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I have a question about Health Savings Accounts. I have a HSA that is no longer being funded. I have treated it like an IRA and have not used it since inception. With all the talk about Obamacare and what is in it, I am seeking advice on what to do with the funds in the account. Any suggestion (almost) will be appreciated.

MADISON — The dark fiscal clouds are starting to lighten in Wisconsin’s largest school District. But Milwaukee Public Schools‘ fiscal picture could be a lot brighter, had its teachers’ union chosen to open up its labor contract with MPS and agree to some salary concessions. Tweaking the deal could have saved scores of positions, opening up the opportunity for more teachers in the classroom, more programs to bolster the academic achievement of a school system that has seen its share of failure, and perhaps offering relief to Milwaukee taxpayers. Life is all about choices, and the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association...

Whether you've had some form of head trauma that has caused you to like Barack Obama or like all good hearted people, you can't stand him, his performance has objectively been terrible. Of course, we can debate WHY his performance has been so bad. His supporters would probably blame Bush, Republicans in Congress, ATM machines, fairy dust shortages and people forgetting to click their heels together three times before saying, "There's no place like home." On the other hand, people who haven't been drinking Barney Frankosaurus brand Kool-Aid might note that if Obama is going to blame Republicans for everything...

A gray-haired woman picking a flower with a young girl adorns the cover of an HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) brochure that promises investors both “the growth of the market” and “the security of FDIC Insurance.” By tying interest rates to everything from the Dow Jones Industrial Average to precious metals, the pamphlet for HSBC’s Market-Linked Certificates of Deposits explains U.S. investors have the potential to earn “enhanced returns” over as long as seven years. A separate disclosure states that they also may earn zero, getting just their original principal back after the CD matures, while brokers may collect fees of...

[W]HILE Greece has been criticized for just about everything, especially about going on a debt binge, to be fair, that is the kettle calling the pot black. Let’s be honest. ALL Western governments have been doing the same thing. Greece is merely the PRELUDE to the Decline & Fall of Western Society. This is always about politicians and their inability to manage anything whatsoever. It always comes down to their personal self-interests and until we reform our political systems BARRING reelection of ALL politicians to prevent a political class from rising, then politicians will always say: “Vote for me and...

The great myth of the last few decades is that people can establish sustainable savings by investing in other people’s debt. That is how relatively astute and candid writers, such as Jeremy Warner for the Telegraph, can claim that “Britain is still a hugely wealthy nation” and actually mean it. In his latest blog post, Warner tries to convince us that aggregate private debt in Britain is not so bad when we factor in “assets” as well.From his piece:Believe it or not, Britain is still a hugely wealthy nationLast week I drew attention to a report by Royal Bank of...

[T]he number one question pouring in is about the banks and their profit margin. Yes, the bottom line remains that the cost of money declines sharply for depositors while the cost of borrowing rises. Where the value of cash for three years is 0.7% to a depositor, for a fully collateralized borrower, the cost is about 4%. This is a profit margin for the banks of 571%. In other words, when the discount rate was 17% in 1981, this would have been the equivalent of a prime rate at 9707%. The profit margin at banks has NEVER been so high....

Because I know that FReepers are smart and ingenious I am coming to you for assistance and insight in being able to get unplugged from DirecTV. They are raising our rates again. We currently use Netflix, but are also considering adding HuluPlus. Hubby streams from his PS3 in his game room, and in the living room we stream via BlueRay. Hubby and I are trying to get details on unplugging without losing our ability to watch our favorite (cable) show. I've read numerous articles how people are doing this same thing but have not found a step-by-step instruction in what...

$456 million can be cut, commission report says Madison - A report by Gov. Scott Walker's commission to cut waste and fraud in government says Wisconsin can cut or avoid nearly a half-billion dollars a year in government spending. The report lays out a total of $456 million in annual spending that it says can be prevented by making changes at every level of government. Most of that spending - $373 million - is done by the state government with another $83 million by local governments. But not all of that money would necessarily lead to new savings for the...

How the U.S. National Debt Could Drain Your Savings January 9, 2012 By David Zeiler, Associate Editor, Money Morning Now that Congress has allowed the U.S. national debt to grow bigger than the American economy, it won't be long until the American public suffers the consequences by losing most of its savings to inflation.Figures for last year show the national debt officially exceeded 100% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). According to government figures, the national debt stood at $15.23 trillion at the close of 2011, compared to a GDP of $15.18 trillion. "The 100% mark means that your...

