Today, how about some tips on how to improve your score?
Catherine Williams Of Money Management says Know your scores. You can't improve your scores if you don't know what they are. You can get free credit reports once annually from all three of the credit bureaus..
If all of your scores fall below 650, that may signal some red flags or indicate that you need debt or credit counseling.
How "old" are your sins? If you need to improve your score, take a look at when your behavior may have dragged it down and how recently that was. If you had a period of late payments or other bad behavior and it's at least two years behind you, you may be able to make the case that you're a better borrower now and temporary circumstances got in the way.
Always make minimum payments--and then some. It may sound like common sense, but some borrowers focus all their effort on paying down one line of credit at the expense of others. While it's fine to focus on whacking the highest-interest or biggest-balance line first, always make sure you're paying at least the minimum on your other lines while tackling The Big One.
We all know that making late payments and maxing out credit cards hurt credit scores, but how much? The folks at FICO, whose scores are widely used by lenders, have revealed the actual penalties. If your FICO score is 680, a 30 day delinquency drops it by 60-80 points; maxing out a credit card costs 10 to 30 points; a foreclosure costs 85 to 105; and declaring bankruptcy shrinks it by 130 to 150. If those same missteps are made by the owner of a 780 FICO score with few signs of risky credit behavior in the past, the number of points lost coud be about 50 percent higher in each case.
It could be the beginning of the end of overdrawn accounts linked to debit cards. Bank of America customers will soon be unable to spend more than they have in such accounts in a step that may become a common move ahead of new regulations limiting overdraft fees.
Rules set by the Federal Reserve that will ban banks from charging such fees, without first getting permission from the
customer, are set to take effect July 1.
But Bank of America is going a step further than the regulations require. It will simply no longer allow debit card purchases to go through if there isn't enough money in the account.
For ATM transactions, customers who try to withdraw more than their balance will have to agree to pay a $35 overdraft fee before they can get the money.
Laundry is time consuming and it can cost quite a bit of money. A few ideas on how to cut back on the cost of washing your clothes. First thing is try washing your clothes in cold water. There's no sense in paying for the water heater to kick on if you don't need to.
If your clothes aren't dirty, don't wash them. Many items can be worn more than once. This not only cuts down on the amount of laundry you do, it also extends the life of the garment.
Try using 1/2 of a fabric softener sheet. It basically does the same and you wont' have to buy as many dryer sheets.
Avoid buying clothes that need to be washed separately. Every separate load requires the full cost: the water, the cost to run the water heater and the cost of running the washing machine and dryer. (Not too mention, the less laundry you have to do, the happier you'll be!)
Today's on the money is for Jeff, Sandra and Kathryn. It's very exciting to receive that gold statue! But what exactly is that Oscar worth? According to Walletpop.com, the accolades, fabulous parties, and future opportunities based on the Oscar win are, in some ways, immeasurable and priceless. But let's say you win an Oscar and you're the hit of the town -- this year. Years from now, you're not quite so hot and are looking for ways to make a buck. Time to cash in! There are a couple of options.
You could sell the Oscar for cold, hard cash. Each statue is 13.5 inches tall and weighs eight pounds, made from steel alloy britannium and dipped in 24k gold plating. Based on current gold values, the statute melted down is worth around $500.
A more lucrative prospect would be to sell your Oscar to a collector. Big-name Oscars can easily fetch $60,000 or more, but there is a catch. If you won an Oscar before 1950, you can sell it without hinderence. But Oscars won after 1950 cannot be sold without permission from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which makes all winners sign an agreement that if they want to sell they must first offer the Oscar back to them for $1.
Have you noticed that your bank really wants you to go paperless?
With new legislation cutting into banks' profits from overdraft charges and credit-card interest income, the industry would certainly welcome the savings. Depending on their size, banks spend anywhere between $1.50 and $3.50 per customer on printing and mailing monthly statements.
Are new fees in the future of those who opt to continue receiving paper statements? Although the end of free checking is a hot topic these days, it's unlikely that banks will start charging statement fees. Wireless provider T-Mobile tried imposing a $1.50 fee in August 2009 but quickly reversed its decision after an unexpectedly strong consumer backlash.
THESE DAYS, IT'S safe to assume that most consumers are looking to save a buck or two. And for a whole host of Internet entrepreneurs, that spells an opportunity.
Smart Money has published their five favorite coupon sites, so of course, I thought it should be passed on to you.
Coupons.com
Why the experts like it: Coupons.com offers as wide a variety of timely coupons as you'd find in the grocery shoppers' gold standard: the Sunday paper
CouponCabin.com
Why the experts like it: CouponCabin.com keeps its discount fare fresh. Staffers update deals three times a day, and frequently check each coupon code to ensure it works.
CouponMom.com
Why the experts like it: CouponMom.com covers a lot of ground, listing online coupon codes, printout coupons and free samples, among other types of discounts.
RetailMeNot.com
Why the experts like it: RetailMeNot.com's dedicated community is what makes this site stand out. Users indicate whether a discount code worked for them or not, helping shoppers quickly filter out bad deals SmartSource.com
Why the experts like it: SmartSource.com merges local store sales from the smartsource magazine you find in your sunday paper.
