A One-Salary Household

Hemorrhaging debt isn’t typically how a family moves to a one-salary household.

The corporate goodbye plan was hatched poolside during the summer of 2007, and began with my wife and I deciding to give our house a not-quite-extreme-but-still-impressive makeover, taking on massive debt in the process.  We knew that the move to one reliable salary would mean hitting the pause button on any major home projects, so we prioritized the most needed upgrades, those deserving immediate attention and anything else that could become a problem in the near future, and came up with the following big three:

• Convert the sunroom & one car garage into livable space for our expanding family.
• Replace the vinyl siding.
• Replace the 20+ year-old old roof.

Important Reasons

The decision for me to stay home was based on the nagging reality that our two children were spending too much time in daycare, and way too little with the people who brought them into this world. We looked at our daily schedule – drop off at 7am, pick up at 5pm, home at 5:30, preparing family dinner, eat and clean-up until 7pm, bath & nighttime routine (brush teeth, read books, etc.), then put them to bed by 8pm.

At the end of those nights, my wife and I would look at each other in amazement that we’d spent only about 2 ½ hours with our kids.

That’s a whopping 12 ½ hours in the presence of my offspring during the week!  There are deadbeat dads more engaged with their kids than that.  It got to the point where it simply wasn’t acceptable to have our children raised by, essentially, strangers for 50 hrs a week, just so we could take an extra vacation and buy more crap we didn’t need.

Additionally, I was only one year away from having my oldest daughter, then 4 ½, become a full day kindergartener.  It’d be 13 years (at least) before the school system would spit her back out to me, so we decided that I’d trade in my 40+ hours a week at work for those many hours with her, before kindergarten steals her away.

It may seem crazy to prepare for the dropping of an income by spending thousands of dollars.  It could be said that we took the contrarian’s approach to this move, spending money as wisely as we could, to ensure our total comfort in our modest home  – the place where I’d be spending most of my time going forward.

Transitioning to Financial Changes

With all of the contractor’s invoices paid by the end of 2007, we entered the New Year with a clear picture of our debt situation.   Our budget for 2008 was configured accordingly, with the intention of paying off everything, including one lingering car loan.  We sacrificed a lot that year, doing without much of what makes us happy, including vacations, concert tickets, CDs, and theater subscriptions.  It wasn’t until we were no longer saddled with revolving credit card bills, a line of credit balance or car payments and had a house we were finally completely happy with — that I was able to bid farewell to the cozy confines of my cubicle and the relative safe steady paycheck that came with it.  This was August 22^nd, 2008.

To be a middle class family in America generally means a pair of working parents.  It’s been this way for the better part of three decades and it’s this way for a reason, well several actually.  One of which is that we want far more stuff than at any point since maybe the Romans craved new lands.  Breaking free of this uniquely modern American mindset hasn’t been a walk in the park.

My wife and I arrived upon the doorstep of the at-home dad world with careful consideration of our financial situation, both present and future. We knew that to make this happen we were going to have to permanently do without certain luxuries two healthy paychecks afforded us.  Additionally, our financial future would be severely altered, since no job = no 401(k) contributions or employer match.  Now, I’ve never been much of a planner, but even I hunkered down to crunch numbers and make certain that we wouldn’t have to dip into my retirement savings 6-months into this experiment. In this way, becoming an at-home dad challenged my own make-up.  If we were going to be successful in living within our means and making sound financial choices on one steady income, I would have to think ahead, plan and give up some of the spontaneity I enjoyed when my direct deposits were filling up the bank account.

I recognize that many families make tough choices everyday, many of them a lot harder than those my wife and I made.  I also witness many American families extending themselves to the brink of financial disaster in an effort NOT to make choices.  Giving up a vacation, eating out less, and buying less stuff in 2008 wasn’t easy, and there are still times we’re flat miserable with what we cannot do. However, making sacrifices teaches our children that you simply cannot have everything you desire in life, at least not all at once, and prevents us from being flat broke.

photo credits: stmoritz1960, Holtsman, and Leonid Mamchenkov

This post "Bye-Bye Cubicle, Hello Children: Why I Quit Corporate America to Be a Stay-At-Home Dad" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

Or in this case, a butcher knife.

