I wouldn’t classify myself as a frequent flyer, but after flying over 20,000 miles this year alone, I do take certain steps to ensure that my flights are as painless and trouble-free as possible.

Here are a couple tips on how you too, can be a travel superstar:

1. Use price comparison engines to find the best prices.

Search sites like Kayak.com makes looking for flight fairly easy.  The great thing about kayak is its ability to let you further refine and filter your results – from early morning flights to the midnight dash to the airport, you can pick and choose base on your traveling preferences.  Tweak the near-by airports and find the cheapest option for your location region.

2. Pack and travel as light as possible.

If it’s not a long trip (shorter than a week), I would do my best to fit everything I need in a carry-on luggage (duffel bag, small suitcase, whatever).   Although I do understand why we sometime over pack — after all, it’s safer to have everything you need than to be sorry — traveling with excessive luggage is never fun.  The time you’d save in avoiding checking in luggage can sometimes be priceless.

3. Map out and inform yourself on the layout of the terminals and airport ahead of time.

It’s the age of the Internet and almost every major airport (and smaller regional airports) will have a website fully detailing the terminals and parking locations.  Efficient airports generally have great layouts and directories.  The main thing you should always look for when you check an airport’s website is which terminal your airline is located at, and where the gate is within the perspective terminal.

Knowing where you need to go ahead of time may sound like common sense, but if you’ve ever seen the group of people wandering around the airport – only to realize that their gate and terminal is on the other side of the airport — then you know how time consuming it can be when you’re ill prepared.

4. Check TSA website for security check point wait time.

This is actually a pretty handy site from our stellar transportation security government agency.  The TSA wait times page lets you check out the security line wait time ahead of time before you head to the airport.  Just pick your airport, traveling day, terminal, and flight hours and the TSA website will spit out historical data on the length of wait time for each terminal’s perspective security check point.

Of course the data can’t always be perfect or accurate, but from my experience, wait times listed are fairly accurate within +/- ten minutes.   Once you know how long the potential wait time could be, you can better plan when you should arrive at the airport (I personally hate waiting an excessively long time just to board my plane).

5. Use online check-in and SeatGuru to choose better seating.

Most websites will have the ability for you to print out a boarding pass from home.  If you travel light and won’t be checking in any luggage, you can simply print a boarding pass and head straight to the security check-in lines.

Using Seatguru.com ahead of time to pick a seat of your preference.  Although for many flights the choices are all the same for specific class of seating — with Seatguru, you can at least know the seats you should try to avoid (ones near bathroom, ones that don’t recline, one’s that are near gallery etc.).  An added benefit of checking in online is the option to choose better seating when a flight isn’t full.  Why sit upfront where it’s packed to the brink when you can leisurely sit in the back of the plane with 2-3 seats to yourself?

6. Familiarize yourself with TSA rules and procedures.

No matter what you think of their efficiency or viability, TSA security lines are here to stay.  As each airport better adjust their security lines, the wait and hassles are becoming less frequent.  Still, not everyone flies regularly and you can always spot an infrequent travelers easily as you’re slouching through the security line. The TSA website has a great breakdown of what you should be aware of, but here are a few simple tips:

• Make life easier and use the 3-1-1 method. 3 ounce or smaller liquids in 1 quart-size plastic container bag, with 1 bag per traveler.
• Have your laptops out and ready to put into the container bins for the X-ray machine. One laptop per container and be sure that you don’t put anything else in the container.
• Have your jackets, belts, and shoes in another container.  Depending on the size of your carry-on bag, you may or may not need a container bin for it.
• Use the smaller white round container bin for your smaller gadgets and accessories: watches, cell phones, keys, and wallets.

Once you’re through the metal detector, grab your belongings from the X-Ray machine and move along to the designated area to put on your shoes, belt, and repack any necessary belongings.  Most security lines at the terminals will have a wider, open area for passengers to gather their belongings.  Don’t clutter at the X-Ray machine just to slowly put away your belongings and accessories!

7. Don’t be in a rush to board the plane.

If you’re at the gate already, the plane’s not going to leave without you. I’m usually one of the last few people to board a flight.  Why rush when you’ll just be standing in the aisle waiting for people to sit themselves or store their carry-ons in the overhead compartments?  Because I pack light and travel light, I’m generally not too concern about not having an overhead storage space available to me.

If you used the previous tip and checked in online, you’ll be able to see if a flight is full or not and decided if you want to duke it out for a storage space (since having your carry-on thrown to the cargo bay can be quite a hassle).

So there you have it.  Seven tips from yours truly, typed up through the short hour flight from SFO to LGB.  Got your own smashing tip?  Share your tips or I’ll brand you as a selfish reader.  Or not.  Or will. Whatever.  Cap out.

photo credit: geekmojo, Jaako, and alist

This post "7 Tips for Easier Air Travel During the Holidays" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

Did you came here searching for information on FICA score?  What you’re looking for is actually a FICO score, which can be found at sites such as Equifax Score Watch.

It was Friday night and I was browsing the web, reading financial tidbits and news (yeah this is how every cool 20-something rolls during the weekend) — I noticed that there was a large confusion online between the financial terms of FICO and FICA.

To make matters worse, a quick search on Google shows that many websites use the term FICA score interchangeably with the term FICO score, without clearing up the difference between these two completely unrelated financial terms.

As my weekend web trolling is already going so well, why not write a post to clear up the misconception? This will for sure make the weekend extra cool. After all, who needs to go out when there’s blogging to be done!?

What is FICA?

FICA stands for Federal Insurance Contribution Act.  Without going into too much history about Social Security and Medicare, FICA basically mandates that you and your employer contribute a percentage of your income to this tax, in order to fund the aforementioned Social Security and Medicare.

For those that may not know, Social Security provides income to retirees, people with disability, and some other select groups of people, while Medicare provides for medical insurance coverage to persons over age of 65 and again, other select groups of people.

And that’s what the 6.2% of your paycheck goes to (your employer pays the other 6.2%).  If you’re a student being employed by the educational institution you’re attending, rejoice, you’re an exception to the FICA tax!

If you happen to be self-employed, your FICA contribution will be split to 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare. There are of course exceptions to this rule, whether you’re self-employed or a regular wage-earner. You can read more about these exceptions in the resource of links below.

But that’s about the gist of the term “FICA” and how it matters to you.  So does FICA have anything to do with credit score or is there even such a thing as a FICA score?

Nope!

To clear the acronym confusion up, read on.

What is a FICO Score?

A FICO score is a credit score, which in short is a score providing a grade on your overall credit worthiness.  A true, legitimate FICO score can be purchased from Fair Issac Corporation at myFICO.com or with the Equifax Score Watch monthly plan.  The score ranges from 300 to 850 — the higher your score the better your overall creditworthiness and likelihood to receive favorably interest rate when applying for a loan (home, auto, etc.).

These scores are formulated with data from your credit reports. Because you have three major credit reports from three different major credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian), you may have three slightly different FICO scores.

Factors in your FICO score:

• 35% – Payment history
• 30% – Amounts owed
• 15% – Length of credit history
• 10% – New type of credit
• 10% – Types of credit used

In short, if you have a positive payment history (never paying late), your amounts of balances on your accounts are low, and you have a long history of positive accounts — then you most likely have a super credit score.

