Ask Liz Weston

photo credit: jocelynmarie

Snagging a date with that cute dude, getting good grades, banishing that zit. Yup, teen girls worry about a lot of stuff. Now add the economy and money to that list.

According to a survey from Bank of America and “Seventeen” magazine, teen girls are slightly more anxious about the economy (85 percent) vs. teen boys (75 percent).

Girls’ fears range from not having enough cash to pay for things they want – like lip gloss and mini dresses – to how to pay for  the big, important stuff – like college.

The research, based on interviews in April with 2,000 teens ages 16-21, also shows:

• Teen girls are more likely to be stressed about finding a way to pay for college than teen boys (69 percent vs. 59 percent).
• 40 percent of teen girls think their parents should bail them out of a tough money situation, no matter how old they are. (Ack!!)
• About 65 percent of teens said they had changed their spending habits as a result of the economy.
• 4 in 10 teens have altered their college plans because of the economic slowdown, while 1 in 5 had to either go with their second choice of college because of cost or attend a state school instead of a private one to save money.

Whoa – some of you are in need of a reality check. (C’mon girls – your parents should bail you out no matter how old you are?!) Getting a financial education doesn’t cost. Teens and parents can start below with a few MSN columns:

• Parents, stop scaring your kids
• What kids need to know about money
• Teach your teens how to handle credit cards
• Should parents bail out their kids?
• Money woes? What to tell the kids
• Teens need debt driver’s licenses

While many industries are struggling in the current economy, there are some that are doing well and growing, according to Sageworks, which provides private company financial information.. Below is a list of five sectors that have remained financially stable and show profit growth greater than 17% and sales growth greater than 4,5% over the last 12 months. These might be good industries for job seekers to check out:

Industry: Accounting & Tax Service Firms
Net profit % change: 20.9%
Sales % change: 10.9%
What they do: Work with businesses and individuals to provide auditing of accounting records, financial and budget consulting, and to prepare financial statements and tax returns.

Industry: Specialized Freight Trucking Companies
Net profit % change: 20.8%
Sales % change: 6.8%
What they do: Provide local or long-distance trucking using special equipment, such as flat-beds, tankers, or refrigerated trailers.

Industry: Offices of other health practitioners
Net profit % change: 19.5%
Sales % change: 10%
What they do: These are offices of chiropractors, mental-health practitioners, physical therapists and occupational therapists.

Industry: Offices of dentists
Net profit % change: 19.3%
Sales % change: 7,8%
What they do: Provide dental services; cleanings, fillings, crowns, etc.

Industry: Beer, Wine and Liquor Wholesalers
Net profit % change: 17.9%
Sales % change: 4.7%
What they do: Distribute beer, wine and liquor to retail stores, restaurants and bars.

Sick and tired of all that bad economic news that just keeps rolling in 24/7? You can now wear that sentiment on your sleeve — well — your wrist — with the eco-friendly  “I’m Tired of The Economy” bracelet. The bracelet is made from recycled tires and metal.  Cost: $10.

But the makers of the “I’m Tired of …” line, Santa Monica siblings Dan Hoffman and Carrie Pollare, will give you $5 back as your own little economic stimulus rebate. (And you didn’t have to wait for Congress!) They suggest consumers buy a cup of coffee or a sandwich with the money.

Typically, the company creates bracelets to “fight against the world’s issues that we are all tired of, like animal cruelty, world hunger, global warming, cancer, diabetes, and so many more,” according to their news release. Half of the sale ($5) from each bracelet is donated to charities whose cause the company supports. (The rest goes to handle their costs, such as shipping.)

“With all the talk about the economy, we couldn’t resist,” says Hoffman in the release. “The US economy stinks and it’s all we’re hearing about.”

How many of the “I’m Tired of the Economy” bracelets have they sold? “Not that many yet,” Hoffman wrote in an email. “Maybe a few hundred. It just launched, but we’re getting a good response.”

Hoffman said the company has even sent a bracelet to President Obama because they imagine he’s already pretty sick of the economy, too. Any response? So far, no.  “He’ll probably get back to us shortly,” Hoffman joked in his email.

For more info on the bracelets CLICK HERE.

I’ve heard from two readers in recent weeks who called Bank of America to ask for a lower rate on their credit cards–requests that seriously backfired.

The first knew his credit wasn’t great, but thought he’d see if BofA would lower his 25% rate anyway. Not only did the bank say no, it lowered his credit limit by $7,000.

