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Showing posts from August, 2020

Child Identity Theft 101

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MoneyTips Shortly after children are born, parents apply for the Social Security number that their children will use throughout their lives. Unfortunately, that leaves criminals with a golden opportunity to use that Social Security number to commit fraud – since you are unlikely to check the credit status of your own children. "Child identity theft is a huge problem," confirms Steve Weisman, a lawyer, author, and professor at Bentley University. "Children are far more likely to become victims of identity theft and you think, 'Well, who wants a child's identity? You know, they don't have great credit.' But what happens is the criminal gets clean credit with a child. They can then build up a phony credit report in the name of that child and then go for some large credit. They don't pay it back and often the child doesn't become aware of this until they're going for student loans or a car loan or something like that." The fraud can go u

5 Steps To Take Before Retirement

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MoneyTips Are you planning to retire within the next 10 to 15 years? If so, are you ready to take retirement preparedness to the next level? Retirement is no longer an abstract concept when you reach your 50s. It's important to take a closer look at your financial plans now, while you have time to make any corrections. Consider these five steps to ensure the retirement of your dreams – or at least avoid the retirement of your nightmares. 1. Outline Your Retirement Goals – What do you really want to do when you retire? Buy a retirement home on the beach? Travel abroad? Start an expensive hobby? It's time to figure out how to pay for those goals. Lay out your primary retirement goals and estimate the major expenses associated with them. Place those expenses on a timeline spread throughout your retirement. You now have an estimate of how your cash flow needs will change because of your retirement plans. 2. Rethink Your Expenses –</... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2

Use Your Tax Refund To Build Credit

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MoneyTips What do you plan to do with your tax refund? Maybe you have your eye on upgrading your phone, buying a new computer, or splurging on a long overdue vacation. Have you considered using your tax refund to build your credit? Granted, credit building doesn't compare with lying on the beach enjoying the sunshine, but you'll get long-term benefits that go beyond good memories and a tan. Last year's federal tax refunds averaged about $3,000, which could go a long way toward establishing new credit or restoring damaged credit. If you don't have any credit at all, your tax refund could help you get a secured credit card. Traditional credit cards require a minimum credit score, but secured credit cards usually don't because they're backed by a cash deposit that determines your credit limit. By making small regular charges and paying them off on time and in full each month, yo... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/348i8k3

Money-Saving Tips for College Students II

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MoneyTips Earlier, we presented some money-saving tips for college students . Here are additional ways to save cash: Car Pooling – if you go to school close enough to drive home every so often, be sure to establish a car pool. Considering the price of gas and tolls, this could result in substantial savings. Many students know this, but fail to lock up riders or rides well before major holidays or other occasions when students might go home. Plan ahead. Check out Facebook for groups of students you don't know who might be from your hometown so you have options and fallbacks. Part-Time Jobs – you go to college to focus on studies so you can graduate and start a good career. In the meantime, you will want to find a part-time job to help with cash flow. Remember, when you are earning money, you are not spending money. If you land a restaurant jo... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/3fXWGAC

Money-Saving Tips for College Students I

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MoneyTips College can be a great adventure in scholarship and life for many young people. But when it comes to managing a budget, it can be a sobering learning experience in how quickly their money can disappear. Even worse, six months after a student graduates, when he or she gets their loan payment schedule, they will receive a major reality check on how they were able to accumulate such a large debt with interest in just a few short years. According to Forbes, there are currently 44.7 million Americans who each owe an average of