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MoneyTips While you have plenty of tools to protect your personal information, your data is arguably in as much danger as it's ever been. It's not that you don't take precautions (although many Americans don't), it's that your personal information is stored in so many places – some of which you can't control. "The challenge with identity theft in today's day and age is we are an online culture," says Adam Carroll, Founder and Chief Education Officer of National Financial Educators. "I think most Americans would be astonished to know how many places actually have their credit account and checking account numbers." Consider the Equifax data breach . Almost 148 million people were affected by a breach of their personal information at a company that many had no direct contact with – yet, without a credit file at Equifax and other credit reporting agencies, those people cou... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2RoY7j3

MoneyTips Rewards cards can provide great benefits – but they can also tempt you to overspend. When that happens, you're more likely to carry a balance and wipe out your rewards with interest charges. According to a new survey by U.S. News , over half of America's rewards cardholders have carried a balance at least once over the last twelve months. Only 46.6% of rewards cardholders never carried a balance, while 26.2% carried balances more than half of the time – and 19.1% carried a balance every month or every month but one. What's the effect of carrying a balance? Start by comparing interest rates with reward returns. CreditCards.com lists the average rewards card annual percentage rate (APR) at 17.13%. Most rewards cards provide returns between 1% and 5%. Consider this simple example – you have no previous balance and rack up $1,000 in rewards-eligible charges in a month, earning a healthy 5% rewards ($50). You pay off half the bill, carry the balance in... fro

MoneyTips How often do you change passwords on all of your accounts? Or, are all of your passwords simply "password" or "123"? Like most of us, you probably don't change passwords very often or make them very challenging because you're afraid you'll forget them. As a result, we leave ourselves vulnerable to identity theft – yet we expect businesses to provide airtight security without inconvenience. The 2018 Global Fraud and Identity Report from the credit reporting agency Experian assesses the balance between security and convenience for businesses and consumers. The report shows a clear discrepancy between our security expectations for businesses and our own security practices. Over half of businesses (52%) still rely on passwords as the primary authentication method. Businesses may believe that consumers prefer the simplicity of password protection, but the Experian... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2EQqIIq

MoneyTips Times aren't great in the mortgage refinancing market. According to the October 2018 Origination Insights Report from mortgage application software provider Ellie Mae, refinancing homes make up 32% of October's closed mortgages – continuing a drop in refis that began five to six months prior. It's likely that mortgage rate increases are to blame for the decline in refis. The drop roughly corresponds to 30-year fixed mortgage rates breaking the 4.5% mark in May for the first time since January 2014. Refinancing generally only makes sense when you can acquire a better interest rate than your current rate. After years of historically low interest rates, it's less likely that you can find rates suitable for refinancing – unless you have improved your creditworthiness since taking out your original mortgage. Lenders might be tempted to ease refinancing stand... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2BCo19k

MoneyTips Times aren't great in the mortgage refinancing market. According to the October 2018 Origination Insights Report from mortgage application software provider Ellie Mae, refinancing homes make up 32% of October's closed mortgages – continuing a drop in refis that began five to six months prior. It's likely that mortgage rate increases are to blame for the decline in refis. The drop roughly corresponds to 30-year fixed mortgage rates breaking the 4.5% mark in May for the first time since January 2014. Refinancing generally only makes sense when you can acquire a better interest rate than your current rate. After years of historically low interest rates, it's less likely that you can find rates suitable for refinancing – unless you have improved your creditworthiness since taking out your original mortgage. Lenders might be tempted to ease refinancing stand... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2BCo19k

MoneyTips Does your wallet take a bigger hit during the holiday season? If so, you aren’t alone. According to a recent study by LendingTree, more consumers fall behind on their bills in December than in any other month. LendingTree reviewed anonymized credit report data from October 2017 through September 2018 and broke down the percentages of people who missed payments on any active account by month. December led the way with 7.5% of consumers missing at least one payment. October, November, and February were close behind with approximately 7.4% of consumers missing payments. Note the correlation to holidays. October through December is the prime holiday shopping season (not everyone waits until December 24 th to shop). Kali McFadden, Senior Research Analyst at from MoneyTips https://www.moneytips.com/now-is-when-people-fall-behind-on-bills/818

