How to Referral a Friend with Zecco Refer

• Sign up for a Zecco Trading account if you don’t already have one.

• Visit the Zecco Refer a Friend program site at: hello.zecco.com/raf

• Fill in your name and email address that’s associate with your Zecco Trading account.
• Fill out your friend’s name and email address. Click send. Your friend must sign-up with Zecco Trading using the same email address through which you invited them.
• If your friend signs-up and funds their account with $500 within 60 days, you’ll get a $75 cash referral bonus from Zecco deposited into your account. If you have an IRA with Zecco, you’ll receive a $75 Amazon gift certificate to your email address instead.
• You receive your reward in the first 10 business days of the following month after your friend has funded their account.

A few years ago, I was reading a blog post by Trent at The Simple Dollar regarding living on half of your income, and at the time I thought to myself:  “Well that’s nice. So instead of thirty Cup Noodles per month, I get to eat only fifteen? That’s totally doable.*”

(*Cool kids often use the word doable back in the days).

But time has changed. I’m now a hard-working member of society (sort of) and I’m no longer a dreadful leech on my parents (again, sort of).

Huh. I Could Have Sworn I Made More Than This…

In the past couple of months, I’ve again uprooted myself from Southern California and moved up to the San Francisco Bay Area to work on various projects, spending some good part of my time at the very cool BillShrink.com.

Being the ever disorganized person that I am, for the past few months I was being a little late on the invoicing for my contracting jobs — and by a little late, I meant a couple of months late.  And when I said disorganized, what I really meant was that I was busy working hard, of course.

So in effect a good portion of my income was not flowing into my checking account.  These are by no means small amounts too as they were more than enough to pay for a couple months worth of rent. Things got a bit silly when I was finally asked by the consulting clients: “When will you invoice us so we can pay you?”

Ohhh right. Money. Yeah, I need those things don’t I?

The interesting thing I noticed though was that my living standard didn’t change too much during these past couple of months — even though the cash wasn’t flowing in.  You can surmise a few things from this:

1. Maybe my living standard just sucks to begin with.
2. Maybe I make soooo much money that half of it is still a crap load.

And the truth usually lies somewhere within the middle of those two extremes.  I realized now that I do indeed have quite a no-frills life style: my expenses consist mainly of food, lodging, and transportation cost. Entertainment?  Who needs to pay for entertainment when your excitement consist of weekly Settlers of Catan sessions with a fellow personal finance blogger?

Still, literally living on half of your monthly income because you forgot to ask for your paid is STUPID.  When you’re not receiving your cut from the man, you’re doing yourself a major disservice:  you can diminish your cash-on-hand to invest and any potential realized savings toward your retirement.  Sure, timing the market is generally stupid, but missing out on tax advantages because you don’t have cash available (when you should) is even more stupid.

Having said that, being able to live on half of your income (or much less) can be great way for you to achieve your saving goals — and it is much easier thing to accomplish for recent college graduates, many of whom may go from making $0 per year to tens of thousands of dollars per year.

How to Live on Half of Your Monthly Income

1. You should have a clear idea of the type of living standard you would want to enjoy.  This is key, as a mortgage payment or a car loan won’t fit into the scenario unless your salary is  gangbuster-high.
2. You need to understand the actual expenses involved for the living standard you’ve decided to live by.
3. You need to be willing to trim or cut down on certain expenses.
4. You need to acutely keep a budget — unless you’re one of those type that can maintain their expenses by willpower.
5. You need to understand that not everyone can live on half of their monthly income. This is especially true if you have dependents or other financial obligations. Just because some frugality tip tells you to rock a “50% savings plan” doesn’t mean that you can apply the same tactic to your life situation.

For more tips, check out this AOL coaches article: Live Your Life For Half the Price.

Regardless if you can or can’t live on half of your income, thinking about the situation can be a good mental exercise in the type of expenses you’re currently incurring.  Personally, I think if you have frugal lifestyle and mentality, living on half the monthly salary will probably be a cake walk. However, if you were having issues balancing your checkbook a month or two ago, and then you suddenly decided to switch to a savings style of “living on half your income” — you probably won’t get very far.

Not a Fan of “Living on Half  of Your Income”

Before you think otherwise, you should know that I am NOT a proponent of a “50% savings plan” or some “living on half your monthly income” savings tactic.

Money, at the core of it, is meant to be spent.   Money affords us options and choices in life.  Although I’m a pretty frugal guy, my basic financial outlook is this: If you can afford it, spend it. Just don’t be a moron and cry about it later.

I’m not a real believer in hardcore saving tactics unless its for a very specific and concrete goal (e.g. you want a house within so-and-so years).  If you’re ever considering living on half of your income so you can do a 50% savings plan, you should think carefully about the trade-offs from the savings.

