Boston Gal's Open Wallet

On July 1, rates for existing loans for undergrad students jump from 4.75 percent to 6.54 percent, and for graduate students from 5.3 percent to 7.14 percent. New loans will be fixed at 6.8 percent.

Jason DeBonis and Katrina Lust can use any breaks they can find. The two medical students are young and in love. They plan to marry in May. Their wedding gift to each other: a combined total of nearly $500,000 in student loans.

Transit police officials yesterday filed their first criminal charge against a rider who refused to pay restitution after investigators confronted her with fraud allegations. The woman, Kristen McAteer, 34, of Plymouth, was accused of submitting more than $1,100 in phony refund requests in the names of siblings and acquaintances, T police said.

By the time they walked down the aisle in March, Tina and Doug had strained relations with her parents, argued with each other and suffered through an 11th-hour change in venue. They'd also charged more than $30,000 on their credit cards to pay for the event, adding mightily to the $120,000 in school and car loans they were already carrying.

Eating out was costing us $1,200 a month. After the wedding, that couldn't continue so we went out only once every two weeks and packed lunches.

However, there is no doubt interest-rate increases in the housing market are steadily making it more expensive to buy a house. A year ago, a home-buyer would have paid 5.5 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Today, the rate is 6.67 percent. On a $250,000 loan, that would cost an additional $181 a month.

For an adjustable-rate mortgage, the increase is even more expensive. It now costs $308 more each month than a year ago.

SAN DIEGO — Cortney Henderson is one of the faces of America's housing affordability crisis. She never could have qualified for a mortgage here — where the median home price is $607,000 — had she not had the $27,000 she made as an egg donor to use as "reserves" in her bank account.

Henderson, 31, who graduated last year with a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and is now a researcher at the University of California, San Diego, still had to get a loan for the entire price of her $540,000 home. Without the $700 her boyfriend chips in each month, she could never cover the mortgage, insurance and property taxes, which still eat up almost 70% of her gross pay.

One big risk is that the affordability crisis could accelerate the growing chasm between rich and poor, making that gap harder to cross. For most Americans, their home is their biggest asset, and one of the surest ways to build wealth. Middle-class renters in many areas could be forced to leave or see their financial prospects eroded by a lifetime of renting.

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world. In developing countries, it focuses on improving health, reducing extreme poverty, and increasing access to technology in public libraries. In the United States, the foundation seeks to ensure that all people have access to a great education and to technology in public libraries. In its local region, it focuses on improving the lives of low-income families. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer and Co-chairs William H. Gates Sr., Bill Gates, and Melinda French Gates.

News & Notes with Ed Gordon, June 26, 2006 · Investment management expert Melody Hobson talks with Ed Gordon about this year's annual Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey, which compares how black and white Americans are preparing for retirement. The survey finds that blacks are generally optimistic about their retirement future, despite fewer stock-market investments than whites.

1) Drink lots of water, iced tea, lemon aid, etc. Keeping hydrated does make me feel cooler. Plus, holding a glass of ice water does feel satisfying on a hot day.
2) Cold shower before bed. It is amazing how much this seems to help on hot days.
3) Ice Cream! A dish of cold ice cream at the end of a long hot day almost makes it worth it!
4) Cross Breezes - I live near the ocean and get the benefit of cooler ocean-side temperatures and those heavenly cool breezes. Strategically opening windows to create cross-breezes and helping them along with fans makes a huge difference.

Such demonstrable synergies in the home between what's good both for the planet and the bankbook come at a time when critics are lamenting trade-offs associated with other ethically minded investments. Socially responsible mutual funds, for instance, have in recent years underperformed their unscreened rivals who have invested without hesitation in highly profitable oil companies and weaponsmakers.

Labels: Investing Green

Female boomers, in particular, could have a rough ride in retirement, says Hodge of Harvard. They were likely paid less than men and worked fewer years if they were raising children. Married women can claim their husband's Social Security payments once their husband retires, becomes disabled or dies. Divorced women can claim their ex-husbands' payments, if higher than their own, only if they were married 10 years or longer.

