How does Consumer Finance Loans Affect Your Credit Score

Posted by Brian Redhead

Saving Money in Times Like These

Posted by Lily Chung

As the financial crisis continues to hit our economy, experts have found many ways that you can save money on a daily bases, some of which you may have never guessed!

- Know when to shop: Shopping late at night proves to be most effective because it is less crowded and shelves are being restocked at this time, so instead of always going for the more expensive brand, there are more options you can choose from with a completely stocked shelf. Also, things that need to be sold by the end of the day are often marked down (especially in grocery stores, where they mark down things like pre-made salads).

- Stockpile and use coupons: When you go grocery shopping, there are always things that are on sale such as soups, pastas, toiletries, etc. So why only buy enough for a week or a month? When you stockpile and use coupons, you can get enough for an entire year!

- Fill your tires: Studies show that driving 12,000 miles annually on underinflated tires wastes up to 50 gallons of gas or $100.

- Wash your own car: I have been doing this since I was in High School, and just thinking about going to a car wash makes me cringe because a little bit of manual labor saves about $208 a year!

- Creative resourcefulness: Instead of buying swiffer dry cloths, you can trade them in for dryer sheets, which have the same static cling, making it useful for dusting.

- Unplug electrical devices: Devices that are still plugged in are still using electricity. Electronics using 100 watts that are still plugged in and turned off for 18 hours a day can cost $131 each year.

- Saving on phone bills: if you have a lot of family and friends outside of the United States, the phone bill with the long distance fees can become pretty high. Instead, look into other options, such as skype.com. Instead of using land lines, you can do long distance calling through the internet. You can get 10,000 minutes for $9.95 a month.

Sources:
Wise buys: Experts share tips for saving on clothes, gadgets and groceries
30 ways to save at the supermarket
How you can save $20,000 in one year

Insurers Ease Stance on Pre-Existing Conditions

Copied and Pasted by Lily Chung

The health insurance industry said Tuesday that it was willing to end the practice of charging higher premiums to sick people if Congress adopted a comprehensive plan that provided coverage to all Americans.

The industry’s flexible position on the issue came as a surprise to lawmakers, and could make it easier to reach an agreement in Congress because it narrows the issues on which insurers are ready to fight the Democrats who control Congress and the White House.

Insurers said they were still staunchly opposed to creation of a new government-run health insurance plan, which, under many Democratic proposals, would compete directly with private insurers.

In effect, insurers said they were willing to discard an element of their longstanding business model, under which insurance policies are priced, in part, on the basis of a person’s medical condition or history.

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9-step Guide to Your Finances

Copied and Pasted by Lily Chung

Here's a money secret that might keep you from driving yourself crazy: You can't do it all.

We're supposed to max out our retirement savings, pile up huge emergency funds, pay off all our debts and buy tons of insurance. Yet we've also got other bills to pay, kids to raise and, yes, fun to have.

Even in good times, many of us can't cover all the bases perfectly. Now that many are facing pay cuts, unemployment or unpaid furloughs, more of us are facing painful trade-offs on less income.

Here's what you need to know now to properly prioritize your spending and manage your money. You may not be able to cover everything right away, but as more money comes in you can work your way down the list and be reasonably sure you're getting the important stuff right.

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Good Debt vs. Bad Debt

Copied and Pasted by Lily Chung

It's far too easy to spend more than you can afford, especially when you pay by credit card. The average U.S. household with at least one credit card carries nearly a $10,700 balance, according to CardWeb.com, and personal bankruptcies have hit record highs in recent years.

Of course, avoiding debt at any cost is not smart either if it means depleting your cash reserves for emergencies. The challenge is learning how to judge which debt makes sense and which does not and then wisely managing the money you do borrow.