The second asked BofA “what I could do in these difficult economic times to reduce my interest and/or payments” on a credit card and a line of credit, according to a post on the Your Money message board.  Instead of a concession, the reader recently received letters from the bank saying the accounts had been frozen. “I was very surprised and called Bank of America again regarding the letters,” wrote the reader, who wasn’t in financial distresss. “Their response was that since I called to ask them for help it showed I was in financial hardship and froze my accounts.” 

Bank of America spokeswoman Betty Reiss said it’s not the bank’s policy to freeze or shut down accounts simply because customers ask for an interest rate cut. But she sidestepped my question about whether such requests invite the bank to more closely scrutinize the accounts. Bank of America is more closely monitoring all its accounts these days, she said.

Here’s what you need to know about asking your issuer for a lower interest rate:

You have the best shot if your FICO scores are 720 or above. Credit card issuers are trying to shed high-risk customers but woo (and retain) low-risk ones.

Don’t cite “hard times” unless you’re facing them. If you have good scores, you want to argue from a position of strength–”I have great credit and can easily take my business elsewhere.” If you talk about economic distress, you’ll set off red flags and alarms.

If your scores aren’t great but you’re not in distress, consider other options. Rather than asking for concessions from your issuer, talk to your local credit union about a fixed-rate debt consolidation loan. Consider a 401(k) loan only if your job is rock-solid.

If you are facing distress, get help. Your issuer may offer you a modified repayment plan or temporary forbearance (read this excellent CreditCards.com story for details), but your accounts will almost certainly be frozen and perhaps shut down. Credit counseling is another option that will have the same result. Bankruptcy is a last-resort option that may be your only way out if your debt is truly unpayable; consult an experienced bankruptcy attorney fordetails.

When you’re getting a pilot’s license, one of the first things you learn is how to avoid a stall. A stall is when the plane’s wings suddenly lose lift, which can lead to an uncontrollable plunge to the ground.

You’re taught that if the plane is flying at low speed and starts to shake, you push the nose down. Your instructor takes you up into the sky and puts the plane in a near-stall, over and over again, so you can practice this recovery maneuver until it’s reflexive. Shake, push down. Shake, push down.

Yet now comes information from last week’s terrible commuter plane crash that the pilot seems to have done exactly the opposite–that he pulled the nose up instead of down.

It’s still too early to draw conclusions, of course, but it wouldn’t be the first time a human being panicked and did exactly the wrong thing, with disastrous consequences.

To bring this home: being fearful about your investments is a perfectly human and rational response to the uncertainty in the market and the economy. But some people are letting fear flare into panic. They’ve become hysterical and irrational. They’re convinced the economy is about to collapse and their investments will become worthless. They’re making sudden, radical changes in their portfolios rather than taking a moment to breathe, get unconflicted advice and see the big picture.

When you’re a pilot, you may not have time to reflect. That’s why flight training is so important. As long-term investors, though, we don’t have to make split-second decisions. We can take the time to get it right.

The head of the International Monetary Fund says the U.S., Western Europe and Japan are already in one, yet there’s no standard definition of what comprises a depression.

My MSN colleague Jon Markman says it’s two back-to-back recessions, which would technically make the recessions of the early 1980s a depression.

Others believe it’s when the economy contracts for a more extended period, with five years being a commonly-cited length of time—which means the economic decline Japan experienced in the 1990s counts as a depression.

In the U.S., however, whenever we hear “depression,” we think “Great Depression,” the contraction that started after the 1929 crash and lasted until World War II.

At this point, it’s stretching credibility to imagine we could return to those days of 25% unemployment and one third of the nation “ill-housed, ill-clad and ill-nourished,” in FDR’s famous assessment. Especially in its early years, the Great Depression was a terrifying period of widespread want and uncertainty.

As I’ve said before, many of the safety nets that will prevent such widespread poverty were put into place during the Great Depression, including:

• Unemployment benefits
• FDIC insurance
• Social Security
• Food stamps

But millions of people are already experiencing a sharp drop into their standard of living as layoffs and foreclosures mount. So even if we don’t face the next Great Depression as a nation, many people are already experiencing a depression their personal finances.

Which is why it’s so important to get a handle on your finances now if you’re among the vast majority that still have homes and jobs. Build up that emergency fund, pay off that toxic debt, and protect your credit score. But don’t give in to panic and despair, because those who do are likely to miss some amazing opportunities.