Personal Finance

If you have been on the fence trying to decide if you should rent or buy, the market may be in your favor. According to Trulia's Winter 2012 Rent vs. Buy Index it is now cheaper to buy a home rather than rent in 98 of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. How can that be? Take a look!

Studies have shown that identity fraud has risen 13% since 2010 which can be attributed, in part, to the growing popularity of 'smart' cell phones. This infographic illustrates just what our phones reveal about us and offers precautionary tips to keep your phone safe from prying eyes and what to do if your phone is lost, stolen or misplaced.

The rising cost of college tuition translates into many students re-evaluating higher education, their future professional careers as well as other major life decisions. Find out more in our very enlightening infographic on The Surprising Side Effects of Rising College Costs.

We all live extremely busy lives and often fail to keep up with the most informative articles posted on the internet. Below are links, with introductory paragraphs, to 20 very informative articles as posted on www.FinancialArticleSummariesToday.com (an associate site). The articles are related to Investing (gold/silver, the stock market, crude oil), the Economy (global/US, unemployment, debt and the money system) and Personal Finance (retirement, extra income and employment opportunities). You’re busy so just click on the title of the articles of interest to read them in their entirety.

Though unemployment has been wide-reaching across industries...[some] jobs, against all odds, are on the rise - a steep rise...So if you’re sick of your job and craving a new profession, now might be the time to head back to school and get that secondary degree in one of these 10 specializations.

Recent research by PayScale has revealed that the average ROI for U.S. university graduates (693 schools surveyed) is $387,501 over a 30-year period. 6 of the universities generated a return on investment for its graduates in excess of $1.6 million.

This year, the average person celebrating Valentine's Day is expected to spend $126.03 (women $85.76; men $168.74; spouses $74.12) or 8.5% more than last year, according to the National Retail Federation's 2012 Valentine's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. This total, which is 8.5% more than last year, is the highest in the survey's 10 year history. Read on for more on this year's Valentine's Day spending patterns and to learn just where you place amongst your peers.

Graduating from college can be an exciting and stressful time. Suddenly you need to find a job, replay loans and make solid financial decisions. Fortunately, you don't need to be unprepared. Below are some budgeting basics to keep your spending under control, some suggestions on how to set financial goals and a list of the top 10 American cities for starting out.

Imagine that you could pay for a service online without accruing a mountain of fees. Imagine being a retailer and having the ability to take your customer’s money – and keep all of it. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Well, now it’s not. Introducing Dwolla [- a better alternative to credit cards and Pay Pal for everyone involved, except the banks. Let me explain.] Words: 615

Constructing a portfolio for the retirement years requires one to focus on portfolio risk or uncertainty while not neglecting return. If the portfolio asset allocation plan is too conservative, the return will not meet lifestyle expectations. Inflation is again on the rise and this needs to be taken into consideration when putting together a retirement oriented portfolio. Below is a combination of index ETFs that project respectable returns while holding down portfolio volatility. Words: 455