In this video you can learn more about how the Wall Street reform legislation will affect you as a consumer.

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Today I am working at avoiding one of my biggest temptations – Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale. Yes, that’s right, I have a thing about the Anniversary Sale. Shoes and purses are my downfall and when shoes easily run $150 to $200 and a purse tops $400, the bill really adds up. If you add in the kids then I can easily drop a few thousand at this sale. For example, there is an absolutely adorable Juicy Couture jog suit that would look cute on my daughter. It is on sale for $120 for the jacket and bottoms and another $30 for the t-shirt.

My daughter is entering 1st grade so its not like she would get a multitude of years out of this $150 jog suit…but (she says in a whiney voice) it is cuuuuute. Let’s not even discuss the fact that she’s already got a Juicy Couture jog suit complete with sequined dog and Juicy logo already in her closet. It’s a size smaller, though, and so it won’t fit her this year. Again…this comes in a whiney voice.

What I’m doing her is kind of playing on myself. Does any 6 year-old need a $150 (on sale) jog suit? No. Do they have them? Yes. I know that $150 can buy an entire back to school wardrobe for any 6 year-old, including mine. So today I’m avoiding Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale for the first time in years.

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Citizens of Arizona voted to ban the outrageous interest rates offered at Payday Loan Centers throughout their state and as of June 30, 2010 hundreds of stores have shut their doors or changed their business focus. In order to stay open as a payday loan center in Arizona, companies cannot charge more than a 36% interest rate. While 36% interest may seem exorbitant, it is nothing compared to the close to 400% that consumers were charged. In Arizona, a $17 fee on a 14-day $100 loan was not unheard of. Once the Arizona law went into effect, it became the 17th state in the union to ban the traditional payday loan centers.

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1. $500k in Student Loan Debt
2. Reading: Broke, USA: From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc

I just downloaded a new book on my Apple iPad and so far it is excellent and may be of interest to those trying to get out of debt, and stay there. The book is called Broke, USA: From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc. How the Working Poor Became Big Business.

I’m only a few chapters in but the book is excellent and really gives a bit of insight into the abhorrent practices of payday loans, cash advance stores, subprime lending, tax refund advances, and other programs that take advantage of the working poor. These programs are touted as “helpful” and the owners claim that they provide a “much-needed service” to a forgotten segment of our population but unfortunately all these “helpful services” are doing is preventing this segment of the population from getting ahead.

Journalist Rivlin (Fire on the Prairie) offers a superb exposé of the poverty business—the flock of companies that cater to (and prey on) the working poor. For people living paycheck to paycheck and sometimes falling behind with rent, car payments, and grocery bills, fringe financing and the ubiquitous Rent-A-Centers, Jackson Hewitt, payday lenders, pawnshops, and check cashers—may seem like their only safety net. These businesses may tout themselves as a necessary service and force for economic development in low-income communities, but Rivlin reveals their dark underbelly: punishing rates of interest and customer service reps explicitly trained to mislead customers who appear gullible. He delves into the effect of financial deregulation on fringe financing, predatory subprime lending, and the major players in this unsavory world, including Allan Jones, a debt collector, worth $200 million, and the activists and advocates like Bill Brennan who’ve faced them down in the courts. A timely, important, and deeply disturbing look at the cycle of debt of the nation’s most vulnerable. (June)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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1. Arizona Payday Loan Centers Close Their Doors

It is definitely a buyer’s market in most of the nation – including my community. I currently own a home and I’m looking at moving in the summer of 2012 after we’re through Baby Step 3 but looking at the prices of houses right now, I wish I was in a better position to buy. Actually, this is part of the motivation that is keeping me going gung ho on BS2. I want to take advantage of this buyer’s market. Sure, I’m also selling in this market but I got in before the bubble and ultimate burst so I’m OK. One question I find myself asking is how much house I’ll be able to afford when it comes time to move. Dave Ramsey also weighs in on this question where he discusses how there is no one answer to the question “How much house can I afford?”

There is no magic dollar amount for the “perfect home.” How much house you can afford is as unique as you are and is based on many factors—your location, income, savings, personal preferences, and most importantly, the house-buying plan you have in place.

Before you consider buying a home, you should be debt-free and have three to six months of expenses saved in addition to your down payment (more on that later). Being debt-free with money in the bank will keep you from losing your home in the event of a job loss or illness.

Of course Dave Ramsey advocates for the 100% down payment plan but will agree to a mortgage with at least a 20% down payment with a monthly payment on a 15-year loan that is no more than 25% of your monthly net income. So if you net $10,000 a month, you should not pay more than $2,500 per month on a 15-year mortgage note.

In some areas of the country, this may prohibit many people from buying a home. This is where personal is put into the phrase personal finance. Dave has a long history in real estate and has counseled many people on their own personal finances and I totally trust his judgment.

What do you think about these guidelines? Are they realistic in your situation?

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1. Just Contacted One of Dave Ramsey’s Tax ELPs
2. Who is This Dave Ramsey Guy Anyway?
3. Should You Refinance Your Mortgage?

Although it was a record-breaking year for some of the nation’s largest banks, several found themselves facing the most job losses among Fortune 500 companies. A recent report from CNNMoney.com looks at the companies that had the biggest dips in employment over the past year.

1. Citigroup – 57,700 jobs lost, an 18% decrease from last year
2. Time Warner – 56,000 jobs lost, a 64% decrease
3. Starbucks – 34,000 jobs lost, a 19%
4. Alcoa – 28,000 jobs lost, a 32% decrease
5. General Motors – 26,000 jobs lost, an 11% decrease
6. Berkshire Hathaway – 24,083 jobs lost, a 10% decrease
7. American International Group (AIG) – 20,000 jobs lost, a 17% decrease
8. AT&T – 19,940 jobs lost, a 7% decrease
9. Caterpillar – 19,074 jobs lost, a 17% decrease
10. General Electric – 19,000 jobs lost, a 6% decrease
11. YRC Worldwide – 19,000 jobs lost, a 35% decrease
12. United Parcel Service (UPS) – 18,000 jobs lost, a 4% decrease
13. Hewlett-Packard – 17,000 jobs lost, a 5% decrease
14. United Technologies – 16,400 jobs lost, a 7% decrease
15. Sprint/Nextel – 16,202 jobs lost, a 29% decrease

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Let me take a minute to explain the blog title to you. My husband and I have a six-figure income but we also have a chunk of consumer debt to our name. Like many Americans, we have credit card debt, auto loans, student loans, and a mortgage. However, I’m tired of seeing this debt every time I open my Quicken account so now we’re focused on paying down our consumer debt.

Although I use the word “broke” to describe our financial situation, we aren’t broke in the sense that many people use the word. We live a comfortable life but having this debt hanging over our heads gives us the feeling of being broke.

This blog will allow us to share our successes and setbacks on our Getting Out of Debt journey. I will also be writing on a variety of personal finance topics, which may be of interest to the readers of Six Figures and Broke.

If you’re starting out 2010 with a resolution to get out of debt, I’d love to have you follow along. Subscribe to Six Figures and Broke by email (via Feedburner).

Photo: borman818/Flickr

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