Municipal bond analysts say Detroit’s woes are unlikely to affect credit in other cities + MORE Jul 20th

Though a big deal for Detroit, the nation’s largest ever municipal bankruptcy filing may have little effect on the ability of most U.S. cities to borrow money.
Municipal bond analysts say investors may be a little jittery about bonds issued by other financially troubled cities. But they say investors also are more focused on the financial stability of individual municipalities than they were before the financial crisis hit five years ago. That means Detroit’s woes are less likely to carry over.
New data show most cities are in better financial shape now than just a few years ago.
Figures from McDonnell Investment Management show nearly half of all cities had net general fund deficits in 2010. But preliminary figures for 2012 show that fell to less than one-third of cities.
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Higher prices at the pumps drove inflation up in June by 1.2%, Statistics Canada said Friday. And the worst is yet to come. Expect gas prices to continue their ascent in the short term due to the weakened Canadian dollar and lower U.S. reserves oil, experts say.
McDonald’s is coming under fire for creating a useless budgeting tool for its U.S. employees. The problem, according to critics, is that an average restaurant worker doesn’t make enough money to cover the basic costs of living assumed in the tool.
It might be only mid-July but the back-to-school flyers are already in the mail. And since clothing and supplies for a new year can be costly, it’s best to plan ahead. Here are Consolidated Credit’s tips for parents: -Make a list of everything your kids will need when classes start in September.
-Shop at home first. Look through last year’s supplies to see what can be reused and recycled.
-Comparison shop online and in flyers to get an idea of how much your back to school shopping will cost…

A recent poll done by CIBC and Harris/Decima has found that 59% of Canadian retirees are still in debt. Worse yet, the poll finds that 55% of people that carry debt into retirement have seen their debt levels either increase or remain unchanged over the past year.
As you can imagine, it only becomes more difficult to repay your debt once you have lost the bulk of your income due to retirement. So it stands to reason that every effort should be made to repay your debt before retirement, right? Easier said than done, of course, but it is possible. The earlier you start paying down your debt the better, but there are options, even if you are on the cusp of retirement.

Eliminate Credit Card Debt
First thing you need to do is to go after the low hanging fruit. Pay down your credit cards and other lines of credit, which often charge interest at rates that border on usury.
If you own your own home, one way to eliminate your high-interest debt is through a debt consolidation mortgage. With today’s low mortgage rates, you can save yourself thousands of dollars in future interest payments by leveraging your home to pay off your credit cards…