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MoneyTips What brightens up your holiday shopping season? You may prefer a quiet Christmas season at home, large family gatherings at the home of the relative who drew the short straw, or hand-to-hand combat on Black Friday at the mall. However, everyone agrees that saving money on Christmas shopping gives the holiday an extra layer of cheer. Here are nine suggestions to increase your holiday cheer and your savings account simultaneously. 1. Make a List – Avoid the temptation to go shopping without a list and look for holiday inspiration. You'll find inspiration, along with many gift items you didn't really want at a higher price than you should have paid. Know what you are shopping for and avoid costly holiday "mission creep." After all, even Santa makes a list (and checks it twice). 2. Make a Budget – A budget is the key to any form of saving. Once ... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2hPLjCB

MoneyTips Practice Safe Shopping What does Black Friday protection mean to you? Maybe it's helmets and elbow pads as you battle your fellow consumers for doorbuster deals. Maybe it's protecting your space in line. Maybe it should be taking precautions to prevent identity theft. The holidays represent peak season for identity thieves – probably because there are more transactions and more opportunities for theft. According to 2017 data compiled by ACI Worldwide, the number of online transactions between Thanksgiving Day and December 31 increased by 19% over 2016, while attempted fraud over the same period increased by 22%. What day in 2017 were fraud attempt rates the highest? It's not Black Friday – it's Thanksgiving Day. Thieves like to get a jump-start on holiday shopping, too. Reduce your chances of identity theft over the Thanksgiving weekend by following these common-sense methods for practicing "sa... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2TACOJQ

MoneyTips Have you ever had a credit or debit card transaction declined for insufficient funds when you thought you had money in your account? You may have a credit or debit card "hold," reserving funds that you haven't spent. Merchants and service providers set a credit or debit hold on a purchase when the total isn't known at the time the card is run, and the item or service can't be reasonably returned (for example, a tank of gas or a hotel stay). Holds are a cushion to cover possible final purchase amounts. Consider pay-at-the-pump gas stations. When you swipe your card, the merchant can't know if you're filling a tank or just topping off – or how much gas your car holds. You may only have enough available credit for a few gallons but could fill the tank once the card is approved. With a credit hold, station owners temporarily reserve enough of your credit limit to cover whatever the merchant designates as a limit – which may be far more than a f

MoneyTips You've set up a lame date for the upcoming weekend but you're hoping a better offer comes along. If one does, you're ready to accept it and cancel your earlier date. You're hedging your bets, so you won't be sitting home alone on Saturday night. That logic applies to real estate transactions as well. Perhaps you've received an offer for your home that's disappointing, but you expect a better offer to come along. Maybe you want to make an offer on a home but you need to sell your existing home to make the deal work financially. In the real estate world, you can address these issues with a bump clause. A bump clause in a real estate transaction adds a contingency that one party must meet before the sale can be finalized. Bump clauses get their name because the clauses give the seller the right to accept another offer and "bump" the original offer if the buye... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/354fB7L

MoneyTips Black Friday arrives on Friday, November 23. Do you plan to join the frenzied early sales with hundreds of your fellow consumers, scour the Internet for online bargains as soon as you've digested your Thanksgiving turkey, or wait until the first shopping wave dies down and take your chances a little later in the day? Whatever your strategy, a battle plan is important – and battle planning requires reconnaissance. Here are a few Black Friday predictions to consider as you formulate your plans. Spending Increases – Here's an easy prediction – people will spend more over the period from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday than they did last year. BestBlackFriday.com predicts an average spending of $340.33 per consumer, up almost $5 from last year. The online spending component is exploding. Last year marked the first time that Black Friday online shopping topped $5 billion. BestBlackFriday.com predicts $5.8 billion, an increase of mo... from MoneyTips https://ift

