Personal Finance News

Try not to choke on your coffee, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that the Obama administration policies would dump $9.7 trillion onto the national debt by 2020. The projected national debt by 2020, according to the CBO, would top $20.3 trillion.

Yeah, that's a lot. Put another way, if you had $9.7 trillion and you wrote me a check for $1 trillion, you'd still have $8.7 trillion and I'd be a brand new trillionaire, thank you.

Suffice to say, this projected national debt -- at the equivalent of around 90% of the American economy -- is unacceptable. There's no conceivable justification for digging a hole that deep and thus leaving our national sovereignty to the whimsy of foreign lenders.

Following the devastating earthquakes that hit Chile and Haiti, some insurance companies are hiking rates on earthquake insurance by as much as 200%. A recent Los Angeles Times article reported that California-based GeoVera Insurance Company nearly tripled one customer's premium, from $2,500 to $7,100 a year.

The question is: Are insurers playing on homeowner's fears that an earthquake may devastate their lives, too? Or are they trying to prevent their own financial disaster from occurring?

The Bachelorette's Jillian Harris can't be called a bachelorette anymore. She's engaged to her TV suitor, Ed Swiderski, and as if to properly train her new groom in the rigors of televised matrimony, she recently brought him to the prime-time wedding of the Bachelor who originally jilted her, Jason Mesnick, as he married his first choice (or, er, second choice), Molly Maleney.

Looks like low cost, low down-payment FHA-backed loans will be around for some time to come -- good news for potential home buyers, not such good news for those who argue that the more money borrowers invest upfront, the less likely they will be to walk away when threatened with foreclosure.

Right now, buyers getting home loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration can put down as little as 3.5% provided they meet certain financial guidelines.

Consumers who must buy insurance are getting less comprehensive coverage and paying more for the insurance. That's the conclusion of a new study by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

The foundation found this phenomenon is not only true in the individual health insurance marketplace, but also in the small business marketplace, where more employers are offering very high deductible plans. The foundation found that high deductible plans increased from 16% in 2006 to 40% in 2009.

People with individual health insurance not only pay higher premiums, but they also pay a larger share of their total medical costs. Based on the study, people who had individual insurance between 2004 and 2007 paid 52% of their health expenses. Those with employer-based coverage only paid 30% of their health expenses.

Woot woot! Here's an exclusive CVS coupon code just for WalletPop readers.

The coupon code slashes 40% off the new Focus on Lips line that includes lip gloss, lip plumper, and lip line reducer. Use coupon code WALLETPOP to get the discount. The code expires Wednesday, March 17 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

At the bottom of your cart click on "Use Coupons/ExtraCare Rewards" then enter the coupon code on the page that pops up. Prices should automatically adjust.

If $3 for a coffee inhaler hits you where you breathe, don't worry. David Edwards, the inventor of Le Whif, told WalletPop that the price will go down eventually.

In the meantime, Le Whif intends to capitalize on its novelty as the first Joe you drag like a cigarette -- followed by a calorie-free, caffeine buzz. It also sells a chocolate inhaler.

Le Whif reps wandering the launch party Thursday at Dylan's Candy Bar in Manhattan said that they expect the product to flourish as an impulse buy, perhaps displayed near the cash register. Edwards called it the perfect on-the-go alternative to a cup of coffee, and better-tasting than a caffeine pill.

A 22-year-old entrepreneur aims to sell high-end items at the lowest possible price.

Is this the foolishness of youth or the next big thing on the Web?

Elliot Moskow hopes you'll think it's the latter. His Pricefalls.com enters its second year, hoping to grab bargain hunters with the site's "Dutch auction" style. Modeled after old-fashioned tulip auctions in Holland, retail goods basically go to the lowest bidder.

American Express' unimpeachable new rewards program, which everyone will likely approve of, is a piece of good news for an industry that has gotten a lot of negative attention recently.

There's plenty not to like about credit cards, so when we hear about a card company such as American Express offering a new perk that benefits their customers, we're happy to spread the news.

Bank of America issued an apology to a Pittsburgh woman after a contractor hired by the company broke into a woman's house, padlocked her door, cut water lines and electrical wiring, damaged flooring, poured anti-freeze in the toilet, and, for the coup de grâce , absconded with her parrot.

The bank apparently believed that the house was vacant -- which it wasn't. She was traveling and, in any case, she wasn't even in default. According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), the victim, Angela Iannelli, has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $50,000 in damages. If the case goes to trial, a jury would decide the amount.