Latest Chicago Personal Finance news

Roosevelt is latest university to go straight to Uncle Sam for student loans

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:06 -0500

Jennifer Smith already had her Chase loan application approved and had submitted her paperwork to the financial aid office at Roosevelt University in Chicago when she was told that, instead, she would be borrowing directly from Uncle Sam.

“They never told me why,” the 24-year-old integrated marketing communication major said. “All of a sudden I had direct loans of this and that much.”

Sales tax hike sends Cook County shoppers across state lines

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:05 -0500

As Cook County's newly increased sales tax rate entered its second day Wednesday, shoppers from communities along the county's border with Indiana flocked to retail outlets across the state line, where taxes are now more than 3 percent lower.

The new Cook County rate of 10.25 percent-an increase of one percentage point-dwarfs Indiana's statewide sales tax rate of 7 percent.

Drowning in college debt

Fri, 30 May 2008 07:57:44 -0500

Financial planners and college aid directors say there are a growing number of parents who in recent years have shifted responsibility of paying for college to their children. Stagnant family incomes combined with skyrocketing tuition rates have pushed more parents into taking the sink-or-swim philosophy, experts say.

Public library helps family cut expenses

Thu, 15 May 2008 14:15:07 -0500

Books from the best sellers' list. The latest DVD releases. Karen Paluzzi Steele is quick to put them on her card. Her library card.

She uses the free services of the Chicago Public Library system to keep costs down. The mother of two -- 4- and 2-year-old daughters -- is a regular at the Independence branch.

Chicago investors face higher risk to keep pace with inflation

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:36:23 -0500

Chicago-area investors are looking to shift their portfolios into higher gear—with greater risk—to keep pace with rising inflation.

The Standard & Poor's 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are in the red for 2008—down 4.6 percent and 3.0 percent respectively. Home prices have declined an average of 8.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008.

IRS stimulus checks' worth stunted as gas, grocery prices soar in Chicago

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:04:55 -0500

A gallon of regular gasoline in Chicago has soared 20 percent since President George W. Bush proposed an economic stimulus package in mid-January. That means a $600 stimulus check from the IRS now translates to purchasing power of only $480 at the pump.