I swear to Xenu, lord and dictator of the Galactic Confederacy, that if I ever encounter another packaging that requires stabbing motion to open, I’m going to send Tom Cruise and his Scientology pals after the person responsible.

In all seriousness, from today forward, I’m genuinely going to make a conscious effort to avoid purchasing poorly-designed packaging that’s hard to open.

And don’t even get me started about the cost of printer ink.

This post "Crap: Hard to Open Packaging That Requires a Chainsaw" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

• Applies only to homes used as your principal residence.
• Reduces your tax bill or increases your refund, dollar for dollar.
• Is a fully refundable tax credit, meaning the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers, even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the tax owed.

Checkout this one minute and 29 seconds video by Hector from the IRS explaining the first-time home buyer tax credit.  If you don’t want to watch the video, a summary of the highlights can be found below the video.

Qualifying and Claiming the $8000 Home Tax Credit

• You may qualify for the home tax credit if you bought a home in 2009 or you’re considering buying one this year.
• You qualify as a first-time home buyer if either you or your spouse haven’t own a home in 3 years.
• If you’re buying a home this year (2010), you must sign a binding contract by April 30th, 2010, and close no later than June 30th, 2010.
• Also, if you’re a long-time home owner, and you’re purchasing a replacement home for your principal residence, you may qualify for a credit up to $6,500.
• If you bought the home in 2010, you have the option to claiming the home tax credit either on your 2009 or 2010 tax return.
• To get the credit this year.  File your tax return, attach form 5405 and supplement documents (such as copy of settlement statement).
• Important: To claim the tax credit this year, you must file the tax return on paper. You won’t be able to claim the credit on e-file as the current e-file system isn’t able to handle the supporting documents that must be submitted along with the home tax credit.

Tax Forms You Will Need

• Good old Form 1040 (report it on line 67 for the 2009 return)
• Form 5405 (attach with return)

Additional Resources:

• Questions and Answers on home tax credit from IRS
• Additional Questions and Answers (qualifying, due dates, etc.)
• Filing requirements on the home tax credit

This post "$8,000 Home Tax Credit" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

Before you start setting up various financial New Year resolution goals, one quick exercise you should probably do is to focus on prioritizing  your financial weakness that cost you the most money.  Whether it’s lack of will power in spending, inability to comparison shop properly, impulsive financial decisions, risky stock purchases — we all probably have made a number of blunders that has cost us more money than we’d care to admit.

The reason why I believe it’s important to focus on the weakness or mistakes that cost you the most money, is simply because the return on time investment will have a more meaningful financial impact.  Unfortunately, whether or not it’ll be easy for you to fix or improve that particular financial weakness will be another story.

But take heart, although baby steps are a perfectly legitimate way in bettering yourself, there really isn’t anything wrong with trying to tackle a big problem and failing — after all, none of us are perfect.  Maybe you tried to cut your monthly lavish spa treatment but was only able to stick to the gun for 2 months.  So what?  That two month’s worth of savings is decisively better than never taking the initiative to save.

Discover by Getting the Hard Numbers

The best way to discover your financial weakness (e.g., actions and behavior that cost you money), is to take an analytical approach and track your spending.

Yes.  This is bitch work.  It’s not fun, it’s not sexy, but seeing concrete numbers telling you where your cash is going will always trump guess work and decisions based upon feelings.  Remember, the goal is to find your financial weakness and put a stop to it.

There are numerous ways you can track your cash flow and overall financial health. Free online-based software such as Mint.com, Wesabe, MoneyStrand, and Green Sherpa (90 day trial period) will work well.  Not comfortable with having your information online? Intuit’s Quicken will definitely do the trick too.

