Personal Finance News

(WHITE PLAINS, NY, March 25, 2010)—Taking the time to review your finances and develop a plan is an important step in preparing for a baby, especially when you consider estimated costs for a child’s first year to be between $9,000 and $11,000*.

Since 2003, ACE Cash Express and its associates, partnered with customer support, have contributed more than $2.7 million to March of Dimes. To continue this longtime support of families and babies everywhere, ACE offers five tips for getting your finances ready for baby:

(more…)

The New York Times recently shed light on how banks can charge obscene fees for things like overspending on a debit card. While banks pitch debit cards as a responsible way to make purchases, they have a calculated interest in consumers going over their balances. Ron Lieber and Andrew Martin wrote:

Banks market it as overdraft protection, and the fees it generates have become an important source of income for the banking industry at a time of big losses in other operations. This year alone, banks are expected to bring in $27 billion by covering overdrafts on checking accounts, typically on debit card purchases or checks that exceed a customer’s balance.

(more…)

Start to get your personal finances under control by using our basic monthly budget worksheet. Our free budget worksheet is simple to use, and helps you better understand what your overall monthly income and expenses are. You can use the budget worksheet to help trim expenses and curb unnecessary spending. Go to the Monthly Budget Worksheet page to download the free PDF.

Based on the study findings, it is clear that attempts to impose artificial rate caps will result in the elimination of a product used responsibly by millions of Americans to address small dollar, short-term credit needs.

(Hackensack, NJ) – In order to address unsubstantiated claims regarding the cost of small, short-term loans, also known as payday advances or loans, Financial Service Centers of America, Inc. (FiSCA) engaged the firm of Ernst & Young LLP to perform an economic survey analysis of the cost to provide consumers with this form of credit through stores that offer many other financial products as well (also known as multi-line operators). The data obtained through this nationwide survey of FiSCA members clearly illustrates that payday loans are priced fairly and reasonably for consumers seeking small dollar, short-term loans to address unexpected financial shortfalls. Further, based on the study’s findings, it is reasonable to conclude that imposition of arbitrary fee caps will cripple an industry that operates responsibly under a variety of federal and state regulations to provide this form of credit to millions of cost-conscious Americans.

(more…)

CLEMSON–Payday loans do not cause bankruptcy, according to a recent study by economists at Clemson University.

Dr. Petru S. Stoianovici and Prof. Michael T. Maloney studied the relationship between payday lending and bankruptcy filings over the period from 1990 to 2006. Using state-level data on the legality of payday lending and on the number of loan stores, the investigators found that neither the legality of payday lending nor an increase in the number of loan stores led to higher rates of consumer bankruptcies.

(more…)