Most people think they're properly managing their personal finances by simply logging in and getting their bank balance or checking to see how their spending compared to their budget.
While new credit only accounts for 10% of your FICO score, it really can't be ignored. If you're young and don't have a lengthy history, opening up a new account can hurt your score as too much credit is generally considered risky. If you have what might be construed as too many accounts, then the thought is that it's too much to keep up with, especially all those different payment dates.
More than ever, with new banking regulations, banks want to pitch their products to college students. It seems that a college student's account has a major impact on the bank's earnings.
Before stepping onto campus for the first time, there are three things every Freshman should know about finances. It's important to get aquainted with a these three financial instruments; they'll not only be important throughout college, but the rest of your life. They'll serve you well if you serve them well, but before you can begin to serve them well, you must understand them.
Although the length of your credit history only weighs in at 15% of your score, it is still vitally important. Don't confuse this with your payment history; your payment history is the quality part, while your payment length is the quantity part.
Today, more than ever, consumers are using debit cards; as a matter of fact, they are swiftly becoming the payment of choice over checks (so 1900's), cash, or credit cards. They have the advantages of credit cards as you don't have to write checks all over town (increasing your exposure to identity theft) or carry a ton of cash. They also have the advantage over credit cards in that they won't put you into debt, unless, you overdraw your checking account and incur overdraft fees.
As we mentioned in a previous post, the Federal Reserve prohibited banks from automatically enrolling customers in overdraft protection which took effect in August, 2010. Despite this, for those who do opt-in to the program, there's no limit to the amount of the fee and number of fees PER DAY can vary from bank to bank. According to the Consumer Federation of America, some banks have tacked on additional fees.
No one truly knows what the full impact of the downgrade will mean; we are in unprecedented territory. The stock market is plummeting as I write this. For sure, it will mean an increase in interest rates on debt issued by the US, which in turn, means an increase in interest rates for the rest of us.
I've often thought if criminals used their cunningness and channeled it to something positive, they could make a ton more money in the legitimate venture. Today, criminals will install surveillance equipment on ATM's in order to skim cutomers' information. You walk up to the ATM, insert your card, enter you PIN, and your banking information has been skimmed.
While some may find it easy to ask for money, it's not so easy to get the lender to say yes. It's really all about who you ask and how you present yourself.
Were you surprised to find that your bank was charging a fee for something you either thought was free, or used to be free? Guess what? Banks are now unbundling services and charging for them. You may not know about it until you're charged. The key is to call the bank immediately; you may be able to get the fee reversed.
As most of you can imagine, my favorite game to play as a child was Monopoly. Cash was not just king; cash won the game.
Yes, if you had no cash you could borrow money, but the only way to do that (within the rules of the game,) was to mortgage your property.
It's sometimes hard to find the cash we need, especially these days. Many people have been borrowing against their home. Only on rare occasions is this the wise thing to do.
Debit cards have been giving rewards, just like credit cards; however, that's about to change.
With new banking regulations it has become harder for banks to charge overdraft fees, which was a great source of revenue for banks.
If you're looking for a house, you may first need to look at your bank account. Gone are the days of low, or even zero down payments.
As they say, "Lightning strikes the outhouse as well." Some, and the emphasis is on the word some, card issuers are waiving some of their fees. These include Bank of America, Wells Fargo and American Express.
Some cycles are just hard to figure out when and where they start and when and where they end. So let’s look at the housing cycle. I’ve always said, if you follow housing, you follow the economy.