TransUnion, the global credit information service agency, reported that the U.S. mortgage delinquency rate hit 6.01% in the last quarter of 2011. This means that 6.01% of Americans were two months behind on their mortgage payments – a .13% jump from the previous quarter’s rate of 5.88% and a huge leap from the pre-recession rate of 2%.

With rising mortgage delinquency rates, higher foreclosure rates are expected to follow. A downward spiral starting with mortgage delinquency, leading to foreclosure, and resulting in bad credit could put many Americans into a further worse economic state.

The delinquency rate rose in 37 states in late 2011 with Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and New Jersey taking the lead. New Jersey, Vermont, and South Dakota have faced the largest percentage change in the past year, each with percentage changes of over 10%.

Although mortgage delinquencies rose in late 2011, Tim Martin of TransUnion’s financial services business unit remains hopeful: “Although house prices and unemployment will likely face continued pressure next year, this forecast calls for gradual improvements in the second half of 2012 to other key variables, like improving credit quality of new originations, consumer confidence and GDP, that will positively influence homeowners’ ability and willingness to pay their mortgages.”

Brands do not tend to sell their cars to rental agencies – the surplus of cars that the manufacturers give to the rental companies tend to saturate the market with models and can devalue a company’s image and their cars. However, choosing to sell nearly 50% more cars this year versus last year is what gave Toyota a 7.5% increase in U.S. sales (in contrast with the less than 1% increase that was projected).

Toyota does not expect to keep selling to rental companies and fleets in this way. The decision was based solely to make up for the contracts that were unable to be completed last year due to the earthquake in Tokyo and the consequent limited car production. In fact, although they made drastic changes in their economic strategy, they still performed lower than the total U.S. average – about an 11% increase.

Contrastingly, Toyota’s competitors General Motors and Ford Motors both have a larger amount of sales related to rental cars, both almost having 30% of their cars being sold to rental car “fleets” in January alone. Toyota’s 18% of cars sold in fleet sales for January should siphon off and drop back down to normal levels around March (expected to be less than 10%). Let us hope that the fleet sales and the release of nearly 20 new and restructured vehicles will increase Toyota’s sales for the rest of 2012.

• Lower costs – Although tuition costs may be similar, pursuing a degree online gives you the advantage of not having to pay fees such as housing, dining plans; or other extra costs such as technology, health, or other miscellaneous fees.

• Convenience – All of your work and learning will take place in your home, so you won’t have to worry about things like bad weather or a long commute to your school.

• Doing things at your own pace – Lots of online classes are flexible regarding the due dates of their assignments, so you can alter your schedule to accommodate your homework load. You can also choose when to have effective study times. And an advantage to having all the coursework online is that you can review all the material or lectures online repeatedly (rather than asking a professor to repeat himself in front of a giant lecture hall and potentially waste your classmates’ time).

• Balancing a work life – Working and going to school simultaneously is extraordinarily difficult in a traditional school setting. Juggling the responsibilities of work and school – as well as the miscellaneous obstacles life throws at you – is challenging. An online degree may give you enough flexibility to manage a 40-hour workweek so that you can eat, pay rent, and pay for tuition.

• Transferring Credits – Some students like to take advantage of summer quarter and take classes to advance their degree, but often times they can run into problems. The university may not offer the classes they need or the student may have obligations such as a summer job or internship they must attend to. But online coursework solves this problem. It may be possible within your institution to take coursework over the summer through an online system and transfer the credits to your major.

Of course, thoroughly research your online degree to make sure the institution is legitimate and that the degree will apply to your profession before enrolling in courses.

Shockingly, the Ecology Center found that more than 275 toxic chemicals could be found in car interiors, including bromine and chlorine-based mixtures that make cars less flammable and durable, respectively. So, if these chemicals can be linked to health problems such as cancer, why are they in your car? The problem is that the industry does not regulate the amount of toxins they inject into their materials, which is why the Ecology Center created the project in the first place. A research director, Jeff Gearhart from the Ecology Center, stated that, “Since these chemicals are not regulated, consumers have no way of knowing the dangers they face. Our testing is intended to expose those dangers and encourage manufacturers to use safer alternatives”.

However, since the study began in 2006, the Ecology Center has noticed the industry making drastic improvements in keeping consumer health in mind. Polyvinyl chloride (also labeled PVC) is usually an ingredient in interior objects such as windshields and fabrics. It has also been linked to thyroid cancer. Before 2006, there were no cars on the market that sold PVC-free interiors. Now in the year 2012, 17% of cars have PVC-free interiors and even more – a whopping 60% – are now bromine free.

With that said, the worst offender of 2011 was the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, which ranked on the high end of the toxic scale. The Outlander had bromine-based seats, leather materials that were chromium-treated, and it even incorporated lead into the seat materials. Inversely, the least toxic car of the year goes to the 2012 Honda Civic. The Civic is both PVC and bromine free – in addition to minimizing the use of heavy metals in its design – making it the “winner” of the Ecology Center’s list.

• Deductible – Deductibles are the money you pay insurance companies before you can use the benefits of the health insurance plan you sign up for. It is usually an annual fee and can be charged for an entire family or multiple individuals, depending on your plan.

• Co-insurance – Co-insurance means that the insurance company will pay a certain percentage for a medical bill and the insured must pay the rest. For example, a company may pay for 70% for your trip to the dentist, but you have to pay the 30% out of your pocket.

• Lifetime maximum – The lifetime maximum is the amount of money a health insurance company will be willing to pay for your bills during a lifetime. Individual and family maximums are different, so be sure to compare them if searching for health insurance.

• Premium – A premium is the amount you initially pay for insurance coverage.

• Non-cancelable or Guaranteed Renewable Policy – A Non-cancelable or Guaranteed Renewable Policy states that if individuals keep paying their premiums, they will always be insured.

