There are several different schools of thought about what order that you should employ when paying off debt. Some say to attack the high interest debt first. Others say that you should get rid of the smallest debt first. Depending on your style of personal finances, and what motivates, either of these methods can work for you. But there is another method for deciding what to pay off first that I read about at Poorer Than You: How annoying the debt is.
Debt annoyance theory
This theory of paying off debt has you look at what debts are bothering you the most. …read more

When you are looking for financing for your business, you need good business credit. Having business credit that is separate from personal credit is a good idea, since it can protect your personal finances from business failure, and it can help you establish your business as its own credit-worthy entity. Here are some business credit considerations:

Multiple accounts: With personal credit, multiple accounts, even if they are in good standing, can be detrimental. Business credit is different, though. Multiple active business credit accounts in good standing boost your business credit score.
Payment timeliness: One of the biggest factors in your business credit …read more

Ladies and gents, I have written for b5media for about 17 months now and today, my investing blog will come to an end.
It has been a fun, interesting and educational tenure. The funniest moment would have to be receiving my first (and only) piece of what I call blog hate mail, which labeled me an “ignorant baby boomer.” Priceless.
The interesting and educational pieces came daily through research, comments and exchanges with readers.
Even though my b5media blog is coming to an end, I am still keeping busy and if you would like to keep up with me, here are a couple of tips:
Twitter – @tisasilver …read more

I am a huge proponent of investing in what you believe in (It’s Chapter 13 in my book!). I’ve heard plenty about faith-based initiatives, but not so much about faith-based investing.
According to TheStreet.com, over the past few years, the strategy has not only been quite profitable, but it has outperformed major benchmarks.
There are approximately 100 faith-based mutual funds which hold a total of $31 billion in assets.
Similar to other socially responsible investing tools, these funds are more widely known for what they will not invest in, as opposed to what they will invest in.
Companies to avoid include alcohol, tobacco, gambling and adult …read more

We see offers all the time for free services and products. But before you sign up, it is important to be aware of the strings that might be attached. For example, free credit report and free credit score web sites often let you see your information for free, but you have to sign up for some sort of trial membership or monthly service. (For a free credit score, go to Credit Karma, and for a free credit report, go to annualcreditreport.com.) This happened with AT&T as well. After looking at an offer for free ringtones, many consumers were shocked to …read more

Consumer confidence has taken a hit for the second month in a row. This is not particularly good news on the corporate finance front. With consumers not terribly confident about the economy, it means that they are less likely to spend money. This means that the cash flow into many companies is likely to remain low.
The consumer confidence data is also having an effect on how companies view the possibility of a rebound in spending for the holidays. Many businesses have been hoping that holiday shopping would help get things going. However, with consumers still wary about economic recovery, it …read more

China’s leading search engine, Baidu (BIDU) posted a 41 percent increase in earnings and a 39 percent increase in revenues for the recently completed third quarter. Shares of Baidu lost 13 percent of their value in after-hours trading.
What went wrong?
According to Reuters, the company’s outlook took a turn for the worse, execs are predicting Q4 revenues will come in well below the Street’s expectations.
The company blamed the decrease in revenue on its transition to new advertising technology.
Up until today, 2009 had been a banner year for shares of Baidu. The stock had more than doubled in six months. BIDU broke the $400 per share …read more

One of the unintended consequences of the Credit CARD Act passed in May was that credit card issuers have been rushing to tinker with terms before the February deadline. Consumers are getting the shaft on this as credit card issuers take this chance to jack up interest rates and add fees just because they can. At this point, across the board increases to fees and rates has almost nothing to do with an account-holder’s reliability, risk factor or credit score.
While one might argue that this was a fairly obvious consequence, the fact remains that Congress gave credit card issuers plenty …read more

Financial stocks can’t seem to hold onto gains made earlier. Indeed, today, the stock market opened higher. However, early gains have been erased as concerns about the health of financial companies continue to loom large. Right now, these financial companies rely a great deal on a housing market recovery. While the first time home buyer tax credit was a major player in the housing market recovery, confidence in financial companies was higher.
However, now that it appears that things are snagging with regard to an extension of the first time home buyer tax credit, there are concerns about the cash flow …read more

According to the Associated Press, over 80 percent of companies that reported third quarter earnings in October 2009 beat Wall Street’s expectations.
Is business booming or what?
I’m leaning to the “or what” side.
Things are definitely better than they were around this time last year, but the number of companies beating the street’s estimates is uncanny. Makes you wonder how the expectations are formed.
Ultimately, they are generated from within the company and companies know that investors don’t like to be disappointed. 
Earnings surprises, good and bad, often offer a bounce or bust, but if you invest on news of such surprises and the market has overreacted you could be …read more