38 The Queens Courier • banking & finance • april 11, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com DEBT banking & finance DIFFERS BY GENERATION s Different tastes in music and varying perspectives on history aren’t the only factors that define the gaps between the generations. A new credit trends study shows that the generations also differ on how they handle credit and debt. Members of the Greatest Generation (Americans older than 66) have the highest average credit score, 820, according to the study by Experian. The average score for Generation Y (ages 19 to 29) is 672. While 148 points separate their average scores, the two groups are much more closely aligned in the relatively lower amount of debt they both carry. Conversely, baby boomers (ages 47 to 65), and members of Generation X (ages 30 to 46) carry much higher debt loads, the study shows, and just 64 points separate their average scores of 782 and 718, respectively. The generations also differ in their average amount of debt. Not surprisingly, Gen Y has the lowest average debt: $34,765. But their closet age group, Generation X, has the highest at $111,121. Baby boomers and the Greatest Generation have average debts of $101,951 and $38,043, respectively. The composition of that debt has some interesting similarities and startling contrasts among the generations. A first mortgage constitutes the largest percentage portion of debt for all four generations. However, while second mortgages are the second largest percentage of debt for members of the Greatest, baby boom and X generations, student loans occupy that spot for the Y generation. To learn more about managing credit, visit www.livecreditsmart.com. – Courtesy ARA Content At Gilman Ciocia, you’ll receive 25% OFF* whatever you paid your accountant last year. And that’s only the beginning. We like saving people money on their taxes - and we’d like to help you. With the economy the way it is, there’s never been a better time to take control of your taxes. Call to schedule an appointment Queens Office: 35-30 Francis Lewis Blvd. Flushing, NY 11358 718-304-2035 www.gtax.com Jim Ciocia, Founder and Chairman *$99 minimum tax preparation fee. Please bring your invoice from last years tax preparation fees. Offer available for 2012 tax returns only. Not to be combined with any other offer. Non-negotiable. No cash value. If you had your taxes prepared by Gilman Ciocia in 2012, you do not qualify for this promotion. This discount must be requested at time of service, no credits will be issued after the tax return has been filed. Offer expires March 31, 2013. Legally Speaking By: Scott Baron, Attorney at Law LIGHTS! LIGHTS! Advertorial Q: More than an hour after sundown, we were struck by an automobile coming in the opposite direction. That car was rounding a curve toward the left. My husband had forgotten to turn on our lights. Suddenly, it came upon our buggy, emerging from the gloom. A: Your husband’s unexcused omission of lights mandated by law establishes his own negligence. Lights are intended for the guidance and protection of other travelers on the highway. Even heedlessly, for your husband to omit the safeguards prescribed by law for the benefit of others, in order that they be preserved in life and limb, is to fall short of the standard of diligence to which people who live in an organized society are under a duty to conform. As Justice Cardozo once said, “A statute designed for the protection of human life is not to be brushed aside as a form of words, its commands reduced to the level of cautions, and the duty to obey attenuated into an option to conform.” Nevertheless, the courts are on their guard not to confuse the question of negligence with the question of the causal connection between the negligence and the injury. Perhaps your traveling without lights was not the only cause of this disaster Can you show that the driver was in your lane, ran into you purposely, was driving while intoxicated, or was going at such a reckless speed that few things could have aroused and guided his sight? If so, a jury may be able to conclude that he was at fault, too. The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice Copyright © 2013 Scott Baron & Associates, P.C. All rights reserved. 159-49 Cross Bay Boulevard, Howard Beach, New York 11414 1750 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10710 718-738-9800, 914-337-9800, 1-866-927-4878
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