The price of gold is as high as ever. For those looking to invest, think gold. For those looking to make money, think gold. Perhaps you can pawn or trade those old coins and/or mismatched jewelry pieces for some quick cash. Get the most from your investment. Here are a few tips we picked up from CNNMoney.com
Due to the increase in unemployment (currently 15.3 or 15.4% depending on who you speak to) as well as the end of the cash for clunkers program, retail sales increased in August but subsequently decreased in September. -- Forbes 
At least consumers were able to save at gas pumps earlier this year. The price of petro is expected to rise again as oil prices surged above $75 a barrel Wednesday for the first time this year. The U.S. dollar remains weak and investors bet that global energy demand is poised to recover. It looks like it's going to be a long and hard winter -- CNNMoney.com
To all those addicted to the 'Crackberry': No doubt you've heard about the upcoming Blackberry Storm 2.
We hear tell it should be available in November. However, it may not be all it's 'cracked' up to be. Get a sneak peek for yourself from our friends over at Engadget.com
In the market for a new cell phone and/or carrier? "Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday that it will expand nationally Tracfone Wireless Inc.'s ultra-cheap Straight Talk cellphone service, in another illustration of the ratcheting down of pricing at the low end of the wireless industry. The service is seen as a potent competitor in the hot prepaid segment, particularly because it runs on the Verizon Wireless network. With a national stage, Straight Talk is able to apply pressure on all of the prepaid wireless providers." -- Wall Street Journal
While typically a foreclosure auction rings cha-ching for investors and those looking to purchase a home at incredibly low prices, the foreclosure auction in Chicago proved to leave much to be desired. Kendi Kiogora, a 28-year-old first-time home buyer, said she felt like she "won the lottery" when she bought a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment in Chicago's trendy South Loop neighborhood, with skyline views and heated parking, for just $105,000 -- $62,000 less than its last listed price. -- Reuters
Ron Nash is not someone who's shy about pushing to get what he wants; he's a motivational speaker, headhunter and author of "How to Find Your Dream Job; Even in a Recession." But when it came to obtaining a mortgage workout, he wasn't getting anywhere -- even after months of trying. He finally wrote a letter to the president of his lender to try to resolve the issue. The results were very gratifying -- at first. After that, however, and after he was asked to send in all his paperwork for the fifth time, he didn't hear from them again for six months. Then, recently, he finally got a call back with a loan workout offer.
Full Story: Why He Chose to Walk Away
Six Horror Stories of Mortgage Modification
Sue Wright, Las Vegas, Nev.
Real estate agent Sue Wright was one of the earliest homeowners to apply for the FDIC's mortgage modification plan to help insolvent IndyMac's at-risk borrowers keep their homes. But because she was current on her mortgage payments, the bank said it couldn't help her and advised her to stop making payments for two months. She did that and called back right after her second payment was overdue. She was given a plan with a reduced interest rate and told to make the new payments for three months and the modification would become permanent. But after doing that, she received a letter from the bank telling her the modification was off; the investors wouldn't approve it.
Full Story: The Crazy Part Is ...
Courtesy CNNMoney.com
A. G. Chancey, Longwood, Fla.
Chancey has been trying to arrange a mortgage workout since August 2008, when she was only two months behind on payments. Today, after dozens of phone calls to her lender, she's made progress. But she's now five months behind. She has been in the home for 23 years, but family health problems, divorce and economic factors have conspired against her and she's never been able to substantially pay down the loan. She tried to apply for a mortgage workout, but no one ever seemed to know her status.
Full Story: She May Get Good News Yet
Courtesy CNNMoney.com
Raul Medina, Moorestown, N.J.
No good deed goes unpunished, they say, and Amber and Joe Tardiff might be forced to agree. When Joe's good friend and partner in a landscaping business, Raul Medina, was left a parapalgegic by an auto accident, the Tardiffs took on the Good Samaritan task of dealing with Medina's mortgage issues. Medina, who's also a minister, owns two properties, his residence and one he bought for a Moorestown, N.J., church to provide shelter for the homeless. But after seven months of roadblocks, wrong numbers, voice mails to people who no longer work for the company, they were told that the lender does not offer any loan modifications.
Full Story: His Only Options Now
Courtesy CNNMoney.com
Richard and Pati Kays, Stuart, Fla.
"He's 83 and I'm 73, with separate assets, stuck in the mortgage mess. We're not quite in foreclosure but in distress over the inability to sell or refinance," says Pati Kays. Pati married husband Richard seven years ago. He's a retired high-steel construction man. She's a retired attorney who owns five cottages she rents out. Richard was supplementing his pension and social security with the rent from a mortgaged duplex he owns. Not any more. His adjustable rate mortgage reset, and his payment on the $430K mortgage went from $1,750 a month to $2,750. The rent he now receives is only $1,800 a month. Trying to head off problems, Richard called his lender to ask for a workout.
Full Story: Why He's in a Bind
Courtesy CNNMoney.com
Ron Nash, Carlsbad, Calif.
Ron Nash is not someone who's shy about pushing to get what he wants; he's a motivational speaker, headhunter and author of "How to Find Your Dream Job; Even in a Recession." But when it came to obtaining a mortgage workout, he wasn't getting anywhere -- even after months of trying. He finally wrote a letter to the president of his lender to try to resolve the issue. The results were very gratifying -- at first. After that, however, and after he was asked to send in all his paperwork for the fifth time, he didn't hear from them again for six months. Then, recently, he finally got a call back with a loan workout offer.
Full Story: Why He Chose to Walk Away
Courtesy CNNMoney.com
Ken Mobley, Tampa, Fla.
Ken Mobley had some of his best earnings years ever in the mid-2000s, as an advertising sales representative for a media company. But with newspaper ad revenues in decline, he was "reorganized" by his company and now sells ads to mom-and-pop businesses. He called his lender last fall hoping for a hardship consideration and asking for a two-month postponement of his mortgage payments. He wanted to have them added to the end of his mortgage. Mobley says his credit rating was excellent, and he was merely trying to free up some cash for the holidays. The effort failed.
Full Story: His Catch-22
Courtesy CNNMoney.com
