We’ll be back tomorrow.

(Photo: walkadog)

Memorial Day from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

But this isn’t a “you’re a fool for buying expensive wine” story, it’s more exciting. It’s about fake wine and Rudy Kurniawan. It’s a fantastic post-mortem about how someone got hooked into a small part of the wine world and tricked them into believing his story. Ahh the perils of the 1% and wine collecting. I thought the story was fascinating.

Here are a few more fascinating stories:

• My friend Adam Baker of Man Vs Debt is part of a group filming a documentary about complacency in life, title I’m Fine, Thanks. They’re on Kickstarter now trying to raise the funds to complete the project. Please take a look, I think the documentary is compelling. (I don’t know if disclosure is necessary but I’m an early backer of the project)
• I was included in a Time Moneyland slideshow about 10 Ways to Improve Your Financial Health put together by Martha C. White. My advice? Emergency funds – boring but essential.
• Linsey at Wise Bread shares 10 Awesome Money Making Hobbies. Blogging was #4!
• If you’re a sports aficionado, you have to appreciate the craziness of how the Staples Center hosted SIX playoff games in four days. Here’s a time lapse video of the transformations (and games).
• Mark Cuban doesn’t mince words and I enjoy reading his take on things, this time it looks at the Facebook IPO. I can’t say I disagree with any of his points (especially the ones that go beyond Facebook).

Have a great weekend!

Roundup: Fake Fancy Wine is Still Fancy from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

I think this is silly and petty. Especially given word that Saverin said he’d paid the taxes due (whether he actually pays is another issue). The reality is that our tax laws are written a certain way and there’s no reason why someone should pay taxes if they don’t have to. You don’t have to claim mortgage interest, you don’t have to claim your kids, and you don’t have to claim charitable deductions. You choose to claim it because you want to pay less in taxes. You do it because the rules say you can.

The rules, mindbogglingly, say that Saverin can renounce US citizenship and avoid taxes. The rules are clearly broken but you shouldn’t punish him simply because it’s a high profile news story, you should push to fix the rules. Companies do all sorts of ridiculous 1031 exchanges and crazy tax dodges but no one (politicians) does much more than complain. Can you blame them? Those companies make corporate donations. Savarin probably didn’t (not according to Cal-Access).

What’s your take on this?

Your Take: Should the US Punish Saverin? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

And, with some brokerages offering great deals to banking customers, it can be a great way to avoid bank fees, and perhaps even earn a return on the money you keep in your checking account.

Perks of Brokerage Bank Accounts

Many brokerages offer free checking accounts to investors and non-investors alike. Some of these accounts require a minimum balance, but there are plenty that don’t require any minmums at all. You can also get access to your money using a debit card. Some of the brokerages, like TD Ameritrade and Fidelity, offer ATM fee rebates so that you aren’t paying anything to access your money.

Many brokerage accounts are truly fee-free, and they also often pay an interest yield. Most of the yields on checking accounts at brokerages are fairly low, in keeping with money market rates. However, TIAA-CREF has a bank that offers 1.25% on savings accounts. In today’s climate, that’s a pretty good yield. Many of the banks even offer FDIC protection, because the banks are separate from the brokerage account.

However, even with the separation between your brokerage bank account and your brokerage investment account, it’s still often possible to easily move your money around. This set up can make it easier to fund your investment account, and it might also facilitate transfers from your investment account into the FDIC protected bank account. Check into the process, and make sure that it suits your needs, and that it won’t be too easy to get into trouble with your investment account.

As Always, Shop Around

Any time you prepare to make a change, it helps to shop around. While brokerages are working toward to expanding their banking offerings, most brokerages are still fairly limited with their banking options. You probably won’t be able to apply for a mortgage; most of the offerings are limited to basic checking and savings accounts. But that’s not a bad thing if you are looking for a safe place to keep your money while avoid fees and possibly seeing better yields.

If it’s important to you to have your investment accounts at the same institution as your bank accounts, you will want to compare more than just the banking basics. You will also want to look at your trading options and costs at the brokerage. Consider all of the fees you are likely to incur, and consider the hassle involved in switching banks. If you find that the brokerage offers reasonable trades, free checking, and high yields on savings accounts, it might be worth your while to switch. Just make sure you understand what you are doing.

Would you be willing to bank at your brokerage?