MoneyTips What happened to your credit score? It's dropped considerably since the last time you checked, and you have no idea why. Maybe one or more of these events is behind the decrease. 1. Missing Payments – On-time payments is one of the biggest factors that make up your credit score. Make all credit card and loan payments by the due date to avoid a credit score hit. Verify that automatic payments are working, and if a change is made, verify with your creditor that you won't miss a payment during the transition. 2. Using Too Much Of Your Credit – Your credit limit is just that – a limit, not a target. When you get close to your credit limits, creditors see increased risk. Are you racking up more charges than you can pay off given your regular expenses? Keep your total credit in use at any one time (your from MoneyTips https://www.moneytips.com/8-reasons-your-credit-score-declined

MoneyTips Veterans Affairs (VA) loans are invaluable for homebuyers. Their advantages include little or no money down, qualifying with a lower credit score, competitive interest rates, potentially lower closing and auxiliary costs, and no private mortgage insurance requirements. VA loans are administered through approved lending institutions and backed through an entitlement of up to $36,000. This entitlement can guarantee a home loan of up to 484,350 without a down payment and possibly higher in some high-cost counties. You may qualify for a VA loan if you're an active duty service member, a veteran in good standing, a current or discharged National Guard or Selected Reserve member, a spouse of a service member who died on active duty, or a spouse of a veteran who died as a result of military service. Your lender will require a Certificate of Eligibility, which requires different evi... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2iG6bsf

MoneyTips By Andrea Woroch The upcoming holiday season may have you feeling joyous and anxious at the same time thanks to all the seasonal expenses, gift purchases and travel costs you will take on in several short weeks. Those who don't prepare ahead may find themselves relying heavily on credit cards and, ultimately, be in debt come January. In fact, a survey shows Americans racked up an average of $1,230 of debt over the holidays in 2018, which they expected to takeat least three months to pay off. Some consumers only planned to make minimum payments, which means they'd be paying off that holiday debt for years to come. Given today's high interest rates, taking on credit card debt over the holidays can become increasingly hard to manage and add up in fees. Luckily, you still have time to prepare ahead and line up your finances in time for the holiday. Just follow these seven money moves to avoid debt this jolly season. 1. Book travel now. Typic... from MoneyTi

MoneyTips Hackers are like any other type of thief. They look for easy targets and take advantage of them. Are you an easy target in the eyes of identity thieves? Let's assume that you've taken basic prevention steps, like using anti-virus software and securing your router to prevent hackers from getting directly into your system. Have you considered these other five ways to keep personal and account information safe? 1. Use Strong Passwords – Surely, you've moved past "password" or "12345678." The best passwords contain upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols – but how do you remember them? Try inserting characters in regular patterns into names you'll remember. For example, if your dog's name is Rex, try "R!e@x#1$". See the pattern? Check your computer keyboard. To make it easier, use the same basic pattern but add an identifier in front ... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/33oQ6O7

MoneyTips By Andrea Woroch The upcoming holiday season may have you feeling joyous and anxious at the same time thanks to all the seasonal expenses, gift purchases and travel costs you will take on in several short weeks. Those who don't prepare ahead may find themselves relying heavily on credit cards and, ultimately, be in debt come January. In fact, a survey shows Americans racked up an average of $1,230 of debt over the holidays in 2018, which they expected to takeat least three months to pay off. Some consumers only planned to make minimum payments, which means they'd be paying off that holiday debt for years to come. Given today's high interest rates, taking on credit card debt over the holidays can become increasingly hard to manage and add up in fees. Luckily, you still have time to prepare ahead and line up your finances in time for the holiday. Just follow these seven money moves to avoid debt this jolly season. 1. Book travel now. Typic... from MoneyTi

MoneyTips Did you know that your credit history could affect your ability to get a job? Prospective employers are unlikely to turn you down solely for having bad credit , but items in your credit report can make the difference between you and another equally qualified candidate. "Your credit score matters, even if you’re not in the market for credit in the near future, because increasingly prospective employers…will often take your credit rating into consideration when they’re looking at you as a potential employee," cautions Bankrate.com Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride. What are employers looking for in your credit report? A credit score alone doesn't help, because that's a single ranking reflecting the overall risk of lending you money. They're hunting for insight into aspects of your personality and behavior, and how those traits will fit into th... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2JPcXuk