Women have saved less for retirement, too, according to a Hewitt Associates study of 2.6 million Americans who are eligible for a 401(k) or other defined-contribution plan. At the end of 2005, women had a median sum of $18,130 in a 401(k), vs. $40,730 for men.

Rabbi Moses Tendler, a professor of bioethics at Yeshiva University in New York, is troubled that donors can set their prices based on their ethnicities, their looks, the competitive schools they've attended, or what kind of students they are. "In Third World countries, [women] go into prostitution," he says. "Here, because they have good SAT scores, they sell eggs?"

Maria is a medical assistant who earns $25,000 a year — not enough to buy a house. That changed when she spotted a savings and education program for low-income working families called "Individual Development Accounts" at her local community center. It was a way to start saving.

Buy a Human Power Generator MkIII ($497, windstreampower.com, 802-658- 0075). Only for the truly dedicated. This stationary-bike-style generator could replace your gym membership. The more you pedal, the more money you can shave off your energy bill. While you're slimming down, your wallet will stay plump.

The 49-year-old had once run her own company and had recently embarked on a new career, and yet she has little to show for her success. She has roughly $30,000 split between a 401(k) and an IRA that's sitting in a money-market fund, and not much else.

In a series of studies completed in 2002, psychologists at the Washington, D.C.-based World Bank found that people traveling on business for the institution accounted for more medical claims than non-traveling employees. Male business travelers filed 80% more claims and female travelers 18% more than non-traveling employees. Travelers' spouses filed 16% more claims than spouses of non-travelers.

One of the World Bank studies found 36% of international business travelers surveyed said their business travel caused a high or very high level of stress. Only 7% said business travel caused a low amount of stress.

Per capita spending in Massachusetts in 2004 was $7,075, 33.2 percent higher than the national state average of $5,313. The second-most expensive state was New York, at $6,635, and the least expensive was Utah, at $4,043 per person.

The Boston University study also compares spending in the United States and Massachusetts to the rest of the world and concludes that Massachusetts tops the list.

Keisha Walker, for one, is happy that Congress is at least debating whether to raise the minimum wage. For her, boosting it to $7.25 would mean earning an extra $1 an hour - enough to pay for eight months of groceries or perhaps a few nights out.

Boston lost 30,107 residents in the first half of this decade, a precipitous drop that ranked the city among the biggest population losers of any major municipality in the country, according to US Census Bureau estimates to be released today.

When Dora Angel of DeSoto, Texas bought her first home in 2003, she paid $141,000 for the brand new three-bedroom, two-bath home. At the time, her mortgage payment was $1,400 a month.

Angel originally thought that she had a fixed-rate loan. But about five months ago, she noticed that her monthly payment kicked up to $1,900. She only made the monthly payments by sacrificing payments on her credit cards, which pulled down her credit rating.

Now, Angel can't continue paying $1,900 each month, but, because of her credit ranking, she doesn't qualify for a fixed-rate mortgage.

Labels: Free Sample

The couple have begun to max out their 401(k)s and IRAs and sock away another $12,000 a year in taxable mutual funds. So far, they've amassed about $170,000 for retirement. They also keep $25,000 in a money market account as an emergency fund.

The risk of coming up short in retirement depends a lot on how old you are, according to a study released this month by the Center for Retirement Research. Older workers are more likely to enjoy the security of a regular monthly check in retirement. About a third of “early boomers” — those born between 1946 and 1954 — face the risk of not being able to maintain their living standard after retirement, according to the center's latest research. For Generation Xers — born between 1965 and 1972 — roughly half are at risk of not being able to retire.

Since February, Kris and Ray Victory have been trying to sell their five-bedroom house in Brookville, N.Y., built in 1987 with a sunken living room and a fireplace in the master-suite wing. The couple raised three children in the 8,000-square-foot home, but they say younger families seem turned off by its $1,000-a-month utility bills and $25,000 annual taxes. "Buyers tell us it's too big," says Mrs. Victory, a 45-year-old electrical engineer. The couple recently shaved $200,000 off the $2.35 million price.

Education. I graduated from MIT in 1962. Tuition broke $1,000 a year in '58-'59, the year I matriculated. It rose to about $1,500 by graduation. That wasn't cheap for the time, but it wasn't mind-boggling, either. With a typical starting salary of about $6,000 a year, four years of tuition cost less than a year of earnings.

