personal finance advice: How Does Money Management Affect Your Marriage? - 03/19/12 11:15 AM
It's common for married couples to have conflicts about money, some say it's the greatest conflict in marriage. So how do you avoid conflict and make money management a priority in your marriage? On today's Equifax Finance blog, the director of education for eCredable tackles the issue with helpful tips on how to make a successful marriage.
It may be unlikely advice but the prevailing theme is that money needs to be an open, ongoing conversation within your relationship. When you decide you want to marry someone, you're also marrying their finances and financial habits. From understanding fiscal compatibility when … (2 comments)
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personal finance advice: 10 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score - 02/13/12 04:42 PM
Improving your credit score is an essential way to gain greater financial options and more favorable credit offers from lenders. However, achieving a high credit score is not an instant fix, but that does not mean that you cannot take steps to gradually improve it.
Today’s Equifax Finance Blog written by Equifax Experts gives a “Top Ten” list of strategies to improve your credit score.
Tip 5: Know your FICO credit score. You are allowed one free credit report per year from one of the three major credit bureaus, so inform yourself about what these numbers mean.
Tip 4: Check … (0 comments)
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personal finance advice: The Four Questions That Can Get You the Right Insurance Policy - 03/17/11 12:09 PM
It would be great to have a fortune-telling crystal ball when buying insurance coverage, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, not even our insurance agents can see what all of our risks may be. But there are some ways to make sure you get the right coverage. Being prepared for a worst case scenario starts with asking your insurance agent some questions, so they can zero in on just the right policy for you.
Insurance expert Linda Rey shares the four questions she wishes clients would ask her:
1. What happens if I wait to buy life, disability, or long-term care insurance? … (0 comments)
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personal finance advice: Twitter Anniversary! - 03/02/11 03:27 PM
Sadly, I missed my 5,000 tweet milestone! Maybe with the help of my Twitter friends I can make it to 5,000 followers by the end of March?
Follow me @Glink. Thank you!
Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In! She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blog and CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors.
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personal finance advice: Five Questions You NEED to Ask Potential Investment Brokers - 03/01/11 12:37 PM
My fellow blogger Dan Solin is pretty critical of investment brokers--"I don't believe anyone should rely on brokers or onvestment advisers who claim to be able to 'beat the market' for investment advice"--but he was kind enough to share the five questions that anyone in the market for a broker needs to ask.
If you insist on using these brokers or advisers, here are five questiosn you need to ask them. When you get the answers, you may be persuaded to fundamentally change the way you invest:
1. Can you predict the future?
2. How risky is my … (0 comments)
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personal finance advice: Tax Turkeys - 11/24/10 09:05 AM
This holiday, the only turkey you encounter should be on your plate, covered in cranberry sauce. Tax expert Eva Rosenberg has heard plenty of bogus tax advice over the years, and she shares which "tax turkeys" to avoid this season. Her advice? If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Here are her top tax schemes to avoid:
Fund your business with tax-free money from your IRA. Transfer your assets to a religious organization. Fight your taxes as not being legal. Have your business write off all your personal expenses.To read more about each of these schemes … (1 comments)
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personal finance advice: How To Protect Yourself From Credit-Repair Scams - 11/15/10 09:39 AM
If you’re drowning in debt, you might be tempted to partner with a debt-relief service or a credit-repair company to help you pay down your debt. In recent years, some companies have preyed on consumers’ financial insecurities, prompting the federal government to get involved by passing new laws regulating the industry.New Federal Trade Commission regulations require that these companies be clearer with customers about what they can do, how long it will take, and how much the customer may or may not save.
The FTC regulations also make it illegal for such companies to charge a fee before they are successful … (0 comments)
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personal finance advice: Buying a New Home? Here are Five Things Your Builder Won't Tell You - 10/22/10 01:22 PM
Buying a home is enough of a stress without worrying about whether your builder is being upfront, but-especially in this market-builders may have incentive to keep things from you.
During the recession, a lot of builders have gone bankrupt. Remember, if the developer goes belly-up before the development is sold out, you run the risk that the bank will sell a portion of the development to a developer who will put up less expensive homes, cutting your future appreciation and perhaps depreciating your property from the price you paid.
Here are five things your builder may be hesitant … (3 comments)
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personal finance advice: Avoid Identity Theft - 10/11/10 12:34 PM
Your personal information is valuable, particularly to would-be thieves. Learn how to protect yourself and your personal information.
You lock your door when you leave your house; you hold your purse tightly on a busy street. You probably ask the neighbors to pick up your newspapers when you’re out of town.We all have certain habits to protect our personal possessions and avoid theft, but what about everyday practices to protect against identity theft?
Follow these best practices and get in the habit of protecting your personal information to avoid identity theft: Don’t carry more credit cards than you need. Shred … (3 comments)
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personal finance advice: Insuring iPods, Cell Phones, Stereos, and Other Car Electronics - 09/16/10 01:29 PM
If you have iPods, iPads, and iPhones you may have iProblems if they get damaged.
Insuring your mobile devices is important and often is overlooked in content coverage. Make sure your stuff is safe by covering it under your auto policy.
Linda Rey, an insuance expert and Equifax Personal Finance blogger, explains more: http://insurance.equifax.com/2010/09/insuring-ipods-cell-phones-stereos-and.html
… (1 comments)
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personal finance advice: Investing As A Couple Can Lead to Marriage Stress - 09/07/10 04:45 PM
Retirement fund expert and Equifax Personal Finance Blogger Dan Solin offers an provocative new insight in his latest blog: investing with your significant other can ruin the relationship.