Sure, a vacation after a first few years of work straight out of college may be a bit lavish, but there are only certain things you can do while you’re young and have  flexibility in life.  Yes, maybe remodeling your entire backyard can’t be classified as a frugal move, but if you can enjoy more family time together with the new grill, patio, or jacuzzi — why not?

For some people, living on half their income is as easy as a stroll through the neighborhood (Compton, CA excluded). Their life style isn’t impacted and they’re making great headway toward their saving goals.  For others, forcefully living on half their income can often be stressful and difficult.  If you’re in a situation where you’re considering living on half of your salary, you need to carefully weigh the pros and cons.  At the end of it, it’s all about balances and your own preferences.

What do you think about people that choose to live on half of their income?  Or maybe you’re already doing it and you love it? Feel free to share your view and tips in the comments below!

This guest post is brought to you by The Digerati Life, where you can read about all things financial. SVB from The Digerati Life particularly enjoys discussing investment topics and the latest financial tools that help make money management interesting and easier to do. Why not subscribe to her feed?

 
Clearly, the credit crisis has done a number to the credit card industry, making the competition become a little tougher among credit card companies. In the past, credit card holders could earn substantial rewards with the kind of programs available through companies like Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card and Citibank. Back then, you could receive significant savings from online purchases when you register your reward credit card to earn points or from a cash back credit card that credits you a cash bonus on a regular basis.

These days, what do we have? Great credit card programs are dwindling, with some banks even closing their credit card divisions (remember the fiasco at Advanta?) because of the current business environment. Other card programs have been merged with others as well, leaving fewer options for card customers who are looking for better deals. I don’t think this is a surprise either, since there are cost savings (from the point of view of companies) when programs are eliminated or merged.

So as consumers, what can we do during this time of skimpier deals from the card industry? If you need a new credit card and are shopping around for one, there may be a few things you’d like to do:

1. Keep abreast of the changing terms of credit card programs.

It’s not just reward programs that are diminishing: I’ve noticed the terms on balance transfer cards becoming slimmer over time as well. While we used to have such cards sporting no fees, zero percent APRs for long periods of time (a year or more), all these great benefits have been cut back significantly. If you’re seeing this sort of thing going on with your cards, just make sure you’re not caught off guard by these changes. Don’t assume that you won’t be paying fees forever, or count on the fact that you’ll be paying the same low rates indefinitely.

2. Credit card programs could disappear without notice.

The time has come when you should think of spending those points fast, and not hold it for too long. This is because, with the recent financial situation, credit card companies may withdraw the schemes anytime without notice and drop schemes at will. This is a warning for reward credit card holders.

Reward credit cards are quite attractive to consumers for the kind of rewards that the card offers. It is a way not only to attract customers but also to encourage them to spend more to earn points. The consumers tend to save up these rewards just by holding them, waiting to re-deem the points for something that they really want. It is time to be careful with this, and this is a reminder that credit card companies have no legal binding in continuing with the reward program, and may withdraw them anytime.

3. Stick with reputable credit card companies.

A smaller bank may offer you really sweet deals on credit cards, but there may not be that same stability that you’ll find if you work with larger, well-known companies. While Advanta is an example of a large company whose credit card division failed in a huge way, a scenario like this is more likely to be repeated at smaller outfits that have less of the clout that financial institutions carry. With bailout money going to larger banks and institutions, some of that is bound to shore up the credit card businesses of more recognizable names. You can certainly take this into consideration when you sign up for your next card!

These are just some of the points to keep in mind when shopping for a credit card in these tougher economic times. With a little digging, you may be able to find a credit card or two that may still work out well for you.

There was a joke somewhere in there, linking cold stuff to freezing credit reports, but if you’re reading up on credit freeze because of identity theft problems, the last thing you’d probably want is a lame joke from an online financial nerd.

Fair enough. Here’s a complete breakdown on credit freeze, links to the major credit reporting agency (credit bureau) so you can request a freeze, and links to the fees for freezing your credit reports.

What’s a Credit Freeze?

A credit freeze (also known as a credit report freeze, credit lock down, credit report lock down, or a security freeze) is a way for you to prevent  access to your credit file by anyone (that includes you).   A credit freeze prevents reputable creditors from accessing your credit file, thereby preventing anyone from opening a new account, because the creditor will need to first check your credit report and score before being able to issue you credit.  Because of the way it prevents access to your credit report, a credit freeze is often the best way to stop an identity thief from opening new credit accounts in your name.

What a Credit Freeze Doesn’t Do

Unfortunately, a credit freeze does not prevent an identity thief from using your existing accounts, your existing personal information, or open non-credit checking accounts. Despite this, if you are a victim of identity theft, it is most likely prudent for you to request a credit freeze with the three major credit reporting agencies, as this will limit the damage to your existing accounts.

