What are current lending ratios?

Filed under: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle , Transportation , Travel , Charity After touching down at San Francisco International Airport after the holidays, I didn't feel so guilty about flying as I had in the past. Or actually, because of optimism for a New Year, reduced gas prices and a third of the seats on my flight staying empty, I didn't even give a thought about feeling guilty. However, I was landing in San Francisco, one of the most eco-conscious places in America, and the city intends to do its part in making everyone passing through its borders aware of their carbon footprint. Not only is San Francisco the first U.S. city to consider a "congestion pricing plan" for motorists driving its streets, it will also be the first city in the world to let travelers buy certified carbon offsets in its airport . Continue reading San Francisco Airport eases fliers' "guilt trips" with carbon-offset kiosks San Francisco Airport eases fliers' "guilt trips" with carbon-offset kiosks originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Entrepreneurship , Real Estate HGTV's latest real estate show, The Property Shop, debuted on New Year's Day. It showcases Montreal estate agent Tatiana Londono as she looks to start her own real estate brokerage, juggling family obligations with the financial stress of entrepreneurship. Londono is pretty much a parody of a high-powered real estate agent with her big hair and outlandish persona. Of course, nearly every real estate reality show has obnoxious stars -- Jeff Lewis on Flipping Out , Armando Montelongo on Flip This House and Chad Rogers on Million Dollar Listing , just to name a few. Continue reading HGTV's 'The Property Shop' does Realtors no favors HGTV's 'The Property Shop' does Realtors no favors originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Saving , Simplification , Investing Frustrated with poor returns from the stock market, investors are increasingly turning to a conventional strategy that can promise security at 0 percent interest rates. I am talking about piggy banks. According to Reuters, sales of the novelty banks are rising as the economy continues to worsen. Exact figures are hard to come by but several retailers report rising demand. Piggy Bank World.com reported a strong holiday season, according to Michael Gehi, one of the owners. Companies are also increasingly using the banks for promotions. Though my wife and I don't own a piggy bank, we have taken our loose change to Commerce Bank (now owned by TD Bank, which for years has counted people's spare change for free in a nifty computerized machine.Continue reading A bright side of the recession: Piggy bank sales are rising A bright side of the recession: Piggy bank sales are rising originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Real Estate With all the talk about the credit crunch and tough housing market, a lot of people are terrified of looking at houses because they're afraid they won't be able to get a mortgage. While it's true that credit score requirements are higher than ever -- somewhere north of 700 is helpful and subprime is a no-go -- a 20% down payment is not necessarily needed. This week The National Association of Realtors offered the following tips : An individual may be required to put down 20% based on that person's financial situation. But that is not an across-the-board requirement for all borrowers. A borrower who puts down less than 20% is required to obtain mortgage insurance. Even in a declining market, a borrower is required to make at least a 5 or 10% down payment. FHA requires a 3.5% down payment by borrowers, so long as they meet a 31% housing cost-to-income ratio. In other words, anyone who stays within their budget and who can afford a 3.5% down payment (even with family help) can become a homeowner. FHA loans are becoming increasingly popular because of their low down payment requirements. The FHA's market share in the mortgage industry has grown tenfold in the past year, with FHA loans now making up about 30% of all mortgages. It's also possible to get an FHA loan with a weaker credit score than you would need for traditional Fannie and Freddie mortgages -- although you have to wonder whether you're prepared for the responsibilities of a mortgage if you've had credit problems recently.The truth about home down payments...right now originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Transportation Flush with capital from taxpayers, GMAC is lowering its underwriting standards . The credit crunch and a shortage of cash had pushed the company's minimum FICO score for car loans up to 700. Now credit scores as low as 621 will qualify for some form of GMAC finanncing. In its press release announcing the return to less responsible lending, GMAC made it sounds like a FICO score requirement of 700 was unreasonably high: "The actions of the federal government to support GMAC are having an immediate and meaningful effect on our ability to provide credit to automotive customers." Here's the truth about a 700 FICO score: It puts your right around the middle. According to Equifax, this is an approximate breakdown of Americans' credit scores; 15% of the U.S. population is below 600 35% of the U.S. population is below 670 50% of the U.S. population is below 710 70% of the U.S. population is below 755 90% of the U.S. population is below 790 In other words, lowering required credit score below 670 would have allowed 65% of Americans to get a GMAC loan. And now the federal government provided the cash for GMAC to go 49 points lower than that! Looking at the