MoneyTips As a college student, you've learned a lot of things in the last few years – most of which you can actually discuss with your parents. However, a new U.S. News survey suggests you might be missing a basic part of your education that could affect your financial future. According to the survey , students are acquiring credit cards without sufficient knowledge to use them responsibly. Forty percent of students with credit cards said they were never taught about any important aspect of credit usage, either from parents or teachers. Over 37% of respondents were never taught how to use a credit card responsibly and 26.2% were never taught how to create a budget. That's a recipe for overspending – and, as expected, 29% of respondents carried balances at least six out of the past twelve months. Half of respondents said they needed credit cards for basic necessities... from MoneyTips http://bit.ly/2QKJWVY

MoneyTips How important is your credit score? It doesn't generally affect your daily life but ignoring your credit score can cause serious financial problems. Are you unconvinced? Consider the case of Cameron v. Cameron. The New Jersey case concerns a divorce settlement where the wife would keep the home. The home had an outstanding mortgage in both names, so the husband made arrangements to transfer his interest in the home to the wife, once the wife refinanced in her name only – removing the husband from responsibility. The wife had nine months from the date of the settlement to comply. The wife didn't follow through on her refinancing obligation, and the husband didn't bother to enforce it. However, the husband didn't realize that his credit was affected by still being listed as a co-owner on the home. Two years later, the husband applied for a mortgage loan on a new home and discovered that he couldn't get a favorable interest rate because of his re...

MoneyTips The signs of the holidays are all around us. The weather has changed, pumpkin spice has been added to everything imaginable, and your mailbox is bending under the weight of catalogs – and unsolicited credit card offers. Credit card solicitations certainly aren't limited to the holidays, but the intensity of offers tends to pick up during this time because your spending tends to pick up. The National Association of Retailers (NAR) predicts that holiday retail sales will approach $720 billion, excluding typical purchases like dining out and filling your gas tank. What retailer or card issuer wouldn't want a piece of that spending pie? Most credit card solicitations are pre-approved or pre-screened offers, where the card issuer has done a cursory check of your credit already – without your request or knowledge – and considers you low risk. (These are different from pre-qualified offers, where you have agreed to provide credit information to lenders in order to shop

MoneyTips America has been enjoying historically low interest rates for years – but those days are coming to an end. Since 2015, the Federal Reserve has been slowly raising baseline interest rates from the near zero levels necessary to bring America out of the Great Recession. As of October 2018, the Fed's prime rate was at 2.19% – the highest it's been in over a decade. Why should you care? Because the Fed's interest rate increases are generally passed on to credit card interest rates, forcing you to pay more in interest charges on any balances you carry. According to CreditCards.com, the average annual percentage rate (APR) on all credit cards is 17.14% – the highest average rate since CreditCards.com began tracking them in 2007. The Federal Reserve may raise interest rates again in their December meeting, just in time for rates to increase on balances from your holiday shopping. How much does interest cost over time? Consider the simple example of $1,000 balan...

MoneyTips The Pool Is Shrinking A home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC) can be a useful financial management tool – but only if you have the available equity to take advantage of it. Do you know how much you could borrow against your home if you had to? Black Knight's October 2018 Mortgage Monitor reports America's total mortgage equity is at $9.8 trillion, with $5.9 trillion of that "tappable" – available for homeowners to use as borrowing collateral. While $5.9 trillion is a large pool, it's $140 billion less than it was in the previous quarter – the first quarterly decline since the housing crisis. Tappable equity fell in 60% of the 100 largest housing markets and twelve of the top fifteen. The average homeowner with tappable equity had $136,000 available for borrowing, a decrease of $2,300 from last quarter. Is your tappable equity falling along with the average, or rising, as it should with your payments? The answer lies in your local ho... fr

MoneyTips By Steven Millstein, Credit Repair Consultant at CreditRepairExpert.org Credit repair companies may all offer similar services, but they are not all created equally. The outcome of your credit counseling efforts depends on a combination of factors, including your willingness to cooperate and become more financially savvy. Regardless of your intentions, however, even the best credit repair agents are limited to what they can achieve. Every credit repair company in business is subject to strict market regulations that are set forth by the Federal government and the state in which that company operates. Usually, the process of repairing your credit requires little to no effort on the client's part. Most of the time, a consumer's credit rating will increase significantly within several months. Still, the condition of the client's credit upon enteri... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2BtuLGg