Should You Bank at Your Brokerage? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

One thing that always worried me was changing my address at the post office because I wasn’t sure if they’d get everything right. When you fill out a paper form, someone has to key that back into the system… and hopefully they don’t fat finger it. Well now the USPS has an online change of address form. The best part is that you still get all those coupons (I remember doing this a bunch to get a Lowes 10% coupon!) that were in the booklet, plus you avoid a trip to the post office.

There’s a $1 fee, just like the hold mail service, but I think it’s worth it.

USPS Online Change of Address Form from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Sometimes, the cheapest option can be to buy used. When I bought a car my freshman year, I spent about $3,000 for a used Mercury Topaz. It was a five-speed (I learned to drive stick on an old Festiva), and it got great gas mileage. My car was cheap to own, and it didn’t need a lot of repairs. It was a great option for me. However, not everyone is willing to go through the used car lots in an effort to find a good deal. Here are some ideas for cheap cars from Forbes and CNN Money, with my thoughts thrown in. You just might find something that makes sense for the student in your life:

1. Ford Focus: I know a lot of students that drive this car. A new Focus can cost around $16,500 for a base model. However, if you’re willing to get something that is a few years older, you can cut that cost down to $6,000 or $7,000 for a used car. The latest Focus gets around 26 MPG city, and 36 highway. It’s a great car that can be serviced almost anywhere, and it’s usually relatively inexpensive to fix.
2. Nissan Versa: With a base MSRP of $11,770, this car, new, isn’t a bad bet. It offers a decent-sized back seat for your student’s friends, although strage space is somewhat limited. The Versa gets an estimated 27 MPG in the city and 36 on the highway. Of course, you can find it cheaper used.
3. Kia Soul: One of the great things about the Kia Soul, for many, is its SUV look. It has a little more storage space, and can be more comfortable for road trips. Additionally, many are surprised at the 27 MPG city and 35 MPG highway that the Kia Soul gets. You can get a new Soul for $14,650, but its high depreciation rate means that you can find used cars for less.
4. Fiat 500: If your student doesn’t mind something small, the Fiat 500, with its 38 MPG on the highway, can be a great gas saver. Even city driving results in 30 MPG. Not bad at all. The cost is a little higher for a new car: $15,500. However, it’s not horrible, and you might be able to find an older used Fiat that still gets decent gas mileage for less.
5. Chevrolet Cruze: There’s adequate trunk space for most college students in this car. It gets 26 MPG in the city, and 36 MPG on the highway. It starts at $16,525, but its draw for parents is the peace of mind: You can make sure your child gets roadside help with OnStar.
6. Hyundai Elantra: This car is reasonably roomy, and starts with a MSRP of $15,195. You can get 40 MPG on the highway, leading to substantial gas savings. And, since the depreciation is fairly large, it’s possible to get used versions for good deals.
7. Ford F-150: A truck probably had to be included on this list. You can start with $12,565 for a new F-150. But it’s possible to find a reliable used truck for less. The hauling capability is a draw for many, and the F-150 has tested well for safety for years. Plus, it’s a common truck so it’s easy to service. Gas can be spendy, though, with 16 MPG city and 21 highway.

(Photo: CC-BY-CarImages)

7 Best Cars for College Students from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is set to unveil some rules for prepaid products and is currently holding a hearing in Durham, North Carolina to discuss some of these changes. It’s said that the new rules wouldn’t involve controlling the fees, as one would expect, but institute similar credit protections that customers get on credit cards. For example, companies would have to reimburse customers for unauthorized charges and do better with security.

Why the scrutiny? Prepaid cards are exempt from the Durbin amendment, which put caps on merchant fees, and were overlooked by Dodd-Frank. As you can imagine, banks were pushing these more given less regulation.

I’d like to see some limits on fees. A lot of folks use prepaid debit cards because they’re part of the unbanked or they are low income. The fees may nominally look small, a few bucks here or there, but they’re enormous on a percentage basis.

CFPB Introducing New Prepaid Debit Card Rules from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Looking back, I had no idea the underwriters were pimping out shares to their clients. I had no idea NASDAQ was having trouble processing orders. All the chaos that’s coming out in the news now was not known in real time, certainly not as well known anyway. I knew that things were not going in an orderly fashion and that almost always spells trouble.