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Consumer Prices Rise

Posted by Lily Chung

Even though the recession was supposed to have reduced any chances for inflation for the rest of the year, we are currently seeing a 0.4 percent rise in consumer prices. This was mostly due to the jump in gas prices (again!) as well as an increase in clothing prices. It was a big relief when gas prices lowered a drastic amount towards the end of 2008, but starting in 2009, there has been an increase of 6 percent in January and 8.3 percent in February. Energy costs rose 3.3 percent, cost of clothes rose 1.3 percent, and new car prices increased 0.8 percent. Although we may all love decreasing prices, the slight inflation has given analysts hope that the economy will not spiral into dangerous territories of deflation, which has not been seen since the Great Depression. Deflation has been feared for quite a while with the "deepening recession and prolonged housing slump".

Sources:
US Consumer Prices Rise 0.4% in February
Rise in Consumer Prices Eases Deflation Fears
Consumer Price Index Summary

HSBC to scale back US consumer finance arm

Pasted by Lisa Crowley

HONG KONG (AFP) – HSBC on Monday will announce plans to scale back its US consumer finance operations as it launches a 17 billion US dollar rights issues to boost its capital base, the Financial Times reported.

The London-based bank, which will release its annual results at 0800 GMT Monday, is expected to say it will further downsize its US-based credit card and mortgage lender, the newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying.

The US consumer finance arm, HSBC Finance Corporation, has stopped writing new subprime mortgages -- the source of mounting losses for the division -- and closed its car loan business in the United States.

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How To Start a Lifetime Financial Plan

Written by: Marg Spina
Copied by: Joseph A. Penny

Most of us have budgets of some kind, and have an idea of where our money goes every month. However, sometimes budgets just don't work. Why? Because there is usually more than just one person involved in the family budget and personal priorities and outlooks on spending money can vary greatly.

Toss in the odd personal lifechange such as job loss, unexpected pregnancy, illness, or injury, and you can have instant financial chaos. Planning ahead and looking strategically at spending can reduce the stress around your family budget.

You probably know couples who have comparable salaries but have substantially different assets and spending patterns. The difference? If you want to have financial security, you need to have a plan of action. It should be updated every time your circumstances change and every time you look at purchasing a large ticket item.

Knowing where you are going financially and choosing your course of action will make a big difference in how you can plan for your future and your retirement. Would you take a trip to a new destination without a map? Would you just hop in the car and hope that you get there eventually? Think of your financial plan as a financial road map, with the ups and downs of life's financial challenges as detours or freeways, depending on what's ahead.

Some planning basics require that you find out what your financial goals are. Where do you want to be financially next year, five years from now, etc. List your priorities. What is really important to you? For some, it might be a nice home, and their priority would be to allocate top dollar to buying an attractive home in a nice area. For others, cars, recreational property, or entertainment might be most important There is no right answer, just the right choice for you.

This is the time to sit down with your partner, and discover your financial direction and priorities together. You can't do it alone. Unless couples work together to establish financial priorities, relationships can suffer badly. How many people have argued about joint chequing accounts, or purchases where both weren't involved in the spending decision. How about budget sabotage? Sound familiar?

List your priorities and how much money you will need. Understand your income, not what you'd like to make or your gross, but your after-tax paycheque. Look at your assets and debts, how can you work with these creatively? Need advice? There are many reputable financial planners, debt counselling agencies, bank officers, who will help you develop your personal lifetime financial plan.

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Credit Card Fraud: 21 Ways to Protect Yourself

Copied and Pasted by: Lily Chung

Although credit card fraud is certainly on the rise -- and credit card fraud on the Internet is rising even more dramatically -- many savvy Internet shoppers know that the reality is that it's actually much safer to enter your credit card number on a secure online order form than it is to give your credit card to a waiter at a restaurant.

After all, what's to stop the waiter from writing down your credit card number and placing orders on the phone with it later?

And research shows that the rate of fraudulent purchases made by cell phones is much higher than credit card fraud on the Net.

Nevertheless, we encourage you to take precautions when giving out any confidential information (including your credit card number) over the Internet, over the phone... or anywhere else for that matter!

Always use common sense -- it is the best rule of thumb.

