How To Save Money

The article is basically about how people can save money. It gives the reader different strategies to save money. The article is directed towards young people in their twenties and thirties. It talks about the significance of IRAs and the age at which they are started. It gives examples of how life would be at 65 with and without an IRA.

Taxes- How Does The Government Spend Money?

The government gets its money from tax payers. Tax payers' money goes towards funding programs to help others. For example the largest Federal program is Social Security, which acounts for 23 percent of the government's spending. The government also spends its money on national defense, foreign affairs, social insurance for the elderly, health insurance for the elderly and poor, education, law enforcement, transportation, science and technology.


New York spends a lot of tax dollars on education. It has been reported that New York spends the most money on their students with $14, 119 per student.

Savings And Debt

It is amazing to me how easy it is to get into debt. I know of many people who are in debt, including my own family. I alwasy knew that it was easy but I didn't know of all the factors contributing to debt. Finance charges are very dangerous. They basically charge you for charging items on your credit card. The finance charge is multiplied by the amount of money charged to the card. If a person sepnds a lot of money using their credit card then they will have a very high bill. If they cannot pay it, the charges pile on top of one another. In my opinion Americans do not save money because they cannot afford to. Minimum wage is higher, but so is the cost of living. Rent/mortgage rates are higher along with gas and other utilities. People simply do not have any money left over after bills to put away.

Compared to other nations the United State's net savings is doing pretty much the same. Not figures wise but in the sense that the savings rates in other countries are also declining.

Critique of the GDP Podcast

For my GDP Podcast review I chose Jared and Mari's podcast. Their recording was clear and loud. I could understand what they were saying without straining to hear. The pictures represented what they where talking about well. I think they went well with what they were saying when they were saying it. Their podcast was interesting and informative. I liked their idea to not just use the regular method when doing a podcast. They mixed it up. I learned a lot listening to it.

US Trade Defecit: Getting Better?

The article was basically about how the US is starting to produce more goods for themselves as opposed to getting everything from overseas. By doing this the US can decrease their trade deficit. Trade deficit is the excess of imports over exports. The US trade deficit is going to go down in the future because the US is not going to make more of their goods and import less. Decreasing trade deficit is largely due to the weak dollar. The weak dollar is a term used to describe the fall in value against foreign currencies. This can be a good thing for the US because it will make them use more of their own stuff instead of spending all of their money on foreign goods. Also, if the US dollar value falls it will be easier for another country who couldn't afford to buy American goods before to be able to purchase American goods. Thus increasing the amount of exports from America. The US will start making their own cars, engines and other neccessities. This will be good for people in the future because it will create more jobs for the unemployed.

Taxes- How Does The Government Get Money

Americans pay billions of dollars in taxes every year. Some pay more taxes than others because their income or amount of assets. On the other hand there are taxes that everyone has to pay. These include sales tax, social security, medicare and federal/ state income tax. The federal government gets its money from the taxes that people pay There are many types of taxes that people have to pay. For example there are Federal taxes, State taxes, property tax and sales tax. Everyone does not have to pay every tax. Taxes are subject to change depending on the government's need for money.

An example of what/how taxes are collected are as follows:

Federal Tax

Income Tax: Taken from wages, bank accounts and rents.
Excise Tax: Tax on tobacco, gasoline and alcohol.
Payroll Tax: Taken from salaries and wages.
Estate Tax: Taken from a deceased person’s estate.
Gift Tax: Taken from the money in the transfer of money between live people.

State Tax

General States Tax: Collected from general sales.
Inheritance Tax: Taken from a person that has inherited something from a deceased person.
Excise Tax: Tax on tobacco, gasoline and alcohol.
Estate Tax: Taken from a deceased person’s estate.

City/Local Taxes

General Sale Tax: Collected from general sales
Excise Tax: Tax on tobacco, gasoline and alcohol.
Property Tax: Taken from financial and real assets, including stocks, bonds, houses, cars and artwork.

Student Loan

In my opinion, everyone wants to go to a well-known and respectable school. When selecting any kind of school to attend a person usually looks for how high it is on the list of the top schools. The higher on the list a school is, the higher tuition and fees are. Many people that aspire to be chefs do not come from well off families and often have no way of paying for college. the only option is to take out loans. When choosing from the schools accepted to, most people choose the school that is seen as "better." To cover the cost of school many people have to take out large loans because they cannot afford to pay for any part of it.
Personally I feel that student loans are essential when it comes to funding a college education. Many people cannot afford to pay tens of thousands of dollars a year to go to school and would prefer to take out loans and pay for them later. Most people think that after college they will get a well paying job and will be able to pay back their student loans.
I do not have any other way to pay for my college education besides taking out loans. My family has no money to contribute to my schooling so have to find a way to pay for it myself. I will have to take out about $60,000 in loans and that might not cover everything.