10 Signs the Economy ‘Might’ Be Recovering

With the unrelenting day in, day out barrage of negative economic forecasts, it’s easy for signs of possible recovery to go unnoticed. However, several such signs may actually be lurking right under our noses. While there aren’t many signs of sharp, dramatic improvement, things appear to be improving at the margins of the American and world economies. And as the old saying goes, “you have to crawl before you can walk.” We thought it would be helpful (and hopefully inspiring) to assemble these possible recovery indicators in one place, and here are ten of the most compelling.

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$700+ Billion Later, How Are We Doing?

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Despite scathing criticism, the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is part of today’s reality. Therefore, it is now important to determine just what we, the taxpayers, have gotten for our money. We need to know how the bailed-out companies and institutions are performing now that the funds have been dispersed. It wasn’t an easy job, but we trudged through the murky swamps of vague press releases and media spin to get the unvarnished facts about post-bailout performance. Here is how various bailed-out entities are doing today.

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10 Ways to Put Your Finances Back on Track

This is a guest post from Jonathan Leane, a personal finance blogger at Debt Loans.

On the road to fiscal responsibility, we all suffer our occasional missteps. Whether you’ve fallen along the wayside due to poor luck or bad judgment, you shouldn’t consider yourself out just because you’re down. True, digging yourself out of a hole is far more difficult than avoiding financial trouble in the first place, but with a bit of diligence and a few tips, you can get back on your feet and get your finances back on track.

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12 Steps to Financial Recovery

It’s no secret that the last year has had a sobering effect on the personal finance of countless millions. The days of cheap, accessible credit have ended, and the future repayment of debt abruptly became the present. Additionally, unemployment figures continue to increase, and the stock market is still on life support. But from within this doomsday perspective of our current economy, comes both an understanding that we have put ourselves in this situation, and that it is up to us to fend for ourselves. But how does an individual navigate uncertain financial territory, when it seems that things could not be worse? For many, this means taking a critical inventory of our spending habits, and making adjustments accordingly. Understanding that you are in need of financial recovery is only the first in these necessary twelve steps, but it is the most important on this path to solvency.

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