Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.
Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.
As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.
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| Personal Finance Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008
Costly Upgrade
So, we abandoned VHS tapes for DVDs and now Hollywood wants to move us from DVDs to Blu-ray. To enjoy Blu-ray, you need a high-definition television set, the Blu-ray player and the discs of course, all of which can add up to a big investment. Movie studios and retailers were hoping that Blu-ray technology would quickly catch on. But the downturn in the economy and declining consumer spending has dampened the demand to upgrade. To that I say, hallelujah. I'm typically the last among my friends, family and neighbors to upgrade to new technology. When cable was introduced, I was the last hold-out in my condo building. I finally gave in when my boyfriend-turned-husband vowed not to marry me unless I got cable (Okay, just kidding but there was a threat of fewer kisses and that fine man can kiss.) But this time I'm going kicking and screaming, I tell you. I still use my VCR and VHS videotapes. And I've purchased too many DVDs to even consider another expensive machine. Because like potato chips, once you get one you have to have more. You get one for the family room or downstairs and then you want one for the bedroom and so on. What do you think? Are you ready to give up your DVD player and library for this new technology? Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com and put "Blu-ray v. DVD" in the subject line. Searching for Hulu.com Fans! Washington Post tech reporter Mike Musgrove is looking for readers who have cancelled their cable (or satellite TV) subscriptions in order to save money now that Web sites such as Hulu.com are making it possible to watch movies and TV shows in their entirety for free. Do you fit this description? If so, please drop Mike a line at musgrovem@washpost.com. And hey, let me know too! Traveling on the Cheap This past week the national average for gas was $2.26 a gallon, which has me wondering why plane tickets are still so expensive. Obviously, I'm not the only one. You would think with gas prices finally coming down that airlines would give us a break, right? Not happening folks. As aviation reporter Sholnn Freeman recently reported, airlines said they needed to add on special surcharges to tickets as a way of pay for rising oil prices. But few airlines have lifted the surcharges or any other fees reports Freeman. To make matters worse, most consumers can't identify the surcharges. Some airlines add it in with taxes and other charges. Before you book that flight home for the holidays, take a look at Airfare Surcharges Stay Despite Oil Price Drop (Oct. 31). However, here's some good news for families planning air travel. The Transportation Security Administration says that all airports will have security lanes designated for families by November 20th. Now, you and your kids can move at your own pace through security inspection. I love this idea. I have three rugrats and getting through the security lines with people huffing and puffing because your kid is taking too long is very annoying, especially when you agree with the huffy person. Also, check out our travel section. It has the week's best deals by air, land and sea. Coupons Make A Comeback What if you could save $400 a month in grocery bills? Talia Holston did. The District resident used to purchase $150 worth of groceries for her family every week. Now, she spends $200 a month. How does she do it? Holston scours the Internet for coupons and she's not the only one. Experts say after years of decline, both online and paper coupons are making a comeback. In this bad economy, consumers are more apt to redeem coupons and retailers are more likely to distribute them. "Eager to lure customers into stores, many merchants are not only offering more coupons, but they're also experimenting with creative ways to deliver them, such as text-messaging them to cellphones" says personal finance reporter Nancy Trejos. One online coupon source is TheGroceryGame.com. Get more tips on how to cash in on savings from Snipping, Clipping, Scrimping (Oct. 26). Bailout Expansion I know we're in a financial mess, but let's not lose our minds. Unfortunately, that seems to be just what Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. is doing. According to Post reporter Howard Schneider, instead of buying toxic assets, Paulson wants to use the $700 billion bailout package to give financial aid to credit card companies. Oh, and he also wants to use the taxpayer funds to support car and student loan companies. I understand helping the auto industry and students. The auto industry employs a lot of workers and their continued employment is key to the economy. Getting a degree does help lift your income -- although for years I've been begging people to pull back on the amount of student loan debt they pile on to get their degrees. But come on, bailing out credit card companies so people can still charge on their MasterCard and Visa? That's outrageous. Is it me or did Paulson and others beg for this money so they could buy up "bad assets?" This bailout is turning out to be the biggest shell game ever. See Paulson's speech here. After you read Schneider's report, tell me what you think. Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Please put "Bailout Shell Game" in the subject line. Some Homeowners Get Help, Others Get Hosed Honestly, this bailout should help the people who need it the most: at-risk homeowners. But foreclosures are still on the rise. Now homeowner associations are feeling the financial pinch. Real estate columnist Elizabeth Razzi reports that HOAs are dealing with a loss of fees as a result of foreclosures and short sales. One general manager of a homeowners association representing 7,700 homes in foreclosure-plagued Prince William County in Virginia said the HOA has had to create new fees and increased some existing fees to try to make up for budget shortfalls, reports Razzi. Check out Foreclosures Pick Pockets of Homeowners Associations (Nov. 9). At least Citigroup is trying to help cash strapped homeowners. The company plans to modify the mortgages of 500,000 at-risk borrowers "in regions facing rising unemployment rates and steep declines in home values" report Renae Merle and David Cho. Citigroup will revise the mortgages of homeowners who are more than 90 days late by lowering their interest rates and extending the terms of their loans. Read about it in Citigroup Plans to Ease Mortgage Terms for At-Risk Borrowers (Nov. 11). You Asked