Here are five lessons I learned from the Facebook IPO:

Beware Exuberance

I know the stock market is separated into two groups – institutional investors and retail investors. I know that retail investors, like myself, are the fish. I know that brokers cater to institutional investors because they handle vast sums of money. Do you want to answer to one boss that pays you $1,000,000 a year or 1000 bosses that pay you $1,000 a year? Easy answer.

Just this week, there was news that Morgan Stanley cut its revenue forecasts for Facebook a few days before the IPO. Who did they tell? Perhaps a few select clients… (a deeper look at this issue)

The number one thing that I learned from the economic crisis, and subsequently the Facebook IPO, is that one of the worst times to buy anything is when everyone is excited and positive. If you invested when the economic future looked bleaker, you did well as the market recovered. Too many people were too excited about the Facebook IPO and that worried me.

You Won’t Get Rich

When you look at the roulette table, do you think that’s your pathway to riches? Not “make a few extra dollars today” rich, I mean life changing rich. Probably not. So why would you look at any stock IPO as a pathway to that type of money? The only people making a lot off the stock IPO are those folks who were granted shares because they work at the company. Stories of administrative assistants at Microsoft and Google buying Ferraris are plentiful, but there were no stories of millionaire IPO participants after day one. It might be possible at day 1000, but certainly not day one.

Unless you work at the company or otherwise got shares before the IPO, like this brilliant painter, it’s not going to make you rich.

If you aren’t doing it for the quick hit of cash, and you’re buying it for the long haul, it’s best to wait. Wait until there are official SEC filings for a few quarters so things can shake themselves out. Wait until options can be traded, so the shorts can get in if they want to, or wait until the next slug of shares exit lockup. There are so many variables, outside of a company’s fundamentals, that have yet to be introduced… it’s dangerous to buy so early in the game. It’s like playing a sport where the rules change each inning/quarter/period.

You Shouldn’t Need to “Sell” an IPO

For all the horror stories you hear about boiler rooms, I’ve never met anyone who was offered shares by his broker… until this weekend. Granted, I know more working stiffs than jet set bazillionaires, but it’s still a telling fact. One of my friends got a call from his broker asking him if he wanted some Facebook shares. He did but since he worked at another brokerage, in a non-trading role, he was ineligible. While I’ve only heard one such story, there are plenty similar ones all over the place as underwriters scrambled to sell the shares they were allotted. Apparently, in the 11th hour, brokers were given more shares and had trouble getting them out.

When was the last time you heard anyone get a call from his or her broker about an IPO? Never! It’s always the other way. An IPO is supposed to be a gift that a broker gives to a client. It’s like being outside a nightclub and getting paid to go in… do you really want to be part of a party like that?

Do You Understand It?

How many people truly understand Facebook’s business model? Do you know how it makes money? You might point to the advertisements, and you’d be right, but the key is understanding how they can add revenue streams because the IPO price valued the company at a ridiculous multiple over their current income. When this happens, it means that people are either stupid and overpaying for a stock or they think the company is a growth story and can add additional streams of income.

I’m involved in the web and while I understand how it makes money now, I don’t know what they can do to justify such a high multiple. I know they have trouble monetizing mobile, which is where a lot of the traffic comes from, and that uncertainty, in my mind, makes it unattractive. I understand Facebook about as well as I understand Apple and Apple has a far far far lower multiple. And their products are tangible and in everyone’s pocket.

Missing Money Trains is OK

I think the big reason why so many people get involved in these big story stocks is because they don’t want to miss the money train. People are talking non-stop about the Facebook IPO. Unfortunately, they’re talking about how NASDAQ bungled up orders, how the underwriters mis-priced the stock and juiced up the supply, and how there might be class action lawsuits as the stock continues to drop. Flip it back a few years to when Google IPO’d in 2004 (it’s been nearly 8 years!) with a weird auction system – the stories after that were glowing. How many people missed Google and now didn’t want to miss Facebook? The answer is more than one.

It’s OK to miss the money train. It seems like every time I look up a stock ticker, there’s some big news the next day. I can wonder all I want about the “what ifs” but if I bought shares of every ticker I looked up, I’d be in bad shape. The key is to pick your spots deliberately and not trying to hit the home run.

Did you buy any shares? Did you avoid it? Did you learn anything by watching what happened the last few days?

5 Lessons I Learned from the Facebook IPO from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

We’ll take a look at the income tax situation as it stands now and what will be changing once the bill is signed. Please let me know if I get anything wrong and I’ll fix it as soon as possible. If you just want to know the difference, basically if you make more than $100,000 (or are married filing jointly and make more than $150,000), your tax liability will go up.

