Tag:

Geoff Williams

Be the Best Trick-or-Treat House on the Block Without Breaking the Bank

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

Halloween is the scariest time of the year, but that isn't always due to the ghosts trick-or-treating you, or the creepy clown sightings on the news. The price of Halloween candy, not to mention the cost of costumes and home decorations, can give anyone the heebie-jeebies.According to the National Retail Federation, which surveyed 6,791 consumers from Sept. 6 to 13 about their Halloween shopping plans, the average American will spend $82.93 on Halloween, up from $74.34 last year. All in all, Halloween spending is expected to reach $8.4 billion in 2016.Fortunately, if you are worried about going overboard this year, many decorating experts maintain that it's possible to have the best trick-or-treat house in the neighborhood without breaking the bank. It simply requires a little imagination and preparation on the front end.[See: 9 Scary Things Consumers Do With Their Money.]Candy. We'll start here first, since it's the easiest thing to find cheaply. Buy your candy several days or weeks in advance, so you can be on the lookout for discounts.If you belong to a warehouse club, buying in bulk might save you money. Digital coupon websites like Coupons.com and RetailMeNot.com have coupons for candy and Halloween costumes that you may want to utilize. Just make sure that if you do buy Halloween candy weeks in advance that you hide it, so your family doesn't eat it and gobble all of your savings.Halloween decorations. Check out the dollar stores first. Sure, that may sound obvious, but if you're something of a dollar-store snob, it also may be the last place you would consider."You would be surprised [at] the fantastic finds that can really add value to your Halloween display. There are plastic skulls, dismembered body parts, creepy spiders and so much more," says Felicia Ramos-Peters, who lives in Hurleyville, New York, and is the founder of GetHolidayHappy.com, a website aimed at helping people celebrate holidays with ideas for recipes, decorations and gifts.Jeanine Boiko seconds the dollar store. Boiko is a New York City publicist who also blogs about home decor and owns an Etsy.com shop called Okio B Designs."Stock up on fake skulls, rats and crows, and jars, window decals," she suggests, adding that, "a can of orange or black spray paint can work wonders on sprucing up dollar store finds and creating the 'eek' factor."And if you see nothing you like at the dollar stores, leave. All you have wasted is some time.[See: 10 Oddly Practical Things You Can Rent.]Lights. But one thing to think about while you're at the dollar stores? Lighting."Lighting is everything," says Jamie O'Donnell, an Orlando, Florida resident who has been an event planner for more than 15 years. "Replace the bulbs of your outdoor light with LED lights in orange or purple to cast your house in a spooky glow. It's fairly inexpensive and only takes a few minutes to do but creates a dramatic look."Judging from what you can find online, festive LED lights may run you around $20 to $30 for a string of, say, 40 to 100 lights (which could cost a small fortune if you intend to light up your entire home). The conventional holiday strings of orange or purple lights are generally cheaper, and will likely run you more along the lines of $5 to $15. Of course, you can always buy your lights after the holidays, when they're on sale, to prepare for next Halloween.Sounds and music. Ramos-Peters suggests using sound as part of your Halloween atmospherics."I think music is an underestimated element for outdoor Halloween displays. It is really easy to download or purchase some scary music and sound effects," Ramos-Peters says. "You can turn heads with a display that has some spooky sounds like a chainsaw or evil witch laughing."[See: 11 Ways to Save Time and Money.]Pro Tip: Use What You Have in Your HomePamela Layton McMurtry, an artist and designer in Kaysville, Utah, and author of the e-book "A Harvest and Halloween Handbook," feels it's always effective when homeowners create a spooky scene on their lawn."I love creative, alternative decor for Halloween and go wild for themes taken from literature," she says (think "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz").Now, that might sound like a surefire way to destroy your future retirement funds. You want to entertain your neighbors, not create a multi-million dollar Hollywood movie. But McMurtry says you may be able to find props in your home or at thrift stores. If you really want cheap and effective, McMurtry paints this picture: "Set up a fake campfire with cricket sounds and sad harmonica music. Mound dirt for a grave and put a pair of cowboy boots nearby with a clue about [what happened to] the demised, like a rubber snake."Something else to look for in your basement, attic or thrift store, Boiko suggests, is a long-forgotten Scrabble game."You can use the tiles for easy Halloween decor by spelling out spooky words. I painted the tile holders black and spelled out creepy words on mine," Boiko says.And if you can keep your Halloween costs low, you won't be tempted to spell out Scrabble letters to make phrases like "holiday debt" and "I'm broke." On the other hand, that may be a creative idea. The children on your block may not get creeped out by those words, but you'll send a chill up the spines of their parents..