MoneyTips Do credit cards and the holidays spell trouble for you? Credit cards and holiday spending can be a dangerous combination – but it doesn't have to be. Look at your credit cards as financial tools that can help you save money as well as spend it. Here are seven ways to use credit cards to increase your holiday savings. 1. Lay Out Your Holiday Credit Budget – A budget is the key to prevent overspending – and it's also the way to avoid approaching your credit card limit. Maxing out a card will not only harm your credit score, it also increases the chances you'll carry a balance. Save on interest charges by keeping balances low – or eliminating them entirely. You can check your credit score and read your credit report for free within minutes by

MoneyTips Our prior article, 5 Steps To Be Your Own Mogul – Part 1 , covers the first three steps to manage your finances like a business. Below we present the final two steps. 4. Forecasting If you have performed the budget exercise and broken your expenses out into categories, you can start to highlight areas where you can improve. The idea here is to shift the negative spending into a comfortable routine that focuses more on building savings and trimming expenses for the long haul. You can do it quite easily without weekly envelopes of rationed money or other personal finance gimmicks that rarely work in the long term.Here are some suggestions for improving your financial forecast in painless and satisfying ways: Calculate... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2LiemZQ

MoneyTips Our prior article, 5 Steps To Be Your Own Mogul – Part 1 , covers the first three steps to manage your finances like a business. Below we present the final two steps. 4. Forecasting If you have performed the budget exercise and broken your expenses out into categories, you can start to highlight areas where you can improve. The idea here is to shift the negative spending into a comfortable routine that focuses more on building savings and trimming expenses for the long haul. You can do it quite easily without weekly envelopes of rationed money or other personal finance gimmicks that rarely work in the long term.Here are some suggestions for improving your financial forecast in painless and satisfying ways: Calculate... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2LiemZQ

MoneyTips Why not take some financial pointers from the business world and apply them to your personal finances? Whether you are a party of one or a family of four, it pays to be fiscally agile. Some of the longest financial plays in the business world today are small businesses that perennially stay afloat and drive their successes through careful planning and conservative financial forecasting. Why can't these principles be applied to your personal financial life too? 1. Determine who your trusted advisors are Major corporations rely on the skills and experience of a board of directors and you may be asking yourself, "Well, where am I going to round up 10 people to form my own personal board of directors"? Don't worry – you don't have to. It doesn't matter if you are managing the budget of one or a much larger family unit. The real value in making an appraisal like the services rendered by a corporate board of directors is to shed light on where you ...

MoneyTips Why not take some financial pointers from the business world and apply them to your personal finances? Whether you are a party of one or a family of four, it pays to be fiscally agile. Some of the longest financial plays in the business world today are small businesses that perennially stay afloat and drive their successes through careful planning and conservative financial forecasting. Why can't these principles be applied to your personal financial life too? 1. Determine who your trusted advisors are Major corporations rely on the skills and experience of a board of directors and you may be asking yourself, "Well, where am I going to round up 10 people to form my own personal board of directors"? Don't worry – you don't have to. It doesn't matter if you are managing the budget of one or a much larger family unit. The real value in making an appraisal like the services rendered by a corporate board of directors is to shed light on where you ...

MoneyTips You're determined to make 2019 the year you raise your credit score. Why not get off to a good start with these five New Year's resolutions to send your credit score in the right direction? 1. Resolve to Check Your Credit Report – All your efforts will go to waste if identity thieves have already ruined your credit by opening accounts in your name and racking up unpaid bills. Check your credit report and look for any errors, rogue accounts, or fraudulent charges on your existing accounts. Address any problems as quickly as possible with the credit reporting agencies to limit the damage. Monitor your credit score regularly to gauge your progress and follow up with at least one more credit report check during the year. You can check your credit score and read your credit report for free within minutes by

MoneyTips Can you avoid a New Year's Day hangover? We're not referring to the traditional hangover that comes from too much alcohol, but the financial hangover that comes from too many charges on your credit card. Of course, you can avoid a New Year's credit hangover – especially with some help. Consider these eleven ways to keep holiday purchases under control. 1. Set a Holiday Budget – Review your overall budget , and then decide how much you can afford to spend for holiday gifts given your other expenses (including end-of-year expenses like property taxes and annual subscriptions). Don't let gift expectations drive your budget – let your budget set gift choices. 2. Make a Gift List – Divide up your gift budget among all your recipients and find gifts that fit within the desired budget. Start early, so you have time to look for the best pri... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2zTPhzM