When Should You Request a Credit Freeze?

If you suspect an identity theft, or that you may be a target of identity theft (lost of personal mail, stolen wallet, stolen statements, etc.), you may want to consider a credit freeze depending on the type of personal information you think may have been compromised.  If your social security number has been stolen or there are evidence of misuse, a credit freeze is probably a good idea.  If your name, address, or phone number has been exposed due to stolen mail or a security breach by an organization, then you might want to consider setting up a fraud alert on your credit report.  A fraud alert differs from a credit freeze in that it does not prevent access to your credit report, but it does notify potential credit issuers to verify your identification before extending you credit.

How To Freeze Your Credit Report

Freezing your credit report can be done by a request to each of the three major credit reporting agency.  47 states and the District of Columbia has enacted laws requiring credit bureau to allow consumers to enable credit freeze.  Although the state of Alabama, Michigan, and Missouri do not have credit freeze laws, the three major credit bureaus have voluntary offered the credit freeze program to residents of those states.

The fees involved in freezing your credit report will vary by state, and is free in any state for an identity theft victim.  In some states, you may be required to submit documentation to waive the fee, such as a police report or identity theft report by a government agency. The fee ranges in $5 to $10 for non-victims, and may cost additional fees when you want to temporarily lift the freeze, or completely remove the freeze.   Check the links below to see the rates for each credit bureaus and your respective state.

Requesting a Credit Freeze with Equifax

Credit freeze page: (Equifax Security Freeze FAQ)
Fees: $5 ~ $10  (Complete fee rate table for all states)

Unfortunately, the only way to request a credit freeze with Equifax is by written request.

Your request should include:

1. Name
2. Address
3. Date of Birth
4. Social Security Number
5. Proof of current address (e.g., utility bill)
6. Payment of fees by check or credit card.

Mail the request by certified mail to:

Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, Georgia 30348

Remember that if you are a victim of an identity theft, to waive the fee associated with placing a credit freeze, you will need to provide documentation such as a copy of the police report or other related government agency report (DMV) that can verify the identity theft.  Once Equifax has received your request and placed the credit freeze, you will receive a confirmation letter from Equifax with a 10 digit security freeze confirmation number.  You will need this number to lift or remove your credit freeze, so keep it in a safe place.

Requesting a Credit Freeze with Experian

Credit freeze request: (Experian Security Freeze Center)
Fees: $5 ~ $10 (Freeze request page to see rates for all states)

You can request a credit freeze with Experian by visiting the Experian Security Freeze Center linked above, and then click on the link “add a security freeze.” Simply follow the instruction to complete your credit report freeze request.

To submit a written request, include the following information:

1. Your full name, including middle initial and generation (such as JR. SR. II, III, etc.)
2. Social Security Number
3. Date of Birth (month, date, and year)
4. Current address and previous address for the past two years
5. The fee payment for your request (depending on your state, check link above)
6. A copy of a government issued identification card (drivers license, state ID, etc.)
7. A copy of a utility bill or insurance statement

Mail the request to:

Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013

Once Experian has placed your security freeze, you will receive a personal identification number (PIN), that you can use in order to temporarily lift, or remove the credit freeze permanately. You can lift or remove the credit freeze by visiting the Experian Security Freeze Center linked above, or call 1-888-397-3742 (1-888-EXPERIAN). The fee to remove your security freeze will depend on the state you’re located in.  If you’re requesting the removal of the credit freeze by mail, include your identification information and the PIN.

Requesting a Credit Freeze with TransUnion

Credit freeze request: (TransUnion State Security Freeze)
Fees: Free online until 7/14/2009 (Security freeze fee rate table for all states)

You can request a credit freeze with TransUnion by using the TransUnion State Security Freeze linked above.  Requesting a security freeze is free online until July 14, 2009 (in two weeks as of writing).  Click on the “first time here” button to initiate your request, or if you already have an account with TransUnion, use your original login information to start the request process.

To request your credit freeze by mail, include the follow:

1. Name
2. Address
3. Social Security Number
4. Fee payment (check rate table linked above)
5. Proof of current residence such as a state issued ID or drivers license

Mail the request to:

TransUnion
Fraud Victim Assistance Department
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834

You can also make a request via overnight mail to:

TransUnion
Fraud Victim Assistance Department
1561 E. Orangethorpe Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92831

You can also request the credit freeze with TransUnion by phone.  Call 1-888-909-8872 and use the interactive voice response system.  Have your Social Security Number, address, date of birth, and payment method for the fee ready.  Be prepare to select your own 6-digit PIN for future security freeze related transaction (lifting or removing your freeze).  When you request the freeze by online or mail, you’ll also receive a PIN from TransUnion so you can temporarily lift or remove your credit freeze.

