Credit repair 101

A few gems from this article. 1 in 4 Americans have ERRORS on their credit report that can cost them a job or a loan. A 650 vs. a 750 credit score will cost over $92,000 over the life of a 30 year loan! (Of course I suppose very few people have one 30 year loan that they pay off completely in 30 years, but even so . . .)

Nine Steps to a Great Credit Score: The Automatic Millionaire

Rich Dad Poor Dad guy says silver, gold, and oil

Here's an article by Robert Klyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame) explaining the upcoming financial disaster we're facing as a nation. His safety net? Gold, silver, and oil. I know he's not the only one who says this, but why on earth are gold and silver going to be worth a lot when/if the economy has gone bust? I've got to think the only thing he's banking on is history, but let's face it, the world has changed a lot. I not really sure that gold and silver have much more intrinisic worth than dollar bills. I mean gold and silver are good for making jewelry I guess, but since when is jewelry a necessity? They're good conductors, but so is copper and it's a lot cheaper . . .

If you really want to hedge against financial disaster you probably want: 1) Tradable skill sets. If the economy goes really far south plumbers are going to be worth a lot more than CEOs. 2) Hard assets. A house that's paid for and full of the things you need to live. 3) Raw land?? Raw land is still pretty cheap by almost any standards and it can be used for hunting/fishing/living/farming. 4) A healthy lifestyle. I agree with Robert that medical care is and will continue to be out of control. The best hedge? Do your best not to get sick . . .

Investing: Assets That Are Lifeboats in a Shaky Future: Why the Rich Get Richer

The psychology of Prosper.com

Well, I've had a chance to look around the Prosper.com site a wee bit more. The psychology of all of this is going to end up being VERY interesting. (Let's face it, it probably already is.) I think if you're thinking about being a lender you almost have to be a borrower first . . kind of like buying something on eBay before you try to sell something. Some of the many factors I've observed (the impact of which I can't possibly know yet, but I've indicated my thought with + for good and - for bad) are:

1) The cute factor. Lots of pictures of kids. Lots of pictures of cute people. +
2) The sad story. +
3) The confident story. +
4) The confident story that makes no grammatical sense. -
5) The sad story that cries "I'm really a charity case." -
6) The lack of a story --
7) A credit rating that doesn't appropriately correspond with the proposed interest rate. So far these listing seem to do pretty well. ("A" credit okay with a "D" interest rate. Personally, I wouldn't lend to these people . . .there's probably a reason they're willing to pay so much . . )

Person to person lending

Wow. Just when you thought you has seen everything on the internet . . . From the founder of E*Loan.com comes prosper.com. I'm still not exactly sure how everything works, but it looks like it's basically the eBay of loans. People tell their story, desired amount, maximum interest rate, credit grade, and debt to income ratio and other people bid the amount of money (and interest rate) they're willing to give them. The idea is that the banks (and credit card companies) get by-passed completely. Hmm . . . don't know where this one is going, but it sure does have a lot of implications . . .

Prosper: The online marketplace for people-to-people lending

The Top 10 Reasons for Soaring Health-Care Costs

Here Charles Wheelan "The Naked Economist" explains why health care is so expensive and is going to get worse regardless of what patches we put in place. I do think it would be a good idea for doctors to publish their prices. Or, even better, since doctors are always complaining about how much of a pain it is to deal with insurance companies, have doctors that don't take insurance, but charge reasonable, published prices.

The Top 10 Reasons for Soaring Health-Care Costs