MoneyTips Can you avoid a New Year's Day hangover? We're not referring to the traditional hangover that comes from too much alcohol, but the financial hangover that comes from too many charges on your credit card. Of course, you can avoid a New Year's credit hangover – especially with some help. Consider these eleven ways to keep holiday purchases under control. 1. Set a Holiday Budget – Review your overall budget , and then decide how much you can afford to spend for holiday gifts given your other expenses (including end-of-year expenses like property taxes and annual subscriptions). Don't let gift expectations drive your budget – let your budget set gift choices. 2. Make a Gift List – Divide up your gift budget among all your recipients and find gifts that fit within the desired budget. Start early, so you have time to look for the best pri... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2zTPhzM

MoneyTips This Time It's Starwood These days, data breaches are so common that they must be large and meaningful to capture your attention. The recent hack against Marriott International qualifies. As many as half a billion customers may be affected, making the Marriott hack the second largest ever in terms of exposed records. The breach began in 2014, affecting the Starwood guest reservation database. Starwood properties include the Sheraton, Westin, W, St. Regis, and Le Meridien chains – many of which cater to the high-end market. Marriott acquired Starwood in 2016 but didn't detect the breach until November 2018. Exposed personal information for up to 327 million guests includes their name, address, e-mail address, phone number, passport number, birthdate, and other hotel-specific information like arrival/departure/reservation times and preferred guest account information. Payment card information may also be compromised with an undetermined number of gu... from Mo

MoneyTips Are the holidays not hectic enough for you? Put aside your gift list for a moment; how about adding a home sale to your to-do list? Most people avoid selling their homes during the holidays, but you may not have any choice in the matter. If you need to sell your home around the end of the year, here are seven tips to help your sale go smoothly. Minimize Holiday Decorations – Not everyone has the same love of holiday decorations, and poorly maintained, tacky, or overly religious displays can be a turnoff for potential buyers. Keep the seasonal decorations simple and easy to maintain. That applies to the outside as well as the inside of your home – avoid browning out the neighborhood with your awesome light display. Keep It Clean – Keeping the home free of tracked-in mud, snow, and other debris is even tougher in the winter months, and arguably even more important. Vacuum well and vacuum often. ... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2Efs3Y8

MoneyTips Does your bank have a cardless ATM? Cardless ATMs interact with your smartphone to let you withdraw cash from your bank's enabled ATMs without inserting a card into a card reader. With some ATMs, your smartphone app generates a QR code for your withdrawal, and the ATM scanner reads the QR code off your phone. Other ATMs use near-field communications (NFC), the same technology that allows you to avoid slot readers by tapping your card or phone against a receiving sensor (think Apple Pay and digital wallet apps). In either case, your smartphone substitutes for your card. However, that adds another avenue for fraudsters to trick you out of personal information and drain your bank account. From a technology standpoint, cardless ATMs are relatively safe. They use tokenization to provide a random number for each transaction, avoiding transmission of the card number. The... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2E6h1nZ

MoneyTips Are credit cards better than debit cards? That depends on how you use them. Watch Professor MoneyTips Jeff Hoyt compare the benefits and risks of both credit and debit cards in our exclusive video above. One definite advantage to credit cards is that you can build up a good credit score by paying your credit card bills on time. You can check your credit score and read your credit report for free within minutes by joining MoneyTips . Advertising Disclosure from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2EgUxla

MoneyTips Are credit cards better than debit cards? That depends on how you use them. Watch Professor MoneyTips Jeff Hoyt compare the benefits and risks of both credit and debit cards in our exclusive video above. One definite advantage to credit cards is that you can build up a good credit score by paying your credit card bills on time. You can check your credit score and read your credit report for free within minutes by joining MoneyTips . Advertising Disclosure from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2EgUxla

MoneyTips Does your Christmas season usually lead to the January blues due to excessive holiday spending? It doesn't have to be that way. With a combination of planning and willpower, you can enjoy a festive holiday without starting the New Year in a big financial hole. Consider these nine ways to celebrate while staying fiscally responsible. 1. Limit Gift Spending – Start by establishing a shopping list and a budget for all of your items. Track special holiday online offers. Consider using price comparison apps and websites. Take advantage of any coupons . Large families can save by drawing names for a gift exchange instead of trying to buy multiple smaller gifts for every family member. If you want more credit, check out our list of credit card offers . 2. Reject Impulse Buying – Retailers expect you to impulse buy... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2BSGXC7