As with the other credit bureaus, if you are a victim of identity theft, you can have the fee waived if you submit a copy of a valid identity theft report, a DMV vehicles investigation report, or similar proof that you have been a victim of identity theft.  If you’re a resident of North Dakota, you can fax your request with your identity theft document to 1-714-525-0668, Attention: Security Freeze Request.

photo credit: wondermonkey2k

If you like to waste money by being stupid, forgetful, and lazy, here’s five ways to do it.

DMV Registration Late Fee – $39

Why pay your car registration on-time? Live life “dangerously” by delaying your smog check and car registration. If you hold out long enough, the penalty fee along with your chance of getting car impounded increases exponentially!

Fix-It Ticket from Expired Registration – $10

If registering your car late isn’t cool enough, try driving around a busy city with expired registration tags, you’re bound to get noticed by a police officer or two — especially once they run your plate and realize your car is registered from a county 400 miles away!

Street Cleaning Parking Ticket – $50

Pulled over by popo too exciting for you?  Just ignore NO PARKING signs or assume that the street you parked on is a-okay. For extra cool points, get yourself pull over along with a parking ticket within the span of 3 hours — Lord knows someone was able to pull that off.

Balance Transfer Snafu Finance Charges – $161

If you think using 0% APR offers and credit card arbitrate is cool, try taking advantage of 18 months offers when credit was abundant (circa 2007) and ignore/forget when your balance transfer promotion ends. From 0% to 14.95% on a $13,000 balance? Super cool.

Overdue Fees for Library Books – $16

For the less adventurous types, overdue fees from returning library books  late is the perfect way to rack up dollars in stupid tax.  Score bonus points by bringing books with you while on vacation abroad and neglecting to renew the books ONLINE — because we all know that extra convenience factor the library added for you is just for show.

Got other ways to waste money that wasn’t listed here? Maybe something your brother’s friend’s cousin did? Sharing (anonymously) is caring.

Thankfully, the good folks at Quizzle.com came to the rescue, pulling me from the depths of depression, providing me hope and courage to make another Japanese dish for dinner.

Quizzle.com is a free web service from Quicken Loans (formerly Rock Financial Corporation) that provides you with a free credit report, score, home value and budgeting tools.  I’ve wrote a review on Quizzle.com about 7 months ago, and in that review, I went over most aspect of the service.  If you’re interested, check the review out.

What I neglected to mention in the review was that Quizzle provides you with a free credit report and score every six months and that the credit report and credit score is based on your Experian report.  So for those of us that are looking for a free source to get an Experian-based credit score, Quizzle.com is the perfect place to visit.

I logged into my Quizzle.com account today and was greeted with a friendly message, informing me that I’m eligible to receive a new, FREE credit report and score. Yay to me!

(click to enlarge)

As I proceed along to request for my free report and score, an update from Quizzle informs me that they have changed the credit score model they’re using to align more closely with other scores on the market, and are now providing users with Experian’s National Equivalency Score with a 360-840 scale (previously, the old scoring model uses a 300-900 scale).

This is probably a good move since it weeds out any possible confusion to the already complicated world of credit scoring (there are many different models and formulation from each of the major credit reporting agency, not to mention FICO credit scores from Fair Isaac).

Once you click on the continue and confirmation button, you’ll be presented with your free, Experian-based credit report and score:

(click to enlarge)

The score is, as mentioned, on a scale of 360-840, and Quizzle will provide you with both a lettering grade and a percentage grade. If you click on “How is this grade calculated?” — Quizzle will list the factors involved in computing your credit score.

The credit report is simple to digest, and you should be able to quickly read it if you’ve requested and viewed a credit report before.  The version Quizzle provides you with is a bit stripped down compared to others (for example, it doesn’t show previous balances and previous payment history), but it does give enough to let you know what open/closed accounts are on your credit report, and what your current reported balance are along with current payment timeliness.

Clicking over to the credit inquiries tab will show you the latest hard credit inquiries on your Experian report. Remember that checking your credit report or score will not be counted as an hard inquiry, and will not affect your credit scores.

Overall, Quizzle’s free credit report and score functions exactly as promised, and having another alternative to receive a bi-annual free report and score is definitely a welcoming move in a time where keeping on top of your financial health is of utmost importance.

If you’re not comfortable with using a third-party website to receive your credit report and score, you should know that Quizzle.com, as noted above, is provided by Quicken Loans, one of the largest online retail mortgage lender in the nation, having provided mortgage lending services for nearly 25 years — so it’s not exactly a fly-by-night company looking to sell your personal information.

Here’s the breakdown on the changes when the law comes into effect February 2010.