Set up your accounts, if you don’t already have them and start checking the expense tab to see where unexpected expenses are accumulating.  All of the software and applications listed above will have capabilities for you to sort by types of transaction, their frequency, and the total dollar amount.  The periodic late fee you get from your credit cards that you didn’t think was a big deal?  Suddenly it’s $120 over the span of 3 months. Ouch.

I recommend tracking things for at least 2 to 6 weeks, depending your actual expense ranges. Safer bets are actually a time-line of 2 to 3 months, but that’s not always possible depending on your time constraint.

Understanding the Real Problem

If you were able to identify financial weakness that cost you money, it’s time to take another step to really dive into the reasoning behind those financial transactions.

FACT: Money is NOT sentient. It does not magically wake up one morning and decides to fly out of your wallet or bank account and convert itself into a designer jean or a 55″ HDTV.

The financial waste that you may have discovered doesn’t have to be actual wasteful purchases (after all, whether or not its wasteful can be highly subjective). They can also can be unnecessary and avoidable fees, poorly made investment choices, or unintentional daily habits — the list goes on.  In fact, my own recent financial weakness are miscellaneous, convenience fess that have racked up from the airport and liquor stores.

The fact of the matter is, most of the time, something you did cause the money to be spent.  I racked up $80 in parking fees at San Francisco International Airport because I woke up too late to catch the rail to the airport.  I bought over priced goods at the liquor store because I slept too late the night prior.  Though each of those unnecessary expenses are from different sources, the underlying pattern that cause these financial mishaps are simply because I stay up too late sometimes.

This entire scenario sounds a bit stupid and minuscule, but in actuality, I’ve paid well over $200 in avoidable “convenience” fee simply because I have a bad sleep schedule.  Pretty stupid when you think about it, right?

Many times, we are creature of habits.  Back when I was living in Southern California, I tend to regularly stay up late and sleep at odd hours too.  The only reason why it didn’t cost me money?  If I wanted a lift to the airport, I can easily call up a friend.  If I wanted some random odd trinket at 4 in the morning?  There’s a 24/7 supermarket and Walmart five minutes down the street.  If I was running late and needed to find parking fast?  Well, it’s Southern California, parking is generally not an issue (nor are cursed parking tickets).

In another scenario, a friend of mine consistently pays her bill lately once every few months across various different bills, racking up late fees and penalty fees simply because she can be a bit disorganized.  While it will be years until she sort out the organizational issues (I can easily relate as I have piles of envelopes on my desk dated from 5 years ago), she was able to put a stop to the madness by setting up automatic monthly online bill pay.  If you ever have similar issues with forgetting bills, set up automatic online payments now — you don’t even have to set it to pay the full statement balance, just set it to pay minimum, at the very least you can avoid paying late fees.

As you examine your expenses and track your spending, if you were able to find a pattern of financial waste or mistakes, chances are, it’s due to some personal habits that you’ve accumulated through the years.

Habits are not easy to fix, but understanding your habits — especially habits that have financial impacts, will give you some form of armament toward the fight of curbing your financial waste. As with all things in life, knowing the real underlying issue will be the important first step you can take toward solving the actual problem.

Need help on setting and achieving financial New Years resolution? Check out some of the other related post below.

photo credit: Joe Athialy

This post "Before Setting Financial New Years Resolution: Discover and Understand Your Financial Weakness" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

If the car you see in your side mirror is appearing to come CLOSER to you (e.g., object in mirror is getting LARGER), then odds are that he’s driving FASTER than you and thus it is probably a BAD idea to change into that particular lane at the very last minute.

Just thought you’d like to know. Jerk face.

Happy New Year!

This post "Seriously, Slower Traffic Keep Right Please" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

(source)

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York begins purchasing fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae under a program first announced on November 25, 2008.

January 12, 2009 – Allocating TARP Funding

At the request of President-Elect Obama, President Bush submits a request to Congress for the remaining $350 billion in TARP funding for use by the incoming administration.

