But can you cash in your investment?

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

Although interest rates are close to zero, you can still earn higher returns on higher-risk interest investments. Recently, I did a column about Romspen Mortgage Investment Fund, which says at its website that it has generated consistent returns of about 10 per cent a year.

The fund invests in commercial mortgages that banks don’t generally handle. It’s open only to accredited investors and doesn’t have to issue a prospectus, as mutual funds do. There’s no market for the units, since they’re not listed on a stock exchange.

But I didn’t realize how the lack of liquidity played out in the months following the 2008 stock market crash. A financial adviser told me that his client had tried to redeem units and couldn’t ..read more

New Credit Card Changes Take Effect

Monday, March 1st, 2010

credit-card-bill-of-rightsLast year I wrote about the Credit Card Bill of Rights, and what it really meant for you.  This law went into effect last Monday, so here is a reminder about the key points of the new law and how it affects you.

Overdraft Fees. Overdraft fees can only be charged if you have positively “opted in” and accepted the option to have overdraft protection for a fee.  If your credit card company has not already contacted you, they may contact you very soon.  Declining the option will prevent you from incurring any overdraft fees in the future, but it will also cause your credit card to be denied if you reach your credit limit.

Order of Balances ..read more

Interest Rates Spike: Should You Act?

Friday, June 5th, 2009

rising-ratesInterest rates began rising a few weeks ago, but rose very sharply last week.  Interest rates on 30 year fixed mortgages have rise over 1/3 point in the past week and the national average is now 5.36% (up from 5.00%), Bankrate.com reported.  The primary reason rates have begun to rise is due to the concern over how much money the U.S. Treasury is printing.  Nevertheless, rates are on the rise, and most economic indicators suggest they will continue to rise in the coming months.  What does this mean for you?  It could be good news or bad news for you, depending on your current financial plans and goals, but here’s how you can make the best ..read more