Consumer Protection

• Retroactive interest rate increase are banned except when a cardholder is more than 60 days late paying a credit card bill.
• Credit card issuer must review the cardholder’s account six months after increasing the interest rate, and return the APR to the previous lower level if the cardholder has been on-time with payment.
• Interest rate cannot be increased within the first 12 months, and promotional rates must have a minimum of 6 months in duration.
• Advance notice of 45 days prior to significant changes in credit card terms: this includes the benefits and reward structure of a credit card.
• The practice of universal default and double-cycle billing are no longer allowed.
• Over credit limit fees are now prohibited unless consumers specifically agree to allow transaction to go through instead of being denied.
• Bills must be sent out no later than 21 days before the due date.
• Payments cardholder makes must be credited as on-time if the payment is received by 5 P.M. on the due date.

Enhanced Consumer Disclosures

• Clear disclosure on how long it would take to pay off a credit card balance if cardholder makes only the minimum payment each month.
• Clear disclosure on the total cost in interest and principal payments if a cardholder makes only the minimum payment each month.
• Late payment deadline and postmark date are required to be clearly shown and disclosed to cardholders.

Protection of Young Consumers

• Credit cards cannot be issued to people under the age of 21 unless they have an adult co-signer or show proof that they have the means to repay the debt (proof of reasonable income).
• College students will be required to receive permission from parents or guardians in order to increase credit limit on joint accounts they hold with those adults.
• People under the age of 21 will now be protected from pre-screened credit card offers unless they specifically opt-in for offers.

Gift Cards

• Gift cards are now required to remain active for at least five years from the day of their activation.
• Dormancy or inactivity fees on gift cards can no longer be imposed unless there have been no activity in a 12-month period.
• Dormancy or inactivity fees must be clearly disclosed to gift card buyers.
• If the gift card expires after 5 years, the terms of expiration needs to be clearly disclosed to gift card buyers.

Effective Date

• The majority of the new rules will be taken into effect 9 months after the signing of the bill, which puts the effective date on Feburary 2010.
• The rule on 45 days advance notice of major changes in account terms will take effect 90 days after the bill’s enactment, beginning September 2009.

Spying a cute girl of similar age across the room, I proceeded to try and “look smart” by picking up the local newspaper so I can pretend to read it — but of course my real intention at the time was to have an easier means to take the occasional peek at the cute girl.

Ah. The shaping of a future creepy stalker. I’m not sure why I added this story to the post, but, there it is.

What really caught my eyes that day though was a story in the local newspaper about “killer” medical bills – medical billing errors that were so drastic that it affected the entire financial well-being of a family.  Apparently, a fat-finger mishap occurred where the hospital billing department mistakenly typed in the wrong billing code for the procedure done in the hospital, and the minor clerical error resulted in a fatigue-inducing, long drawn-out battle with the hospital over the medical bill.

According to a Medical Billing Advocates of America, 80% of the medical bills contain errors in them. Occasionally the problem get more confounded by confusing Explanation of Benefits from insurer and hospital summary bill that’s lacking in details.  Coupled with these and many other factors, it’s little wonder there’s an entire industry out there dedicated to helping consumers deal with medical billing errors, overcharges, and underpayment by insurance companies.

Because of the high percentage in probability of errors, you should always request an itemized bill from the hospital and compare it closely with your EOB from the insurance company before you pay your bill.  If you spot anything that you have questions about, take the time and contact your insurance company or the hospital/physician’s billing office.

Common medical bill errors as listed by Consumer Reports:

• Duplicate fees for tests and procedures.
• Incorrect date of service – nothing beats being charged for a room on the day you weren’t even there.
• Inflated room charges for incidental items such as sheets and towels (these should already be included in the room charge).
• Human errors – as mentioned above, a mistaken keystroke could result in the wrong billing code.

If you’re in a situation where you can’t seem to resolve a medical billing dispute with your insurer or hospital, you might want to consider outside help from a billing advocate, though you should be aware that billing advocates usually charge an hourly fee plus a percentage of any savings.

With the potential of errors that can cost thousands of dollars, scrutinizing your bill should always be a requirement.  When I told my family about the story I read in the paper, we went through our medical bill carefully when it arrived and thankfully it was without errors.  My family, of course, promptly asked me what business I had reading the paper, to which I responded defensively with a long exposition on how I love to read and seek knowledge.  I’m not sure why they didn’t believe me.

photo credit: Alice Chaos

The online discount broker ShareBuilder currently has a sign-up bonus promotion for Costco members.  ShareBuilder encourages recurring monthly investment, dollar cost averaging, and the general idea of building your investment for the future — because of that, it wasn’t much of a surprise when ING Direct decided to purchase ShareBuilder a few years ago.

The promotion is simple. You get a $90 account bonus if you’re a Costco Executive member along with a 25% transaction charge rebate, or you’ll receive a $70 account bonus with a 10% transaction charge rebate if you’re a Costco Gold Star and Business member.