Those are the only factors of your FICO credit score. Your sex, race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, age, salary, occupation, and residency location will NOT be factors determining your score.  If its not in your credit report, then it’s not a factor.

Importance of FICO Scores

So why are FICO scores important and why are there so many people online searching about “FICA score?”

A good FICO score increases your chances of receiving favorable interest rate.  With current interest rates, that means when you compare between an excellent FICO score of 760 and a poor FICO score of 580, there will be a difference of $780 in monthly mortgage payment for a 30 year fixed, $300,000 loan.

If that didn’t get your attention, the interest difference is a low 5.63% APR versus a high 9.451% APR. This is a significant impact as when the mortgage is paid off, the difference in total interest paid will be about $280,000!

Thus knowing and keeping your FICO score can be pretty important.  As long as you properly manage your credit usage, your FICO score should be top-notch and a non-issue.

This concludes a brief primer on FICA scores. Woops , I mean FICO scores.

top photo credit: QuitoCarela

This post "What’s a FICA Score (FICO Score)?" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

Well I’m sorry that I’m not well-versed on the fast pace viral world of Web 2.0 — you freaking ass. (There was also this matter of living in a dungeon for most of the 21st century).

Here’s seven websites for some fast, free, and easy entertainment, presented to you via pictures and links — Web 1.0 style. Woot woot.

TV, Flicks, and Videos

1.  Hulu.com

With a recent sneak peek of 30 Rock’s Season 3 premiere, one has to wonder how much more joygasm Hulu can provide.  A joint venture from NBC Universal and News Corp, Hulu.com has been be on the web for just a little over a year. You’ll find the majority of NBC, FOX, and other cable network shows on Hulu, along with plenty of blockbuster movies from years past. Who needs basic cable when there’s Hulu.com?

2.  Joost.com

Joost.com is a website that allows users to distribute videos and TV shows using peer-to-peer TV technology (whatever the hell that means) — like Hulu, you’ll find TV shows, music videos, films from national television networks and big time studios on Joost.  The interface feels a bit more clunky than Hulu’s, and you’ll also need to sign up to use the service (takes only a few seconds).  Video quality seems a bit worse than Hulu’s, especially since many of Hulu’s content are available in 480p.

3.  Crunchyroll.com

For our anime, Japanese and Korean soap loving crowd, Crunchyroll is the source to go for semi-legitimate (heh) Asian media.  Although not as refined as Hulu, as a video portal site Crunchyroll is full of content and contains a robust, active community.  Crunchyroll has also been providing more studio supported content in recent months. With show titles such as “I Love My Younger Sister,” how can you go wrong?

Uh…

Spiffy Music

4. Pandora.com

Fresh off its recent royalties payment battles, Pandora.com is one of the most popular music recommendation and Internet radio service website on the web (now limited to US residents only). Simply type in an artist or genre of your liking, and Pandora will start playing select piece that you may be interested in.  Thumbs up to play more like it, or thumbs down to skip and avoid similar type of music. A recent application for the iPhone now allows you to stream music from Pandora straight to your iPhone from any location.  Pretty sweet except I’m an iPhone hater.

5. Last.fm

Just in case you feel jaded by the US-only Pandora, in comes Last.fm, most likely the largest Internet radio and music community website on the Internet. The UK based service claims over 20 million active users from over 200 countries, and was recently acquired by CBS. Like Pandora, Last.fm sports a recommendation engine that lets you choose and stream the type of music you may like. Fairly easy to use and no registeration is required (but a profile saving your musical preference can be quite helpful).

Quick and Easy Games

6. Yahoo Games

Ah, the classic Yahoo Games. Don’t even get me started on how many hours I wasted playing Yahoo Pool during freshmen year in college. Oh, if only that translate into real billiard skills at the tables, I wouldn’t have to sell off my puppy.  From Scrabble, Monopoly, Spade, Bejeweled, to Chess and Go, test your mettle against others across the world. Just remember that no matter how good you think you are, there will always be some bratty 12 year-old kid from South Korea that can pummel you without breaking a sweat.

7. PopCap Games

The ultimate casual gaming publisher, PopCap Games’s flagship title Bejeweled has wasted away thousands of productivity hours.  If you love casual puzzle games, PopCap is the place to go.  The site is fairly easy to use, choose the game you’re interested in, install the plugin, and game on.  As an extra bonus, Steve Notley, the creator of one of my favorite web comics Bob the Angry Flower, works at PopCap.  I believe Steve’s website is as popular as this very blog — haha, zing!

This obviously isn’t a definitive guide to all the free resources on the web for music, videos, and games.  If you have a favorite site or service that you frequent, do share.

This post "Seven Websites for Fast, Easy, and Free Entertainment" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

1.  Cook dinner with friends, family and loved ones. Try something simple like lasagna.  Use the time it takes to prepare and cook to catch up or reminiscence.

photo credit: flit

2.  Take the dog, little ones, nephew, niece, kids from the neighborhood to the park.
Fly a kite, play b-ball, soccer, football, or tell Chuck Norris jokes.

photo credit: Ingorrr

3.  Hug someone you truly care about. When they wither in disgust or surprise, hug tighter.

photo credit: Tom@HK

4.  Write a hand written letter to your parents or loved one of choice. List all of your accomplishments, goals, and dreams — and before they start thinking you’re too full of yourself, thank them and tell them it couldn’t have happened without their love and support.

photo credit: barnabywasson

5.  Bake cookies. Hand deliver them to people you care about.

photo credit: druzziel

6.  Volunteer your time. Help an organization or someone in need.

photo credit: blossominc

7.  Get outdoors. If you’re near one of the 58 national parks, grab some friends & rock on.

photo credit: Wolfgang Staudt

8.  Get some family time in. Picnics, broad games, or a good flick from the library.

photo credit: John Thron

9.  Read a great book. Don’t do it alone, read it with your partner, friends, or family.

photo credit: Luis Fabres

10.  Watch a beautiful sunset.

photo credit: Timothy Hamilton

You’ll notice that most of the list entails some form of interaction with friends, family, and loved ones.  The election, market turmoil and other headlines can sometimes make our head spin and grab our attention, but don’t forget what truly matters, what easily make us smile, feel loved, and feel “rich” — the people around us.

If you liked this post, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, or other bookmarking sites below. I’d appreciate it, thanks!

This post "10 Simple Ways to Feel Rich Without Materialistic Means" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

Lately, I’ve been thinking of getting a new credit card — specifically the True Earning Costco Card from American Express, for its kick-ass 3% cash-back on gas and dinning cash-back.

“But Cap, you have a gazillion credit cards, why do you need more?”

That’s none of your business!!

Okay… okay. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled. Its the stress at work, you know? Look, listen — I’m sorry. How about we go out for dinner next Tuesday night? That’s right. Just the two of us.

…

The problem with applying for a credit card is that many times, you won’t know whether you’ll be approved or denied credit. Rejection isn’t fun, but to add insult to injury, you’re not only denied credit, your credit score will take a few dings due to the hard inquiry imposed on your credit history when you apply for the credit card.

