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Showing posts from October, 2020

Avoid Debt This Holiday Season

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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

Angler Phishing 101

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MoneyTips Gone are the days of having to call a 1-800 number to interact with customer service teams. With the rise of social media, support is often available around the clock. If you've ever called out a company on social media for bad service, you know they can be quick to respond. Don't be in a rush to dive in and hand over your details – a relatively new scam called “angler phishing” targets social media users by impersonating legitimate support accounts. You could be at risk. What Exactly is Angler Phishing? Picture this: your bank just bounced a check they shouldn't have, and now your insurance company is claiming you missed a payment . Understandably, you're steamed. You tag your bank in a scathing social media post about the terrible service. Next thing you know, the bank's support account responds inviting you to click a link to chat with them directly to resolve the... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2EOH17d

Get Smart About Credit Day is October 17

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MoneyTips You learned a lot at school. But did your teachers or professors educate you on how to use credit, protect your identity, or maintain a good credit score? Sadly, personal finance education does not rank up there with reading, writing, and 'rithmetic. According to research from the credit bureau Experian, more than one in three Generation Zers (those born roughly between 1997 and 2012) are interested in personal finance topics. Among recent high school graduates, more than three in four agree that a financial management class should be compulsory in schools. Give your kids a better start than you had by signing them up for educational resources from the Get Smart About Credit campaign, an annual initiative sponsored by the American Bankers Association (ABA) Community Engagement Foundation. About 6,000 bankers participated last year. They delivered educational presentations to almost 156,000 teenagers in schools nationwide, covering topics like credit cards, budget...