January 16, 2009 – TARP in Action

(source)

The U.S. Treasury Department purchases a total of $1.4 billion in preferred stock from 39 U.S. banks under the Capital Purchase Program.  In the same day, The U.S. Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and FDIC finalize terms of their guarantee agreement with Citigroup.

February 26, 2009 – Fannie Mae Reports Massive Loss

(source)

Fannie Mae reports a loss of $25.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, and a full year 2008 loss of $58.7 billion. Fannie Mae also reports that on February 25, 2009, the Federal Housing Finance Agency submitted a request for $15.2 billion from the U.S. Treasury Department under the terms of the Senior Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement in order to eliminate Fannie Mae’s net worth deficit as of December 31, 2008.

March 2, 2009 – Additional Bailout for AIG

(source)

The U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board announce a restructuring of the government’s assistance to American International Group (AIG). Under the restructuring, AIG will receive as much as $30 billion of additional capital from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department will exchange its existing $40 billion cumulative preferred shares in AIG for new preferred shares with revised terms that more closely resemble common equity. Finally, AIG’s revolving credit facility with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will be reduced from $60 billion to no less than $25 billion and the terms will be modified. In exchange, the Federal Reserve will receive preferred interests in two special purpose vehicles created to hold the outstanding common stock of two subsidiaries of AIG: American Life Insurance Company and American International Assurance Company Ltd. Separately, AIG reports a fourth quarter 2008 loss of $61.7 billion, and a loss of $99.3 billion for all of 2008.

March 19, 2009 – IndyMac to OneWest Bank

(source)

The FDIC completes the sale of IndyMac Federal Bank to OneWest Bank. OneWest will assume all deposits of IndyMac, and the 33 branches of IndyMac will reopen as branches of OneWest on March 20. As of January 31, 2009, IndyMac had total assests of $23.5 billion and total deposits of $6.4 billion. IndyMac reported fourth quarter 2008 losses of $2.6 billion, and the total estimated loss to the Deposit Insurance Fund of the FDIC is $10.7 billion. The FDIC had been named conservator of IndyMac FSB on July 11, 2008.

April 6, 2009 – Liquidity Crisis

(source)

The Federal Reserve announces new reciprocal currency agreements (swap lines) with the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank that would enable the provision of foreign currency liquidity by the Federal Reserve to U.S. financial institutions.

May 20, 2009 – Helping Families Save Their Home Act

President Obama signs the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, which temporarily raises FDIC deposit insurance coverage from $100,000 per depositor to $250,000 per depositor.  The new coverage at FDIC-insured institutions will expire on January 1, 2014, when the amount will return to its standard level of $100,000 per depositor for all account categories except IRAs and other certain retirement accounts.  This action supersedes the October 3, 2008 changes.

June 1, 2009 – General Motors Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

As part of a new restructuring agreement with the U.S. Treasury and the governments of Canada and Ontario, General Motors Corporation and three domestic subsidiaries announce that they have filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

July 23, 2009 – Truth in Lending in Crossfire

(source)

The Federal Reserve Board proposes significant changes to Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) intended to improve the disclosures consumers receive in connection with closed-end mortgages and home-equity lines of credit. Among other changes, the Board’s proposal would improve the disclosure of the annual percentage rate on closed-end mortgages and require lenders to show consumers how much their monthly payments might increase for adjustable-rate mortgages. The proposal would also prohibit payments to a mortgage broker or loan officer that are based on a loan’s interest rate or other terms, and prohibit lenders from steering consumers to transactions that are not in their interest in order to increase the lender’s compensation.

August 25, 2009 – Ben Bernanke Renominated

President Obama nominates Ben S. Bernanke for a second term as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

September 18, 2009 – From the Dust of Lehman Brothers

(source)

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announces the expiration of the Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds, which was implemented in the wake of the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. The Program was initially established for a three-month period that could be extended up through September 18, 2009. Since its inception, the Treasury had no losses under the Program and earned approximately $1.2 billion in participation fees.

October 14, 2009 – Dow Jones Above 10,000

(source)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 10,000 for the first time since October 3, 2008.