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Financial Advisors

How to Find a Financial Advisor if You’re Not Rich

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

If you think about it, the people who need a financial advisor are the ones who can't afford one. If you're impoverished or firmly in the middle class and can't seem to make it to the next level, you're the one who could really use financial advice. If you're wealthy, you know what you're doing.Yet many financial advisors simply aren't interested in working with the middle class. Many firms in recent years have stopped paying commissions to brokers for accounts that are considered small, including accounts ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 in assets. Firms that do take less than those minimums sometimes charge as much as 2 percent in annual fees, though 1 percent is more typical.So what should a middle-class investor do to find a good financial advisor? Experts recommend following these tactics.Know Where to LookAt the beginning of the process, you should think about what type of financial advisor you want to meet with: fee-based or commission-based. Think about what you're looking for. Are you seeking help with investments and retirement planning, or simply someone to go to when you have questions? Some advisors include financial planning in their fees for managing your investments, while others charge a separate fee or hourly rate for advice.As for where to find a financial advisor, there are several places, from the obvious to the unexpected: Ask friends, family or colleagues for recommendations. Obviously, you'll be more likely to find somebody who will work with you if your friends, family members or colleagues are in a similar tax bracket as you are. The Garrett Planning Network. GarrettPlanningNetwork.com offers a map of the United States where users can click on a state and find a listing of financial advisors who cater to the middle class. The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. The association's website, NAPFA.org, allows you to find a financial advisor near you. It isn't for financial advisors who generally cater to the middle class, however. Still, you may want to take a look and see who shows up near your home. Robo advisors. You may want to consider an automated portfolio management service as a cost-effective option. For example, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios does not require advisory fees, account service fees or commissions, though you will need $5,000 to get started with them. Meanwhile, Wealthfront, another popular robo advisor, has a $500 minimum account requirement, and only charges an annual advisory fee of 0.25 percent on all assets under management deducted monthly. The Accredited Financial Counselor website. "I would strongly encourage true middle-income people to look (at Afcpe.org) for an accredited financial counselor," says Justin Chidester, who is both an accredited financial counselor and a certified financial planner – as well as the owner of Wealth Mode Financial Planning in Logan, Utah. Search engines. This one may seem like a no-brainer, but the power of search engines can't be overlooked. Chances are a search engine is how you found your way here. So if none of the above prove fruitful, consider a quick Google search for "financial advisor near me" or "financial advisor for the middle class." You've probably heard of certified financial planners, but accredited financial counselors have been around for a while too, according to Chidester."They often have a focus on helping low- and middle-income people, at affordable prices, with topics relevant to everyone – saving, budgeting, paying debt, improving credit, preparing to buy a home and working through poor habits with money," Chidester says.He adds that they can't legally provide investment or insurance advice, but they can provide great education about any financial topic and point you in the right direction for those things.Know What Questions to AskAre you looking for help with investments and retirement planning, or simply for someone to go to when you have questions? Knowing what you're looking for in a financial advisor is the first step to finding the right advisor for you. Knowing how to match an advisor to your needs is the second step. Ask any potential financial advisors these questions: What services do you provide? What type of clients do you typically work with? How will we communicate with each other? How often will I hear from you? Are you a fiduciary? How are you compensated? And how much will I be charged for your services? Some advisors include financial planning in their fees for managing your investments, while others charge a separate fee for advice. As for how much you'll pay, it will vary depending on where you live and the scope of the work you're asking for. Some advisors may charge a couple thousand dollars for a comprehensive plan; others may charge around $200 to $400 an hour to dispense financial advice.Stephanie Genkin, a certified financial planner in Brooklyn, New York, charges hourly – as opposed to what's known as "assets under management." Most fee-only advisors charge according to assets and therefore have minimum thresholds an individual needs to have in their bank account before they'll even consider the person as a client. How much is the minimum? It varies, of course, but often you'll need at least $50,000 before many advisors will consider working with you."That means most middle-class people are automatically excluded from service as they don't have enough in investments to manage," Genkin says. Genkin, who charges $200 an hour for her services, is also a fiduciary. That's important to know because there are two standards that financial advisors adhere to. If you're working with a fiduciary financial advisor, they are legally bound to put your needs before their own. A financial professional who has a suitability requirement is legally bound to provide products that are suitable for your needs, but which may not be the very best for you. That doesn't mean somebody who upholds the suitability standard isn't going to look out for you – but it does mean that the rules for those advisors are less stringent.Registered investment advisors, investment advisor representatives and certified financial planners all carry fiduciary-level responsibility. You can easily spot these titles on business cards, websites and email signatures, if you look after the person's name. Chartered retirement planning counselor and accredited investment fiduciary are other designations that indicate a fiduciary responsibility. Keep in mind, your financial advisor will likely carry a Series 65 license or a Series 7.As for what you might discuss with a financial advisor, it can run the gamut. In Genkin's case, she says, "I work with students to help them create realistic debt repayment plans, self-employed individuals who need help figuring out what they can do to save for retirement and new families who have limited resources and would like to save for a down payment on a home and start a college savings plan for their baby at the same time."She also points out that you may not need many hours, at first, with a financial advisor. If you're just starting this journey, you probably have fewer assets, and you just need that initial guidance. By the time you need more help to manage your assets, well, you'll presumably have more money, and paying for more financial advice won't be as challenging.Stick Up for YourselfTo avoid getting scammed, make sure to get references and check out everything you can find on the financial advisor online first. And keep in mind, everyone pays something when they hire a financial advisor – and not everyone is out to get you.But after you find a financial advisor, you do want to make sure you're in sync. You'll want to get a sense of whether your advisor has a financial philosophy that lines up with yours.And the most important question of all? "Ask how can they help you reach your goals," says Brett Anderson, a certified financial planner and president of St. Croix Advisors, an investment advisory firm in Hudson, Wisconsin.And if you're anxious that you don't make enough money for a financial advisor to work with you, just tell the advisor upfront what you earn, Anderson says."Established advisors will want to have a dialogue even before they schedule an initial meeting with you," he says. "Be honest. Just lay it all out. You'll save everyone time."And the more time you save in looking for a financial advisor, the faster you can get started making your money work for you.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

