Talk Delaware Online - Money Talk http://www.talkdelaware.com/ Talk about local business and finance here. en Thu, 23 May 2013 23:58:38 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.talkdelaware.com/images/misc/rss.png Talk Delaware Online - Money Talk http://www.talkdelaware.com/ Retirement age in US rises to 61 http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21852-Retirement-age-in-US-rises-to-61&goto=newpost Thu, 16 May 2013 20:21:32 GMT The average U.S. retirement age has climbed to 61, up from 57 two decades ago, and it’s likely to age higher, according to Gallup's Economy and Personal Finance survey.

The average non-retired American now plans to retire at 66, up from 60 in 1995, according to the Gallup survey.

“Because most of the uptick came before the 2008 recession, this shift may reflect more than just a changing economy,” Gallup’s associate editor Alyssa Brown wrote in her report on the study. “It may also indicate changing norms about the value of work, the composition of the workforce, the decrease in jobs with mandatory retirement ages, and other factors.”

The trend to retire older started in the 1990s, said Richard Johnson, the director of Urban Institute’s Program on Retirement Policy.

“I think this trend is one of the most important changes we’ve seen in the labor force in the last quarter of a century,” Johnson said. “I think it’s a really positive development. A lot of people are working longer because they want to work longer. The incentives to work longer have increased.” read more
 ]]> Money Talk Mark http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21852-Retirement-age-in-US-rises-to-61 Free course on how to avoid Probate http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21850-Free-course-on-how-to-avoid-Probate&goto=newpost Thu, 16 May 2013 05:55:59 GMT A free class is being offered to the public from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Monday, May 20, at the Rehoboth Beach Public Library, 226 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth... A free class is being offered to the public from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Monday, May 20, at the Rehoboth Beach Public Library, 226 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach.

The class covers avoiding probate, how to make the transition of property occur seamlessly at the time of death, without opening an estate. The sponsor, Delaware Money School, provides two experienced and qualified instructors, who break down a complex subject to understandable layman’s terms.

This class focuses only on steps the lay person can take so assets transfer at death to the intended beneficiaries by operation of law, immediately and automatically. This class teaches how to prepare an estate in such a manner that the entire probate process can be avoided and the will never comes into play.

The Delaware Money School is the signature program of the nonprofit Delaware Financial Literacy Institute. It offers more than 600 free, no-hassle personal finance classes a year, throughout the state, taught by volunteers from the nonprofit and corporate sectors.

For more information and to register for the class, go to DE Financial Literacy Institute - Course Schedule.
http://capegazette.villagesoup.com/p...5#.UZRz2qLUkl9 ]]> Money Talk longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21850-Free-course-on-how-to-avoid-Probate Powerball jackpot swells to $350M, third-largest prize ever http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21838-Powerball-jackpot-swells-to-350M-third-largest-prize-ever&goto=newpost Tue, 14 May 2013 05:13:50 GMT Feelin’ lucky? The Powerball lottery jackpot has swelled to $350 million after no tickets matched the winning numbers selected during Saturday’s... Feelin’ lucky?
The Powerball lottery jackpot has swelled to $350 million after no tickets matched the winning numbers selected during Saturday’s drawing, making it the third-largest Powerball prize of all-time. Saturday’s winning numbers were 6-13-19-23-43 with 16 as the Powerball.
The jackpot for Saturday’s drawing reached $270 million with a cash value of $175.8 million if taken as a lump sum, lottery officials said. It now stands at $350 million, or a $222.8 million cash value payment if taken immediately instead of a 29-year annuity.
Tickets for each game cost $2 and there’s a 1 in 175.2 million chance that any ticket will win the grand prize. The overall odds of winning any prize, including $4 for selecting only the Powerball, are 1 in 31.85, Powerball officials say.
A $50 million jackpot was awarded to one lucky player on March 30, but the last major Powerball winner was Pedro Quezada, a 44-year-old New Jersey man who won $338 million on March 23. It marked the fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history.
Quezada, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, told reporters in Spanish at the time that he was "very happy" and intended to help his family.
His wife, Ines Sanchez, told The Record in Bergen County that Quezada called her with the news two days after the life-changing drawing.
"I still can't believe it," she told the newspaper. "We never expected it, but thank God."
Prior to Quezada’s winning, no one had won the Powerball jackpot since early February, when Dave Honeywell in Virginia bought the winning ticket and elected a cash lump sum for a $217 million jackpot.
The largest Powerball jackpot of all time happened in November, when a $587.5 million prize was split by one couple in Missouri and another man in Arizona. Nebraska, meanwhile, still holds the record for the largest Powerball jackpot won on a single ticket — $365 million — by eight workers at a Lincoln meatpacking plant in February 2006.
Powerball is played in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday night at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time in Florida. Five white balls are drawn from a drum of 59 before one red ball — the Powerball — is selected from a drum of 35 balls.




