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Although the average is around 14 percent, I know plenty of you pay more than 20 percent interest. And next year could be even more expensive for anyone carrying credit card debt. As you better know by now, the interest you are charged on an unpaid credit card balance is tied to any movement in whatever benchmark index or rate the card issuer uses. Many credit cards use the prime rate (the lowest rate of interest at which banks lend money) as their benchmark. Since December 2008, the prime rate has been stuck at 3.25 percent. That's all about to...

A new government regulation could end up causing serious damage to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The Labor Department is finalizing a new fiduciary rule which the government claims will save the middle class billions of dollars by requiring the the firm and adviser to provide advice “in the client’s best interest.” Via the Labor Department’s website: *Commits the firm and adviser to providing advice in the client’s best interest. Committing to a best interest standard requires the adviser and the company to act with the care, skill, prudence, and diligence that a prudent person would...

Will FDIC Regulations Shut Down the Prepaid Card Industry? We have written about prepaid debit cards several times in recent months, but this week we saw the latest news that could throw a monkey wrench in the burgeoning prepaid card industry. As reported by PaymentsSource, Bancorp Inc., one of the biggest issuers of prepaid cards with $4.7 billion in assets, saw its shares drop 30 percent when the company agreed to curtail its prepaid card activity as part of a deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). A 22-page consent order mandates that Bancorp institute a number of changes...

In recent months, a slew of celebrity-endorsed prepaid cards have been introduced to the market. From Magic Johnson and Suze Orman to Russell Simmons, it seems everyone wants to offer the public a checking account and debit card rolled into one. Teen star Justin Bieber is the latest celebrity to jump on the prepaid bandwagon. But unlike most cards previously produced, his card is reportedly geared toward teenagers. With many prepaid cards catching a lot of flak from financial experts for having high fees, will his card be viewed as one that actually benefits its audience? Cited from: http://www.gobankingrates.com/checking-account/justin-bieber-fee-ridden-prepaid-debit-card-targets-teens/#ixzz2HCLCJ988

“Me? I want to publicly say thank you to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Thank you for not accepting the status quo. Thank you for not assuming there is nothing to be done. Thank you for rattling the cages. Much coverage of Occupy Wall Street has cast this as the beginning of something new. That’s only partly true. What I find so encouraging is that Occupy Wall Street’s more important message is that this marks an end point. An end to just shrugging and putting up with the inequity.

Suze Orman, who has been called a "one-woman financial advice powerhouse," took this Valentine’s Day weekend to champion gay marriage. Saying marriage is a "privilege," Orman — who is gay — points out that married couples receive myriad financial benefits, and no one should be barred from taking advantage of that. It is such a travesty that a few months ago Proposition 8 in California passed, Proposition 2 in Florida passed. What is that about, everybody? We are taking away a birthright, if you ask me, for people to get the most out of the money they have spent their...

"'Tell me what I need to know,' people often say to me. 'Here is what you need to know,' I answer." -- Suze Orman, "The Road to Wealth" How a bottle-blond former waitress and self-described "55-year-old virgin" with a taste for the good life became the financial messiah for millions of Americans might be a fun Lifetime original movie. Why the masses continue to invest their faith in Suze Orman in the wake of a financial meltdown she never saw coming is a more timely question. The answer is complicated. If you've managed to avoid Orman over the past decade,...

(CNN) -- The Federal Reserve Board announced an $85 billion plan Tuesday to bail out troubled insurance giant American International Group Inc. The federal government decided to intervene after determining a failure of the company, whose financial dealings stretch around the world, could hurt the already delicate markets and the economy. Personal finance expert Suze Orman appeared on "Larry King Live" on Tuesday to discuss what the AIG bailout means to you and how safe is your money during this economic downturn. The following is an edited version of the interview: Larry King: A few months ago, you said on...

The multimillionaire financial-advice star's investment plan may work for her -- but it wouldn’t make sense for most of her devotees. Even with the stock market doing somersaults, it was no surprise which story more people wanted to discuss in the past two weeks than any other. From the moment word of a New York Times Sunday magazine interview with Suze Orman became public information, people wanted to know what I thought. Their reason for asking was twofold: First, it's no secret that I'm not a big Orman fan. Second, they simply were stunned that, in the New York Times...

Can I ask you something? You don't use a Betamax to watch movies at home, do you? And your car isn't outfitted with an 8-track tape player, right? And I'm guessing the chances of you using a rotary phone are about as good as Ben Affleck having a hit flick these days. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if many of you under 30 are wondering what the hell I'm talking about. Yet while you wouldn't be caught dead with any sort of equipment from the Disco Era (circa late 70s, for all you youngsters), I bet you haven't thought...