Personal Finance Theory

Today the Pew charitable trusts released a short report entitled "Safe Credit Card Standards". Pew surveyed credit card offerings from all of the largest issuers, then consulted with various stakeholders--including representatives from credit card issuers.

Eleanor Laise wrote an excellent piece for today's Wall Street Journal in which she examined how personal finance books have recently changed their tone, racing to capitalize on the prevailing fear.

 
I thought it was clever financial planning. Banks thought it looked like deadbeat behavior.
 
Friends ask why I gravitated from academic philosophy to investment management and personal finance. And some wonder why I'm so preoccupied with credit scoring. This true story might shed some light on these questions.
 

 This article will the first in a series devoted to helping readers select credit cards best suited to their needs.
 
Choosing a credit card can be a daunting process. Since no card is best for all types of credit card use, it pays to think through just how new credit be used. Credit cards can be categorized based on how well they serve three distinct purposes.
 

The core elements of personal finance include earning, spending, investing, and credit.  All these have changed substantially over the past generation.  But credit has been the most radically transformed, over both over past decade and then during the past year.  What are the generally recognized "rules" concerning the use of personal credit?

In an earlier era, most financial relationships were simple. A client would bring their business to a (usually local) financial institution. They would be quoted a “price” for services needed (deposit rates, loan rates, service fees, et cetera) which would change only occasionally.