To read more, Click Here

Clear Your Credit Card and Loan Debts

Posted by: Lily Chung

Saving Money at the Pump

Copied and posted by: Lisa Crowley

Does Ethanol Save Consumers Money at the Pump? [Marlo Lewis]

That’s what the corn and ethanol lobbies claim. In fact, filling up with ethanol is a big fat money-loser, as you can see for yourself by visiting www.fueleconomy.gov, a website jointly administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE). Once you’re there, click on “Flex-Fuel Vehicles,” then click on “Fuel Economy Information for Flex-Fuel Vehicles,” and then click on “Go.”

EPA and DOE compare the average annual cost of using regular gasoline and E-85 (motor fuel blended with 85 percent ethanol) for 90 different flex-fuel models. In every case, regardless of make or model, fueling the vehicle with E-85 costs more than gasoline—lots more.


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4 Ways to Build Credit

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

So with the recent economic crisis everyone credit is either falling or staying stagnant. Now everyone is trying to figure out how they could raise it or at least get it out of the bottom tier that most are in. Here are 5 ways that you could build credit and or fix your current credit that might not be in a good economic state:

1. Get a Checking and/or Savings Account- These accounts help credit lenders to see that you have means of stability. Also it allows them to see that you own something that they could collect in the event that you are unable to make payments. In many cases the more money you hold int these accounts, the higher credit lending you will receive.

2. Department Store Card or Gas Card- Usually department stores cards are easier to get and they do not come with as much risk as many major credit cards would. Gas Cards will allow you to be able to pay for gas at a later date but as well build your credit along the way. Try to monitor the number of cards of these types you get because sometimes you could go beyond what you could pay monthly.

3. Gaining An Understanding of Credit Scores- Nowadays many people don't even take the initiative to find out how the credit score system works. In many cases its in your best interest to find out how you can receive the highest credit score possible so that in your favor you could receive highest credit lending.

4. Take Out a Short Term Loan- In these cases lenders get EXCITED to see that you have received prior loans. This shows that your payments are more reliable and that they will almost guarantee their payments every month.

Time to Buy Your Dream Car

By Alcides Hoy Jr.

With our economy in a recession it seems all industries are suffering, including the auto industry. Now might be just the right time to capitalize on the major deals that car companies and rental companies are offering. Once big time companies Toyota, GMC, and Ford are falling nearly fifty percent below their last years sales mark. If you are interested in having in those big trucks GMC is in a position where they are going to try there best to accommodate the price you are trying to work with. I read this one article and they showed a picture of a Ford car dealer lot. Just nearly all of their 2008 and some of 2009 cars are already on sale. If I didnt have a car I would look to companies such as Toyota who in the last year havent been able to compete with european companies within their market. So right now if you looking to buy a car go down to one of these companies dealers and give them your lowest price first.

Sources:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/03/news/companies/auto_sales/index.htm
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,232068,00.html
http://www.freep.com/article/20090203/BUSINESS01/90203051/0/BUSINESS06

New FICO Score System

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

Fair Isaac - they're the company that develops the formula that determines your FICO credit score - is rolling out a new version FICO 08 with the credit bureau TransUnion.

Now this new FICO score is supposed to be an improvement and we really welcome any improvements to credit scoring since there are so many mistakes that can be made with credit scores.

Here's what this score will mean for folks: The new FICO '08 scoring model will really target folks in the subprime category of scores in the 600s. These are the people that lenders are really struggling to predict how well they might pay their bills.

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Tips & Tricks: Credit Cards

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

So I was thinking of ideas fro the first blog and I couldnt think of anything. Then I thought at a time like this what is more informative for my classmates than ways to find and maintain a proper credit card. As students the one thing we should look for is a credit card with a good rate. Many times since we are just turning the eligble age to have our own credit card, these companies try to send us credit cards. Not just CREDIT CARDS but the ones with the the highest rates. They will sometimes tell you things like YOU CANT BEAT THIS RATE thinking that as young adults we dont know how the rates are. Here is a video I think everyone should take a look at about Predatory credit card lending to college students.

The Credit Score Blues

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.


I found this video that's pretty funny but also interesting to many of us who don't know much about credit scores. Click to view video