Thankfully with the help of other credit-rejection-fearing Internet denizens, there are resources you can access on the web that allows you to see if your credit score and history can qualify you for the credit card in question.

Step One: Know Your Credit Score and History

If you know your real FICO credit score, credit history, and you’re positive that it hasn’t changed recently, you can skip this step. If not, head over to myFICO.com and buy all three of your FICO score. Use this myFICO promotional code to get a 20% discount on your purchase.

Unfortunately purchasing your FICO score can get a bit pricey, as even with the discount, all three FICO scores will cost you about $38. An alternative is if you know your recent credit history well, you can try the free FICO score estimator. This will give you a ballpark ranges of where your scores may be at. Remember that you can always get your credit reports for free at AnnualCreditReport to help you answer the FICO score estimator’s questions.

Step Two: Check Credit Pulls Databases

When you apply for a credit card, the issuer pulls one (or more) of your credit report to help determine your credit worthiness. Knowing which credit reporting agency the card issuer in question uses will help you narrow down the credit card you should or shouldn’t apply for.

For example, if you have a delinquency on your Experian credit report, but not your TransUnion credit report, you should avoid credit card issuers that pulls Experian, and try to apply for card issuers that pulls TransUnion.

Here’s two credit pulls database:

• Credit Pulls Database from Creditboards.com (requires registration and login)
• Who Gave Me Credit (has slightly less data and may not be as accurate)

By using the credit pulls database from Creditboards, you can search for the credit card issuer you’re interested in applying for, and see a result of approved or denied credit profiles. Here’s a snapshot to give you an idea:

click to enlarge

As you can see from the picture above, most of the credit pulls for the American Express SimplyCash card was on Experian, with a few on Equifax. Most approved scores are in the 700+ ranges, and those with lower scores generally got a lower credit limit upon approval.

Whenever a credit card company denies you credit, they are required by law to state the reasons for the denial of credit. You’ll also often see these reasons noted in the comment field from the credit pulls search results.

Knowing these types of information can help you in the decision process of whether or not if you should attempt to apply for a certain card. If you see a credit pull result with many higher credit scores than yours getting denied credit, or a large number of seemingly random rejection, you may want to think twice before you apply for the credit card in question.

Step Three: Apply and Rejoice at Approval or Rage at Rejection

Now that you know where your credit is being pulled from, and have confirmed that your score and profile is indeed much better than others on the listed result, should you apply immediately and expect instant approval?

Not quite.

Although these credit pull database can certainly help narrow down your chances, at the end, credit approval goes beyond credit scores and income level. Your past history, the mix of your credit profile, your usage pattern, your utilization ratio and many other factors all comes into play. No one can know for sure what type of criteria a certain issuer may have for certain cards.

What these databases can do, however, is to supplement you with more information, so you can go from “I have no idea if I’ll get approved” to “I think I’ll get approved… maybe if the stars aligned favorably tonight.”

top photo credit: orphanjones

This post "HOW TO: Make Sure You’ll Be Approved for a Credit Card" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

You know how it goes.

You rush home at 12:45 PM from your lunch break; not because you’re a savvy frugal person that bags their own lunch, but more so because you ate too many donuts this morning and you really have to use the restroom (for whatever reason, a tidy and clean washroom is always the last priority at your office building).

You pull into the garage, hop out of your car, unzip your pants, flung the keys onto the sofa and dash toward the downstairs restroom (because let’s face it, you won’t make it upstairs safely) — all of a sudden, a call on your home phone.

“Oh crap, is work calling?” you thought to yourself, “is lunch already over?”

A split second decision, you grab the phone and continue on towards the restroom.

“Hi, this is James from Region X Bank, Baker, Missouri Branch,” says the scripted voice, “Please don’t hang up on me as this is my—”

*click*

No time to be angry. This is going to be one of those replay finish. You kick the door down, turned around and sat right down — only to fall right into the toilet and touch the toilet water (yummy). Your insensitive significant other has forgot to put the toilet seat down.

Oh, the rage.

And who’s fault is this? Of course, the ill-timed telemarketer from Region X Bank (and maybe your upcoming ex-husband). Had they not called you, you would not have been distracted and you might have noticed that the toilet seat was left up.

So how does a savvy consumer keep what’s left of their consumer privacy? How do you reduce unsolicited telemarketing calls, junk mails, and general annoyance from people with products you just don’t care about?

Head Straight to the Offending Source

Most reputable (or nation-wide) financial institutions will have a clear privacy policy. When you apply for their service (such as a credit card or bank account), you will always receive the privacy policy set forth by the specific company. When these privacy policy have been changed or updated, by law, you will also receive an updated version of the same copy.

Most people don’t read these little privacy fold outs (as pictured above). What most people don’t realize is, many of these leaflets contain information on how to avoid direct marketing from the specific company and how the company shares your information.

You will generally have a few options:

1. Yes/No: Sharing of your information and direct marketing within said company
2. Yes/No: Sharing of your information and indirect marketing with other companies
3. Remove name from telemarketing and/or mailing list.

Here are some privacy policy information from national banks, with steps you can take to choose your preferences:

Bank of America:

• Privacy Policy Site – You can read the policy here and set your preferences online.
• Call 1-888-341-5000 (recommend using the site instead)
• Some marketing programs are already in progress, so even if you opt-out, it may take up to 12 weeks for the opt-out to be fully effective. When you opt-out of direct marketing programs via postal mail or telephone, your opt-out will last for five years.

Citibank:

• Privacy Policy Site – Only option is a mail in form, available in PDF.
• You have four choices. Limit personal information to non-affiliates. Limit personal information to affiliates. Remove name from mailing lists. Remove name from telemarketing lists.

Chase:

• Privacy Policy Site – You can read the policy here and set your preferences online.
• Call 1-888-868-8618, or for the hearing impaired assistance, dial 7-1-1, then 1-888-868-8618 and wait for operator assistance.
• Old fashion snail mail: P.O. Box 260185, Baton Rouge, LA 70826-0185
• Chase has two simple choice: Yes/No to sharing information with others; Yes/No to sharing information within family of companies.

American Express:

• Privacy Policy Site – One of the better ones. You can also set your preferences online.
• Call 1-800-297-8378 or mail to: P.O. Box 299836 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33329-9836
• Four choices, much like others. Yes/No to other companies or affiliates. Yes/No to mail offers or phone offers.

Opt-Out of Everything Because You’re Sick of It

Specific companies not spicy enough for you? Opt-out (or for the different ones, opt-in) to all credit card and insurance offers! You can visit the official consumer credit reporting industry website to either opt-in or opt-out. Your choices are fairly simple, opt-in to all the goodies (and have enough paper to shred for a lifetime), opt-out for five years, or for the more extreme — opt-out permanently! When you opt-out permanently, you’re required to print and mail an opt-out form.

• OptOutPrescreen.com – The ultimate up yours to credit card offers.
• Call 1-888-567-8688 to opt-out or opt-in.
• There is an amusing 56 page report on why you should opt-in by the Feds (PDF).
• Consider: Why You Shouldn’t Opt-Out of Credit Card Solicitation.