November 1, 2009 – CIT Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

(source)

CIT Group, Inc., files for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code. The U.S. Government purchased $2.3 billion of CIT preferred stock in December 2008 under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The firm’s prepackaged bankruptcy is expected to wipe out the equity stakes of CIT’s current shareholders, including the U.S. Government.

December 2, 2009 – Bank of America Repays TARP

(source)

Bank of America announces that it will repurchase the entire $45 billion of cumulative preferred stock issued to the U.S. Treasury under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) after the completion of a securities offering.

December 9, 2009 – Exit Strategy for TARP

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sends a letter to Congressional leaders outlining the Administration’s exit strategy for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Secretary Geithner announces that the program will be extended to October 3, 2010, and focus on three areas: 1) foreclosure mitigation; 2) providing capital to small and community banks; and 3) possible increases in the Treasury Department’s commitment to the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF).

This post "The 2009 Financial Crisis Timeline in Photos" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

MYPOINTS30: 30% off myFICO Standard

What is it? myFICO Standard consist of a FICO score and a credit report of your choice from either Equifax or TransUnion. If you’re wondering about a FICO score from Experian, unfortunately the agreement between Experian and Fair Isaac fell through, so you can no longer purhcase your Experian FICO score thru myFICO.com (or anywhere else for that matter). A FICO Standard purchase will give include an explanation of the positive and negative factors affecting your score, plus access to the FICO Score Simulator, which shows you how actions like paying off an existing account or opening new accounts may affect your FICO scores.

Why do I need it? This is a no frills purchase, and is a solid choice for people that simply wants to know what their FICO score is based on their Equifax or TransUnion credit history. Maybe you need to know your FICO score before you head to the car dealership to negotiate financing terms or maybe you were just told by a lender that your FICO score ranges were much lower than you expected — in these situations, purchasing a real FICO score from myFICO can give you more knowledge and ammunition before engaging in financial transactions that involves credit history.

How much does it really cost? A FICO Standard purchase cost $15.95 per purchase, and in perspective, this is quite a bit of money to pay just for a set of numbers (of course, you also receive a detailed credit report, but you can always request those for free annually). There is no monthly recurring cost and this is a one-time purchase. With discount, the expensive purchase can be lighten to $11.80. myFICO regularly releases certain promotional code, so you should never pay full price. Either bookmark this page or keep an eye open for new promotions that will give substantial discounts.

SCOREWATCH30: 30% off myFICO Score Watch

What it is? Score Watch from myFICO.com provides you with daily monitoring of your Equifax Credit Report and weekly monitoring of your FICO score.  It notifies you when you may qualify for better interest rate (such as significant change to your FICO score), delivers alerts when important changes to your score and report are detected, and shows you key factors affecting your FICO score and how lenders view you.

Why do I need it? You may have recently come across financial situations where you need to keep on tabs of your credit score.  Perhaps you’re trying to better understand and control your credit worthiness before applying for a large loan such as a mortgage or an auto loan; or perhaps you’re actively trying to keep track of your credit scores so you can better negotiate with lenders for more favorable interest rates.

How much does it really cost? myFICO’s Score Watch can be as cheap as the price tag of FREE if you cancel the service within 30 days.  Thankfully, unlike other trial services, Fair Issac doesn’t try to make canceling their service as difficult as canceling an AOL subscription.  A week before your trial membership is over, myFICO will send you an email reminding you that your trial is about to end.  If you wish to cancel, you can simply click the “cancel subscription” button within the email, and within minutes your subscription will be canceled.  No need to call and deal with any potential upsale.

Take note however that the service can cost money, and for certain people, it just doesn’t make sense to pay the monthly subscription fee.  Without the discount, the monthly subscription fee is a $9.95, with a 3 months advance payment required, which brings the cost to $29.85.  You can potentially “save” a bit of money by opting for an annual subscription of $99.95, but  with the discount, the monthly subscription fee is at $6.96, making the 3 month cost $20.89 and an annual subscription costing you $83.58.  The current myFICO promotional code discount definitely makes purchasing the credit score more of a bargain, but again, consider carefully if you need such a subscription before you sign-up.

