I’ve been working on something with my son. It’s “try something new”. I have made an effort to convince him that he should try something new, and if he likes it, great, if not, fine. I’m mostly applying this concept to food but it’s relevant to things like trying new sports or ideas or so [...]
try something new, and links is an original article from the website brip blap.
The AT&T Universal Savings and Rewards Card from Citibank, which was the first ever credit card I got more than 13 years ago, is a credit card that’s designed for those with good credit who desire a credit card with an excellent rewards program. This card acts both as a credit card and a calling [...]
Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
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Why is everyone talking about health insurance? Obama’s Health Plan (ObamaCare) has everyone talking, but a lot of people were worried about health insurance long before the hype. In 2007, a significant 17.1 percent of Americans were uninsured. By 2008, over 45 million Americans lacked any type of health insurance coverage. [...]
[If you missed part one a couple of days ago, I encourage you to read Invest in What You Know?. As a bonus, I was happy the history of Palm smartphones sparked some conversation. Today I'd like to address the company that surfaced the topic in my mind.]
I get lots of people sending [...]
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Happy Friday. It looks like most of the brutal heat and humidity has subsided somewhat across the country, so that means more of you are likely able to actually enjoy the outdoors this weekend. I know around here at least it’s been a huge improvement. Instead of being 95 degrees and incredibly humid it’s now [...]
About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.
The credit card companies seem to really be enjoying Free Money Friday!
Citi is offering another chance at some free money in the form of $200 to Restaurant.com.
Thank You Points. The Citi Forward card is part of the ThankYou program. Earn 5x ThankYou® Points for every $1 spent at restaurants, on books, movies and music. Get 1 reward point for every $1 you spend on all other purchases. Plus, earn up to 2,500 when you sign up for Paperless Statements.
Balance Transfer. Citi is offering a 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for 12 months and 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 7 months.
Written by Kate
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Believe it or not, there are other trading options beside just the traditional stocks and bonds. One of the popular ones that is often somewhat of a mystery for average investors is something known as stock options (I started to learn options trading not long ago). What Are Stock Options Stock options are traded in [...]
Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
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Finding the best mortgage rates for a new home loan or even mortgage refinancing isn’t hard but it can take some work. If you want to find the lowest interest rates you can narrow it down by first entering your loan details into mortgage calculators and comparing the results across multiple mortgage lenders.
Mortgage Calculators
The interest rates from [...]
One year ago today – Buying a Car from the U.S – The Pros/Cons and Process
Interesting Investment Information @ Canadian Money Forum
Preparing for a Heat Wave @ Frugal Dad
Free Personal Finance Software: Microsoft Money Sunset Version @ Canadian Capitalist
Everyday Philanthropy: Simple Ways You Can Start Helping Others Today @ Generation X Finance
Previous [...]
The following guest post is from my daughter, Frugal Daughter. After listening to her dad’s frugal rants for the last ten years, she was bound to inherit a little frugality herself. I think she’s a pretty good writer, too (continuity plan in place…check!).
First of all, let me mention that back to school shopping is a [...]
Post by Frugal Dad
I confess: I am the product of a liberal arts education. Graduating with a degree in English in (mumbles year quickly under breath…), I was often asked if I planned to be a teacher. Fact is, I really had no plan — I went to school, studied (mostly) things that interested me, graduated and then [...]
I just checked my Lending Club account. And I saw my first charge off. My part of the charge off was only $20, but the loan was for someone doing a $15,000 kitchen and bath remodel.
The part that surprised me, was that it was an A grade loan. However even with an A grade, Jill may be onto something when she filters for loans under $10,000 in How to Earn High Returns with Lending Club.
The part I found fascinating is how much information Lending Club provides me with. The loan was taken out in February 2009. They paid on their loan for seven months before a late payment. Once they stopped paying the loan went to a collection agency in December 2009 and was charged off in February 2010. There’s an entire collection log that shows the contact between Lending Club and the borrower over the year.
The most interesting part, take a look at what happened to their credit score:
Obviously, something went terribly wrong and their kitchen and bath remodel wasn’t the only thing that got charged off, as you can see with their credit score plummeting by 250+ points.
Since it was my first charge off, I couldn’t help but feel a little scammed since I invested time reading about the borrowers personal statements and somehow felt connected to their beautiful new kitchen. Then, I wondered if there was even a kitchen and bath remodel.
However, when I come back to the numbers and remind myself that 2.20% of loans were in default when I took on this loan in my Lending Club review, charge offs were to be expected.
And let’s be honest, I lost $20. By the looks of their credit score, they’ve lost a lot more. And for that I feel bad for them. Hopefully they’ll recover from this.
I’m amazed at how powerful the connection with the borrower becomes when you have so much information! And since I took advantage of the Lending Club $25 Sign Up Bonus and the rest of my loans are current, I’m still ahead!