Utilize Some National Resources, kthx

Visit the National Do Not Call Registry and sign up the telephone numbers to avoid telemarketers. Most telemarketers should not call the submitted number once it has been on the registry for 31 days, but you may still receive some calls — and calls from businesses where you are already a customer.

• National Do Not Call Registry – Fear the enforcement of the FCC & FTC (heh).
• Call 1-888-382-1222 to register via phone.
• You can also file a complain if a telemarketer cease to make calls even after you’ve been registered for over 31 days.
• The more concise, specific, and complete a complaint, the more chance you’ll have for it to be acted on. Avoid long, pointless story such as the introduction to this post.

California and Vermont Residents, Rejoice!

Because our state legislatures (or consumer advocacy lobby groups) actually cares about us, California and Vermont residents have more privacy protection within the state laws compare to other states (although Vermont residents have a bit more protection).

If you’re a resident at either California or Vermont, you will usually have an automatic opt-out choice to sharing of your information with non-affiliated companies (basically, other companies you might not be doing business with). For Vermont residents, you will also be automatically opt-out of the sharing of information within the specific company’s affiliates.

You should note however that both of these automatic privacy choices don’t include the choice of removal from telemarketing list or mailing list, so if you want to opt-out of those too, you should still contact the specific company and specify those choices.

Related Links & Resources:

• Privacy Survival Guide from Privacy Rights Clearing House
• Financial Privacy Resources from Privacy Rights Clearing House
• Truth About Cell Phones and Do Not Call Registry

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This post "HOWTO: Protect What’s Left of Your Consumer Privacy" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

Lending money to strangers online could be pretty silly or pretty awesome depending on which website you’re on.

I first read about Kiva.org from Ramit’s Friday Entrepreneurs back in August of 2006.

First impression? Pretty neat. Bookmarked it, fell asleep, and soon forgot about it.

Yesterday, with an In-N-Out burger in one hand and a greasy mouse in another, I trolled Bloglines and came across another pf blogger’s post on Prosper.com — which I promptly typed into Wikipedia’s search box to see how Prosper has changed since launch. (Anyone else type things into the Firefox search box while they read articles or watch TV?)

While reading about Propser’s shady handling of its online forum, I noticed the “See also” link to Kiva in the Wikipedia entry.

“Hmm, I wonder how’s Kiva coming along?” I thought to myself as I click on the link and flicked the onions out of my burger.

Minutes later, before I even finished my juicy burger and strawberry shake, I found myself lending money to strangers online — all it took was only a few minutes.

Microcredit what?

Kiva.org is a non-profit organization that partners with microfinance networks across the globe to provide microcredit to low-income entrepreneurs. In gist, microcredit is the lending of very small amount of loans. It’s like letting your friend Bob borrow $50. Except Bob isn’t going to use the $50 to buy a PS3 game — he’ll be using the $50 to further his business and create more wealth.

Easier than Buying that Beanie Baby Off eBay

Lending money to various entrepreneurs across the globe is incredibly easy. You browse through the list of lenders by clicking the “Lender” tab, pick the listing you want to lend to, select your amount, click “Loan Now” put in your PayPal info and you’re done.

Borrower Listing Page

Lender’s Profile Page

After you’ve extended the loan, you will receive email updates in regards to the status of the loan and the progress of the business in which you’ve extended the loan to.

The flow of money is fairly simple. You extend the loan via a credit card transaction; Kiva collects the fund (100% of which goes to borrower, since Paypal is waiving transaction fee); the funds are transfered to the field partners which administers and collects the loan repayment; you receive your repayment into your account and you can withdraw the amount or lend to another borrower.

Not Really a Handout

Loans extended on Kiva won’t generate interest for the lenders (although the microfinancing field partners of Kiva do charge interest to borrowers), thus if you lend money on Kiva — you will only get your principal amount back. There is of course the risk of the loan defaulting, in which case you may lose your money.

With those in mind, why should anyone lend money?

Kiva’s pitch: By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Hence, “loans that change lives.”

My opinion? Sounds good to me. On one hand, you’re helping someone. On another hand, you’re not exactly giving a handout — these are loans that should be repaid, after all. Plus, more often than not, these loans are a means for them to produce more wealth and value — not to pay off debt incurred from excessive shopping.

Thus far, Kiva has had a pretty amazing repayment rate of 100%, an on-time payment rate of +99%, and the microfinance institution that Kiva partners with are required to meet Kiva’s due diligence standard.

Microfinancing isn’t without problems, borrowers can easily use their funds on transactions other than the ones stated, and microfinance institutions can’t always find the perfect borrowers. Still, as a website that utilizes the Internet to increase the reach of funding for microfinancing institutions across the globe, Kiva is doing a pretty spiffy job.

Related Links

• Kiva.org on PBS Frontline
• Where to Microfinance?

This post "Kiva.org — Lending $25 to Celina in Kenya Just Got Easier" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

The guide in helping you say “up yours” to Madison Avenue.

Maybe You’ll Pick up a Thing or Two (No Guarantees)

No matter if you’re a seasoned shopper who knows exactly what they want — or an impulsive buyer who grabs the $10 DVD at the check-out aisle — you can probably pick up a thing or two from reading this guide.

If not, be comforted on the fact that you’ll only waste about 17 minutes or so of your life (depending on your reading speed and tolerance for grammatically lacking writing).

One Man’s Crap is Another Man’s Han-Solo-Frozen-in-Carbonite

Spending $4,900 on a movie prop replica may seem like a ridiculous idea to most people, but try saying that to the 2,000 or so hardcore Star Wars fans that bought the limited production Han Solo in Carbonite replica.

Measuring at around 6 feet 8 inches long and weighing in at about 100 pounds, the Han Solo in Carbonite replica is one of the ultimate decorations for geeks across the globe (and a constant eyesore for their partner — if any).

As you can tell, what’s important to one person may be a complete waste of money to another person. In order to really “stop buying crap,” you must first figure out what’s truly important to you.

Perhaps you have a love for fine china? Or maybe you can’t get enough of your collectible lunch box? Whatever it may be, as long as it is important to you, or brings a value to you in a certain way, it is not “crap.”

Stop Buying Crap rule #22: It is perfectly acceptable to spend money on things that are important to you, as long as you can afford it.

It’s Not about Being Cheap, its About Being Sensible

If this is your first visit to the blog, you might get a wrong impression of the blog’s underlying message. You might even assume that the blog owner is a cheap person, with a deficient IQ, a questionable genital size, and thus enjoys making fun of people that spend money.

If that was the case, you would be 90% wrong. This isn’t about being cheap at all. This isn’t about hording up all your money so you can swim in it Scrooge McDuck style. This is about understanding your unlimited wants and needs, and how you may fulfill it with your limited resources. It’s about what you can and can’t afford, what’s realistic and what’s unrealistic.

Just because traveling around the globe is an important goal to you doesn’t mean you should max out your credit card to fulfill that particular need. Sure, you may be a hardcore Star Wars fan, but will it be practical for you to spend 90% of your income on Star Wars collectibles? Probably not.