• Pre-existing condition – A pre-existing condition is a medical condition that an individual may have before signing up for health insurance. Some companies may pay for these conditions, whereas others may choose to insure those after a certain amount of time has passed.

• Exclusions – Exclusions are circumstances or conditions that the insurance company will never pay for. Make sure to know exactly what exclusions you are limited to before signing up for insurance.

Equipped with this vocabulary of essential insurance terms, you should now be better prepared to compare health insurance plans and determine which may be the best for you.

During a recent trip to Milwaukee to visit the company Master Lock, Obama has also advocated tax cuts for companies. “Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas,” Obama said, “Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay here in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world”. The president went on to state that companies who promoted “in-sourcing” – companies that brought their business back to American soil instead of globally – will be the ones to help rebuild U.S. manufacturing.

Not everyone is in agreement with Obama’s approach to the payroll tax cut or his attitude towards tax breaks. David M. Walker, the head of the non-partisan group Comeback America Initiative, thinks Obama’s attitude is merely reflective of this election year and that all the extension will do is slap another proverbial Band-Aid on the mortal wound that is our economic structure. “It is much more about politics than economics and it represents another action to treat short-term symptoms rather than the structural diseases that threaten our future,” Walker said.

Representatives of the House went on to cite that the extension will save families at least $1000 this year, but only time will tell us if this extension will repair or further damage our fractured infrastructure.

If you take a shower every day, washing your hair each time is too much. Maintain hair by washing it up to five times a week. The most important step to having healthy hair is using conditioner. Don’t skip this simple step. You should always use conditioner after shampooing. Even using a two-in-one bottle comprised of shampoo and conditioner works. Hair must be treated like a very fragile object. It can be easily damaged. Compare washing your hair to washing your favorite piece of clothing; take care of it.

Know what kind of water you’re using on your hair. Soft water is easier on your hair than hard water. If you’re using hard water, you may need to apply a special kind of shampoo and conditioner each week to remove damaging minerals.

Using a blow drier is fine, but make sure not to keep it in one place for too long. To avoid burning your hair, ensure the blow drier is not too hot.

Don’t use brushes with plastic bristles. Proper bristles are very important. With brushes, you usually get what your pay for. A nice boar bristle brush can cost a pretty penny, but your hair will thank you.

If you have chemically changed the color of your hair, use the right products to protect it. Color-specific hair care products have better ingredients and strip less color.

Ultimately, your hair style can change your overall look dramatically. Take the time to maintain your hair and you will end up looking and feeling fabulous.

Burbank’s theory on New CASSH is simple. He realized that the Western world is dealing with its financial problems by printing even more money. Burbank explains that printing money leads to inflation. He says you want to have assets that profit from inflation. This is where the countries defined by the acronym come in:

New Zealand: New Zealand has a developed market and a relaxed style of government. It’s the least corrupt country in the world. It has a great deal of agriculture, which performs well in an environment where the dollar is weak.

Canada: Canada is also prepared to tackle financial crisis. It has many oil and gas reserves and its banking system is very strong.

Australia: Australia is rich with resources such as coal and iron ore. It also produces oil, gas, and grain. It’s close to Asia and can benefit from Asia’s need of resources.

Switzerland: The biggest thing Switzerland has going for it is the franc and its likelihood of rising in value as the value of the dollar declines. The franc is known as a safe-haven currency and has almost no inflation.

Singapore: Singapore is sometimes seen as the Switzerland of Asia. It has high growth and low debt. The Singapore dollar is reaching higher than the US dollar.

Hong Kong: Hong Kong’s currency matches the US dollar. So, this means that with a cheap US dollar resulting in a cheap Hong Kong dollar, Hong Kong could be sent into massive growth. It’s a good place for investors seeking high risk.

If the financial crisis continues, it will be important to monitor New CASSH and see how these countries benefit.

The hardest part of saving money is actually starting to save it. Once you get in the routine of putting a little extra cash in a savings account, it becomes easier to do, and you’ll probably forget you’re even doing it. Better yet, if you can set up an automatic transfer of 10% of each paycheck, you won’t even notice the money is gone.

Setting up a savings account will give you peace of mind. You won’t have to go around worrying about an incident that could leave you broke. Saving money doesn’t have to be just for an emergency either. You can set aside money for a vacation or a house too. If you don’t have a savings account, set one up today. It’s one of the best financial decisions you can make.

This doesn’t just apply to buyers in the market, but current homeowners and even sellers can benefit from a home inspection as well. Although not a fully exhaustive examination, a home inspection basically ensures that a house is appropriately appraised for structural, plumbing, and electrical problems. They may even inspect for other areas such as bug or pest infestations, the quality of water, septic issues and even mold, depending on the inspector that you go with.

Buyers and current homeowners benefit enormously from the examination. If you are a buyer, you want to be reassured of your purchase before you make it, so the inspection will either satisfy your worries or convince you to go with a different home. You can also choose to renegotiate the price of a property with your seller by taking into account repairs or maintenance issues, which could save you thousands of dollars. And lastly, both buyers and homeowners can determine the scope of future upkeep or repairs of your home – the home inspection may give rise to issues you may have not thought of before (such as AC, water heater, or even roof repairs).

Sellers can benefit from collecting home inspection data as well. First of all, buyers will love it if you’re honest and straight-forward to them about a house, even if it may have some problems. An inspection will not only help implement trust between you and your buyer, but it also may help you construct plans for repairs on the property, (before it’s sold) as well as help pinpoint a target price for the house.

Make sure before agreeing to a home inspection that the inspector is licensed, since each state handles home inspection regulation differently. And be wary of real estate agents that directly refer a list of inspectors – hire one on your own to determine if your property is good to buy or sell!