As the end of December comes around and the beginning of January nears, people in general start re-evaluating their budget.  A popular new years resolution is “saving money”.  So if this is a common goal why is it so hard to accomplish?

Due to the economic recession many households are making less then before, making it hard to bank extra money.  We also live in a society that thrives on promoting or advertising what you must have!  The line between need and want often become crossed and we end up overspending for the month.

So how can we save?  The answer lies in each one of us.   We don’t have to strive for the moon – to overshoot and miss all together.  If we take baby steps we can be successful, and if one month you fall down, don’t let it stop you!  Get up and start over again.  Here are a few money saving tips that can help you get started:

1. Set up a separate savings account and actually use it to save money.
2. Split your direct deposit so that $25.00 out of each paycheck goes into your savings account.  (out of sight out of mind)
3. Save any change that you receive after making a cash purchase. (you will be surprised how fast this adds up)
4. Plan a monthly budget, start with you needs first i.e. Rent/mortgage, electricity, car payments etc. and then budget in an allotted dollar amount for wants and stick to it.
5. Write out your grocery list before you go shopping and only get what is on the list

If you start implementing even a couple of these suggestion you will be surprised by what you can save!

Happy Savings!

The downturn of the economy has left many people with high credit card balances and not many options. Payday loans have been and will continue to be a great source of necessary and quickly needed funds for a large number of consumers however don’t always offer the larger amount loans or longer payment terms that personal loans once offered. Prior to the economy taking a downward turn and home-equity loans becoming the popular choice personal loans were the main option for many people.

Recently, as the demand to borrow money has become necessary for many, personal loans have been in demand and the supply is starting to make a comeback. Personal loans, can offer the longer terms and higher borrowing amounts than payday is typically able to and offers a much better option and interest rate than credit cards do.

Recently, according to CBS MoneyWatch, banks including Wells Fargo, Discover Financial, Citi and CapitalOne are all currently offering personal loans.

Wells Fargo – loaning $3,000 – $10,000 for lengths as long as five years
Citi – $300 – $7.500
Discover Financial – lending up to $25,000

Many of us wonder at what point will the economy start heading in a positive direction again? One big indicator of this will be with the housing market. Unfortunately, reports are showing that this summer there was actually an increase in the number of homes that went up for sale. This is not a good sign when the potential number of home buyers went down. NPR is reporting there are 4 million homes up for sale right now and an additional 600,000 or so homes that the banks have not put on the market yet to sell. This is astounding, but why are there so many homes just “sitting” there and not being put on the market to sell by the banks?
It seems that banks have a few reasons that they would be holding off on flooding the housing market with additional homes for sale. One reason is that banks are just having a hard time keeping up with all the foreclosures they are having to process AND they don’t want to inundate the housing market with all these homes for sales, which will in turn create lower sale prices. Supply and demand will create even more drops in the sale prices these homes are going for. This is not something the banks want to experience. So I guess the bottom line is, if you have not recently taken advantage the homes that are out there for sale at a reduced price, now might be a good time because there might be even more homes being put on the market to sell. When will this end????

In this economy consumers are being more conscientious of their spending habits.
Coupon sites are becoming more and more popular. Living in Los Angeles I know of four that I check regularly, Groupon being one of them. Groupon launched in November of 2008 and features daily deals for over 85 US cities. Most deals are at least 50% off, ranging from restaurants to clothing stores to different outdoor/indoor activities.

Here are some interesting facts about Groupon and their customers.

- Groupon has 9.1 million members
- They have sold over 8.9 million coupons
- 97% of the businesses that participate ask to be featured again
- 68% are between 18-34 years old
- 50% have a bachelor’s degree
- 49% are single
- 77% are women
- 75% have fill-time jobs
- 29% annual income is over $100,000

How many of you have used Groupon? What are your thoughts on coupon sites?

Numbers released this morning show China surpassing Japan as the second largest economy. China’s weighed in at $1.33 trillion in Q2 with Japan slightly lower at $1.28 trillion, a .0.4 percent growth. If China’s growth remains steady, they are reported to surpass the United States as early as 2030.

While China has roughly the same land mass as the United States, it also makes up a fifth of the worlds population. But China’s medium annual income is a mere $3,600, compared to the United States whose is $46,000.

With China’s huge appetite for oil, coal, iron and other natural resources, it will be interesting in the coming years to see China flourish as a major driver of global growth.

With the struggling economy, many people are facing unemployment and hard times. Gen Y, known to be possibly one of the better educated generations is struggling to float, many not having enough experience to obtain or hold jobs in the state of the economy. Moving back in with their parents or family being the best option for many having challenges financially while fighting to get careers launched.

According to msnbc.com , “the Millennials” defined as those born in the 1980-90’s are the first generation of American work forces since World War II who have cloudier prospects than the generations that preceded them. Currently unemployment is at the highest it has been in decades for 18-29 year olds.

The average student debt as stated by College Board is $23,000 – facing these large debt amounts and the high unemployment rate among young Millennials can affect them financially and psychologically.