Fitting the Non-Crap into the Budget

Creating a budget is the basic foundation of personal finance. It might be a bit boring (alright  it’s ridiculously boring) but budgeting is one of the most important step to gain control of your finances and the quickest way to know where you stand financially.

If you have never created a budget before, you are strongly encouraged to spend a few minutes right now and write out a rough estimate of your budget. Creating a budget can be surprisingly easy to do; the gist of it involves you figuring out how much you make per month and how much you spend per month. Subtract the total income from the total expense and you’ll figure out where you stand. Yup, that’s pretty much it!

To find out how to create a budget, check out “How to Budget & Save” from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. There is a simple worksheet available that you can follow to better determine other budgeting values such as fixed expenses and variable expenses.

Once you have figured out your budget, you can then figure out how much crap you can or can’t afford. This may sound entirely stupid and obvious, but one of the reasons why people spend more money than they have is because they don’t know how much money they really have.

Here’s a random example (picked for numeric simplicity). What’s easier to do: Spend $2,400 on a brand new, top-of-the-line HDTV when you know fully well that you only have an extra $200 to spend per month (thereby putting you $2,200 in debt), or spend $2,400 on a brand new TV because you think you can afford the new TV?

It is a lot easier to spend responsibly when you understand where you stand financially and know the numbers involved.

Delay Gratification is Your Friend

In the $2,400 TV scenario, if you only have an extra $200 to a month to spend, what can you do to get that TV?

Option #1: Save up $200 per month and buy the pricey TV after a year.

Option #2: Charge it on a credit card at the current average interest rate of 14.79% APR and pay it off by a monthly payment of $200. Actual cost via this method? About $2,800.

An extra $400 because you couldn’t wait. Is it worthwhile? *shrug* Sensible? Probably not.

Avoiding Those Wacky Impulses

One of the quickest ways to trash a budget is to spend money impulsively. In order for you to buy the crap you really care about, you must avoid the impulsive purchase of crap you don’t need. Mastering delay gratification and avoiding impulsive purchase are both acquirable skills!

If you have a habit with impulsive purchase, it will be worthwhile to examine the cause of the habit more carefully. Do you spend without careful consideration because it’s easy to do? If so, perhaps cutting up the credit card up may make it harder for you to spend. Try the frequently mentioned method of switching to cash or using a debit/check card, seeing the cash immediately disappear from your wallet (or checking account) just might do the trick.

Do you have trouble with buying unnecessary things during a shopping trip? Find out exactly what you need, how much it cost, and limit yourself by bringing a specific amount of cash (minus the credit cards) before you head into the store.  Limiting your purchasing power may help you against impulsive purchases.

Understanding Marketing Influences

It’s not that marketers are evil brainwasher bent on tricking you into buying their products.  Marketers are simply brainwasher bent on influencing you to buy their crap.

Let’s put it this way: you should be aware that many companies are spending millions of dollar so that they can have a better chance to earn or sway your spending dollars. Because you most likely don’t have the same millions to spend, it’s important for you to choose the right crap to buy on the first try — especially if said crap is an expensive item.

A savvy shopper should know if a brand of a product matters or not, and spend the extra time to distinguish actual product differences from marketed differences. With the wealth of information available online, everything you want to know about that toilet seat cover can be a few mouse click away.

Obviously, spending hours reading up on mundane things such as toilet papers may not be the most productive use of your time, so apply product research at your discretion.

Don’t Forget the Big Picture

Alright, so you’ve figured out what’s important to you, know how much you can spend on it and how much you can afford, time to buy everything you’ve ever wanted?

Not quite. Even if you can afford it now, and even if it won’t put you into debt — you will still need to be sensible about your purchases, because every dollar you spend today is a few dollars less you will have to spend in the future.

Most of us will want to retire in comfort, or maybe even pay for our children’s education (damn kids). In order to do either of these things, you will need to be mindful of how your current spending will impact your future spending — after all, retirement accounts don’t magically fund itself. Saving money might not be sexy or fun, but it’s a whole lot better than worrying about money during your retirement years.

Summing It All Up

1. Understand what’s important to you
2. Know your budget
3. Be patient and save
4. Don’t let some jerk tell you what to buy (and what not to buy)
5. Spend sensibly and don’t spend like there’s no tomorrow

Have your own stop buying crap method? Sharing is caring.

This post "HOW TO: Stop Buying Crap" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

“Hi Cap, I have some question on personal finance…” an email would read.

To which I’ll write back, “Nice try Mr. Ex-Sultan, I hope you rot in hell.”

Phishing: A social engineering technique that attempts to fraudulently acquire your sensitive information. These days, they are mostly found in the form of fake email and websites.

Spotting phishing email doesn’t require every day paranoia, but a red flag should always go up when you notice these things in an email:

Note: A matching link & URL in status bar doesn’t necessary mean it’s a legitimate email. URL in a status bar can easily be spoofed. Sender’s address can also be spoofed.

The above email is a rather obvious phishing email, but was shown to point out some common trend in phishing email:

1. A sense of urgency: You better take action fast or your sh*t out of luck!
2. Threat: Do it or your account will be closed (or some other penalty)!
3. A Link: Directs you to a spoofed website that looks legitimate.
4. Requires you to either enter or confirm your personal information.
5. Poor grammar. They spell and write like Cap of Stop Buying Crap.

Here are some things you should consider when you receive a suspicious email:

1. Do you do business with the bank or retailer?
2. Is the email to you or is there a generic greeting? (e.g., Dear XXX Customer)
3. Do they offer an alternate form of contact such as a phone number?
4. Does it contain information the company should know? (e.g., last 4 digit of your account #, your user name, etc.)

The trick is that even if all those questions above pan out, it doesn’t necessary mean you’re receiving a legitimate email.

This brings us to Targeted Phishing:

A targeted phishing email may contain your real name, and may be from a bank or retailer that you actually do business with. These phishing email will usually reference to a very specific transaction.

Example:

1. A confirmation email thanking you for your purchase.
2. An email notifying you of a specific transaction on your account.
3. An email from “eBay” giving you a second chance to your recent failed bid.

Distinguishing a legitimate email from targeted email can be difficult, so when you’re in doubt, you should always contact the company directly yourself via a different method than those mentioned in the email.

If the email was regarding your credit card account, call the number on the back of your card. If the email is regarding your bank, find your bank number on your statement and give them a call.

Targeted phishing works especially well because they are often from a familiar source aimed at a specific group of people. These type of emails may not necessary be seeking for your entire personal information, but merely asking for a certain information (such as user name or password) in order to obtain the rest on their own.

When you belong to a social networking site, you should also be wary of emails from the supposed organization asking for any of your information. What may look to be a harmless survey may be an identity thief seeking further information.

Targeted phishing becomes Spear Phishing when they are highly targeted. These are generally aimed at a employees of a specific organization or company. The email may appear to be from a colleague or executive, asking you to either download an attachment or furnish them with certain information.

Just as a regular targeted phishing attack, spear phishing attacks are difficult to spot on a first glance basis, especially when they are highly customized. When in doubt, always contact the the supposed sender via a different channel.