Sign-up Bonus Requirement:

1. Visit the ShareBuilder/Costco sign-up page to register for an account.
2. You must be a current Costco member with a valid Costco membership number.
3. Bonus will be deposited into account 6-8 weeks after first stock purchase.
4. Offer valid for only new Joint, Individual, or Custodial accounts. Offer doesn’t apply for IRA and Education Savings Account, bummer!
5. Limit one bonus per unique customer or unique custodial account.
6. Offer ends 5/31/09. First stock purchase must be made by 7/31/09.

If you’ve been looking  for a simple-to-use brokerage account to do automatic investing and dollar cost averaging with,  ShareBuilder can be a good consideration as their low $4 per trade cost  for automatic investing isn’t too bad for some stocks and exchange traded funds — but only if you buy in large chunks as $4 per trade can easily add up.

ShareBuilder is also an okay starter account for those that have limited fund but are interested in starting an Individual Retirement Account or an Education Savings Account, as they offer no cost, no load mutual funds from ING.  The ING mutual funds also offers a low initial investment minimum of $250 for IRA and ESA’s, compare with $1,000 to $3,000 for select funds at Fidelity or Vanguard.  Take note however that some of the fund’s expense ratio is slightly more expensive at around the 1.0% ranges.

A ShareBuilder account is perfect for those that fit into the above scenarios, and the current Costco promotion bonus can definitely be an icing on the cake for those opening a non-IRA/ESA account.

For example, here’s the top rated FML (f– my life):

Today, I received my passport in the mail. They got my birth date wrong. Then I picked up my birth certificate that I had sent in with the application. Turns out my parents have been celebrating my birthday on the wrong day for 16 years. FML

As with many websites geared towards sinking time,  fmylife.com can often be a funny yet sad read.  The reason why I pointed out this website was not to spread further misery, but to acknowledge the fact that, sometimes, life can throw a sucker punch in your face, and there’s not much you can do about it.

Occasionally you may have events in life that may be overwhelming you.  Add those life situations to the mounting debt, to the struggling cash flow, to the seemingly unmanageable financial accounts and you’ll have a good reason to turn a blind eye to financial meltdowns that may be occurring around you.

Although at times you may not be able to do much about certain happenings in your life, your personal finance doesn’t have to be the same way.   Many times, your personal finance is something you can affect and manage.

So what steps should you take to gain command over your personal finance?  What can you do to make sure your finance isn’t contributing to the suckage?

The answer, unfortunately, varies depending on your life situation.  Yes, it would have been sweet to be able to find a one-size-fit-all financial solution at the end of this post, but if you couldn’t tell from the horrendous writing, you’re reading a C-list personal finance blog.

Instead of mouthing off financial advice that may not pertain to your situation and face possible litigation on making your life worse, here are some decent personal finance books that I recommend, depending on your life situation:

• If you’re young, clueless about financial basics and still thinks a T-shirt in exchange for a credit card is a swell deal, consider I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi.
• If you feel that you’re too busy to deal with all the financial jargon but still want to build a solid foundation for your financial life, check out Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People by Jane Bryant Quinn.
• If you’re looking for simplicity in your life and feel that you need to find a sensible balance to your finances, try Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin.
• If you’re knee deep in debt, don’t see an end in sight and feel that some drastic financial changes may be in order, look into The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

I was about fourteen years-old, and it was at that moment that I realized that I’m living in a not-so-safe neighborhood.  Drive-by shootings were not exactly an oddity in the area,  but seeing it in person in the afternoon instead of hearing it at the wee hours during the night was definitely a game changer.

Within years, my family and I moved to a nicer neighborhood.  The crime rate was lower, the sounds of late-night drive-bys was almost non-existent, and the ironic thing was that the new house is only a five minute drive away from the old one.

Whenever I tell the above story to people, the reaction is either wide-eye horror mixed with jaws dropping or the responses will be something along the lines of “Oh yeah? Well this place I lived at…”

Throughout my life, I’ve always lived in middle-class neighborhoods.  The neighborhood mentioned above was lower-middle class.  It was far from being the slums, but it wasn’t exactly Beverly Hills either.   Despite the occasional drive-bys, we never did felt that our lives were in real danger.   You practice common sense, don’t attract attention to yourself at odd places, and you mind your own business when you’re suppose to.

Even now, I still don’t feel that the neighborhood was a complete crap-shack, but if someone was to ask me about the worst place I’ve lived in, then this neighborhood would definitely be on top of the list.

What’s the worst neighborhood you’ve lived in?  What circumstances, if any, put you and your family there?

photo credit: thechannelc

If you’re already planning to buy the book, join in on Ramit’s giveaway at his site. He’s giving away a Kindle every hour (2 left as of this writing), and a chance to win $1,000 throughout the day from the good folks at Mint.  Simply forward your email receipt to iboughtthebook@iwillteachyoutoberich.com and you’ll have a chance to enter in the giveaway.  Other prizes and full details can be found at Ramit’s blog.