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/13...#ixzz2TEzpnMvo ]]> Money Talk longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21838-Powerball-jackpot-swells-to-350M-third-largest-prize-ever Motorists paying more when fueling up http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21832-Motorists-paying-more-when-fueling-up&goto=newpost Mon, 13 May 2013 12:36:53 GMT After seeing a few months of price declines area motorists are digging deeper when fueling up. According to Triple A Mid Atlantic rising crude oil... After seeing a few months of price declines area motorists are digging deeper when fueling up.

According to Triple A Mid Atlantic rising crude oil costs are a big factor in the five cent a gallon statewide increase seen last week.

Auto club spokesperson Jana Tidwell says summer gas prices are expected to be lower this year than in 2012.

The statewide average for a gallon of unleaded regular was $3.45 at week's end. source
 ]]> Money Talk Mark http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21832-Motorists-paying-more-when-fueling-up Feds get closer look at fake mobile bill charges http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21807-Feds-get-closer-look-at-fake-mobile-bill-charges&goto=newpost Thu, 09 May 2013 05:39:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When a mysterious, unauthorized fee appears on your cellphone bill, it's called "cramming" and consumer advocates and regulators worry it's emerging as a significant problem as people increasingly ditch their landlines for wireless phones.
The cramming fee is bogus and usually small, under $10 a month. It might be listed on your bill as a "premium service" or other generic-sounding charge. Cramming had long been a problem with traditional landline phones, but after pressure from lawmakers, regulators and others, some of the largest landline carriers last year said they would no longer allow third-party billing — where an outside company offers and then charges the landline customer for services like third-party email, faxing, and voicemail.
Now, the focus of concern is shifting to wireless phones and cramming.
"As people continue to use mobile phones as a payment option, this problem is likely to grow," says Malini Mithal, an assistant director in the financial practices division at the Federal Trade Commission. "It's just a new opportunity for fraudsters."
The commission held a daylong conference on the issue Wednesday with consumer advocates, wireless carrier representatives, and state and federal officials. The meeting came just weeks after the FTC lodged its first mobile cramming case, accusing a Georgia-based company, Wise Media, of bilking consumers out of millions of dollars for text messages with horoscopes, flirting tips and other information.
According to the agency, consumers across the country were signed up randomly for text services from Wise Media and charged $9.99 a month on their mobile bills, without their knowledge or permission. The text messages suggested people had subscribed to the service, but many consumers dismissed the texts as spam. People who responded and said they didn't want the service were charged anyway, the agency said.
http://www.mediacomtoday.com/news/re...mobile_bill-ap


 ]]> Money Talk longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21807-Feds-get-closer-look-at-fake-mobile-bill-charges Senate Passes Internet Sales Tax Bill http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21787-Senate-Passes-Internet-Sales-Tax-Bill&goto=newpost Tue, 07 May 2013 12:46:38 GMT Internet Sales Tax Bill Faces Tough Sell in HouseTraditional retailers and cash-strapped states face a tough sell in the House as they lobby Congress... Internet Sales Tax Bill Faces Tough Sell in House

Traditional retailers and cash-strapped states face a tough sell in the House as they lobby Congress to limit tax-free shopping on the Internet.

The Senate voted 69 to 27 Monday to pass a bill that empowers states to collect sales taxes from Internet purchases. Under the bill, states could require out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes when they sell products over the Internet, in catalogs, and through radio and TV ads. The sales taxes would be sent to the states where a shopper lives.

Current law says states can only require retailers to collect sales taxes if the merchant has a physical presence in the state.

That means big retailers with stores all over the country like Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Target collect sales taxes when they sell goods over the Internet. But online retailers like eBay and Amazon don't have to collect sales taxes, except in states where they have offices or distribution centers.

"This bill is about fairness," said Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., the bill's main sponsor in the Senate. "It's about leveling the playing field between the brick and mortar and online companies and it's about collecting a tax that's already due. It's not about raising taxes."

The bill got bipartisan support in the Senate but faces opposition in the House, where some lawmakers regard it as a tax increase. Grover Norquist, the anti-tax advocate, and the conservative Heritage Foundation oppose the bill, and many Republicans have been wary of crossing them. read more
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I can see both sides of this debate. While I would rather not have to pay tax on items I buy when buying over the internet, there are more and more consumers buying products online. States are losing out on that tax revenue. This is a way to regain that loss. ]]> Money Talk Mark http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21787-Senate-Passes-Internet-Sales-Tax-Bill Deficit Surprise: US Pays Down National Debt http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21730-Deficit-Surprise-US-Pays-Down-National-Debt&goto=newpost Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:53:12 GMT For the first time since 2007 – before the recession – the US Treasury is planning to make a down payment on the federal debt. The budget deficit has... For the first time since 2007 – before the recession – the US Treasury is planning to make a down payment on the federal debt. The budget deficit has been shrinking more than expected. Thanks to government spending cuts, and higher tax receipts The Treasury says it expects to pay off $35 billion of debt in the second quarter. That compares to an earlier forecast that it would have to borrow $103 billion. Usually this time of year is the best for government cash flow because annual tax returns flood into the Treasury in April. But the return to at least one quarter of debt paydown is a clear sign government spending cuts and tax increases have helped lower the deficit.
source ]]> Money Talk Mark http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21730-Deficit-Surprise-US-Pays-Down-National-Debt