With the employment rate still fairly high and the economy showing little evidence of recovery, Americans are still eager for ways to stay afloat financially. Here’s a look at two different options and how they might work for your lifestyle.
Renting a Room for Extra Income
Whether you’re trying to stave off foreclosure or just hoping to [...]

Newsweek.com published an article this week that takes a fascinating look at the economics of layoffs—and shows them to be ineffective at saving money in the long term.
Here’s a look at some of the findings the article reports.

Layoffs don’t increase stock prices. One myth the article addresses is that laying off employees can benefit a [...]

A recent article from Business Week examines the current and likely future American workforce—and paints a picture that suggests many of us may have to re-think the way we view our finances.
Recession Trends Might Continue
Since the current recession began, companies have cut costs by altering the composition of their workforces. Common changes include:

Eliminating contract or [...]

The U.S. Department of Commerce released data this week on personal income for November, and the numbers look modestly positive, with a 0.4 percent increase in personal income last month. Further, the numbers show that:

Real disposable personal income rose 0.2 percent
Wages and salaries increased by $16.1 billion
Real personal consumption expenditures rose 0.2 percent
The saving rate [...]

Across the country, one symptom of the recession is the high rate of bankruptcy filings.
A recent report indicates that the national bankruptcy rate rose 33 percent in the third quarter of 2009, as compared to the same time period last year.
This spike in rates represents the highest rate of bankruptcy filings since 2005.
A CNN Money [...]

More Americans went shopping over Thanksgiving weekend than last year, but managed to shop more responsibly and spend less, according to an analysis reported by Bloomberg.
According to the National Retail Federation, 195 million Americans went shopping, either in store or online, between Thursday and Sunday, up from 172 million in 2008. Total spending is estimated [...]

Reports from various government agencies released late this week indicate important improvement in various sectors of the economy, including retail sales and, surprising, employment.
Jobless Numbers
The Department of Labor reported on November 5th that initial jobless claims for the previous week fell to 512,000, a drop of 20,000 from the previous week. And, perhaps most promising, [...]