U.S. Savings Bonds Go PaperlessJanuary 4, 2012 10:30 PM PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — U.S. savings bonds enclosed in birthday cards have been an American tradition for more than 70 years. But from now on, purchasers will have to be computer savvy. As of January 1, the U.S. Treasury declared that all bonds must be purchased online through the website www.treasurydirect.gov. The buyer can download a “gift certificate” indicating the amount of the bond, and for what occasion.

Age: 18 Age started saving: 11 Amount saved: $300,000 Hometown: Princeton, N.J. When I retire, I want to have enough money to live comfortably. There are a lot of other things to save for [right now] since I'm only in my first year of college, so I try to put away the most that I can. I don't have a constant amount that I contribute, but when I'm working I'll try to put in at least $50 a month to my savings account. At this point, I'd say I have a little over $300,000 saved up. My parents encourage me,...

When it comes to retirement, many middle class Americans said 80 is the new 65 and plan to delay retirement because of worries over money, according to a new survey. Wells Fargo bank asked 1,500 Americans who earned between $25,000 and $99,999 and ranged in age from 20 into their 70s questions about retirement, savings and Social Security for its seventh annual retirement survey... On average, Americans have saved only seven percent of their desired retirement nest egg, with a median of $25,000 saved versus a median retirement goal of $350,000..."We did find a bright spot among middle class Americans...

<p>“I think the downturn in the economy occurred in the year 2000,” Paul told CNN, adding that there have been no new jobs since then “and yet we’ve had a 30 million increase in population.”</p> <p>“Just go out and talk to the people – unemployment rate in the true numbers (is) over 20%, so there’s been a depression,” Paul said after an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”</p>

.... One...key arguments for such a system is that the stock market’s historically high returns would allow the average worker to retire with more money in his pocket than the meager returns the Social Security system now promises (and projections suggest the system may not even deliver on those promises). The underlying reason this works is that the money in personal accounts would be invested in private sector businesses, which would use them to create new wealth. In contrast, Social Security taxes are used to finance current government spending..... [big snip of interesting points] To unpack this a bit, the...

Some of society's most intractable problems come not from its failures but from its successes. Often you can't get a good thing without paying a bad price. A prime example is our public old-age pension system Social Security. It has been completely successful in wiping out poverty among the elderly. Old ladies no longer have to eat cat food to survive. But we pay some prices for this. One is a lower savings rate. China has a humongous savings rate in part because it has no reliable old-age pension system. People have to save if they don't want to starve....

Super-low interest rates haven't done what they usually do after a recession. They haven't ignited economic growth or revived the home market or persuaded consumers to spend freely again. They have, though, caused misery for retirees and others who depend on interest income. Such income plummeted 27 percent from 2008 to last year. Now, some economists worry that low rates might be hurting the economy itself -- defeating the purpose of the Federal Reserve's low-rate policies. When savers earn less, they spend less. And spending by individuals drives about 70 percent of the U.S. economy. Those concerns arise 2 1/2...

Madison—One month after the 2011-13 state budget was signed into law, tangible results from the reforms put in place by Governor Walker and the Legislature are being realized. According to media reports, local units of government and school districts have already saved more than $220 million, with millions more in potential savings not yet reported. The state is also adding jobs. Between December 2007 and December 2010, Wisconsin lost over 153,600 private sector jobs. The state has netted over 39,000 new private sector jobs since the Governor called a special session to open Wisconsin for business. The state has seen...

Yes. You Can.- By: Larry Walker, Jr. -According to Barack Obama, "We can’t simply cut our way to prosperity." Prior historical references: Unknown. Upon hearing such an absurd statement, and being of the homo economicus persuasion, my first instinct is to define what it means to me, and then to determine whether it has any relevance in my life. If we are honest, we must each define what the word prosperity, or rich, means to us. Only after we have defined its meaning are we able to chart a course.In the WikiHow.com article, “How to get rich,” there are seven...

The candidate would know Americans are more worried about their jobs and their savings than abstractions like 'big government.' To win the presidency in 2012, the Republican candidate will require certain strengths. Among them, a credible passion for ideas other than cost-cutting and small government. He or she will have to speak in the voice of Americans who know in their bones the extraordinary character of their democracy, and that voice will have to ring out steadily. That Republican candidate will need, no less, the ability to talk about matters like Medicare and Social Security without terrorizing the electorate. Americans...