3 Strategies to Avoid Soaring ATM Fees

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

You\r
probably don’t need a survey or statistic to alert you that ATM fees are higher than ever. But in case you do: Earlier this month,\r
Bankrate.com released a survey of 25 banks in large cities, which concluded that the\r
average cost of using an out-of-network ATM is now\r
$4.52, a record.\r
\r
That’s the amount of the national average ATM surcharge ($2.88) plus the average fee to\r
use another bank’s ATM ($1.64), because generally, if you use another\r
bank’s ATM, you’re hit twice. The out-of-network bank will charge you,\r
and your own bank will, too.\r
\r
And,\r
of course, $4.52 is only the national average. If you’re in New York City and\r
get money from an out-of-network ATM, on average, you’ll pay a little\r
over $5, according to Bankrate’s data. And if both banks have\r
above-average surcharges, the price to access your money becomes\r
even more expensive.\r
\r
Of\r
course, talk to bankers, and they’ll tell you there’s a reason for those\r
fees: Banks have to\r
maintain the ATMs.\r
\r
One\r
can argue that the fees are nonetheless too high, but if you’re interested in\r
exactly what goes into the maintenance of an ATM, here’s a quick breakdown from\r
John Oxford, director of corporate communication and external affairs at\r
Renasant Bank, a regional bank headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi:\r
\r
Government compliance. Many laws dictate how banks must operate. ATMs had to be upgraded\r
in recent years to be compliant with the American with\r
Disabilities Act, Oxford says.\r
\r
Fraud protection. No surprise here, if you consider how frequently identity theft occurs. "ATMs\r
have had to add skimmer detection and other items such as higher-quality\r
cameras and lighting to make sure clients are and feel safe," Oxford\r
says.\r
\r
Maintenance\r
and service. It isn’t just that money needs to be routinely stocked into\r
the ATM, lest money run out. There’s insurance to pay on the ATM, and the bank\r
leases the property where the ATM is located, Oxford says.\r
\r
EMV\r
chip compliance. You’ve heard about how credit cards are being revamped with\r
embedded microchips that will store and better protect cardholder’s\r
information. ATMs need to be ready for that and upgraded, Oxford says.\r
\r
There is another cost as well, which\r
consumers often overlook, says John Pataky, an executive vice president at\r
EverBank, a financial services company that offers online banking: The price tag of the machines themselves. \r
\r
"Some machines are owned by the institution, but many are leased from\r
the major players in the industry, Diebold and NCR," he says.\r
\r
Still,\r
while there may be a reason for higher fees, that doesn’t mean you have to help\r
shoulder those costs. If you are tired of being hosed by ATM fees, try these strategies.\r
\r
Analyze your banking life. If you don’t like paying ATM fees,\r
make sure you use an ATM that belongs to your bank or is within its ATM network. The\r
symbols alerting you to what network you can use should be on the back of\r
your debit card, or you can inquire at your bank.\r
\r
That\r
said, even if you know what you’re doing, sometimes you need cash\r
in a hurry, and even the biggest banks can’t afford to have their ATMs on every\r
street corner. So if you continually find yourself using an out-of-network ATM and being charged a fee, ask yourself: What’s going on? When does this most often occur?\r
\r
If\r
this seems to happen frequently, you’re probably not\r
taking enough money out when you visit your bank’s ATM, and there’s your\r
problem. In other words, there’s probably a simple fix in your\r
routine to keep you from running short on cash. \r
\r
Maybe,\r
for instance, you should download your bank’s or credit union’s mobile app on\r
your phone, or visit its website and look for fee-free ATMs you\r
can use. Maybe it’ll turn out that you frequently use an ATM that’s out of\r
network when two blocks away, there’s one in your bank’s network.\r
\r
Take cash out at the grocery or drugstore. Here’s a simple\r
fix. Many retail establishments, including grocery stores, will let you take out\r
some cash, often up to $50 – and almost\r
always without a fee. Assuming you shop fairly regularly, take out a little extra as needed when you\r
shop, and you could make using the ATM a thing of the\r
past.\r
\r
Get a better bank. Maybe you need to find a financial institution that doesn’t foist a hefty fee every time you use an out-of-network bank, or\r
one that at least has more ATMs in its network. You may want to try an online\r
bank; many reimburse ATM fees, although some of those banks require you to keep\r
a hefty amount of money in your checking account to qualify.\r
\r
You could also consider switching to a\r
credit union. These operate like banks but are nonprofits that serve their\r
members rather than maximizing corporate profits (which isn’t to say that\r
members never complain about them, or that they never have high fees).\r
\r
"Nearly all credit unions\r
participate in a shared ATM network that provides surcharge-free access to\r
their members’ accounts. No single bank can boast as many ATM locations as the\r
CO-OP Network, the largest credit union-owned, surcharge-free ATM network with\r
nearly 30,000 locations nationwide," says Mike Schenk, a vice president of\r
economics and statistics with the Credit Union National Association.\r
\r
Whatever you do, try\r
to avoid paying ATM fees. If you take out $20, for instance, and you’re paying\r
a collective $5 to two different banks, you’ve just lost 25 percent of\r
that cash to two easily avoidable fees. If you aren’t paying attention to\r
your ATM fees, it may seem like only a few dollars here and there, but that’s exactly what banks are\r
banking on..