Some General Guideline in Avoiding Phishing:

1. Do not reply to any emails asking for your personal or financial information. Remember, legitimate companies don’t ask for sensitive information in an email.
2. Do not download attachment from suspicious or unfamiliar emails.
3. When in doubt, contact the company yourself directly through familiar channels.
4. Do not click on links from suspicious email. If you need to login to your account, open a new browser window and type in the URL.
5. Check the security certificate of the website before you enter any personal information. (Look for the yellow lock icon on the bottom right of your browser and double click on it).

Related Links and Resources

• FTC – How Not to Get Hooked by a Phishing Scam
• MailFrontier Field Guide to Phishing (PDF, 1.38 MB)

This post "HOWTO: Spot Phishing Email Like a Pro" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

Anyhow, lot’s of financial accounts, too much hassle to keep track of them individually.

What do you do?

In comes Yodlee, an online banking account aggregation service, which also happens to be utilize by many major financial institutions. Yodlee is free to sign-up and use, and the only reason why you don’t hear about them too much is because they do not market their product directly to the consumer.

The gist of it is really simple. You register for an account at Yodlee, add in your financial accounts, click the update button—and bam, all your account informations are updated and you are now in financial organization bliss.

Two Choice of Yodlee

Yodlee MoneyCenter

Yodlee Dashboard

There’s really no difference in features in the type of Yodlee you choose, except for the way the information are presented to you. If you prefer an all-in-one screen view, you should go with Dashboard, if not stick with the single format view from MoneyCenter.

How To Sign-Up With Yodlee

1. Head over to Yodlee’s Financial Application
2. Pick the format you like and click Log Me In
3. Click on the Registration link above the log-in
4. Fill in all your info and click register

Done deal.

Using Yodlee and its Features

Adding accounts is also fairly straight forward. Click on the Add Account Tab and type in your financial institution’s name to search for it, or click on the popular account tab to see if your account is listed there.

Types of accounts you can add:

• Banking Accounts
• Credit Card & Reward Accounts
• Telecommunication Bill Accounts
• Payment Service (PayPal) Accounts
• Investment and Insurance Accounts
• Loan and Mortgage Accounts
• And even web-based E-mail Accounts!

Yodlee contains a BillPay service, where you can make payment to some of the accounts you’ve added, such as credit card bills and cable service bills; pretty handy! Another semi-useful service is the Yodlee Financial Calendar, which allows you to see when the bills are due on a calendar map.

Yodlee BillPay

Yodlee Financial Calendar

Besides the features listed above, there is also a Net Worth tab that shows your net worth in a bar graph format. You can also check out the spending report, although it isn’t too accurate unless you actively manage the categories for each specific transaction. You’ll find that many of Yodlee’s features are similar to those of MS Money and Inuit Quicken.

Even More Yodlee Choices

With their recent update, Yodlee has been noted to be slow to access for some user. As you can tell from the above pictures, some of the sample accounts I added were having trouble updating. For those with significant access problem with Yodlee, you can try their service from various other financial institutions:

• CompassBank MyCompass (Yodlee 5.0)
• Harris TotalLook (Yodlee 5.0)
• National City My Accounts (Yodlee 4.0)

Of course, signing up service in these other institution will require you to trust your information with their database and security. If you’re a HSBC or Bank of America customer, you should check out HSBC EasyView and Bank of America’s My Portfolio.

Paranoid Users Beware

The problem with an financial account aggregation is that all your password and information for each of these financial accounts are stored in one central location. Not a good thing if you don’t trust Yodlee’s security capability.

There are a couple of things you should know about Yodlee though. First, many of the largest financial institution utilize Yodlee technology for their online account services. If you’re banking at Bank of America, Citi Bank, or HSBC—you’re already using Yodlee services. In fact, those respective banks probably offer a similar account aggregation service on your online account, powered by Yodlee.

Second, under federal banking regulations, you have quite a few rights when it comes to electronic fraud. As long as you’re up top of things and notify fraudulent activities fast (within two days), you’re only liable for up to $50. Within sixty days, the cap rise to $500. Anytime over that though and you’re sorta SOL.

Still Pretty Damn Convenient

Fact of the matter is, an online financial aggregator is flippin’ convenient. For me and many others, it’s well worth the small risk. There really shouldn’t be any big problem if you take basic precaution with your private information and be proactive about the security of your computer.

Without online aggregator service like Yodlee, life can be hectic. Let’s face it, no body likes logging into sixty different accounts everyday just to make sure their significant other didn’t blow all their money on Texas hold’em.

Related Links and Resources

• Why I Use Yodlee Account Aggregation from MyMoneyBlog.com
• My Second Love Affair With a Web Application
• Q&A on Yodlee from Fatwallet Finance Forum

This post "HOW TO: Keep Track of 95% of Your Financial Accounts in One Place with Yodlee" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

In a quest to save more souls, here’s the kick-ass guide to understanding credit card terms & condition, all for your benefit. Let’s use the Best Credit Card Offer Ever as our reference!

FACT: Under federal law, all credit card solicitation or applications must contain certain key information. This key information is usually inserted in a disclosure box, as seen below:

I. A Closer Look at the Disclosure Box

To get a better understanding of the disclosure box, or, the actual credit card offer, you’ll need to better understand the actual terms involved. Before we go further, it may help if you click on picture above and leave it open, so you can refer to it as we go over each of the terms and condition.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for Purchases: This is the annual rate you’ll be charged if you carry a balance from month to month. In a credit card offer with an introductory rate, this is where you’ll also see it listed. For our example, the APR for purchases is 9.99%.

Other APRs: This is where other annual percentage rates for other types of transaction are listed. Take our example, it’s balance transfer APR is 9.99% and it’s special opening cash advance is also 9.99%; however, it’s regular cash advance is 19.99%–a hefty interest rate. The delinquency APR is an even higher 23.99%.

Variable-Rate Information: In this box, you’ll see how your variable rate is determined. Generally, the purchases APR will be a variable rate, such as 3% + the Prime Rate, while the balance transfer APR will be a fixed rate. There’s generally also a footnote with an explanation on how prime rate is determined—usually by the highest prime rate published in The Wall Street Journal on the last business day of the month.

In our “Best Credit Card Offer” example, ALL the rates (purchase, cash advance, and balance transfer) are variable! Through your February 2007 cycle, the rates are 1.99% + prime rate, but it will never be lower than 9.99%, even if the prime rate is at a miraculous 1.00%. After 2/07, the rates will increase to a 4.99% + prime rate. Yay! The Prime Rate for our example is also determined a bit differently, but it is still based upon the WSJ.

Grace Period for Purchases: This is the amount of days you have to pay your bill in full before incurring finance charges. It’s 25 days in our example, which means if you start the current billing cycle without a balance, and you bought a brand new Ionic Breeze Air Purifier (for the awesome price of $399) you’ll have 25 days to pay off the charge before interest starts to accrue. Grace period rocks! You should also note that grace period usually applies only to purchases, and not to balance transfer or cash advance, which accumulates interest right away!

Balance Calculation Method: This box will determine how you get screwed over. Specifically, this is the method in which interest on balance are calculated. Similar to our example, most cards these days are calculated by the average daily balance method including new purchases. There are other types of method, such as the funky two-cycle average daily balance method; the better (but rarely seen) average daily balance method excluding new purchases; the adjusted balance method and the previous balance method.