I haven’t fully read the book yet, but of the chapters I’ve skim across, the book seems to be very solid and contains no-nonsense, straight-forward personal finance advice along with steps that works. Stick around on the personal finance blogsphere and I’m sure in the coming weeks you’ll be seeing reviews popping up on various personal finance blogs.

If you’re a procrastinator like me and haven’t finished filing your taxes yet, this will be a timely giveaway. Contest will end soon on next Monday, just to make sure you get a copy in time before April 15.

H&R Block highlights two important difference between TaxCut and TurboTax:

• Live tax consultation: One complimentary unlimited session covering one tax topic with a H&R Block tax professional is included. TurboTax will cost you $34.95 for the first 20 minutes and $15.95 for each additional 20 minutes – through a 3rd party.
• Live audit support: Included with e-file and provided by H&R Block tax professional or IRS certified agent. TurboTax charges $34.95 provided through a 3rd party or use self service form letters through the website.

Taxcut Giveaway rules:

• Leave a comment in this post for a chance at winning a copy of TaxCut.
• For an extra entry into the giveaway, Tweet me @holycap with a message.
  Include #taxcutplz in the Tweet so I can find the message easily.
• Enter an email address when submitting so you can be contacted if you win.
• One entry via each method, per person, per household address.
• Ends next Monday, 3/16/2009, 11:59 PM PST.

I’ll highlight more differences between the two tax software in a future post, but if you want to read more about TaxCut or other tax preparation software, check out the related links below.

All these discount updates I’ve posted through the years should confirms one thing: you should never pay full price for any myFICO products!

FICO Credit Score - $31.90 $22.32 – 30% off discount

FICO Quarterly Monitoring - $49.95 $34.97 – 30% off discount

Suze Orman’s FICO Kit - $49.95 $34.97 – 30% off discount

After careful consideration, I’ve realized that the best way to grind through a spell of late-night sleep deprivation would be not one, but two juicy In-N-Out burger.  Super sweet.

Long time readers will remember that I’ve promised to give away In-N-Out gifts cards whenever I eat at In-N-Out. I think I’ve forgotten to purchase the gift cards a few times while enjoying a burger — but what can you do, I’m a selfish bastard.

Luckily I didn’t forget this time, so here’s five $5 In-N-Out gift cards that you can have a shot at winning. Read on if you want some juicy burger, fries, and a sweet cup of ice tea.

Burgerific rules:

• Leave a comment in this post for a chance at winning a $5 gift card.
• For an extra entry into the giveaway, Tweet me @holycap with a message.
  Include #burgerplz in the Tweet so I can find the message easily.
• Only for California, Arizona, and Nevada residents. Sorry everyone else!
• Leave an email address in the comment so you can be contacted if you win.
• One gift card per person, per household address.
• Ends next Sunday, 3/15/2009, 11:59 PM PST.

I’ll pick five random lucky burger lovers when the giveaway ends.

P.S. Fast food is bad for you.

Since they’ve been throwing around a bunch of different numbers and qualification scenarios, here’s the fairly-certain low down on the new home buyer tax credit.

To Qualify for the $8,000 “First-Time” Homebuyer Tax Credit:

• Home purchase must be made between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009.
• Must be a “first time buyer.” In order to qualify for this status, you must not have owned a home for the past three years.
• You must also live in the purchased house for at least three years, or you’ll be obligated to pay back the tax credit.
• Homebuyers must make less than $75,000 for single tax filers, or $150,000 for couples.
• Higher-income buyers will receive a partial tax credit, but details have not yet been fully released.
• Single family residence purchases (condominiums, townhouses, co-ops) that will be used as a principal residence will qualify.

How to Claim the Homebuyer Tax Credit:

• Simply claim it on your tax return.  You will not have to filed any other forms or papers.  If you’re not a procrastinator like me and you’ve already filed your taxes, you can simply file an amended return for 2008 to claim the credit.
• What type of tax credit is it? It’s one of the better type: a refundable one.  This means that if you don’t owe any taxes, you will get any excess credit in the form of a fat refund check.  Example: If you owe $1,000 in taxes, you’ll get a $7,000 refund check.  If you’ve overpaid $1,000 in taxes, then you’ll get a $9,000 check. You can read more about refundable tax credit in the resource link below.
• If you’ve already claimed last year’s $7,500 tax credit, then you won’t be able to claim the $8,000 credit on next year’s return. It’s one credit or the other, buddy.
• Unlike the previous $7,500 tax credit, there’s no repayment required for this $8,000 tax credit!  (Unless of course you sold your house within three years, as stated earlier).