2011 Maryland State Income Tax Brackets

Maryland has a lot of income tax brackets. There are six Federal income tax brackets, Maryland has seven. Seeing how they’re set up now will help you, and me, understand how the brackets are changing.

Single, married filing separately, dependent taxpayers or fiduciaries share one grouping, listed only as “single” below. Taxpayers with joint returns, head of household, and qualifying widows/widowers share another group, listed only as “married filing jointly.”

These are just the brackets, don’t use them to figure out taxes because there are a lot of rules regarding exemptions and the like.

Approved Changes for 2012

The 4.75% bracket is wide, spanning $3,000 to $150,000 and the new changes would break that up and expand it upward. Single filers making between $100,001 and $125,000 (joint filers $150,001 and $175,000) would see a 25 basis point increase in their taxes, from 4.75% to 5%. Single filers making $125,001 and $150,000 (joint filers $175,001 and $225,000) would see a 50 basis point increase, from 4.75% to 5.25%.

Expansion of 4.75% bracket:

That also pushes into the higher brackets, which also get an increase in taxes. Single filers who make between $150,001 and $250,000 (joint filers earning between $225,001 and $250,000) would see a 50 basis point increase, from 5% to 5.5%. Finally Anyone making more than $250,000 a year would pay 5.75%, which decreases that bracket from the current one of $500,000.

Here’s what the Maryland brackets would look like for 2013 if approved as described:

In addition to adjustments to the brackets, your exemptions will be reduced if you earn more than $100,000 ($150,000 for joint filers) and completely eliminated if you earned more than $200,000.

If you live in a state and would like to see a similar wrap up of your state’s income taxes, let me know in the comments and I’ll be happy to oblige.

Maryland State Income Tax Increase from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

The common rule of thumb is that you can withdraw 4% from your account each year if you expect the money to last indefinitely. This amount is used because it assumes that your investment portfolio will beat inflation and keep growing, and it is considered a conservative estimate. If your investment portfolio manages to return 7% annually, you are “safe” if the inflation rate is 3% annually and you are withdrawing 4%. It’s supposed to even out. (Of course, if your portfolio doesn’t return that each year, then you end up dipping into your capital.)

However, deciding how much you need annually — whether you use the 4% rule of thumb or not — depends on your individual needs. Here are two ways to look at it:

Building a Nest Egg

One of the most popular options is to build a nest egg that is large enough that you can live off the interest. In order to do this, you first need to figure out how much you expect to need during the year. Many people like to say that you are likely to only need 75% to 80% of what you spend now. This assumes that your home is paid off, along with other debt. Personally, I think you should plan for needing at least 100% of what you need now, in order to counter rising health care costs, and the possible expenses associated with travel and hobbies.

Look at your current expenses, including housing, utilities, food, entertainment, and other items. If you want to maintain the same quality of life, it’s a good idea to just assume you’ll spend at the same level (although what you spend your money on could change). If your expenses amount to $45,000 a year, you will need a nest egg that allows you to withdraw at 4% (earning at least 4% interest). You can find that as follows: 45,000 / 0.04 = $1.125 million.

Of course, that doesn’t include the cost of inflation. But, as long as you keep your costs to $45,000 a year, and your portfolio is earning 4% interest, then the money should last indefinitely. If you want to just make sure the money lasts 20 years, and you don’t care about what’s left over, you only need $900,000. Any extra you end up because of interest is just a bonus.

Creating Monthly Cash Flow

Another method is to create monthly income to help pay for your retirement. You still figure up how much you will spend, but you look at it on a monthly basis. In our example, you need $3,750 each month. You can work on building a nest egg that provides part of that, but you can also look for other ways to get that $3,750. Estimate your likely Social Security benefits. You can also build up passive sources of income, such as dividend stocks, web earnings, or some other business, to help you create cash flow. You can still use your nest egg for monthly income, too, but the need for a huge nest egg is smaller if you have cultivated income diversity.

Ultimately, what you need to retire depends on the lifestyle you want to lead, and how long you want to be able to lead it. The more you want to do, and the longer you expect to do it, the more money you need to retire.