Annual Fees: Straight forward enough. The annual fees associated with the card. They can either be none, like our example and many other credit cards, or $75 to $100, like many airline mileage credit cards. For your benefit, you should probably go with a card without an annual fee, unless you really do take advantage of a card’s benefit.

Minimum Finance Charge: This is the funny box, where they state the minimum amount of finance charge you’ll receive if you carry over a balance. Example, if you carry over a balance of $0.20, you’ll receive the finance charge of $1.00, even though actual interest on that balance is only about $0.02.

Specific Transaction Fees: Most credit cards will have a section that explains the fees associated with a certain type of transaction (e.g., cash advance, balance transfer). In our lovely example, the fees for cash advance and balance transfer is 3% of the amount of each cash advance, but not less than $5 nor more than $50 (fee waived for transaction in connection with accounting opening). This means that if you initiate a balance transfer of $5,000 after you opened the account, the balance transfer fees would be $50. 3% of $5,000 = $150, but fees won’t exceed $50 as stated in the terms. Watch out for credit card offers with high maximum fees, or NO maximum fees!

Late Payment Fee & Overlimit Fee: This is rather self explanatory. According to our example, if you pay late because you’re busy watching Battlestar Galactica, you get a nice $35 late fee. If you went over your limit because you’re horrible at arithmetic, you also get an awesome $35 overlimit fee.

II. Footnotes That You Really Should Read

What’s a credit card offer without asterisk and footnotes? Some of the most important terms and condition are within the vary footnotes of the card’s terms and condition. The very solicitation itself requires a footnote, as many Pre-approved offers are rather like a craps shot. Example of footnotes below:

Here are some more important terms that you should look out for:

Other Fees: Yes, more of them. Return Check Fee, Returned Payment Fee, Stop Payment Fee, Copy Fee, you name it, they probably have it. For our specific “Best Credit Card Offer,” if you pay off your balance transfer early, there’s a cool Early Pay-Down Fee of $600! Before you apply for a credit card, you should always check for all types of possible fees associated with the usage of the card.

Pre-Qualified Status: In these explanation footnotes, the terms spell out exactly what it means to be Pre-qualified for an offer. Usually, a credit card company receives information about you from a credit reporting agency—based on that information, the card company has determined that you may qualify for the credit card offered. Problem is, the information they received from the credit reporting agency may be out of date, or your credit history may have changed since, which might result in your credit application being denied. Just because they say you’re Pre-approved or Pre-qualified, doesn’t really mean you are!

Cash Advance Definition: Some credit card offers will specifically lay out what a cash advance is. Cash advance is the most expensive type of credit card transaction, as most cash advance have no grace period—the interest starts accumulating the second you initiate the transaction! In our example, cash advance is basically any transactions that are directly converted to cash. This includes purchase of gaming chip and gaming transaction! So the next time you’re thinking of using your credit card to pay for your chips at the casino, you better make sure your credit card doesn’t consider that as a cash advance.

Delinquency/Default APR: This is the fixed, foobar rate. It is usually the highest rate within a credit card terms. If you pay your credit card late too many times, you may be in danger of having your rates changed to the default (penalty) rate. Most credit cards offer will explain the default APR more clearly when you’re actually approved, however our pre-qualified offer here actually spells it out quite nicely. Basically, if you pay in two consecutive months, or two times in any six months period, you get hit with the default APR. To get out of the high APR, you simply need to make six consecutive timely payments.

III. Other Things That You Really Should Know

Credit Limit: Although usually not mentioned specifically in a credit card offer, the credit limit of a credit card determines the maximum amount you may charge on your credit card. This includes regular purchases, balance transfers, cash advance, fees and finance charges. If you go over this limit, well, you know what happens.

Cash Limit: The cash limit is the maximum amount you can utilize of cash advance. This is generally a specific dollar amount (such as $1,000) or a percentage of your total credit limit (e.g., 50% of your credit limit).

Type of Credit Card: Are you applying for a secured credit card or a regular, non-secured credit card? There’s a big difference here. Secured credit cards are generally for those with poor or no-credit, requiring a security deposit to open an account. Generally, the larger the security deposit you make, the larger your credit limit. Non-secure credit cards are of course the ones that do not require a security deposit; these are the regular cards that you see most of the time.

IV. Is That All You’ll Need To Know?

You wish. This is a brief glimpse into the basic terms and condition that you’ll find on a credit card offer. When you actually apply for the card and you’re approved, the real terms and condition sent to you can be an even more confusing read.

Still, the gist of things and the important terms you should know about are all above. Because credit card terms and condition are always changing (and usually not in your favor), you should definitely pay attention to the modified terms and condition sent to you by your credit card companies. After all, it would be awfully silly to pay for fees that you didn’t even know existed.

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This post "HOWTO: Understand Credit Card Terms & Conditions" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

If the information was the product, and distribution of these info is part of the service, then it’s a good thing the entire U.S. government isn’t a business—because they’ll totally get outcompete. And out of business. And bankrupted. Really bankrupted.

Uh, so regardless of the government’s acutal financial situation, they’re still a great source for financial information. Seriously.

Say Hi to Mymoney.gov

Brought to you by the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Comission, Mymoney.gov is a big o’ index site that points you towards various information on finances from many different U.S. government agencies and departments. Topics indexed ranges from bugeting, taxes, home ownership, to savings and investing. It’s basically an attempt to gather up all those useful information that you can’t find.

While visiting the site, you will notice that you can order a FREE “My Money” Tool Kit, a package of helpful publications dealing with savings, investing, protecting and getting the most from your money. Since I love free stuff, I ordered one.

The “My Money” Tool Kit

Let’s see what this package from Uncle Sam consist of, eh?

Brouchers and leaflets on personal finances. Yawn?

That was my first impression when I received the package a few months ago. After actually reading the materials, I realized that there are plenty of useful information within these booklets—albeit the small packages they came in. I’ve also found their ebook counterparts in pdf formats, so feel free to download them.

Here are some noteworthy ones in the package:

Saving Fitness: A Guide to Your Money and Your Financial Future [download] 3.12 Mb

Provided by the Department of Labor, and partnered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc., this 16 page booklet discusses basic steps to take for a healthy financial picture, with an emphasis on retirement planning.

Social Security: Understanding the Benefits [download] 902 Kb

Nevermind that it may not even be there in a couple of years from now—-it’s still important to learn about Social Security. Brought to you by the Social Security Administration (dur), this 24 page booklet provides a good basic understanding on Social Security: how to apply, qualify, and types of benefits provided. A useful read.

Get the Facts on Saving and Investing [download] 5.7 Mb

From the US Securities and Exchange Comission (where else?), this 34 page booklet gives you a quick lowdown on the differences and importances of saving and investing. Emphasis on investing, covers some basic types of investment and things to consider when choosing to invest. A nice read with plenty of good information.

Ten Questions to Ask When Choosing a Financial Planner [download] 347 Kb

Here’s a recommended read. A straight-forward 14 page broucher from the Certified Financial Planners on 10 questions you should ask when you look for a financial planner—an important decision that should be accompanied by important questions.