CPPSAVINGS: 25% off FICO Quarterly Monitoring

What is it? FICO Quarterly monitoring provides you with quarterly update of your TransUnion FICO credit score and credit report.  In short, you get 4 TransUnion FICO score per year, and in a sense this is a variant of the Score Watch service, but pulls your TransUnion credit history instead of your Equifax credit history.  The FICO Quarterly Monitoring service also use 400 other data sources for signs of identity theft, providing you alerts whenever there are new information added to your TransUnion credit report.  Lastly, you’ll also receive a $25,000, no-deductible identity theft insurance policy from St. Paul Travelers as part of your subscription.

Why do I need it? This is a product that’s pitched for those that may have reasons to suspect their identity have (or will be) stolen.  With FICO Quarterly Monitoring, you can have a somewhat peace of mind as you set specific alerts so you can be notified whenever additional information are tied into your credit history (such as name, phone number, residential address, etc.).  If you’ve recently lost your wallet that contains many of your personal and sensitive financial information, FICO Quarterly Monitoring may be a good service to consider (as it provides you with weekly monitoring).  If you suspect that you may be a victim (or potential victim) of identity theft, whether from strangers or family members (sadly this happens frequently), FICO Quarterly Monitoring can be an additional tool to ensure your credit profile isn’t being fiddled with.  Take note however that this service will only monitor your TransUnion credit profile.  If you’re absolutely certain you’re a victim of identity theft, you may want to consider a credit freeze.

How much does it really cost? The service will cost $4.95 monthly or with an annual subscription rate of $49.95.  With the discount promotional code above, you will save 30% off your monthly subscription fee or your annual rate, bringing the cost to $3.46 per month or $34.96.  You’ll also receive an additional 20% discount whenever you opt to purchase other myFICO services whenever you’re subscribed to FICO Quarterly Monitoring (for example if you want to complement the service with an additional subscription of Score Watch).  In some sense, this is one of the cheaper service, especially if you’re ever in a situation where you need to purchase more than two TransUnion FICO scores or report.

This post "myFICO Promotional Code" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

It’s been awhile since I’ve highlighted worthwhile customer service stories. Here’s a decent customer service done-right story straight from today’s Reddit front page:

Trader Joe’s did something awesome!

My mom is very worried about my grandfather, age 89. He’s a retired engineer and a navy officer of WWII who lives on his own in an apartment complex. He hardly keeps enough food for himself because he feels as though he can drive out whenever he’s hungry (and live off of cereal and prune juice). The problem is that he got snowed in today. He told my mom that one day without food couldn’t hurt, but my mom would not accept that. She ended up calling a bunch of places trying to find one that would deliver to him. She eventually ended up asking if Trader Joe’s did delivery and they told her they could in this instance. She read out a big order and then proceeded to ask them how she should pay. They told there was no need to pay and said, “Merry Christmas!” Trader Joe’s doesn’t do delivery, nor give food out for free normally. I’m glad to see people out in the world care about strangers and help out.

Follow-up: They delivered the food within 30 minutes and further clarification from my mom reveals that when she was ordering food, they kept suggesting other items for him (he’s on a low sodium diet). He ended up getting a few days worth of food from them. In case people are wondering, it’s the Trader Joe’s in Wayne PA. The funniest part is now my grandpa is trying to leave his apartment in the snow to thank them, but I think we’ve stopped him.

Via [Reddit.com]

Kudos to Trader Joe’s and whoever handles their social media marketing for keeping on top of things and responding to the story (the Narwhal is a nice touch too).  I hardly ever shop there since I’m kind of a cheap ass (though from reading the comments I may be making too much of an assumption about its prices), but businesses that are pro-customer should always get a shout-out.