This week, all of the questions I'm answering from my last online discussion have to do with which debts to pay down first. Of course there are various viewpoints on how to do this, but based on my experience helping many people get out of debt, I've found that concentrating on the smallest debts first is best. Why? Because doing it my way can give you a psychological boost. Strictly by the math, it may make more sense to first pay down the debt with the highest interest rate. But as many of you know, money matters are often about your mindset. If you could get out of debt easily by just using the right math, then we wouldn't have so many people in debt. When you pay down debt quickly it gives you a sense of accomplishment, an immediate rush. That rush snowballs and before you know it you're attacking the rest of your debt like a mama bear going after someone messing with her cubs. I want to explain my debt-reduction philosophy so you will understand where I'm coming from in my answers to the following questions from my last chat: Q: I'm a huge fan of your chats. We recently refinanced our home mortgage for a lower interest rate and to get rid of a home equity line of credit. I'm confident we made the right decision. Now I'm psyched about consolidating our other debt. We owe $2,700 on a credit card with 0 percent interest until June 2009, and a new car payment, for which we owe a total of about $23,000 at 5 percent interest. My plan was to start paying down the car, pay off the credit card next May and cancel the card before I start owing any interest on it, and then continue paying down the car early. For what it's worth, I can pay off the 0% credit card today. That's not an issue. But I like the idea of getting ahead on the car payments that do carry interest. Your thoughts? A: I would immediately pay off the $2,700 in credit card debt. That zero percent interest isn't guaranteed, even if it was promised. That's because the credit card company reserves the right to change the terms and many do. But let's say you can keep that zero percent interest rate. Makes no difference to me. I like the security of owing as little as possible. So get rid of the credit card debt and apply the payments you would have made to that debt to the car loan. This follows my debt-reduction plan of paying off the debt with the smallest balance first. I promise you -- based on the successes of many people I've helped -- that you will feel better having gotten rid of at least one of the two debts you have apart from your mortgage. Q: I have two student loans, one federal at $28,000 at a rate of 4 percent and one through my school for $4,000 at 6 percent. Is it better to pay off the smaller loan first or just put all my extra money towards the larger loan? A: Yes, it's better to pay off the smaller loan first. And in this case, you would also be attacking the debt with the higher interest rate, although as I said in my introduction, the interest rate wouldn't matter to me. It's just an extra bonus. Q: My only debt is house payments and student loans from law school. However, because I work in public interest, my school pays all of my student loans each month. In this case, does it make sense for me to also add my money to pay down the loans even more each month? I always thought no, because as long as I stay in public interest, those loans will be paid in full by my school (I'm five years into a 10-year repayment program). A: For right now I wouldn't make extra payments since it's possible you may stay in the job until the loan is paid off. You've got a great benefit so keep using it. However, I would put the money you would use to pay down the student loan into the highest-yielding federally insured savings account you can find. That way if you do leave this job, you'll still have the money to pay down the debt early. If you end up staying and the debt is paid off, well then you have a nice little stash of cash. Q: I am a 23-year-old graduate student working part-time (as a Software Engineer). By the time I complete my graduate education, I will have accrued about $22,000 in (subsidized) student loans. I have very little debt in credit cards (less than $300), which is always paid off every month. Aside from this, I have no other debt. I have been contributing to my 401(k) (4 percent of salary matched by company). In addition, I have an emergency fund that will cover my expenses for about six months and have about another grand in savings which I'm building up. By age 30, I want to invest in my own home. I graduate in May 2010. With prices coming down in the Boston area considerably, it is definitely a good time to invest. Should I start paying down my student loans (average rate will be at about 6 percent) after the grace period? Or should I start a fund for a down payment for a house (including house emergency fund and closing costs) and only pay the minimum on my student loans? A: You should pay off the student loans before you begin saving for a house. Get rid of that bondage so that when you do become a homeowner you enter your new home free of any other debt. You are welcome to e-mail comments and questions to singletarym@washpost.com. Please include your name and hometown; your comments may be used in a future column or newsletter unless otherwise requested. Charity Brown contributed to this e-letter. -Michelle Singletary The Unemployed Could Use a Hand, Too No longer is unemployment somebody else's problem. Chances are you know someone who has lost a job recently. Or you know somebody who knows somebody who has become unemployed through no fault of their own. The Change That Hasn't Come For large pockets of America's population, prosperity is still an American dream deferred. Obama will confront the enormous challenge of leading the country out of what is surely a recession. But the road out should be shared by all. Financial Planners Largely Keeping Faith in Stocks Ooops. Alan Greenspan has just discovered that, when the odor of money is floating on the air, you can't expect the multimillion-dollar-bonus crowd to "just say no." It was a flaw in his thinking, Greenspan concedes, in apparent shock. On the Brink of Losing the House -- and the Down Payment Rosa Chavez and her husband scrounged together $164,000 for a down payment of more than 20 percent on their four-bedroom Colonial in Fort Washington. Can He Do It? Now comes the reality. During the long election campaign, Sen. Barack Obama promised many things to many taxpayers, investors and homeowners. When he first announced some of his proposals, the economy and the federal budget looked vastly different. But now the bad news has multiplied.
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