dismal state of so many Americans' finances, I find this unconscionable. If your credit history is worse than 70% of the population, what business do you have taking out a loan to buy a new car? I know, it's your choice, but is that really something that the federal government should be subsidizing? What's going on with GMAC's car loan standards? originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Bargains , Food , Health , Fantastic Freebies It was nice to take some time off but nice to get back to the business of sharing the most fabulous freebies and deals around, too. Here are a few of my favorites from the last few days. 1) Giant Food and Stop & Shop just announced it will be offering free generic antibiotics through March 21. I also hear that select Kmart stores are now offering free antibiotics with a prescription. Perfect for ear infection season! Or, check out Publix for free antibiotics year-round. 2) Free bowling is back , baby! And this time free shoe rental is included. Through January 31 get a free game and a free pair of shoes Monday through Thursday at Lucky Strike Lanes. 3) Doing some post-holiday shopping? Use this Five Below coupon to take $5 off $5 or more. At Five Below prices you can walk away with an armload of goodies for free! 4) Get a free Air Wick Lumin'Air Flameless Candle at Wal-Mart or Kmart. Click on over for the scoop on what to do. 5) Pregnant? How about a free copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting . Hungry? Get free cereal, popcorn, coffee and more . Erin Gifford writes at Coupon Cravings , a personal finance blog dedicated to sharing the latest grocery, drugstore and retail shopping deals. Five Fabulous Finds: Antiobiotics, bowling, coupons and more...free! originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams Pardon me if I don't feel sorry for the executives who aren't getting bonuses after they required taxpayer money to keep them afloat. How heartless of me. But something in me says that wealthy CEOs who run their companies into the ground and need to pick my pocket to stay in business shouldn't be rewarded for that. Today's news is that the CEO and chairman of Citigroup aren't getting bonuses for 2008. And that's news why? Seriously. If you need to steal money from taxpayers, then you don't deserve a bonus, period. There should be no "news" that you're going without a bonus. Continue reading No bonuses for those who need taxpayer money to stay afloat! No bonuses for those who need taxpayer money to stay afloat! originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Career , Charity I've been looking for months to work for a not-for-profit group, mostly because I'm interested in the work they do and would like to find a job helping the community. A recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics points out a few other good reasons: Non-profits are experiencing rapid employment growth, and they pay a little better than other businesses. As a former newspaper editor, I can write and edit for pay, among other skills, and I'm always on the lookout for expanding industries that may need my talents. The most expanding area is in general, medical and surgical hospitals, followed by colleges, universities and professional schools. If you want to go where the money is, or at least where more jobs are, then your local not-for-profit hospital or university is a good place to start. Although for-profit businesses pay better, more jobs are being created in the not-for-profit businesses, according to the BLS report . Not-for-profit employment has increased 5% in two years between 2002 and 2004, while total private employment increased by less than 1%. Continue reading The Job Hunt: Not-for-profit jobs growing The Job Hunt: Not-for-profit jobs growing originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Wealth Author Ryan D'Agostino's proposal for his book, Rich Like Them must have sounded terrific back in 2006. He would cold-call at houses owned by obviously prosperous people and ask them to explain how they came about their fortune. Unfortunately, between the inception of his idea and the publishing of Rich Like Them, a recession intruded. D'Agostino, an editor at Esquire and widely published elsewhere, had surprising success in convincing those who answered his knock to open up about the source of their bounty. He targeted homes in the top 100 toniest zip codes across the country, and recruited a wide variety of subjects, from software magnates to fruit peddlers, investment brokers to credit card processors. The books suffers, however, from two flaws; one predictable, and one that should have been. Fault one, no fault of D'Agostino's, is that many of the subjects gained most of, if not all, their fortunes in property speculation. While investing in land and housing will no doubt eventually be once-again lucrative, in today's market such stories of success seem archaic. Continue reading Book review: Rich Like Them Book review: Rich Like Them originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Bargains , Budgets , College , Shopping , Recession With the average baseball ticket costing $25.40 , NBA ticket at $48.83 , an NFL ticket at $72.20, and NHL seats at $48.72 , it's no wonder sports fans have a difficult time making it through the turnstiles at stadiums and arenas across the country: Their wallets and purses are being picked. Some teams such as the New York Yankees are giving fans a break at a few exhibition games, and the Golden State Warriors last month offered seats for $10 for one game. But those deals are just the beginning of good things to come in 2009, predicts