Today's MIT graduates paid tuition of $32,300 for their senior year. For them, four years of tuition cost about two years of starting salary. That's twice the 1962 cost. That $32,300 may be high relative to most colleges, but many of today's graduates enter the job market with significant debt.

Meantime, Rachel and he have started a mortgage brokerage. Just a few months old, the business has already taken off and he is beginning to hire others to work for him. The business produces about 85 percent of his income, he estimates and he's considering hiring on more brokers.

People like Croteau have added to the demand for rental units in the Boston area, where realtors expect rents to rise for the first time in several years. But Croteau's case also illustrates how conflicting forces are pulling down the region's housing market, meaning rents are likely to rise more slowly here than in other parts of the United States.

This is the combination of factors turning money market mutual funds into cocktail conversation again. Investors more interested in safe harbors and money fund rates climbing to near 5 percent may be made for each other. ``Cash as a defensive play has come to the fore, and higher rates have made it an offensive play as well," says Peter Crane , publisher of Money Fund Intelligence.

Is George Steinbrenner, the deep-pocketed Darth Vader of the Yankees’ evil empire, reaching his credit limit?

Then there’s that old nemesis, the Red Sox. Off the field as well as on, financier John Henry’s Red Sox ownership group has turned up the heat, transforming once-crumbling Fenway Park into a cash cow and launching lucrative side ventures.

"U.S. households overall have been managing their personal finances well," Bernanke said. "On average, debt burdens appear to be at manageable levels and delinquency rates on consumer loans and home mortgages have been low," he noted.

Economists expect the Fed to bump up rates later this month by another quarter point, which would lift the Fed's rate to 5.25% and the prime rate to 8.25%.

Best Buy Gift Cards are redeemable in any US Best Buy retail location or online at www.bestbuy.com for merchandise or services only. Cards are not redeemable for cash. Gift Cards are not valid as payment on Best Buy credit card. No expiration dates. Best Buy™ is not affiliated with HSBCdirect.com. Best Buy does not sponsor, endorse, approve or have any responsibility for this promotion. Please see back of card for terms and conditions. Must be a Best Buy cardholder to qualify for gift card offer. Offer expires 11:59:59PM ET 8/31/06, is subject to change and cannot be combined with other promotional offers. For questions regarding this gift card offer please call 1-800-365-0292.

All Things Considered, June 12, 2006 · In New York City, Chinatown residents have often spoken of how their neighborhood has remained ethnically distinct, even as the rest of the city went through drastic changes. But now, rising housing prices are making it impossible for some residents to stay in Chinatown.

Creating special moments to talk with your kids is important, especially when you're discussing tough topics like not smoking. Enjoying a fun activity like a movie makes the experience - and your message- memorable for your child.

Pledge to Talk to your child about not smoking now and we'll send you movie vouchers good for a free adult (up to $12) and child admission (up to $7). Redeem the vouchers at your local theater and use this one-on-one opportunity with your child to initiate a conversation about not smoking. To receive your vouchers simply take the pledge by filling out the form to the right and click submit.

Terms & Conditions
This is a limited time offer as voucher quantities are limited, so be sure to act now. There is no purchase required and the information you provide will not be shared with any other parties for any other reasons. Your voucher will be mailed to you within 4 to 6 weeks on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.

From June 12 to June 14, officials will trade a working gun for a $200 Target gift card at police stations and other locations in the city.

QUESTION: My wife and I are 46 are considering retiring next year. We estimate we'll qualify for combined Social Security payments of about $17,000 when we reach age 62 if we stop working, and we currently have about $350,000 in IRAs and $1.1 million in other investments. We hope to buy a $350,000 house by using $150,000 in savings and taking out a $200,000 mortgage. Based on our lifestyle, we figure we need about $65,000 a year to live on. What do think - is early retirement possible or is this a pipe dream?

Palazzolo, 25, graduated on Mother's Day from Rutgers University with a master's degree in public policy and student loans exceeding $116,000. His payments will average about $800 a month. It could have been worse: Because of his top grades, Rutgers paid Palazzolo's tuition for his final year of graduate school.

