You really shouldn’t rush out and take on debt, but there are times when it actually makes sense not to pay it off. All debt is not alike. Some of the worst kinds, such as unsecured credit card debt, can wreck your budget, but even there, you have cases where it won’t, and it could even work to your advantage. Other kinds of debt might seem imposing with those big red “Past Due” stamps but pose less of a threat to your financial future.
Piper Jaffray got this when he last surveyed teenagers to learn how they spend money.
Nobody ever said it was easy being a teenager but, this make it look fun. Clothes (including shoes), electronics, movies, music, video games, concerts, accessories, food: That is the life. And together, it makes up about 70 percent of the teen budget.
When a bridge falls in America, like this one near Seattle last week, infrastructure spending has a way of transforming into a national obsession. Fortunately, falling bridges in America are still a rarity. But, infrastructure spending is being squeezed at the very moment that infrastructure spending is a historic bargain for the federal government.
A breakdown of our biggest losses as we approach health-care system reform.
The United States spends eight times as much money on unnecessary health-care costs, every year, as the Pentagon spent for each year of its operations in Iraq.
Almost half of American workers report that they usually or always live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet. But finances of many workers are improving from just a year ago. (Infographic)
The United States is home to 6,624 state parks and has an annual attendance of over 700 million. Yet state parks are being threatened by budget cuts and economic downturn. Here’s a list of all state parks set to get the axe. Does your favorite make the cut?
It is worth noting that designating a single piece of land–especially one rich with resources–was quite radical for the early 1900s. Before the United States introduced its federal- and state-level park system, the concept was far from common. Thanks to Republican Teddy Roosevelt, the U.S. now has 41,725 miles of trail, 207,063 campsites, and 7,161 cabins and lodges across the state park system.
In fact, President Roosevelt couldn’t have said it better when he said “I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the nature resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us.”
While many states are confronting severe budget shortfalls and dragging economies, North Dakota has a different sort of problem. It’s stuck deciding how best to deal with a budget surplus. Yes, a surplus. North Dakota’s balance sheet is so strong it recently reduced individual income taxes and property taxes by a combined $400 million, and is debating further cuts.
