article…

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Judge Rejects Citigroup Lawsuit Settlement

by Flexo

The Securities and Exchange Commission, an organization designed to regulate and oversee the financial industry, is charged with acting in investors’ best interests. Most of the time, however, the SEC works on behalf of the large financial companies under its purview. As a result, when consumers demand that companies be held accountable for misleading investors ... Continue reading this article…

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Tax Deduction for Time Spent Volunteering

by Flexo

I recently received reader feedback from a conscious saver who is planning to move his money from Wells Fargo to a credit union. She won’t make the Bank Transfer Day November 5 goal, because the credit union’s branch is planned to open November 7. This reader plans to be one of the new branch’s first ... Continue reading this article…

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Should Hedge Funds Receive Special Treatment?

by Flexo

The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has advised the managers of super-secret hedge funds, investments of the most wealthy, that they will soon need to disclose more information to the regulators. Highly leveraged hedge funds contributed to the economic collapse, but the pressure to increase oversight has been mostly ignored by the industry. In response ... Continue reading this article…

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Obama’s Student Loan Plan

by Flexo

By executive order, President Obama has made a few minor changes to the student loan industry designed to help students and former students with unmanageable student loan debt. Anyone who began their undergraduate studies in 2006 probably did so with the reasonable assumption that they’d have a job after graduation. By the time these students ... Continue reading this article…

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Under-reporting Personal Household Debt

by Flexo

If you want to know how much credit card debt Americans have, don’t ask the borrowers. For years, economists have sought debt data from both borrowers and lenders for credit card debt and four other debt categories. Borrowers report their debt balances by responding to household surveys, like the Survey of Consumer Finances. Lenders report ... Continue reading this article…

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Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Tax Plan

by Flexo

In the latest CNN poll, Republican Party hopeful Herman Cain is statistically tied with Mitt Romney with support of 25 percent to 26 percent of Republicans asked, but two thirds of the respondents haven’t made up their minds. Likely a big contributor to Cain’s surge from from 9 percent to 25 percent is his 9-9-9 tax reform plan. This ... Continue reading this article…

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