Have you had any defaults? Did you see anything interesting in their collection log or credit score time line?
Yakezie. I joined a group of writers in the Yakezie network. I’m always on the lookout for ways to feature great articles for you to read; you’ll see some of them each week in the list of personal finance articles.
Written by Madison
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Buying a house isn’t something it’s easy to just rush into; the more you plan for buying a home the better off you’ll be. Here are five ways that planning ahead can help.
1) Time to Improve Your Credit Score Your credit score & interest rate on your new home loan are closely related. If you know [...]
Buying a house isn’t something it’s easy to just rush into; the more you plan for buying a home the better off you’ll be. Here are five ways that planning ahead can help.
1) Time to Improve Your Credit Score Your credit score & interest rate on your new home loan are closely related. If you know [...]
A couple of years ago my car’s air conditioner had some problems and stopped working. To be more exact, the fan quit working except on the 5 (high) setting. I could have the A/C off, or blowing like a hurricane. I didn’t think about it too much – or rather I did, but decided I [...]
making time for the details is an original article from the website brip blap.
Next week I’m kicking off a week-long series here at Frugal Dad called “Beyond the Emergency Fund: Preparing Your Household for All Types of Emergencies.” I’ve had two experiences in the last week that tested our emergency preparedness here in the Frugal household. Last week, our street had a serious water leak that resulted in [...]
Post by Frugal Dad
My favorite online bank has a new promotion that you may be interested in if you’re looking for a new savings or checking account with relatively higher returns. I think it’s a pretty good deal if you consider their 3 month bonus rate for new accounts plus the guarantee that the yield that you [...]
Can you believe what mortgage rates are these days? As of this post Bankrate shows a 30-year fixed at around 4.6% and a 15-year down to almost 4%. That’s pretty amazing when you think about what rates were just five years ago. Back then you were probably looking at rates closer to 7%. So, all [...]
About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.
Earlier this year, the economy and the nation’s financial health looked like it might finally be on the mend. After bottoming out in the 6500s in March 2009, the Dow has spent the last several quarters roaring back. By April of this year, the Dow was back above 11,000, unemployment numbers were starting to come [...]
Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
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President Obama recently signed The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The financial reform act will be phased in over the next five years, with many provisions becoming law within the next 18 months.
Along with permanently increasing FDIC insurance limits, the financial reform bill regulates investment and trading practices, hoping to prevent the practices that led to bailouts and banks that are “too big to fail.”
The financial reform act also takes steps to regulate the way these institutions interact with consumers. Below, find some of the provisions with the biggest impacts on individuals.
What it means for you: One body will oversee products such as mortgages, credit cards, and payday loans, making them easier for consumers to understand.
What it means for you: If you are denied credit, you can access your credit score for free. This will in turn help you recognize and correct mistakes on your credit report and understand how you can qualify for the best interest rates in the future.
What it means for you: If you’ve gone all-plastic in recent years, you might want to start carrying cash again to help you get the best prices on everyday items. But if the discount is 1-2%, you may break even by using a cash rewards credit card.
What it means for you: You will have to start carrying cash if you usually put your $2.00 coffee on a credit or debit card. Theoretically prices could fall as businesses avoid fees, but the reality of that happening remains to be seen.
What it means for you: A mortgage you can understand and afford and the right to pay it off or refinance it with no penalty. On the other hand, it may be harder to qualify for a mortgage since they will be less profitable for banks.
In addition to the personal impacts listed above, you might also be interested in the following:
Written by Jill
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Home inspection services may not be something you’re excited about paying for when selling your house but they could be well worth your money. We had a home inspector come to look for any potential problems and he pointed out some home repairs that could potentially help us sell our house faster and closer to [...]
This is an article from our regular real estate columnist Rachelle
A topic of concern for landlords has been the continued erosion of tenant quality. In the last 13 years since graduated from property management school there have been significant changes in the industry.
History Lesson
When I first began working the law did not allow for [...]
Recently a company emailed me to tell me about their product. The product re-introduced me to the idea of investing in what you know. Peter Lynch, of Fidelity fame, may be the biggest proponent, and Warren Buffett, may be the best known. When those two minds agree on any piece of investing [...]
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EverBank is running a promotion right now for its Yield Pledge Money Market Account and FreeNet Checking Account with up to $75 bonus. The bonus is offered separately for the Money Market Account and Checking Account, which means that in order to get the maximum $75 bonus, you will need to open both a Money [...]
Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
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Liquidation sales appear to be a place where you may find a lot of great deals. But recently, I came upon some eye-opening facts about the liquidation business. Some of you may already be aware of this but I don’t think everyone necessarily knows about the truth behind some of these warehouse type [...]