At a time when his friends are thinking about buying their first homes, he's looking for roommates to share a three-bedroom house so he can limit his rent to $600 a month. "I feel like I've done everything I was supposed to do, and at the end of the day, I've got this huge debt," Palazzolo says. "What did I do wrong?"

Labels: Recession Obsession

The question of better managing childless or single workers is one of pure capitalism, says Ms. Williams. When an estranged single worker quits an office, replacing him or her - including the cost of recruiting and training a replacement and the benefit to a competitor who might hire said employee - can cost as much as 75 to 150 percent of the former worker's annual pay.

What's more, single adults make up a whopping 40 percent of the full-time American workforce, according to a recent study by the American Association of Single People.

But some singles, like Roger Brokaw, wonder why so many workers without families have so little to say on the issue.

Magazine - A special issue examines the consequences of indebtedness.

Americans are awash in red ink. Consumer indebtedness is soaring, the savings rate is down to zero and people are filing for bankruptcy at record rates. To many observers, these are symptoms of cultural decline, from sturdy thrift to flabby self-gratification — embodied in the current obesity epidemic. The fattest nation on earth is also the greediest consumer of global resources and now is borrowing more than ever to satisfy its appetites. There is a large core of truth to this indictment.

An analogous question for economists is whether the United States is capable of evolving out of its present excessive indebtedness. Or could the global economic environment change so drastically as to threaten, if not extinction, then at least decline relative to smaller, more dynamic economies?

Greg Hogan Jr. was on tilt. For months now, Hogan, a 19-year-old Lehigh University sophomore, had been on tilt, and he would remain on tilt for weeks to come. Alone at the computer, usually near the end of one of his long online gambling sessions, the thought "I'm on tilt" would occur to him. Dude, he'd tell himself, you gotta stop. These thoughts sounded the way a distant fire alarm sounds in the middle of a warm bath. He would ignore them and go back to playing poker. "The side of me that said, 'Just one more hand,' was the side that always won," he told me months later. "I couldn't get away from it, not until all my money was gone." In a little more than a year, he had lost $7,500 playing poker online.

Each year since 2002, the N.I.H. has offered to pay off as much as $35,000 of a medical resident's educational debt in exchange for his post-residency commitment to work in a salaried physician-scientist post — whether at the N.I.H., at a university lab or in the field as a researcher. So far, the N.I.H. has accepted nearly 4,000 applicants into its loan-repayment program. The N.I.H. is among the many other organizations, particularly graduate schools and state governments, that have begun using loan forgiveness in recent years to encourage teachers, lawyers, social workers and health professionals to work in underserved geographic areas or among needy populations.

I was introduced to Deng Chen through an attorney who had helped him with some legal matters. Her specialty is trafficking, and when I told her I was doing some research on human smuggling and its victims, she cautioned me to be careful about using the word "victim" and, more to the point, not to confuse trafficking, which involves coercion, with smuggling, which is by choice. But then she told me about Chen, who at age 14 was sent by his parents to this country from China, by himself, with the assistance of smugglers; over the next four years, Chen worked to pay off a smuggling debt of $45,000, plus interest.

"The idea of the American dream is taken out from under us," explains Anya Kamenetz , author of "Generation Debt." "There used to be a contract with employers -- healthcare, pensions, predictable employment," she says, but today there are none of those guarantees. Additionally, a college education has become so expensive, making it more difficult to take these first steps toward the American dream, according to Tamara Draut , author of "Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-somethings Can't Get Ahead." The average student loans come to around $20,000, which means $200 a month out of an entry-level paycheck. On top of that, between 1995 and 2002 median rents in almost all major cities increased more than 50 percent.

Day to Day, June 7, 2006 · Comic actress and writer Annabelle Gurwitch recently attended one of those get-rich-quick seminars, and shares what she learned with Alex Chadwick. As it turns out, Alex has a good deal of downtime during the broadcast -- the time between interviews and during musical breaks, for example. She shows him to use that time to generate a substantial second income!

Labels: Free Sample

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Labels: Cool Gardening