You probably already know to expect somewhat better disclosures and fairer treatment from card issuers, now that the CARD Act is in affect. Monthly credit card statements now have to clearly state how long it will take you to pay off your current balance if you only make the required minimum payments. According to Smart Money, they suggest you start opening what you consider junk mail. Under the new law, issuers are required to send you notification of any changes to your account terms at least 45 days in advance. One financial advisor says card issuers know most consumers don't read that stuff and the notifications could come in an inconspicuous envelope or be bundled with the monthly statement.
The new law may restrict issuers' ability to raise rates, but nothing prevents them from imposing new fees. And they're wasting no time doing just that.
Earlier this month, Citigroup notified an undisclosed number of card?holders that, effective April 1, they will be charged a $60 annual fee.
I always love hearing from listeners who have hints and tips for On the Money. This morning, I have a shout out to Richard who sent me this one. It's another web site, where the sole purpose is to list sales and offers at popular stores. This web site is called Brad's deals.com.
Here's the deal on this site I considered most important to share with you:
Through Sunday, 2/28, Restaurant.com takes 80% off all their dining certificates via code SAVOR. This means that $10 certificates, which normally sell on Restaurant.com for $4 are now just $0.80 and $25 certificates, normally $10 are just $2. Obviously, not all restaurants participate, but there is definitely a good selection to choose from. Just be careful to read the fine print as many restaurants exclude alcoholic beverages, weekends and other things.
Have you heard of Coupon Cabin. com? If you have a few minutes today, I really think you should check it out. I like this site because they list several stores where you can get a percentage off from your on line shopping. Today, they list Target, Kohls, Sears, FTD, sports Authority and more. All you have to do is click on the link and they give you a coupon code for your savings. This makes it so much easier instead of going to each stores website and hoping they have a good sale going on. Coupon Cabin also lists deals they have found and think are good. They list the stores by name or you can enter your zip code and it will list all the stores and available deals in your area.
Today's a big day for anyone with a credit card. A host of changes passed by Congress in the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act in the wake of the financial meltdown go into effect today.
You've probably already heard quite a bit about the major changes, such as protections against unexpected rate hikes and the end of so-called double-cycle billing, which charges cardholders for interest based on the previous two billing cycles.
And of course, the moves by your bank that might upset you the most may not fall afoul of the CARD Act at all. As the new rules have cut off some old practices, banks have been trotting out new policies and fees that allow them to take additional money from consumers. And those consumers may not have any new legal avenues to pursue.
So besides checking out your credit card statements, make sure you check with your bank to see if they have any new policies in place.
The Thirty Day Rule
There are a few simple steps you can take to more financial freedom. Cutting coupons, creating a budget and sticking to it... but here's one that I could really cut back on your extra spending. It's from The Simple Dollar.
Thirty Day Rule:
"Whenever you're considering making an unnecessary purchase, wait thirty days and then ask yourself if you still want that item. Quite often, you'll find that the urge to buy has passed and you'll have saved yourself some money by simply waiting. If you want, you can even keep a "thirty day list" where you write down the item and the day you'll reconsider it, but I prefer just to keep this one in my head - that way, I often just forget about the unimportant things."
Free Shampoo
Is there anything more exciting than getting free stuff? Well, once again, I have found another beauty product that you can get a free sample of. It's the Aveeno Nourish Plus shampoos and conditioners. It's a whole new line of hair care products so they're trying to spread the word. It doesn't appear you'll get the full size bottle, but a it's stil FREE!!
Once again, there is a quick survey to take. I did it. It took less than two minutes.
Last year, Aveeno gave away a ton of these samples, so if you signed up for any of them, you'll need to use a new email address this time around.
In case you're wondering, I found this free offer at heyit'sfree.
Often times in the winter, your stuck inside. You look around and decide to get organized. Do you ever wonder if your're throwing something out that may be worth something? Recently wallet pop spoke to the smartest antiques and collectibles experts and asked: Which antiques and collectibles -- that normal people have the resources to collect -- are likely to increase in value in the future?
Tammy Fennell, Host of CollectiblesCornerTV http://www.collectiblescornertv.com/ and owner of VintageRareStuff.com http://vintagerarestuff.com, suggests vintage "10-cent" comic books, especially those featuring super heroes and the rarer Archie issues. "These just seem to keep going up," she said. "Just not as many people are finding their old collections anymore. They've been lost or thrown out as the Baby Boomers are getting old!"
She also suggests Civil War-related magazines, but warns to be careful of reprints which generally are of no value. "Harper's Weeklies from the Civil War years are not that hard to find," she added, but she believes their prospects for appreciation are good.
Matthew C. Quinn of Quinn's Auction Galleries http://quinnsauction.com/index.php in Virginia, said that the key thing to remember with buying vintage stuff is that, financially, you'll be better off than buying retail.
I know how stressful tax time can be-especially this year, with some pretty big changes in the rules that can affect your bottom line. Smart Money magazine and their web site have created the SmartMoney 2010 Tax Guide to help you with your 2009 return. This e-book is packed with up-to-the-minute tips on how to save from a tax expert at SmartMoney.com
Lots of people made home improvements with energy efficient products, there's a section explaining all of that, on different college and training credits and it also includes some often forgotten writeoffs.
You can download the book for free. It's 36 pages and filled with all kinds of useful information. It's a smartmoney . com
