TheStreet Search RSS Feed: Marilen Cawad

What Would You Give Up to Buy Your Dream Home?

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:38:54 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- With interest rates at record lows, it's hard to ignore the constant "buy now" real estate pitches. If you're renting and thinking now is a good opportunity to see what house you can afford, you are probably also thinking about what you may have to give up to buy that house.

In a survey released by Century 21 Real Estate, renters said they are willing to contribute less to their 401(k) to buy their dream home. Not a good idea, says Eve Kaplan, a financial adviser with Kaplan Financial Advisors in Berkeley Heights, N.J.

"The problem we often face as planners is convincing folks to postpone the 'here and now,' including enjoyable things, and focusing more on the future," Kaplan says. "It is really difficult to live on Social Security, which never was designed to be the sole source of retirement savings." ...

The Unheard-of Financial Plan Every Would-Be Parent Needs to Hear About

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 11:33:50 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Child care is one of the largest expenses related to raising a child today. Parents needing day care can expect to pay about $4,600 per year in Mississippi to nearly $15,000 per year in Massachusetts.

Most expectant parents, however, don't have a clear idea when it comes to planning for child care. Unlike a 529 plan, where money is set aside for future college costs, a solid child-care plan is largely unheard of.

Although no tax-advantaged plan has yet been designed to encourage saving for future day care or nanny costs, would-be parents should be able to create a good child-care plan on their own in three steps: ...

How to Tell If You Have Too Many Credit Cards

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 10:22:20 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Are you too plastic for your own financial good? Although there is no magic number for the number of credit cards that should be in your wallet, some key questions can help you determine whether you're charging around town with more cards than you need.

According to recent data from Experian, the average U.S. consumer has about three open and active credit cards. Whether that number is too many, too few or just enough is really a question of how one uses and manages the accounts.

If you have the tendency to spend more than you have, you might need fewer than three credit cards or none at all, says Harrison Lazarus, a financial consultant and founder of Harrison Lazarus Advisors. On the other hand, if you spend well within your means, more credit cards could be good for you. "You will be able to access money when you need it, obtain fringe benefits like rebates and mileage, and improve your credit score," Lazarus says....

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Kids Off to College? Time to Sell Your Home

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 10:13:12 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- In 1993, David and Joy DeSanto moved from Manhattan to the expensive suburb of Westchester county. Like many couples with young children, they chose to live in a town with highly rated public schools.

Almost 20 years later -- with one daughter already on her own, and another in college -- the DeSantos are just about ready to sell their home and free up some cash. They pay about $14,000 a year in property taxes for their three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath home in Larchmont, N.Y.

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'Sober' Rum, Googling and Amazon Diversity

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 06:00:00 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet ) -- Many of today's popular liquor brands got their names from their founders or owners: Bacardi, after Catalan Spanish-Cuban businessman Facundo Bacardi; Campari from the drink's Italian inventor, Gaspare Campari; and Hennessy, after the Irish cognac distillery founder, Richard Hennessy.

Not so with Mount Gay Rum. The world's oldest rum brand -- and Barbados' most successful export -- got its name not from its owner, but from its owner's trusted friend, Sir John Gay Alleyne.

Who was the owner? A man with the unlikely surname of Sober -- John Sober. ...

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Book Review: 'The Dressmaker of Khair Khana'

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Many books have been written about the harsh conditions women in Afghanistan had to suffer during the Taliban rule. We've read about them being arrested for leaving the house without a male relative, getting stoned for not wearing a burqa and getting beaten to death for exposing an arm in public.

Few, if any books, however, have told the tale of women surviving by becoming successful entrepreneurs. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, written by former ABC producer Gayle Lemmon, does just that by documenting the true story of Kamila Sidiqi, who built a successful business at a time when women were strictly prohibited from working.

With two potential breadwinners -- a father and a brother -- forced to flee their hometown, Kamila had to quickly find a way to provide for her siblings. She decided she would work discreetly as a seamstress. For this plan to work, there were, of course, problems to overcome. ...

1-800-Flowers: Retail Is Detail

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:53:58 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- When 1-800-Flowers President and COO Chris McCann appeared on the season finale of Undercover Boss, his first job was to make a floral arrangement. Although his inner artist remained buried throughout the task, McCann learned an important lesson about the business from the woman who desperately tried to "train" him: They need to step it up a notch.

In that episode of the CBS reality show, McCann found out from Pauline, his co-worker at a New Jersey store, that their floral designs have not changed for years. Pauline said she was bored doing the same floral arrangements over and over again, and frustrated that the company wasn't looking into new trends in floral art.

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Maria Bartiromo: Debt Was the Poison

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 09:30:00 EDT

In this interview, CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo talks about covering Wall Street during the critical days and the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse -- the subject of her new book, "The Weekend That Changed Wall Street."

Your book is a play-by-play of the Lehman collapse that took place two years ago. Since then, many books have already been written about the subject. Why did you think it was important to write your own version? ...