World of Finances

Slovakia has only existed as a country since 1993 when it emerged from the break-up of Czechoslovakia (the remainder of the country becoming the Czech Republic). It joined the EU in 2004 with the last raft of new entrants, mainly from the former Iron Curtain countries and it adopted the Euro as recently as 2009.

Slovakia is the second poorest member of the Eurozone (the dubious privilege of being the poorest belongs to Estonia) and has embarked upon its own unpopular austerity measures designed to tackle its own sovereign debt problems.

The world’s spotlight turned onto Slovakia this week as its parliament was set to become the 17 out of 17 Eurozone nations to vote on the enlargement and extension of the remit for the European Financial Stability Fund, (EFSF) the agreement having been endorsed by all other Eurozone partners. The fund is intended to provide support to European financial institutions by offering credit and having the ability to buy government bonds.

The Slovakian coalition government turned the issue of supporting EFSF into a matter of confidence.

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I have some very important questions regarding my son who is going to be attending a private university next year. He is going to be a student athlete (he golfs), which does not help very much financially. We’re shocked at the cost and do not have enough saved. We were counting on selling our home and downsizing to pay for his education, but got caught up in the real estate downturn. We need some help and advice on how we can get access to the free money that I know is out there. We also have two other boys, 13 and 6. We will start immediately saving for their college.

Answer: The “free money” you know is out there may not be the answer to your problems.

Yes, there are scholarships your boy might get to help pay for his education. But if he receives any financial aid from the university, those scholarships may reduce the amount he gets in grants — another form of financial aid that doesn’t have to be paid back.

If, on the other hand, he doesn’t get any grants, the scholarships could reduce the amount of loans he’d otherwise need to take out.

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Reminder: The day following Thanksgiving Day is called Black Friday The name originated in Philadelphia, where it was originally used to describe the heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that “Black Friday” indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are “in the black”. We know why I call it Black Friday: it is named for my mood as I watch my family spending my hard earned money at the sales.    Opening time For many years, it was common for retailers holding sales to open at 6:00, but lately many had crept to 5:00 or even 4:00. This was taken to a new extreme in 2011, when several retailers, including Target, Kohls, Macy’s, Best Buy, and Bealls, will open at midnight for the first time, forcing employees to either go without enough sleep or miss all or part of Thanksgiving with family. Full Article…

Hubert Skip Humphrey III, the new chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus office for senior citizens, testified to a nearly empty Senate committee room this month about this plans to protect seniors, including cracking down on deceptive financial planners and helping older women, many of whom outlive both their husbands and their savings.

Save for two Democratic Senators, the hearing was mostly empty because the Senate panels Republicans, who have opposed the bureau and are blocking the appointment of Richard Cordray to lead the CFPB, did not attend.

Older Americans have been hit hard by the economic crisis, Humphrey said. Many of those in the 62-plus population are not financially prepared for retirement, and financial exploitation of older Americans is growing.

Without a director in place, the bureau has no power to enact new rules that would protect seniors.

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