MoneyTips I dentity theft is rampant in America. According to Javelin Strategy and Research, 16.7 million Americans were affected by identity theft just in the year 2017, with a total of $16.8 billion stolen – an average of just over $1,000 per affected American. Unfortunately, identity thieves steal more than just money. By extension, they steal your faith and trust in others. A new study by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) assesses the non-economic impact on identity theft victims. The ITRC's preliminary findings show a profound impact on how identity theft victims manage their daily lives. Over 85% of identity theft victims surveyed felt worried, angry, and frustrated about their situation. Almost 84% felt a sense of violation, while over two-thirds of respondents reported they couldn't trust others – ... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2rnxYCS

MoneyTips Life can be difficult without the convenience of a credit card – but if you are just starting out on your own and have no job yet, or you're down on your luck and currently unemployed, will you be able to qualify for a credit card? The answer is yes, within limitations. When credit card companies evaluate your application, they are assessing the likelihood that they will be paid back. While the income from a job is an excellent predictor of solvency, there are other methods you can use to show the credit card issuer that you pose limited risk. Without a job, what income sources will you use to pay the bills? If you have a predictable income stream such as alimony payments, Social Security/retirement benefits, or annuities, it will be easier to secure credit even with a lack of employment income. Assets such as savings accounts will also help, but without an obvious means of replenishing those savings, credit card companies may balk at extending credit to you. </..

MoneyTips It's time to flex your credit-card-swiping muscles to prepare for the holidays – but what type of credit card will you be swiping? Will it be a general-use credit card, or a store credit card designed to maximize rewards with one merchant? A new LendEDU.com survey provides insight into store credit cards and their holiday use. During the holidays, retailers increase pitches for their store card, including bonuses and perks – and many consumers take retailers up on the offers. Almost half of respondents (47.6%) signed up for a store card, thanks to a successful sales pitch at the register. Over two-thirds of store credit cardholders (67.7%) have two or more store cards, and just under half (48.8%) of respondents plan to apply for another store credit card over the next twelve months. That makes sense, given that over half of respondents (53.1%) consider a store credit card necessary to meet holiday expenses. What attracts us to store credit cards? Almost... from

MoneyTips Moving during the holidays can be a headache with all the seasonal activities and obligations – not to mention unpleasant weather in many locations. However, there are plenty of positives to buying a home during the holidays that may make the headaches of moving worth the effort, including the seven listed below. 1. Less Competition – The same issues that make holiday moving a hassle tend to keep people from shopping for homes at that time. While there may be fewer homes available, there are also fewer homebuyers – and that should equal less competition for any home that fits your needs. 2. Motivated Sellers – Home sellers don't enjoy moving over the holidays any more than homebuyers do. It's likely that people who are selling their homes over the holidays are highly motivated to do so. Perhaps they must relocate for a new job, or their home has been on the market for a long time and they need the money from a sale before the yea... from MoneyTips https://i

MoneyTips Another day, another huge data hack. With half-a-billion people affected by the Marriott International breach, it's a great day for identity thieves, but bad for the rest of us. At MoneyTips, we've heard and published way too many horrific stories of identity thieves wreaking havoc, and the countless hours victims must spend putting their lives back together again. Besides allowing people to take control of their credit and finances, our free Essential membership provides some identity protection tools. Nevertheless, we wanted to do more to protect our members from ruthless identity thieves around the world. What good is having great credit and substantial assets if they are vulnerable to attack? That is why we are proud to announce that our new Premium MoneyTips membership provides an industry-leading Credit Monitoring and Identity Theft protection plan for the lowest price in the market. It's staggering how many ways your identity can be stolen: <...

MoneyTips Do you have a rewards credit card? If not, now is the perfect time to consider one. The holiday season provides two motivating factors – special rewards offers from credit card issuers and the increased spending necessary to take advantage of those offers. Many cards offer signup bonuses of hundreds of dollars, or the equivalent in points or miles, if you make a certain dollar amount of purchases within an introductory period – for example, a $500 bonus if you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months after opening the account. You may find an offer with a 0% introductory annual percentage rate (APR), furthering your benefits if you will carry a balance from holiday purchases. According to the National Retail Foundation, the average consumer is expected to spend just over $1,000 during the 2018 holiday season. Extra holiday spending may put tempting bonus offers within your reach. However, to make the most of a