Financial Team

I used to work with a lady who was a foster parent for the SPCA, and every Friday she brought in to the office three or four tiny kittens she was trying to socialize. All day long co-workers would swarm around her desk, oohing and aawing over the little hairballs. We called those days “Fresh Kitten Fridays.”

To celebrate the first Friday of 2010, we at SpendOnLife wanted to do our own “Fresh Kitten Friday” (with a personal finance slant, of course). So enjoy this “cute kitteh” edition of the Friday Grab Bag that shares some of the week’s more interesting tidbits from the world of credit. (And if you’re a dog lover, don’t worry, your day will come).

2009 bankruptcies up 32% over 2008

The crashed economy drove about 1.4 million people to declare bankruptcy in 2009. That’s a lot of credit scores that took a hit. Bankruptcy stays on your credit file for up to ten years, meaning that at least 1.4 million people will have to wait quite a long time before being able to borrow money on good terms again.

Teach your kids about credit, before that enticing offer arrives

Credit card companies can be ruthless marketers when it comes to targeting kids. Your teenager may very well start receiving attractive offers of credit the instant an 18th birthday rolls around (and sometimes earlier). True, a credit card can be a great way to build credit history, or it can devastate it. Teach your kids about the proper way to use credit, before the marketing heavy-hitters get up to bat. As Mark Brown says in the Chicago Sun-Times, the proverbial $52 pizza

is a good way to explain how much credit can really end up costing.

2010 credit card predictions

It’s true that the new credit card regulations go into effect in a couple months, but many are saying that rates and fees aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, some predict a heavy avalanche of interest rate hikes, annual fees, and variable interest rates for 2010. Read more gloom-and-doom forecasting at MoneyTalkNews.

More misuse of bailout money

Goldman Sachs is being sued for possibly using $16.7 billion of TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) funds to pay out salaries and bonuses to its employees. This figure represents almost 50% of Goldman Sachs net revenue, “an exorbitant amount of compensation,” says shareholder Ken Browne who filed the suit. The CEO and board of directors must account for all bonuses, salaries, and profits they received in 2009.

Awesome songs about $$$

I love this idea from 20SomethingFinance: the 12 best songs about money of all time. As far as my personal favorite, I’m torn between The Beatles’ Taxman and Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler. Listen to them all to decide for yourself, and check out corresponding YouTube footage on the 20Something blog.

Photos courtesy of ICanHazCheezburger

Similar Posts:

• Tired of Banks? Try the Credit Union Revolution
• Chart of the day: The return of the bonus
• Bankruptcy in Ontario: How Can I Avoid It?
• Bankruptcies up compared to last year, NBRC reports
• Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Information

Tags: Friday, Friday Grab