We at My Bank Tracker are extremely excited by the opportunity to sponsor and assist in the launch of the 2008 Dreams Come True event, scheduled to take place in Houston, Texas the week of December 15 through December 20th.  This event will include week long festivities, including a Fashion and Music AIDS Benefit Concert.  The concert will help raise additional awareness and funds through the use of visual and performing arts promoting AIDS awareness.  So if you are in the neighborhood or want to extended a little holiday spirit donation, tickets are available through http://www.mydreamscometrue08.com.

Without exception, everyone experiences a small fraction of satisfaction when they realize their net worth is higher than their contemporaries. This gives individuals a sense of happiness and triumph especially when they exceed their current financial goals. But does a high net worth really mean financial strength or stability? And is it a good indicator of future financial progress? The truth is, while numbers are important, it does not reveal the whole truth. It is also critical to look into the quality of assets you have, its liquidity, and its ability to produce income. For example, consider someone whose net worth is valued at $900,000. He lives in a home with a current market value of $750,000 and his car is valued at $50,000. Is he in a better position than a person who has $400,000 in liquidity but whose total net worth is $800,000 assuming that the growth rates of their liquid assets are similar?

The word is out: online banking is in. Online banking has gained widespread usage over the years with the ubiquity of the internet, allowing the average consumer to find out for himself just how much more convenient banking could be with the onset of this time-saving, paperless manner of transacting with one’s bank. 

Other than seeing your favorite teller’s welcoming smile across the counter, more individuals have found fewer reasons to stick with traditional banking as online banks have also taken longer leaps in making internet banking, as it is also called, a simpler, more expedient option to managing one’s finances. 

In the 1966 Beatles song of the same name, the "Taxman" matter-of-factly lists his fees: If you drive a car, I'll tax the street. 
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat. 
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat. If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.  So far, our seats and feet have yet to be taxed, but this may be cold comfort come next spring when you find out what you owe to the IRS. To lessen some of your upcoming tax burden for 2008, take these proactive steps before the end of the year: 
 

The smart way to get a mortgage in today's market is by being prepared to show the lenders your ability to pay. The easier deals of the last few years have been cancelled because the standards were criticized as being too lenient, but the standards in effect now are still similar to what they were in the 1990s. Prepare yourself before you even start looking for a mortgage. The first thing you should do is stop building up debt and start saving up money. Most of what you save should be used as a down payment. Banks do not want to give 100% financing when housing prices are falling, so you will need a down payment even with good credit. You should also get a free credit report from TransUnion, Experian, or Equifax. One thing you won't see on the free report is your FICO score. All three credit agencies charge you extra to tell you your FICO score, but you can estimate it at Money Central.

One of the key economic indicators that tell a story behind an economy is the unemployment rate. As of November 2008, the United States has experienced unemployment levels not seen since 1994 as American companies cut back on expenses, slash payrolls, and literally put thousands of workers to “the streets”. This sets the background for the sharpest decline of the economy in decade. It will be tough to get out of this financial rut for many years to come. The jobless rate in October 2008 rose to 6.5% from 6.1% in the previous month. Companies slashed 240,000 jobs in September and 284,000 jobs in October, the largest two-month loss since 2001. As the surge of job loss continues, the government is pressured to put together an economic plan that will help America’s unemployed.

Since the burst of the housing bubble late last year, the credit markets, the finance industry, and the US economy in general, have gone on a constant and speedy downturn.  

In an effort to stop the economy from completely reeling out of the control, leaving in its wake a slew of bad debts, failed banks, job losses, frozen consumer spending, and just recently, an auto industry on the brink of collapse, the US government has released wave after wave of rescue packages in the form of direct investment into banks, short-term loans to financial institutions, and guarantees of real-estate backed loans. 

Washington D.C. is pouring out money like there’s no tomorrow. Since the start of this crisis, the government has already apportioned a jaw-dropping $7 trillion on pledges of financial backing and bailout commitments.  

As the year draws to a close, it's the season for diminishing returns when it comes to your interest-bearing accounts. As a result, we've made a list of some up-and-coming online offerings that will keep you from dwelling on the dreary economic climate. Our findings may not qualify as a cup of financial cheer, but they sure beat a lump of coal in your stock(ing) portfolio  Internet-Only Banks: High APYs on Interest Bearing Checking and Savings Accounts In general, online account interest rates are higher than their brick-and-mortar counterparts, especially for interest bearing checking and savings accounts. In many cases, the rates offered by a standalone Internet-only bank are even higher. A recent online study done found that for interest-bearing checking accounts, online banks pay an average of 2.06% interest, while the physical bank branches only pay an average of 0.24% interest. The result? Americans are increasingly opting in when it comes to online banking. According to NetBanker.com, 64 million U.S. households will either be banking online or using online bill pay by 2012.

Perhaps one of the most telling signs of an economy on a downward spiral is the rapid dissolution of its banking industry. For the US, there definitely is a trend that not even the government’s $700 billion bailout package can stop. In fact, the latest news to hit the stands is the rescue package that the government has agreed to release to ailing banking giant Citigroup to the tune of $326 billion, $20 billion in direct investments and $306 billion to guarantee the company’s troubled assets. This crucial deal is one more of the many government moves to support the financial sector, and more importantly, avoid a much-dread collapse of the Citigroup which would further damage investor and consumer confidence in the entire US banking system. The deluge of financial woes on the once largest bank in the US is testament to the reality that even the biggest of them are not immune to the possibility of a bank failure.