Financial tips

Why use Bill Pay?

4 reasons.  Read more »
• To Automate the Process & Avoid Late Payments - by automating the process of paying bills, you can ensure all bill payments are paid on time, and therefore avoid late payments.
• To Allocate Checking Funds & Avoid Interest Payments - by setting aside X-amount of money from your checking account, and then having payments
  

Towards the beginning of 2003 (in the Jan-Feb timeframe) the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) changed regulatory guidelines to force banks and other financial institutions to increase monthly minimum payments to cover at least 1% of the principal balance above and beyond all fees and interest incurred. Most banks prior to this used to charge 2-3%.  Read more »

You need to have great credit to take advantage of today's lower interest rates. The following are some tips to boost your credit score.

Your credit score is incredibly important to your financial life. It determines whether you get loans, the interest rate you pay on those loans, and the terms you get for any borrowing. It can also determine whether or not you can get an apartment; it can help determine your insurance rates or premiums; employers can look at this also to determine whether or not to give you a job, or to promote you.

ALWAYS be sure to check your receipts for credit card information on them. Note: it is usually going to be a small mom-and-pop restaurant that will do this. The big chains almost never put your credit card information on them in full. They will usually put something like: XXXXXXXXX1234.

Here is an example of what you should cross out if you see:

SOLUTION:

The Rule of 72 says that to find the number of years required to double your money at a given interest rate, you just divide the interest rate into 72. For example, if you want to know how long it will take to double your money at a 9 percent interest, divide 72 by 9 and get 8 years.

Make a vow to yourself to get more organized and spend the necessary time to stay organized. Also, track what you spend, and you may find a few surprises.

When paying off debt, choose the credit card or loan with the highest interest rate first and pay that off, then move to the next highest interest rate, and so on.

If you feel like you are stuck in a neverending cycle of not having enough money, falling further and further behind on your credit card and other bills, and just plain cannot seem to properly manage your finances, then these 2 suggestions might be your best answer...

One way to save money and reduce debt is to cut back on the use of your credit card(s) and make payments every other week, rather than every month.

Take some time today and backup all the files on your computer(s). Also, ensure that your antivirus and firewall protections are up-to-date.