Other Miscellaneous Notes:

• If you’re buying into a retirement community, unfortunately, the purchase won’t qualify for the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.

This post will be updated as the IRS release further details upon their interpretation of the just-passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Regardless if you think the first-time homebuyer tax credit in the stimulus bill is a smart move or that it’s entirely bullsh*t  — the tax credit will certainly be a nice bonus for those that are looking to purchase a home in 2009.

This is actually a fairly big deal, as lenders will continue to be able to get FICO score based on Experian reports through Fair Isaac, but consumers won’t be able to do the same.   It puts us, the consumers, at a fairly big disadvantage — especially when we apply for credit from a lender that uses Experian’s data to determine credit worthiness.  Want to check your FICO score based on Experian before you apply for credit?  Not gonna happen.

The decision by Experian will come into full effect on Feburary 14, 2009.  So if you need your Experian FICO score for whatever reason, you should check your Experian FICO score now before it’s too late. (Discount code for 20% off is embedded in the link, appears at checkout).

If you don’t want to wait, speak with the manager and request for a rain check coupon, which will enable you to come back at another time to get your free Grand Slam at a more convenient time of your choosing.  Each Denny’s should have 500 of these Grand Slam rain check coupons.

To entice you further, each customer that orders a free Grand Slam will receive a coupon book with more freebies with purchases. Each restaurant should have 1,000 of these coupon books.

Estimated customers taking advantage of this deal is expected to be about two million. You can search for a nearest location at Dennys.com.  Just an FYI to all that may not have seen the Super Bowl ad.

For the nutritional conscious: A Grand Slam is about 795 calories, 50 grams of fat (14 grams of saturated fat), 460 milligram of  cholesterol, 2273 milligram of sodium, 65 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, and 34 grams of protein.

Yum.  A healthy jog/walk with the pals after breakfast certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Every time I apply for a financial product that requires credit approval, a little bit of anxiety builds up.  Will I be approved? Will I get rejected?  The horrendous waiting-for-an-answer just like when I tried to ask this one girl to the co-ed dance back in high school… maybe if I had shown her my credit report, she would have said yes…

After weeks of waiting and the occasional checking of the application status, I received an approval message from the online application query tool:

A few days later, I received the card and account related literature in the mail:

A credit line of $5,000 was enough to get me the Visa Signature benefits, which is nothing too special as a Signature card has its pro and cons — but I was a bit surprised by the semi-low credit limit granted to me.  Though I rarely spend more than $5,000 per month, there are occasions where I may need to spend over that amount (e.g., buying plane tickets for group of family or friends for a trip).

Hopefully FIA will find it in their grace to increase my credit limit in the future, or I’ll be testing out the no pre-set spending limit “feature” of a Visa Signature card.

All in all, the process was just like applying at any major credit card issuers. FIA Card Service (formerly MBNA) made the process fairly seamless, and integrated their system for the Schwab brand well enough.

After receiving the Schwab Invest First Visa, I promptly opened a Schwab One brokerage account (another inquiry to the credit history), and soon enough linked the Schwab One account to the Invest First Visa card, for future cash-back accumulation (you can do this in the credit card’s online account access).

Because the Invest First Visa card is issued and administered by FIA Card Service, some people may get slightly confused as they’re required to use a different website (schwabbankcreditcard.com) to access their card’s online account services.

Look for a possible full review on the Schwab Invest First Visa in the future where I’ll go over all the nooks and crannies of this cash back credit card.

If you have any question about this particular credit card, feel free to ask. Great wise Cap will steal other people’s answer and copy/paste it in for you.

Calling it “lazy budgeting” is sort of misleading, as I don’t really budget — the entire act is more of a reminder for myself.  For example, for the month of November (or whenever), if I’ll be spending an extra X amount on so and so… I make a mental note or jot the dollar amount and the planned purchase date on a sticky note, notepad, or a text document on my desktop.

Holiday gift for the family?  Mental note.  Jewelry for the mistress?  Sticky note.  Monthly payment to the loan shark?  Sharpie-written note on forearm.

What are some of the benefits of making a note on these purchases?

• No surprises when the bill comes the following months.
• Know exactly how much I need to transfer to checking to cover expenses.
• No freak-outs when credit card company calls to verify large purchases.
• Accountability: can’t pretend I didn’t spent the money.

If you’re lazy and you don’t budget like me, you should at the very least consider making a mental or visual note whenever you have a large upcoming expense.  A visual cue to the actual spending can actually be pretty powerful, as I’ve found myself at times changing my mind on a large purchase simply because I got sick of staring at the sticky note on top of the monitor.

“Birthday present for sister? Pff. Forget it.”  *tears off sticky note*

Teehee.