Dan writes: "Many couples believe in togetherness, which can be a good thing. However, there are dangers to investing jointly that should give even the closest duos pause.Remember the best-selling book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, by John Gray? The difference in the way men and women view the world has particular applicability to investing.As many women know, men generally don’t lack confidence. They typically love the “action” of … (3 comments)
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personal finance advice: Pay Lump Sum Off Mortgage To Save On Interest - 08/31/10 03:21 PM
Making a prepayment on your mortgage loan or paying off a lump sum saves money on interest.
Paying a lump sum off a mortgage can save years on mortgage loan payments--if you have the liquid cash reserves.
A reader asked me if she should make a lump sum of $10,000 to her principle and "save" on the interest. She had the money and thought paying off a lump sum was a wiser investment than putting her money in CDs, MMAs or anywhere else.
Making a prepayment of $10,000 will certainly cut down the time you have left on the loan. Even … (3 comments)
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personal finance advice: New Tax Increase for Wealthy Americans...Will You Pay More? - 08/18/10 12:02 PM
Congress passed historic legislation with the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010, and with that came the promise of a tax increase on the wealthy.
Think you will have to deal with a tax hike this year?
Find out it you are a part of the tax increase:
http://tax.equifax.com/2010/08/new-tax-increase-for-wealthy-americans.html
… (2 comments)
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personal finance advice: You Get the House in the Divorce, But It's in Trouble...Now What? - 07/30/10 01:05 PM
Short Sale or Foreclosure After Divorce Will Severely Hurt Your Credit Dividing up debts, keepsakes and housing can be the hardest part of a divorce, but a short sale or foreclosure is not an easy solution. While a short sale or foreclosure after divorce can severely hurt your credit, you might be better off with a short sale or foreclosure rather than a bankruptcy. A good real estate attorney can help you make that financial decision and lessen the impact of a short sale or foreclosure on your credit after a divorce.
Q: My daughter is getting a divorce. She is … (1 comments)
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personal finance advice: Helping a Friend in Debt - 07/26/10 01:06 PM
If you are a generous person and your friend ask you to help with their debt, make sure you understand the consequences of helping someone in debt.
If your friend is in over their head, in severe debt, owing more than his house is worth, and in danger of losing his property you might not want to get involved. By helping a friend with their debt, anyone could become a good Samaritan in debt.
I also wanted to use this situation to try out a poll on Twitter, please respond, interested to see how this online poll works:
Would you … (4 comments)
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personal finance advice: Good Debt vs. Bad Debt - 07/06/10 11:27 AM
Check out this helpful information about credit from one of my fellow bloggers on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.
Have you ever heard someone talk about "good debt" versus "bad debt"? Those terms can be a little misleading, but the kinds of debt you have and how you manage your finances can reflect positively-or negatively-on your credit report.
Your credit report contains a story about what kind of debt you've taken on and how you've paid it back. You might think of the $20 you borrowed from a coworker to pay for lunch as a debt, and it is, … (3 comments)
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personal finance advice: Five Simple Rules for Protecting Your Retirement Savings - 06/22/10 11:23 AM
Here are five simple rules from my friend Dan Solin for protecting your retirement savings from the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.
It's great that you're saving for retirement. However, you can undo all the good by making a single bad decision with these accounts, costing you dearly in taxes and penalties. Fortunately, it's easy to protect your retirement savings by following these five simple rules.
Follow these rules, and you'll avoid making some bad retirement mistakes:
Rule #1: Don't make early withdrawals from a 401(k) or traditional IRA. Money you take from your 401(k) plan or a traditional IRA … (2 comments)
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personal finance advice: Tax Paperwork: What Can You Toss And What Do You Keep - 06/09/10 02:04 PM
An excerpt from TaxMama Eva Rosenberg's Tax Blog on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog:
When it comes to tax paperwork, taxpayers are rightly confused about what you can toss and what you should keep in order to stay in good standing with the IRS.
The two most common tax questions I get are:
1) How long shall I keep my tax records?
2) Which tax records must I keep?
TaxMama says to keep all tax records forever, except, you'd probably run out of room at some point in the not too distant future.
To see a list of the documents … (1 comments)
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personal finance advice: Unromantic Money And Tax Talks Before Marriage - 06/07/10 03:06 PM
TaxMama Eva Rosenberg shares some of the things you should talk about with a partner before marriage. Read the full story at the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.
You should walk into a marriage with your eyes open, knowing about your partner’s financial problems—and being willing to work on them. It’s a betrayal when you learn, a year or two later, about the unpaid back taxes, the unpaid child support, the student loan defaults, or other loan defaults.
How much do you earn? How much do you have in savings? Do you have any qualified retirement plans that you own or … (2 comments)
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personal finance advice: Four Things College Kids Need To Know About Credit - 06/07/10 02:05 PM
Robin Holland, who teaches financial literacy programs for Equifax, blogged about the 4 things college kids need to know about credit for this week's Credit Blog of the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.
The lessons she mentions are good for any person to know, really. Are you familiar with these?
Lesson #1: Credit Cards are a convenience, not a form of income.
Lesson #2: Just because you can afford the minimum payment every month doesn't mean you're not in debt.
Read the other 2 lessons and the rest of the blog at the Equifax Personal Finance Blog. And as always, I appreciate … (0 comments)
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