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

Don't Fall for These Cyber Scams

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

Internet scams used to be like the villain in a low-budget children's show. You could spot the bad guy a mile away, and you were probably more amused than afraid. Remember the Nigerian prince who insisted you were due an inheritance, if you'd send in your personal information? Or the email declaring you'd won a giant lottery? All you had to do was send in your bank account numbers, and you'd get your prize.How quaint. Even cute, almost.But today's scammers have grown up and are decidedly scary. Which is why it's smart to stay familiar with the latest and not so greatest in cyber scams. How might you get ripped off in the near future? Lots of ways, if you aren't on guard.[See: 9 Scary Things Consumers Do With Their Money.]Be wary of any financial institution that asks you to take a selfie – with your ID. That's a malware trick that McAfee technicians have discovered in the last few months, according to Gary Davis, chief consumer security evangelist at Intel Security, a Santa Clara, California-based company that makes McAfee computer security software. He says a type of malware (software, used for evil purposes) has surfaced in Hong Kong and Singapore, and attempts to trick computer users into taking a selfie with a personal ID, which obviously would be the worst sort of personal information for a criminal to have."I'm in awe every time I see how creative and clever the bad guys are," Davis says.And, sure, you might think that this sounds on par with the Nigerian prince and lottery scam (Who would fall for this?), but Davis says this malware, once you've managed to download it, will lay dormant and not ask you for financial information until you do some online banking and are probably expecting to be asked some questions. One would like to think that most consumers would stop and reflect –and not pose for a selfie – with their driver's license (even if they do think their bank is asking them to snap the shot), but it's easy to imagine that many consumers would answer the more routine questions, like, "What's your mother's maiden name?"[See: 10 Warning Signs of Identity Theft.]Be skeptical of USB sticks. You can use these data storage devices, also called USB flash drives, to back up information but also to download software, a PowerPoint presentation, a computer game, recipes or almost anything you can imagine. And while most USB sticks or flash drives are perfectly safe to use, Davis says that Intel Security's technicians have been finding ransomware being transmitted through USB sticks.Ransomware is a type of malware that, once it's in your computer, will shut everything down. Suddenly you won't be able to access any of your files until you pay a cash ransom to the hacker who sent you the ransomware. Ransomware is on the rise, industry experts say, affecting not only individuals but school districts, hospitals and businesses. Meanwhile, think about all the times you've stuck a USB stick into your computer. Many people use these frequently without second thought."I can't count the number of conferences I've been to, where they're just handing out USB sticks … If you don't know the history of the USB stick, don't connect it to your drive," Davis advises.[See: 10 Money Leaks to Shut Down Now.]Be aware of Google Voice scams. Jayne Hitchcock – whose pen name is J.A. Hitchcock – had this particular scam attempted on her very recently. Hitchcock, a Maine-based author of the upcoming book, "Cyberbullying & The Wild, Wild Web: What Everyone Needs To Know," put her phone number on a Craigslist ad she posted in hopes of selling a bunch of books she no longer wanted. Not long after the ad went up, she received a text from a phone number she didn't recognize. She Googled the number and found nothing bad, so she replied."Then I got a call from a 202 Washington, D.C., area code that had a prerecorded female voice saying it was Google Voice and to input the two-digit code I received," Hitchcock says. "I then got a text from this person telling me to input '50.'"That made Hitchcock's something's wrong antenna go up, so she wrote back and said to check out her website, netcrimes.net; if he wasn't a scammer, she wrote, she invited him to call her from the local number he was texting from."I never heard from him again," Hitchcock says.So what was the problem? What would have been so bad if Hitchcock had typed in the two-digit code?"What they do is steal your phone number, essentially using it as a forwarding number for them to scam other people," Hitchcock says. It can be such a hassle to get your phone number back that some people don't even bother and instead cancel it, she adds.Steer clear of emails with links to YouTube.com. Nobody needs to be told that YouTube is a massively popular website, and con artists are leveraging its all-ages appeal, according to Rich Drees, a Miami-based entrepreneur who runs a social media marketing company.Drees says crooks will sometimes send consumers emails with a link that leads to a YouTube video. Or, rather, it looks like it's going to lead to a YouTube video."Instead, you're taken to a page that looks exactly like the real thing, but you're asked to sign on, thus enabling the scammer to hijack your account," Drees says.One major hint that you have a problem, Drees says: "Check the address bar carefully when you arrive to ensure that it contains YouTube.com. If it contains another word before that, like Anotherword-YouTube.com, it's not YouTube. "These cyber tactics are only going to get worse, according to Davis."It used to be that proximity mattered," he says. "If you were a thief, you had to go to the bank, and it was high-risk, low reward. But that's why cyber crime is so attractive. It isn't dangerous for the bad guys, and it's difficult for them to be caught, especially if it's somebody who lives in another country. It's a growth market." 10 Ways to Protect Yourself From Online Fraud.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

6 Credit Card Blunders to Avoid This Holiday Season

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

If you've just finished paying off your credit card debt from last year's holiday shopping, you know that gift buying and paying with plastic can be a dangerous combination.There are so many things that can go wrong (and right) that it would take forever to list every possible way you could spend yourself into the poor house. But whether you're someone who always pays off credit card debt every month or you're still working on paying off debt from Christmas 2009, be sure to at least avoid these credit card blunders.[See: Best Credit Cards: Find the Right Card for You.]Falling for store credit card deferred interest deals. Planning on buying someone a big, expensive gift, or maybe getting something monumental for yourself? Wondering if you should really splurge? That's where deferred interest often lures consumers in. The store will promise that you won't pay interest if you pay off the entire purchase by the end of the advertised period."Every holiday season, many store chains that sell large and expensive items like furniture or appliances start advertising deferred interest offers on their store-branded credit cards," says Alex Gerard, CEO of CardsMix.com, a credit card comparison site. "These offers seem attractive, but they can be dangerous for your pocket if you have little discipline, like the majority of us."If you do have discipline, deferred interest deals can be swell. But it can be devastating if something goes wrong."If you don't pay off the entire purchase and owe even a penny at the end of the advertised period, you will be charged the interest for the whole introductory period," Gerard says.[See: Spend a Windfall Wisely.]Forgetting to track your spending. "The holiday spirit blinds you to how much you're really spending – until the bill comes due in January," says Howard Dvorkin, a certified public accountant and chairman of Debt.com. "So my suggestion is to keep a running list of all your holiday expenses and post them on the refrigerator or somewhere prominent in your home. Once you hit a dollar figure you agreed to stay below – whether it's $300 or $500 or even $1,000 – you and your family agrees to stop spending for the holidays."And if you still have some important gifts you really want to buy? "Everyone agrees to cut from somewhere else in the non-holiday part of the family budget," Dvorkin says.Carrying revolving debt from the holidays. Consumers plan on spending an average of $1,159 on their holiday purchases this year, according to a just-released annual survey of 2,006 consumers (between Oct. 5-9, 2016) from the credit card Discover.You know revolving debt is important to avoid, but you may want to do some math before you whip out your credit card, so you can see what you're getting into. If you were to spend $1,159 on holiday gifts this year, and you had a credit card with an average interest of 15.18 percent (the national average at the time of this writing, according to CreditCards.com), and you planned to take six months to pay it off, you would pay $201.81 each month, spending a total of $1,210.86.That arguably isn't too expensive, spending $51.86 to float $1,159 in gifts in exchange for making your family or friends happy. But, of course, the question becomes – do you only carry that revolving debt for those six months? If you're likely to buy more with your credit card and not pay it off right away, then suddenly that $201.81 payment is going to balloon and will likely become a weight around your neck. For all you know, next holiday season, maybe you'll still be paying off that $1,159 in gifts.Thus, it's vital you pay off that holiday credit card debt as soon as possible.[See: 10 Easy Ways to Pay Off Debt.]Failing to remember that the holidays are ideal for scam artists. It's smart to be something of a Grinch, assuming the world isn't full of good people when you're shopping at your computer or at the mall. From pickpockets to scammers with sophisticated equipment hoping to steal your credit card information when you shop at a public place with unprotected Wi-Fi, some people are out to get you.In Calgary, Canada, for instance, police recently alerted the media that they've seen an escalation in text messages asking consumers if they want to be secret shoppers, and while that might sound plausible, no, these text messages aren't legitimate. And throughout North America, there have been reports of fraudulent online stores and fake shopping apps being created, just waiting for people to find them and type in their credit card information.Be careful about applying for store credit cards. Like deferred interest deals, you'll get a lot of sales employees asking if you'd like to apply for a store credit card. Unless you shop there all the time, and you have a great track record of repaying your credit card debt, your answer should be: no, thanks."It's during the holidays that consumers, revolvers especially, are most susceptible to credit card debt," says Kerri Moriarty, CEO of Cinch Financial, a website that makes customized suggestions to people on what types of financial products they should get.She admits that it might seem "like a no-brainer," to open a store credit card to get a 20 percent discount, "but when you do the math on what it takes to really benefit from the action as a year-round decision and not just a Christmas Eve one, you might be surprised to realize how little of a deal there is – and even more so if you'll carry a balance on that card," she says.Forgetting about rewards on credit cards – or focusing too much on them. According to the aforementioned Discover survey, 46 percent of shoppers said their main reason for using credit cards for holiday shopping was to earn rewards. This is great, if you're racking up rewards and paying off your cards every month. But every credit card and personal finance expert who ever lived will tell you to not overspend just to get a bunch of rewards. Drowning in credit card debt isn't much of a reward.10 Tips for a Budget-Friendly Cyber Monday.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

Rising Credit Score but Rotten Credit Report?

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

If you have a dismal credit score, and you plan to apply for loan for a new house or car, you probably are doing whatever you can to bring your numbers up. You're paying your bills on time. You've been studying your credit reports and contacting the bureaus if you find any incorrect information. Maybe you've even taken out another small loan, just to show lenders that, yes, you've got this.But you may not have this. Not yet, anyway. A high credit score doesn't guarantee a loan. If you are planning on applying for a loan, keep the following in mind.[See: 12 Simple Ways to Raise Your Credit Score.]Your credit history has more to do with getting a loan than your credit score. According to Fair Isaac Corporation, which created the credit scoring algorithm that most lenders use when making lending decisions, excellent credit is when your score is 720 or more. Good credit would be 690 to 719. Fair credit is 630 to 689. Bad credit generally includes scores from 300 to 629.Credit scores and reports do tend to go hand in hand. If you have a high credit score, you probably have a positive credit report. But not always. You may have been a financial disaster up until a few years ago when you completely turned things around, and ever since, have watched your credit score climb.And while a few years of good financial behavior may be enough to get you a loan, lenders may nevertheless be scared by your past.[See: 10 Easy Ways to Pay Off Debt.]"Ultimately, the approval process is different for each applicant and lender," says Carla Blair-Gamblian, a consultant at Veterans United Home Loans, a mortgage brokerage in Columbia, Missouri.And whoever is looking over your loan may not be really looking at your credit history; instead he or she may be using a software program to make the decision."Many lenders use an automated system from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to get an approval status, so even if you have a great credit score but had really poor credit in the past, you may not still be able to get a mortgage loan," says Jeremy David Schachter, a mortgage advisor at Pinnacle Capital Mortgage Corporation in Phoenix, Arizona.If you do get approved for a loan, it's then that the credit score kicks in and becomes relevant, according to Schachter."Whatever your credit score is at the time of the application is what's determined for the interest rates," he says.Some items look bad on a credit report; others, don't look as bad. This won't shock you, but the longer you take to make a payment, the worse your credit report looks in the eyes of a lender. If your debt winds up in court, or you have a bankruptcy in your past, or a lien on your home, that could definitely derail your attempt to get a loan.But if you have a lot of late bills in your past, but you always managed to get them paid within 90 days, a lender typically won't be too horrified by that.David Hosterman, a branch manager with Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC in Greenwood Village, Colorado, says many financing companies have specific guidelines when it comes to "derogatory credit items," and often the guidelines are tied to a specific time."For instance when it comes to home loans, in regards to an FHA loan, [lenders] typically require that a customer is two years discharged from a bankruptcy before obtaining new credit," Hosterman says. "For conventional loans – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – they typically require a four-year waiting period."Hosterman adds that these are just guidelines, and if a customer can prove that a bankruptcy was due to extenuating circumstances, like being laid off from work, you might have a better shot of getting a loan with some lenders.[See: How to Live on $13,000 a Year.]Other factors can come into play when it comes to your loan's terms. If you get an approval, and you have that high credit score, you're almost certainly going to get a loan with good terms. But you may not get the best terms possible.When it comes to a mortgage, "interest rates are based on many different factors," says Schachter, adding that several of those factors include your credit score, what kind of property you're buying and how much your down payment will be.If you are denied a loan. You can always apply for another loan with someone else. You have probably heard that applying for multiple loans can make a credit score drop, just what you don't need, but according to MyFico.com, Fair Isaac Corporation's website, if you apply for multiple mortgage, auto or student loans within a 30-day period, your score won't be affected. The company recognizes that you're shopping for a loan, and that it isn't as if you're going to wind up with three car loans and two mortgages. If you apply for multiple credit cards, however, that could drop your score.If you keep getting turned down, however, then at some point you'll need to bow to reality and put off applying for a loan. Fortunately, time heals all financial wounds – eventually. For instance, a bankruptcy will be removed from your credit report, typically after seven years, if it's a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will be removed after 10 years.So you may have to bide your time while you wait for another year or two to go by, and your credit report and its history becomes less worrisome to lenders. The good news is that as long as you keep doing what you're supposed to be doing, and paying off your debts and staying on top of your finances, your credit score will likely keep going up. When you are eventually approved for a loan, the terms you get will probably be even better than they would have been had you received your money today.12 Habits to Help You Take Control of Your Credit.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

5 Clues That You're Dealing With a Predatory Lender

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

Consumers are often told to stay away from predatory lenders, but the problem with that advice is a predatory lender doesn't advertise itself as such.Fortunately, if you're on guard, you should be able to spot the signs that will let you know a loan is bad news. If you're afraid you're about to sign your life away on a dotted line, watch for these clues first.You're being offered credit, even though your credit score and history are terrible. This is probably the biggest red flag there is, according to John Breyault, the vice president for public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League, a private nonprofit advocacy group in the District of Columbia."A lender is in business because they think they're going to get paid back," Breyault says. "So if they aren't checking to see if you have the ability to pay them back, by doing a credit check, then they're planning on getting their bank through a different way, like offering a high fee for the loan and setting it up in a way that locks you into a cycle of debt that is very difficult to get out of."[See: 25 Fast Financial Fixes.]But, of course, as big of a clue as this is to stay away, it can be hard to listen to your inner voice of reason. After all, if nowhere else will give you a loan, you may decide to work with the predatory lender anyway. That's why many industry experts feel that even if a bad loan is transparent about how bad it is, it probably shouldn't exist. After all, only consumers who are desperate for cash are likely to take a gamble that they can pay back a loan with 200 percent interest – and get through it unscathed.Your loan has an insanely high interest rate. Most states have usury laws preventing interest rates from going into that 200 APR territory, but the laws are generally weak, industry experts say, and lenders get around them all the time. So you can't assume an interest rate that seems really high is considered normal or even within the parameters of the law. After all, attorney generals successfully sue payday loan services and other lending companies fairly frequently. For instance, in January of this year, it was announced that after the District of Columbia attorney general sued the lending company CashCall, they settled for millions of dollars. According to media reports, CashCall was accused of offering loans with interest rates around 300 percent annually.[See: 11 Money Tips for Women.]The lender is making promises that seem too good to be true. If you're asking questions and getting answers that are making you sigh with relief, that could be a problem.Nobody's suggesting you be a cynic and assume everybody's out to get you, but you should scrutinize your paperwork, says David Reiss, a professor of law at Brooklyn Law School in New York."Often predators will make all sorts of oral promises, but when it comes time to sign on the dotted line, their documents don't match the promises," Reiss says.And if they aren't in sync, assume the documentation is correct. Do not go with what the lender told you."Courts will, in all likelihood, hold you to the promises you made in the signed documents, and your testimony about oral promises probably won't hold that much water," Reiss says. " Read what you are signing and make sure it matches up with your understanding of the transaction."You're dealing with pushy sales people. Maybe you went into an office of your own power and free will but suddenly you're feeling as if you won't be able to leave the premises without taking out a loan?That is a very bad sign. Get out.John Henson, a vice president at LendingTree.com, says one red flag is "overly aggressive sales tactics, including using language which obfuscates the actual terms of the mortgage."He also says you could be in trouble if a lender can't explain some of the vocabulary associated with the loan, especially around fees, or if you're having trouble getting the loan terms from the salesperson right away, such as the interest rate, payment amount or number of payments.[See: 10 Ways to Feel Better About Your Money.]The loan is really easy to get. Borrowing money, especially a lot of it, should be difficult. After all, if you're going to borrow tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for a car or house, a lender would be crazy to not vet you thoroughly and take a look at your credit score and report and make sure you can pay. Not doing that, of course, is partially how the country got into a recession about 10 years ago. Mortgage companies weren't doing enough to learn if consumers could afford to pay back what they were borrowing.So if you're in the process of getting a loan, especially a big one, and you're thinking, "Wow, this is easy, almost too easy," you're probably right. Breyault says you should be especially wary when you're on a car lot, and you're seeing signs like, "Guaranteed loan," and "No credit needed." Those dealerships are notorious for having predatory lending practices."The point of those car lots is as much to sell you on a high interest loan as it is to sell you a car," Breyault says.And if that's the case, it raises another question: If you're paying a fortune on a loan with crummy terms, how much confidence can you have that the same company is selling you a quality product?Dear Younger Me: 12 Financial Truths We Wish We Knew Earlier.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

4 Life Hacks That Cost More Than You Think

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

"Life hacks" is one of those trendy phrases that describes strategies people use to be more efficient. But you know that.You probably also are well aware that you'll often see online articles with headlines like, "Life Hacks to Save You Money." Many life hack ideas are smart, but often the breezy advice attached to the life hack forgets to mention there may be a hidden cost, too. If you hear any of these life hacks mentioned, don't discount them, but do your homework to make sure they're actually saving you money.Life hack: Use coupons at stores to save money, and you're really missing out if you don't look for coupon codes when you're ordering food online.Why this life hack can cost more than you would think: Couponing only works if you were going to buy the item, anyway. You're probably also better off if you don't let couponing become a way of life."Years ago, I attempted couponing, when it was all the rage," says Kristie Garduno, a business owner in Newport Beach, California. "I took the time to learn all the tricks and lingo and even joined a group, so we could swap coupons. I started spending more and more time trying to save money, even skipping church so I could be first in line to get a good deal on an item – that I probably wouldn't use."[See: 12 Shopping Tricks to Keep You Under Budget.]Garduno says she went way overboard, scouring the internet, looking for deals, sometimes ignoring her business, a retail website called GivingSoaps.com. She even remembers getting in arguments with cashiers over 25-cent coupons."It became almost an addiction, and I'm grateful that I stepped away when I did," Garduno says. "I have no idea how much money I wasted in the name of saving." Life hack: Do a credit card balance transfer to save you money on interest. You apply for a credit card with a low introductory annual percentage rate (APR), preferably zero and one that will remain low for 12 to 18 months.Why this life hack can cost more than you would think: Yes, transferring money from a credit card with a high interest rate to a lower interest rate can be a good idea. But some credit cards have a high annual fee, negating the savings you're going to get. Other cards have a balance transfer fee, and while it may only be 3 percent, that adds up if you're, say, transferring $5,000 from one card to another. In fact, it adds up to $150.And you'll really blow it if you miss a payment, which happened to J.R. Duren, a copywriter in Jacksonville, Florida.In 2009, Duren transferred about $3,300 from one credit card to another. All was well until he was late with a payment and saw his interest rate jump 7 percent. It wasn't a financial disaster since he paid off the card by the end of the year, but he undid some of the work he was trying to do in saving money."I'm guessing the mistake cost me at least $130," Duren says.And keep in mind it's a terrible life hack if you transfer money from the high interest credit card to the lower interest rate one, and then later you end up maxing both of them out and carrying revolving debt.[See: 12 Ways to Be a More Mindful Spender.]Life hack: Buy in bulk. You know how it works. Buy a pack of 16 paper towel rolls at a warehouse discount store, and in the long run, it's cheaper than buying a pack of four paper towel rolls at a supermarket. You spend more upfront, but over time you save money.Why this life hack can cost more than you would think: Buying in bulk can backfire, especially if purchasing perishable items. Tyler Riddell, who works in marketing and lives in Temecula, California, says, "Every time I go to Costco, I think I'm saving tons of money by buying in bulk when in reality, only half of the items I buy get eaten while the rest goes bad and ends up being thrown out."Life hack: If you're looking for a new bank, sign up with one that offers a cash bonus.Why this life hack can cost more than you would think: You really want to be careful when you choose any monthly service, whether it's a bank or a telephone plan, that offers you money to sign up. The deal being offered may be good, but the company is going to get their money back somehow. Tyler McIntyre, a New York City-based business owner in the banking industry, says he once signed up for a bank's checking account offering a $200 sign-up bonus. Before long, however, he realized he was being charged a $12 monthly fee for owning the account. In less than two years, McIntyre's signing bonus would go right back to the bank, and he would still be paying $12 a month.[See: 12 Millennial-Inspired Ways to Spend Less.]That didn't sit well with McIntyre, who knew he could get the same services for free from a community bank."I closed the account, and they took back the $200," McIntyre says.11 Expenses Destroying Your Budget.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

What Happens if Trump Dismantles the Financial Regulations of the Great Recession?

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

On Feb. 3, 2017, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders that will affect the financial sector. That change will come to consumers is undeniable. But exactly what change is coming is, naturally, up for debate.One of the orders requires the Treasury secretary to review the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed in 2010 and designed to address some of the shortcomings in the financial system that led to the Great Recession. The other executive action mandates that the Labor Department review its Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule and look at its probable economic impact. As it stands now, the fiduciary rule is supposed to be phased in from April 10, 2017 to Jan. 1, 2018. The rule requires financial professionals who work with retirement plans or provide retirement planning advice to act in a way that's only based on the client's best interests.[See: 13 Money Hacks to Turbocharge Your Investments.]What do these executive orders portend for consumers? Nobody knows, but what follows are some educated guesses – with best-case and worst-case outcomes.How the housing market might be affected. There's potential good news and bad news here, according to Francesco D'Acunto, a finance assistant professor at the University of Maryland. In a study performed by D'Acunto and faculty colleague Alberto Rossi, in the wake of Dodd-Frank, banks decreased mortgage lending to middle class families by about 15 percent in 2014."Title XIV, which regulates the mortgage market, could be in for a full-scale renovation that might ultimately improve the fortunes of potential homebuyers from the middle class," D'Acunto says.So if you've been having trouble getting a mortgage for a house, you may have less trouble – provided you find a reputable lender. Because the downside, according to D'Acunto, is that "such a move risks bringing a return of predatory behavior in lending and mortgage cross-selling, especially by large banks and by non-bank mortgage originators."To avoid that, D'Acunto hopes that Congress intervenes "surgically on Title XIV" and only reduces the regulatory costs imposed by the new Qualified Mortgage classification. Created by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Qualified Mortgage category of loans includes features designed to make it more likely that a consumer will be able to pay it back.But if they don't intervene with the careful attention to detail D'Acunto advises, then expect "big changes, most of them negative," says David Reiss, a Brooklyn Law School professor whose specialty is in real estate finance.Potential best-case scenario: After being denied a mortgage for some time, you finally get your house.Potential worst-case scenario: Because you were steered to a high-interest loan you can't afford, you lose your house.[See: 10 Ways to Feel Better About Your Money.]How credit cards, auto loans and student loans might be affected. There has been a lot of talk that the CFPB could be a casualty in the executive order that asks the Treasury secretary to review Dodd-Frank. But will it be ripped to shreds or have its power diminished?The latter seems to already be happening. For instance, lawmakers, led by Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), are in the midst of trying to repeal a rule that is scheduled to go into effect this fall. The rule, among other things, would mandate prepaid-card companies to disclose detailed information about their fees, make it easier to access account information and would curb a consumer's losses if the cards are lost or stolen.A little weakening might not be so bad, Reiss says. He thinks the CFPB has tightened "the credit box too much, meaning that some people who could manage more credit are not getting access to it."But he also thinks if the CFPB were dismantled, the negatives would far outweigh the positives.Potential best-case scenario: Easier access to loans and more choices. And for some consumers who can now get that car or credit card, their quality of life improves.Potential worst-case scenario: Thanks to that easier access, some consumers end up stuck with high-interest loans with a lot of hidden fees and rue the day they applied for them.[See: 11 Money Moves to Make Before You Turn 40.]How working with your financial advisor might be affected. If the fiduciary rule is shelved, you may want to monitor your financial advisor a little more than you do now."The fiduciary standard requires advisors to act in their client's best interest – advisors are obligated to identify options that are best for their clients, regardless of how that affects the advisor's income from fees and commissions," says Peter Summers, assistant professor of economics at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina.Before that, Summers notes, financial advisors followed the suitability standard."They could recommend options that weren't necessarily the best for their clients, as long as those options were not actually harmful," he says.Summers offers up an example of how these two standards compare."Suppose there are two mutual funds I can recommend to my client," he says. "Both have the same long-run performance, say 10 percent per year. Fund A is one that is actively managed and generates fees of 2 percent per year. That is, 2 percent of my client's account balance for my firm. Fund B is passively managed, and generates much smaller fees, say 0.25 percent – one-quarter of a percentage point. Under the suitability standard, I can recommend fund A to my client without informing her that Fund B is an option. Under the fiduciary standard, I'm obligated to point out that Fund B is her best option." The result of all of this? "The Obama administration estimated that switching to the fiduciary standard would save [U.S. consumers] about $17 billion per year. Of course, that savings for individuals means lower incomes for financial advisors," Summers says.Potential best-case scenario: It's obviously better for you as an investor if financial advisors advise what's best for you and not themselves. And many investment management firms have promised to implement at least some aspects of the fiduciary standard, whether it becomes law or not. For instance, on Jan. 26, Morgan Stanley, one of the biggest American brokerages, announced just that. The way things are going, the market has spoken, and it doesn't seem likely that companies following the fiduciary standard will diminish.Potential worst-case scenario: Some investment firms surely won't follow the fiduciary standard. If you aren't on the ball and don't recognize that your advisor is actually following the suitability standard, you could wind up lining your advisor's pockets – instead of your own.8 Ways to Profit From Donald Trump's Infrastructure Plans.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

Banking & Credit

What You Need to Know About Taking Out Any Cash Advance

by sshrx_ns3li1 February 21, 2020

written by sshrx_ns3li1

Sometimes we hear advice so often – don't do this, don't do that – that we simply know something is a bad idea and forget why it's a bad idea.Taking out a cash advance is a bad idea. If you're ever in the position in which you feel as if you have to take a cash advance, you'd do well to learn what they are, and what taking one entails.[See: 13 Money Tips for Married Couples.]Understand what a cash advance is. Generally, when anyone refers to a cash advance, they're talking about using their credit card to get cash. Instead of, say, paying for groceries or a book with your credit card and later paying back your credit card, you're borrowing cash from your credit card and later paying it back.But, really, cash advances are also payday loans – you're getting a cash advance that you'll need to pay back. They're also the same thing as getting a refund anticipation loan, when a tax preparer gives you money that you expect to get back from the Internal Revenue Service. You could argue that if you go into overdraft with your bank account, you're getting a cash advance. Your bank paid something for you, and you'll have to pay them back.In any case, all cash advances involve money being advanced to you that you will have to pay back, probably fairly quickly – usually with a fee or interest and sometimes both.[See: 8 Financial Steps to Take After Paying Off a Debt.]Know they're expensive. That's the main drawback with cash advances. You're borrowing money and paying a hefty amount of money to do so.There are three main reasons cash advances are considered very expensive loans:Hefty fees. Often when you take out a cash advance with your credit card, you'll pay either 5 percent of the money you're borrowing or $10. And you'll pay whatever's greater. So usually if you borrow anything up to $100, you will always pay $10.High interest rates. You'll get this with credit cards and certainly with payday loans. Currently, the average credit card cash advance annual percentage rate is 22.11 percent, according to LowCards.com. And with few exceptions, it's more expensive to borrow actual cash from a credit card than to use your credit card to pay for merchandise and services. So if your APR is 22 percent when you use your credit card at the grocery store, a cash advance will likely have a considerably higher APR.The average APR for a payday loan is almost 400 percent, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That, of course, makes it sound as if a credit card cash advance is a bargain, but they're both pretty bad deals.If you borrow $100 from a typical credit card, you'll pay back $22.11, plus $10, and so you're paying almost one-third of $100 to borrow $100. If you borrow $100 from a payday loan store, you'll typically be charged $15. That doesn't mean a payday loan store is better due to the …Short grace periods. Being charged $15 for a $100 payday loan doesn't sound bad, but you'll have less time (two weeks) to pay the money back than you would with a credit card (a month), and the real problems come if you decide you need to borrow more than $100 from a payday lender. For instance, if you borrow $400, you're probably paying back your lender $460 – in two weeks. And if your next paycheck is, say, $1,000, half of that paycheck will go back to the lender, and you'll have to try and make do until the next paycheck.And even though you should have 30 days to pay back your credit card cash advance before it's considered late, the interest begins accruing immediately.These are simply very expensive loans, according to Alexander Stern, a consumer attorney who has his own practice, Stern Legal Services, in Berkeley, California."A $1,000 loan can balloon into three times that amount given enough time and interest," he says.Look at the fine print. There's very likely something written in the legal jargon that you won't like. You just have to find it."It's extremely important to go over the terms and conditions of any short-term loan with a fine-tooth comb," Stern says. "Advertisements highlight the best parts of a product and rarely discuss the worst aspects. Salespeople are similarly focused on the sale rather than what is necessarily best for a given consumer. That's why it is important that you be proactive in reading any contracts carefully before signing."And because you'll never be able to carefully read a contract with a salesperson waiting at his or her desk or looking over your shoulder, you might want to consider taking the paperwork home and coming back the next day – or at least in an hour or two, giving yourself some time to read through everything and think about what you're doing.[See: 8 Ways to Maximize Your Credit Card Rewards.]Be aware of financial traps. The reality is, if your finances are shaky enough, you may feel you have no choice but to take out a cash advance. Just try to not be lulled into the idea that the financial institution lending you cash wants to help you. It wants to make money.Chrystine Julian, an artist and poet in Redlands, California, doesn't mince words. Due to a heart attack, surgery and other health issues, she recently needed a payday loan."My financial life is in the toilet," she says.She only borrowed $150 from an online payday lender and was able to pay it back for less than $20 over her original loan amount. By doing so, she avoided overdrafting her bank account and being charged a $35 fee. The cash advance, she says, worked out well for her.But Julian says that she had to borrow another $150 shortly thereafter and logged onto the website and discovered that she was set up for a $2,500 loan. If she had taken the $2,500, she would have had several years to pay it back, at a cost of over $12,000. She instead called up the website and got them to change the setting, so she could only borrow $150.But she marvels at the mess she might be in now, if she hadn't been strong. "I could have done that with one click," Julian says, of borrowing $2,500."Never forget these are predatory lenders."25 Ways to Fix Your Finances Fast.

February 21, 2020 0 comment

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