Lending money to family and friends
I was reading an interesting post at Well Heeled Blog and I thought I’ll share a similar experience I had years back. The general consensus is it is a very bad idea. I learnt this the hard way.
Should you sign for a debit card purchase or use your PIN?
Ever noticed how when you swipe your debit card at the grocery, you have to choose Credit or Debit? Most choose Debit and enter their PIN to pay for the purchases. Did you know you can choose Credit and NOT enter your PIN? Incoming search terms:do you sign for a debit cardwhen you use a [...]
HOWTO earn reward points AND get cash back with no fees
I bank with a credit union which is outside my state. There aren’t too many credit union ATMs around where I can withdraw cash without fees. Cash back from debit card payments are an option. But I’m wary of debit cards for the following reasons: You are not protected against fraudulent purchases the same way [...]
5 Rules for responsible credit card use
1.Pay off your balance in full This should be a no-brainer rule. Don’t carry a credit card balance. Think about it, a bank pays less than 1% on your savings. With a CD you might get 2% if you are willing to lock the money for a year or two. With an inflation protected ibond [...]
Credit Score Myths And Tips
1. If I cancel a credit card, will it affect my credit score? One of the factors determining your credit score is your borrowing power or the sum total of the amount of money lenders are willing to loan (total available credit). An indirect effect of canceling a credit card is that your borrowing power [...]
Interesting statistic: email service and credit score
Credit Karma had an interesting statistic on preferred email service and average credit scores. The average credit score of Yahoo users was the lowest, whereas Gmail users was the highest (among ‘free’ email services). Hotmail and AOL are tied and somewhere in between.
HOWTO get your credit score from all 3 credit bureaus for free!
I check up on my credit scores regularly and I don’t pay a dime. No I’m not shilling for sites that have the word ‘free’ in the website address but need you to fork over your credit card to show you your credit score! Here’s how I do it: To get my TransUnion score, I [...]
Should you link Paypal to your main checking account?
I appreciate the convenience offered by Paypal, making or receiving payments became as easy as sending an email. But what is Paypal? Is it a bank or a credit card provider? Neither. It isn’t regulated like a bank or like a credit card provider. Their rules are draconian – if Paypal freezes your account, they [...]
DCU now offers free Equifax FICO credit score
DCU recently rolled out a new service to all its members – a free monthly FICO credit score report! Absolutely love it! Yet another reason to move your money to a Credit Union. I’ve been with DCU since 2001, have never stepped inside the bank, but have been more than satisfied with their service. If [...]
How to learn your credit score without spending a dime
Knowing one’s credit score is the first step towards managing one’s finances. But how do you learn your credit score? Most of the ‘free’ credit reporting services are not really free. Why does FreeCreditReport.com require your credit card? Most of these companies are borderline scammers. I myself got scammed by a credit monitoring service called [...]