This post "Customer Service Done Right by Trader Joe’s" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

This is a guest post from Peyton Farving, who is a deal hunter and contributing writer with the shopping community led by a little robot — Dealzon.com.  If you like staying on top of all the latest can’t-miss deals, consider checking Dealzon out.

 
As I’m scouring the web for great deals on computers, HDTVs, video games, etc. (I’m usually looking for stuff at least $20 less than the next best price on comparison sites like PriceGrabber but I sometimes find up to $100 off or more) I also run across some pretty ridiculous products and “deals” that I wouldn’t encourage Dealzon’s friends to buy. But they’re good for a few laughs and an always welcome reminder to “stop buying crap.” Here are five funny deals I saw last week.

Boxing Gloves for Nintendo Wii

Boxing Gloves for Nintendo Wii $11 shipped from Buy.com

I don’t care how cheap these are. Do you really need gloves on your hands for protection when you’re not actually striking anything during Wii boxing? Do you really need them for looks? I always thought boxers looked tougher without the gloves on anyway. If the ol’ bare knuckles are good enough for the G.O.A.T, they’re good enough for you.

Forza 3 Racing Gaming Seat (Limited Edition)

Limited Edition Forza 3 Racing Seat $350 shipped from Amazon

What! A! Deal! Pay just one easy monster payment of THREE HUNDRED FIFTY bucks for this car seat for infant adults (diapers not included) and they’ll throw in the game, which sells for $52 by itself. Alright, so you’re down to $300 and it doesn’t even come with a steering wheel or pedals. So good luck using it for driving, let alone racing.

MP3 Player (FREE) with a HeartStart Home Defibrillator

Free Philips GoGear MP3 Video Player (when you buy a Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator) $1,265 shipped from Amazon

Now, shifting gears…(oh, I guess it didn’t include a shifter either)…This Amazon special sounds like it belongs on QVC or a late night infomercial. Free MP3 player when you buy a heart defibrillator. Go ahead, show me someone who might need a defibrillator who would even have a prayer of operating an MP3 player (and a non-iPod at that). You know this killer deal has gotta be the brainchild of someone at Amazon saying Well the senior market segment is a growing one, and we really should promote healthy lifestyles, so… Now where was the wise old man when you need him? Honey, if I’m going to spend $1200 on anything, it better play music on its own.

The Latest Apple iPod Shuffle

Apple iPod Shuffle (4th generation) $55 shipped from Amazon

I was shocked when I saw this one. Apple’s little stick of music surprise has the LOWEST CUSTOMER REVIEW RATING – 2.5 out of 5 stars – OF AMAZON’S TOP 100 ELECTRONICS BESTSELLERS.

Wow. With customer review headlines like Headphones suck! and Worst Apple product ever and Just Say No, I’d walk away from the shuffle and pick up a 1GB or 2GB mp3 shuffler from a “lesser” brand for $20 or less.

Kanye West “Imma Let You Finish” T-shirt

Kanye West “Imma Let You Finish” T-shirt $20 from BustedTees

Sticking with music (you gotta love my transition puns!), there was no joke this year more fun to use again and again than Kanye’s plug for Beyonce during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech. There’s a Tumblr blog collecting all the Kanye interruption spoofs, and there’s even an app to generate a Kanye overlay of your website, but a T-shirt? It might be okay if they shortened the joke so someone could actually get it without having to stare at you to read the whole thing. Don’t buy that. You could make a better one yourself.

That concludes this edition of Crappy Deals of the Week — not that I don’t have more…just need to save material for next time! Next time you need something decent, go to DEALZON.com for the best HDTV deals, cheap laptops, and more.

This post "Crappy Deals of the Week: Heart-Pounding Edition" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

I gotta tell you, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen any account opening bonus offers from banks — or at least, one that doesn’t require you to jump through numerous hoops.  PerkStreet Financial is now offering a $50 sign-up bonus for any new PerkStreet Financial checking account with a minimum deposit of $25.  Deposit $25 and get $50?  No hard credit inquiry? Sounds like a decent deal.