(Photo: RambergMediaImages)

How Much Do I Need to Retire? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

I understand the need to keep companies honest in advertising but if you purchased Nutella thinking it wasn’t “candy,” you’re a fool. Look at the nutrition facts on the label – two tbsp as 200 calories and 11g of fat (plus 21g of sugar). Skippy SuperChunk Peanut butter has similar statistics – 190 calories, 19 grams of fat but only 3g of sugar in two tbsp. The real question is how do you define healthy?

As for the settlement, there were two lawsuits – one for plaintiffs in California and one for everyone outside of California. All claims can be made at nutellaclassactionsettlement.com, the difference is in the eligible dates and size of settlement fund.

• Californian: The eligible dates are August 1, 2009 through January 23, 2012, settlement for $550,000.
• Non-Californian: The eligible dates are January 1, 2008 through February 3, 2012, settlement for $2,500,000.

You will need to fill out a claim form by July 5th, 2012. and no proof of purchase is required. Once a judge grants final approval, a hearing is scheduled for July 9th, the funds will be disbursed after fees. You can receive up to $4 per jar that you claim, with a maximum of 5 jars. If there are more claims than the fund can pay out, it’ll be pro-rated.

(Photo: amandacbb)

Nutella Class Action Settlement from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

My wife is doing the same thing around the house. She has bookshelves full of books that she hasn’t touched since we were married and finally, she’s getting rid of them. But what is the best way to do it? There are plenty of web companies who would love to be involved in selling your books so who is going to help my wife win the spa day?

College Students

Amazon.com is the winner when it comes getting the most money from your text books but that is, in part, because Amazon isn’t purchasing your book. Think of Amazon as the local consignment shop that will take a portion of your profits in exchange for connecting you with a buyer.

As I’ve learned with my textbooks, Amazon’s cut of the profits is high and now that I’m pretty far removed from college, I’ve noticed that it’s even higher. Plus, you have to take in to account shipping and price of the packing materials. (Make sure you ship books using the postal service’s media mail. It’s slower but cheaper.)

Other Books

If, back in the day, you read the entire Harry Potter series and now want to sell those books, expect it not to be worth your time. If your shelves are full of wildly popular books that everybody wants to unload, that $1.00 (or less) of profit probably isn’t worth the time and effort spent but some books, the books that aren’t as mainstream, may sell for enough to get them out of the house and make a few bucks in the process. My wife has found this to be true of some of her older books that are no longer in print but people still want them.

Other Ways to Sell

I’m not the person who will take the time to list all of my books online, buy shipping materials, pack them, go to the post office, stand in the line, and ship them all for a couple dollars in profit so I prefer to take them to Goodwill or give them to friends. I’ve also found over the years that I can strengthen client relationships by giving them old books based on mutual interests we have. Some libraries will take your old books as well as online book swapping sites.

The Contest

There are still a few weeks left in the contest and neither side is divulging their current totals. I guess a spa day is well worth the time but other than text books that can pull in a nice amount of money, I’m not so much the type to put that kind of work in to something for a few dollars. If you are, good for you. Those few dollars can certainly add up over time.

Where Can I Get the Best Price for my Used Books? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Why do credit cards offer balance transfers? Credit cards are in a constant battle to get a “share of your wallet.” They want to get into your wallet so that you’ll be more likely to use them when you make purchases, so all the cash back offers and reward programs exist to gain a piece of that share. They earn a percentage off each transaction, so having a large share is crucial to their business.

They have balance transfer offers because they know the longer you have the card, the more likely you are to use it. If you have a balance on your card, they’re playing the odds and thinking that you probably won’t be paying off that balance for a few months. Those are precious months they can sit in your wallet.

Why Balance Transfers Help

The appeal of a balance transfer is that you are essentially getting interest free money. Many balance transfers are 0% for twelve months, which gives you an additional year to pay back that debt. Balance transfers can help you get out of debt if you use them responsibly, but they can also enable your bad habits, at least for another year.

My favorite story about how a balance transfer helped reader involves those 0% financing deals you see in furniture stores. One tricky thing about 0% financing when it comes to furniture (and many other products) is that if you don’t pay off the loan before the 0% financing ends, they will charge you interest on the balance for the entire period. So if you had a 12 month 0% financing offer for a couch and you still had a balance after the 12th month, they immediately tack on 12 months of interest. It’s shady. So a reader used a balance transfer to get herself a few more months to pay off the couch (she had 12, she only really needed one or two).