The sales of four main brands of General Motors vehicles are up 24.6%. Cadillac is leading the pack with sales up 142% since August of 2008. Models like the Escalade, CTS, and DTS are just some to name a few. Buick is close behind raising their sales 137%. Chevrolet is performing well also, mainly selling their lines of trucks such as the Silverado.

Overall sales for General Motors are up 5.4%. Vice President of sales Don Johnson attributes this to the current economy,

“…those people who have put off replacing their worn-out vehicles are now slowly starting to come back into the market”.

Now that people are finally beginning to feel  more comfortable in making auto purchases, this could be a trend we continue to see with other major auto companies as well. Leadpile is currently working with auto finance, and the strong demand proves this to be valid!

Can it be true? Is the cost of sending a letter going to be raised again? Investing now in the “Forever Stamps” may be a smart move to make in the near future. The postal service which has thrown around many ideas such as limiting mail delivery to 5 days a week, has announced that it would like to raise the cost of a first-class stamp 2 cents, from .44 to .46 cents starting in January 2011. Consumers who purchase the Forever Stamps at .44 will continue to be able to use these stamps for the full cost of postage even after the change.

With the changing time, economy, email, and so many things being taken care of over the internet the postal service has seen a steady decline in profits facing a potential $7 billion dollar loss in 2010.

Could pickup truck sales predict economic recovery? Americans bought 151,000 pickup trucks last month, up 19% from more than a year ago. Many of these truck purchases are accredited to construction businesses. Now that more and more people feel the economy is beginning to turn they are more confident in replacing their old water heater or landscaping their backyard. Many weekend haulers also gravitate towards trucks even though cars get better gas mileage.

In 2009 automakers sold 1.1 million trucks, the lowest level in 18 years. Americans bought 11% more then they did in the first 5 months of this year and this pace seems to continue to accelerate. Hopefully these numbers continue to grow as consumers feel more confident in their larger purchases.

Leadpile specializes in Lead Generation for Auto Financing and Home Construction, contact Leadpile today to start earning commissions!

California is seeing an increase in home remodeling projects, something this economy hasn’t seen since 2007. Home owners are feeling more confident about the economy and 62% of homeowners surveyed indicated they plan to spend an average of $6,200 on enhancements. California saw consumer spending decrease 27% in 2007, but 2010 shows an estimated 5% growth. This could potentially be the first year of growth for this sector since 2006.

Home Depot and Lowe’s are projecting an average 2% same-store sales growth for 2010, a great sign of an economic recovery. Contractors are experiencing an increase of inbound calls for new jobs.  While it’s still nowhere near it use to be, business is picking up.

In anticipation of the rebound of the Home Services sector, Leadpile is launching it’s new home improvement website.  Watch for the website to be available in the coming weeks where you can find a certified contractor near you.

A group of 50 colleges (and this number is growing) are pledging to do fund student financial needs through grants and work-study programs rather than with loans. Limiting loans with the “Project on Student Debt” will help in the efforts of reducing graduates debt amounts leaving them in large financial debt when leaving school.

With the economy in poor standing, this affected all schools – particularly private schools, resulting in tuition hikes and budget hikes.

With student aid, few students will pay the full tuition price for example. Financial aid is defined as the total cost of attendance (tuition, books, room & board) minus a family’s expected contribution. Public colleges threshold for receiving need-based aid is typically $60,000 or less.

For example according to money.cnn.com:

Full estimated tuition price at Harvard per year is $50,000. A family with an income of $120,000 can expect to pay after Harvard’s financial aid $16,000 per year. This same family would pay an estimated $15,800 at Yale and $34,000 at Stanford after receiving financial aid help.

The financial commitment to attend college may be intimidating. Researching your options for financial aid in addition to merit-based scholarships and grants can be a great way to lessen the financial burden. A complete list of schools participating with the “no loan” financial aid packages can be found here: www.ProjectOnStudentDebt.org .

LeadPile is adding Online Education to our list of lead types and will soon be generating leads!

The current economy has brought many changes to personal, business and government financial standings and now is showing effects on Social Security payouts as well. This year Social Security will have a flip in it’s financial balances, as it will begin paying out more in benefits than receiving in payroll taxes.
With the poor economic status many jobs have disappeared having 2 large effects on Social Security taxes collected. With jobs disappearing, many people applied for the benefits sooner than they had planned, as well as without as many people currently employed there are less paychecks to tax.
With the US debt rising and less taxes being collected due to unemployment it raises concern. By law, Social Security cannot pay out more than it’s balance in any year given. The often referred to “trust fund” that Social Security has serves as a way to track pay-as-you-go revenue and outlays over time, the “balance” is actually a history of its vast cash flows (a total of all past revenue minus outlays). In a year such as this, the “paper gains” from the interest earned on the securities will more than cover the difference between what it takes in and pays out.
Projections show the effects of the recession easing in the next few years with possible small surpluses reappearing in 2014 and 2015. In the following years as the baby boomers leave the work force, and start collecting rather than contributing, outlays will exceed revenue every year regardless of the economic status.

Solutions to this problem are few including raising taxes, lowering benefits, or pulling funds for general revenue.

LeadPile hopes to see bigger and better things with the economy in the future months coming!