PerkStreet has partnered with the Bancorp Bank, member FDIC, to provide several of its banking services, such as FDIC insurance.  The checking account, while lacking in any interest bearing capability, is actually quite decent.  It touts a 1% “cash-back” debit card, giving you cash-back in the form of a Visa Gift Card, or a gift card to some of the leading retailers (such as Target & Amazon).

If you’re a proponent of debit card over a credit card but occasionally harbor  hidden-jealousy for credit card rewards, then PerkStreet’s checking account with rewards debit card may just be what you’re looking for.

$50 PerkStreet Sign-Up Bonus Details

• Offer expires 2/28/2010.
• Open an account with a $25 minimum deposit.
• Keep the account active for three months
• You can keep account active by using your initial $25 deposit with your debit card
• $50 bonus will be credited into account within 15 business days at end of third month
• Valid for only first-time customers

Things to note:

• There is an account inactivity fee of $4.50!  To avoid this fee, you can do any of the activities: make a transaction with your debit card, write a check that clears the account, use online bill pay, initiate a withdrawal, or make a deposit to the account.
• There is no hard credit pull with the regular account, but the Plus account with overdraft protection may have a hard credit inquiry (via Fatwallet forums).
• If you want to milk things even more, you can fund the account up to $500 with a credit card, which will count as a purchase on your credit card, and not a cash-advance.  The initial funding will not cost you any fees from PerkStreet, but subsequent funding via credit cards will be charged 2% of funding amount.

PerkStreet Checking Account Features

• Visa Debit Card with 1% cash back, free music, or coffee
• Free checks, $25 deposit to open
• No minimum balance requirement
• No monthly fees when you use your account
• A large surcharge-free ATM network
• Free bill pay, switch perks without penalty

Look for a longer, in-depth review when I get a chance to test drive the account longer.

This post "PerkStreet Financial Free $50 Promotion" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

The fact of the matter is, in the United States, many wait staffs rely on tips as their main income source — despite the fact that many people feels that a “minimum” tip standard has shifted the responsibility of paying wages from restaurant employers to customers. Depending on your region, culture, and background, you may find tipping to be a ridiculous notion or a fair custom.

Most restaurants will have a mandatory “gratuity” charge for a large party (6 or more etc.), and certain restaurants will have straight-up forced gratuity (eesh). On one hand, I can understand that dealing with a large party can certainly be bitch work; after all, you’re tending to more demands and needs — but on the other hand, its hardly considered gratuity when its mandatory (maybe all restaurants should just label them clearly as a large-party service charge instead of a gratuity charge).

To add more spices to the mix, a couple in Bethlema, PA, was recently arrested by the police because they refused to pay the mandatory tip for their party of six. Now before you think the two are complete cheapskate, apparently the party had to wait an hour for their table, and received next-to-nothing services during dinner. Some people might think its a bit trivial for the couple to get all huffed-up about a 18% gratuity that totaled $16, but I’m on the camp that thinks the restaurant owner is being silly to call the police over a $16 tip.

What do you think? Much ado about nothing? Are mandatory gratuity an abomination? Or are they a necessary component to ensure waiting staffs gets their due pay for their services?

photo credit: Vidiot.

This post "How Do You Feel About Mandatory Gratuity at Restaurants?" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

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.

This post "Zecco Refer & Referral a Friend Program" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

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 post "Accidental Frugality – Can You Live on Half of Your Income?" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

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.

This post "Shopping For A Credit Card During A Time Of Tight Credit" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

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

This post "The Why and How of Credit Freeze" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

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.

This post "Five Ways to Waste $276 Because Money Grows on Tree" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

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.

This post "Get a Free Experian Credit Score and Report from Quizzle.com" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

Here’s the breakdown on the changes when the law comes into effect February 22, 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 22, 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.

This post "Breakdown: The Credit CARD Act of 2009" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

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

This post "Avoid Costly Medical Bill Errors & Mistakes" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

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.

This post "ShareBuilder Costco Sign-Up Bonus Promotion" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.