usatoday:

How much student-loan debt is too much?

moniab:

Love Don’t Cost a Thing. Or Does It? (Infographic)

Getting engaged is probably one of the most exciting moments of our lives. Although the question “will you marry me?” is a relatively simple one, most newly engaged don’t realise what kind of consequences it implies. The thought of organizing a wedding is a lot of fun, but unfortunately weddings usually come with a huge price tag… 

http://www.easyfinance.com/blog/love-dont-cost-a-thing-or-does-it/

thisistheverge:

German art student builds Euro-to-Bitcoin vending machine

Despite growing popularity in the shadier parts of the internet, the anonymous, peer-to-peer currency Bitcoin has yet to break into the mainstream — but a new effort by German art student Max Albrecht may help to raise its profile. As a project for his university’s summer exhibition, Albrecht has built a vending machine that converts €1 coins (about $1.20) into their equivalent Bitcoin value, currently around 0.15 BTC. 

ibmsocialbiz:

Raising capital online. Crowdfunding is booming. A report by Massolution, a research firm, forecasts that $2.8 billion will be raised worldwide this year, up from $1.5 billion in 2011 and only $530m in 2009. There are over 450 “crowdfunding platforms”, including four in China, up from under 100 in 2007, with Kickstarter America’s largest. This month Indiegogo, its closest rival (though global and with a broader mix of projects), secured the biggest chunk of venture capital so far for crowdfunding.

America’s recent Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups (JOBS) Act is raising hopes that crowdfunding will also transform the way in which firms raise capital. Duncan Niederauer, the boss of NYSE Euronext, claims that, properly done, it “will become the future of how most small businesses are going to be financed”.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is trying to come up with rules to implement the JOBS Act. Some fear that it will impose onerous requirements on firms raising equity from the crowd.

Fears of fraud may be overdone. Crowds may be harder to cheat than individuals. “On eBay, to sell something fraudulently, you need only fool one person. On Kickstarter, you have to fool a couple of thousand,” says Yancey Strickler, a founder of Kickstarter. Via The Economist