The New Republic , not your typical sports publication. It calls 2009 the Year of the Sports Fan. Continue reading Being a sports fan could be a lot cheaper this year Being a sports fan could be a lot cheaper this year originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Shopping , Technology In September, we told you about a cool new comparison shopping tool for T-Mobile's Android G called ShopSavvy. The application lets users check the price of an item at local stores and online by simply taking a picture of the barcode. While consumers love the ability to instantly check the price of an item from anywhere, some stores aren't as fond of this technology. Since the launch of ShopSavvy at least one customer at Target has already been told that it is against store rules to price check an item. In this particular case when the makers of ShopSavvy contacted the Target in question they were informed that there was no policy prohibiting customers from price checking an item. The manager blamed the mistake on an uninformed employee. I think the employee may have confused the shopper with an employee of a competing store who had come inside to record prices. This was something I ran into as an employee at Kmart years ago and that we did have a policy against. View Poll Continue reading Target boots customer for comparison shopping - Know your rights Target boots customer for comparison shopping - Know your rights originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Bargains , College , Extracurriculars , Home , Wealth My office is around the corner from a branch of the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Every day, I see "creatively" dressed youngsters dragging massive black portfolios to and from class. Sometimes they do photo shoots on my street, doing closeups of eggs splattered on the pavement or scantily-clad models slithering around on tinfoil. "How are they ever going to make a living when they get out of school?" I always wondered, shaking my head and clucking like a grandma. Then one night while walking to the train station, I passed by the school, which featured student artwork in the windows. Dramatic black-and-white photographs of the countryside, colorful still-life of tropical fruit, muslin ballgowns draped on mannequins. This was college students' work? To me, it was wonderful stuff that looked like it could be displayed not only in art galleries but also in my place of honor, above the fireplace mantle. That's when I decided I wanted to help those students down the street earn a living. I'll never have the budget to buy a Picasso or a Pollock, but I could be buying work from the next art-world sensation. That's why I think buying works from art schools is way better than buying them at art galleries and auctions. Not only are you giving students and alumni a mental and financial boost, you're also buying up-and-coming works that could appreciate later on if the artist gains fame. Continue reading Support the next Michelangelo: Buy work from art-school students Support the next Michelangelo: Buy work from art-school students originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Extracurriculars Word comes today that the blog The Consumerist, which plays on the same swing set as WalletPop, has been bought by the Consumers Union , publishers of Consumer Reports. I find this a curious union. Consumer Reports is, to my mind, the best source for non-biased, data-driven comparisons and recommendations for consumer goods. The degree to which it attempts to quantify the attributes of goods from washing machines to life insurance has aided immeasurably in helping consumers see through advertising hype. The Consumerist , formerly part of the Gawker empire, has, like many popular blogs, featured a blend of fact and opinion with more than a soupçon of attitude. The curiosity I see, then, is that Consumer Reports defines the pole labeled objectivity as much as The Consumerist labels the opposite pole, subjectivity. I find it hard to understand how The Consumerist, in its present incarnation, can fit within the Consumer Reports brand. And if the blog is pulled in the direction of objectivity and reliance on test results, it can't help but lose some of the snarky attitude that makes it fun to read. Also, while Consumer Reports may have thousands of dollars with which to test products before making its conclusions, bloggers are usually working for very little money, certainly too little to fund testing. Will The Consumerist be forced to abandon the 'regurgitate with attitude' model? Perhaps this marriage can work, but from where I sit, it seems like a case of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir recruiting Brittany Spears. There's a good chance somebody's going to lose their shorts. Consumer Reports and the Consumerist- a peculiar union originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that the soft economy is taking its toll on a business that had been thought to be part of the holy trinity of recession-proof vices: alcohol, tobacco and gambling. California has reported that its lottery ticket sales are down about 10% over the past few months, along with a drop of 4% in Texas. Nationally, lottery ticket sales are down a little under 2% from July through September versus the same period in 2007. Of course, many retailers would kill to have their sales down just 2% so the lottery is still outperforming. It may not be recession-proof but it certainly qualifies as recession-resistant. Continue reading Lottery sales weaken: Good! Lottery sales weaken: Good! originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments