Jun
27
Searching for a Safe Short Term High Yield Investment
June 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
A couple years ago, online savings accounts were paying over 5% interest. Now interest rates have dropped slightly and are just starting to recover. I have short term money that I want to keep liquid, yet I also want a decent return on investment. What do I do now? In 2006 high interest online savings [...]
Jun
5
Yahoo Music billed me for another year of their music service without my permission. They refused to refund my money so I turned to my last line of defense, my credit card company. Credit Cards have a bad reputation. Some of it is deserved. Like alcohol and casinos, credit cards are bad for certain people. [...]
Apr
4
Your FICO is Worthless
April 4, 2008 | 3 Comments
FICO scores don’t matter to wealthy people. I know, that sounds like heresy but it’s true. The truly wealthy (or those that will be wealthy someday) know that their credit scores (and credit bureaus) really don’t matter in the long run. Wealthy People Don’t Worry About Credit Scores A FICO score or any credit score [...]
Mar
25
The Federal Reserve (the Fed), the central bank that everyone loves to hate, has lowered its target interest rate to 2.25%, down from 3%. The Fed is reducing rates in an attempt to stimulate the economy and prop up weak financial markets. What does this mean to you? Well it’s either good or bad depending [...]
Mar
14
Ten reasons to use a credit card for every purchase
March 14, 2008 | 1 Comment
Many personal finance sites love to pick on credit cards. The credit card industry is an easy target. Don’t get me wrong, some of the reputation is well deserved. However, the savvy and disciplined consumer can take advantage of credit cards. Like any tool, credit cards, used responsibly, can make life easier. I’ve compiled a [...]
Mar
13
Protect Yourself with Credit Cards
March 13, 2008 | 6 Comments
Online purchases can be risky. Using a credit card is one sure way to mitigate the risks of making purchases online. Contrary to popular belief credit cards can be a consumer’s best friend when it comes to protecting themselves from dishonest or downright incompetent merchants, online or otherwise. I’ve found that credit cards are your [...]
Mar
7
Will Your Bank Fail?
March 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’m sure you know that your bank account is FDIC insured. This means that in the event that your bank or financial institution fails (goes out of business); the FDIC steps in and takes over the bank. When we say bank we really mean financial institution. Because the line is so blurred now (for instance [...]
Feb
28
Auto-Activation is Real
February 28, 2008 | 5 Comments
Please read this article about auto-activation at the Consumerist.com if you are in doubt about credit card activations and what can happen. I personally re-wrote and maintained a program to auto-active card members at a major nation-wide card issuer. I can tell you that auto-activation was a standard practice at said card issuer. I will [...]
Feb
23
Online Savings Accounts: HSBC vs ING
February 23, 2008 | 3 Comments
Everyone should have a little cash stashed away for a rainy day. After all you never know when an emergency is going to come up. I first starting saving online many years ago with ING Direct. I really liked ING and their website is great. I liked them so much I refinanced my mortgage with [...]
Dec
30
Are Credit Unions Better Than Banks?
December 30, 2006 | 6 Comments
I was listening to the radio the other day on my way home from work and heard an advertisement for a bank, then a few seconds later I heard and advertisement for a local credit union. Then I drove by a bank and then I passed a credit union. I had been mulling over switching [...]