What to Watch Out For

Purchases accrue interest at regular rates. When you initiate a balance transfer, the amount you transfer onto your card will enjoy the favorable 0% interest rate for the promotional period. If you make any additional purchases with that card, those purchases will accrue interest at whatever the regular rate is, which can be in the double digits. All of your payments to the card will apply to the 0% balance, not the “other” balance being charged regular interest rates.

After the promotional period, your interest rate goes up. It’s important to look at the card’s regular interest rate because the moment your promotional period ends, that’s the interest rate you will be charged. If you want to transfer a balance, compare your current interest rate against the regular interest rate of the new card to see if it makes sense. If you can pay off your balance within the promotional period, then this is less of a concern.

Review balance transfer fees. The days when you could transfer a credit card balance for free are long gone, credit cards now charge an up front fee on the balance amount that ranges anywhere from 3-5%, with a minimum dollar amount. Run the numbers to see if the transfer makes sense and can help you get out of debt faster.

I long for the good ole days when you could get 5% interest from a high yield savings account and we played the balance transfer arbitrage game – get a balance transfer, put it into a savings account, collect interest, and then pay back the transfer. Those were fun ways to make a few bucks, at the cost of a few points on your credit score, and perfectly safe.

(Photo: andresrueda)

How Does a Balance Transfer Work? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

Will you buy any shares?

I won’t. When you buy into an IPO, you’re gambling. I’d rather lean over a craps table and foolishly put money on the pass line. At least I think I’m having fun while the dice are flying. I don’t want to gamble with shares of an IPO, in any industry, because it’s really a crap shoot. If you get shares before they trade publicly, you might have an edge. If you get shares after, you lose any edge you have. You are betting you can sell your shares to someone else who is willing to pay more. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.

If it trades at $35, that’s 70 times it’s projected 2012 earnings. Apple trades at a price to earnings ratio of 13.61. Google trades at 18.31. While they aren’t the same types of companies, in terms of growth prospects, do you think you can sell Facebook to someone at 90 times earnings? Think Facebook can find a way to increase profits? The answer might be yes but you have to recognize that you’re basically gambling.

That said, sometimes it’s fun to gamble. It’s fun to get caught up in the excitement… that’s why I put money on the pass line at a craps table. I know it’s entertainment.

Your Take: Are You Buying the Facebook IPO? from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

One of the ways you can keep tabs on your general creditworthiness is by signing up for a web site like Credit Sesame. Credit Sesame offers you access to a general idea of your credit score — at least the Experian version of it — and provides you with information about how you can save money with different credit offers. Recently, Credit Sesame launched an online app designed to let you take advantage of Credit Sesame on the go.

iPhone App from Credit Sesame

The iPhone app from Credit Sesame allows you to access the basic features of the Credit Sesame web site. You can do all of the following:

• Sign up for an account
• Access your information
• Look at your available credit
• See what debt payments you have
• Check a version of your Experian credit score
• Monitor different products that might fit with your financial situation

The Credit Sesame app is free, as is signing up for the service. Additionally, it is intuitive, attractive, and easy to use. You are protected using bank-grade security, so your information is as safe as it can be in a world where identity theft is a growing crime. It’s also worth noting that you will set up a PIN, and you can remotely turn off mobile access in the event that you lose your phone. Also, understand that your Social Security number is not stored on the phone, even though you need it to sign up for Credit Sesame (it’s used to pull your credit information). Credit Sesame makes money when you sign up for offers — not from lead generation — so you don’t have to worry about the company selling your information to the highest bidder.

For the most part, the Credit Sesame iPhone app is a lot like interacting with the web site. You can see where you stand, and get an idea of what might be available for you going forward. The information you can get is likely to eventually be even more targeted and personalized.

Understand You’re Not Getting a FICO Score

It is important to understand that you aren’t getting a FICO score when you sign up for a service like Credit Sesame. While the web site, and the app, can be useful for spotting general credit trends in your life, and giving you a general idea of where you stand, you aren’t getting a FICO score. Instead, you are getting a consumer version of your Experian score. While this can be useful in general terms for tracking your progress, it still isn’t “official” in terms of what lenders use to determine your credit worthiness.

The main appeal to the Credit Sesame app is that you have the opportunity to check on your situation no matter where you are. You can see your accounts, and hold the information in the palm of your hand. It’s convenient for those who prefer mobile financial information.

Credit Sesame’s New iPhone App Review from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.