The following weren’t in the package but they’re worth a mention:

Taking Control of Your Finances [download] 1.31 Mb

From the FDIC, this 12 page guide is geared towards young adults, with useful advice such as “Don’t get a credit card just so you can get a free t-shirt.”

66 Ways To Save Money [download] 79 Kb

From the Consumer Literacy Consortium (whatever that is). Straight forward and diverse in its applications; from insurance to housing, there are quite a few practical tips in there.

Noteworthy Sites Indexed on Mymoney.gov

All in all, the “My Money” Tool Kit was pretty decent, even if they just threw in a bunch of different booklets from different agencies. You can order your own free kit here. The free package isn’t all that Mymoney.gov has to offer—the real goods are the indexed sites:

• FTC’s website on Credit – Everything you should know about consumer credits.
• The Fed on Choosing a Credit Card – A VERY good read on things to consider when choosing a credit card. Was going to write an post just like this one, but why bother when the Fed’s got it covered!
• US Treasury on Identity Theft – A pretty nice, if not well organized page with plenty of information on identity theft. Do’s and don’ts, what to do to prevent, and what to do if you are a victim of identity theft.
• FTC’s website on Identity Theft – Another resource on identity theft from the boys that receive the complaints. Much better organized and an easier read.
• SEC Guide on Avoiding Securities Fraud – A very nice index guide on the many, many different types of securities frauds you should watch for when investing.
• Department of Housing on Buying a Home – Nine steps to buying a home. The steps are pretty watered down, but there are plenty of links to many other resources.
• FTC on HELOCs – A good page that describes home equity line of credits and the important questions that you should ask yourself before applying for one.
• US Treasury on IRA (476 KB, PDF) – A 104 page publication on everything you want and don’t want to know about Individual Retirement Accounts.
• Step-by-Step Retirement Planner – Straight from the fun folks at the Social Security Administration, a good guide on steps to take when you’re near retirement (focuses on social security).

Actually Read Everything?

If you’ve seriously, and I mean seriously read through all those information above—I will guaranteed that you would have learned a bit more about finances. The next time you’re looking for general financial information, check out Mymoney.gov or a do a search on Consumer.gov, you may be plesantly surprise on what you tax dollars can produce.

This post "HOWTO: Let the Government Teach You About Money" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

The real question, though, isn’t “Should I consolidate?” It’s “Who Should I choose?”

The easy answer: your current lender. You’ve chosen your current lender for a reason, there’s no reason to complicate things further by going with a different lender. However, the problem with the easy answer is, you may have chosen the wrong lender in the first place, or, get this—there may be better lenders out there.

FACT: The only differences between federal student loan consolidation lenders are: Lender Repayment Incentives and Lender Service. Don’t underestimate their importance.

If you currently have a federal student loan for yourself or your child, you’ve no doubt received many solicitation from different lenders to get you to consolidate your loans to them. Many of these will tout some type incentive programs. Common repayment incentives are along the lines of reduction off in interest rate, after a certain amount of timely repayment.

Example: After 36 months of consecutive [timely] payment on your 10 year loan, you receive a 1% discount from your loan.

This typical type of lender incentive sounds great enough, but the problem is, many borrowers fail to qualify for the incentive program. Many of these incentive offers require timely monthly payment, so if you miss a payment deadline before reaching the required payment term, you won’t receive the rate deduction bonus. The same applies if you miss a payment deadline after earning your bonus.

In comes a different type of incentive program: immediate interest rate deduction if you sign up for auto debit, with additional deduction after consecutive payment.

Example: You receive a 0.5% interest rate deduction if you sign up to have your monthly loan payments automatically withdrawn from your checking account. Plus, after 24 months of consecutive on-time payment, you receive an additional 1.25% deduction in your interest rate.

A much nicer incentive, right? The above example is from ELC, which unfortunately has a minimum of $20,000 for their 1.25% deduction. If you only have a $10,000 loan, you’re out of luck on the additional interest deduction. Thus, it’s important to compare the offers and figure out which programs you can actually qualify.

As mentioned above, the second difference amidst the sea of lenders are lender services. Even if the incentive program is the best in the world, if the lender has a spotty track record for customer service, you may be doing yourself a disservice by signing up. What happens if you wish to defer your payment? If you call to ask about that, or a general inquiry on your loan, will they respond in a timely matter? For those of us with a low loan amount, lender service may not be a big deal—but for those of us that are in it for the long haul, you’ll want approachable service.

Remember, you can only consolidate once. So if you choose the wrong lender to go with, you’ll be stuck with them untill you pay off your student loan for that private liberal arts university.

Important questions to ask when you’re choosing your lender:

• What is the repayment incentive?
• Is there a waiting period for the incentive? Do I have to earn it?
• What happens if I miss a payment?
• What happens if I request a deferment?
• How many of the borrowers actually receive the incentive?
• Is the lender knowledgeable and experienced?
• What is the credibility? Does your school support or recommend the lender?
• How is the accessibility?
Are there online account access? A 24/7 customer service number? If you call them, will they give you information tailor to you, or will they give you some generic scripted response?
• How is their long-term commitment? Does the lender have a history of selling consolidated loan?
The worse part in owing money, is when your lender disappears and some other company buys out your loan; suddenly you owe money to someone else.

If you can’t figure out some of these answers with the information provided to you, ask the lenders. This is a great way to gauge their service. If a customer service rep is having a hard time, or trying very little to help you understand their program, it may be a good cue to stay away. If they’re being such a hassle when you’re trying to give them money, imagine when you already owe them the money!

Again, the question to ask isn’t “Should I consolidate?” It’s “Who should I choose?”

Related Links and Resources

• Bank Sweeten Student-Loan Terms from the WSJ
• Student Loan Consolidation Info from FinAid.org
• Best Student Loan Consolidation Deals from Fatwallet Finance Forum. Great thread with a list of various different lenders, their incentive programs and some first-hand customer service experiences.

This post "HOWTO: Choose a Student Loan Consolidation Lender" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

So some tips from the WSJ:

1. Gas prices changes as much by 20% within blocks (dur), check around for cheaper prices, try out sites like GasBuddy.com.
2. Don’t top off your tank—overfilling is bad for the enviornment and you may pay for gas that won’t make it into your tank.
3. When the pump automatically shuts off, turn the handle upside down 180 degree to release the small amount left from the pump to make sure you get all the gas you’re paying for.
4. Shop for gas during coolest time of the day, when gas is at its densest, so you get more for your money.

The quick snippet from WSJ points you towards this free eBook from LuLu.com on 62 Ways to Save at the Pump. Flipping through the guide, I found that I know most of them, but there are a few little things that are new to me.

If you don’t feel like going through the super-quick registration (email & choose pass), you can download the free guide straight from my site here (440 KB PDF). A recommended read, because there are also some basic car care tips in there that will save you even more money.

Before I end, here’s one final very applicable tip, because I KNOW a lot of people do this:

Do NOT use your car as a storage or closet! You don’t need to haul around your house in your car. Removing excessive weight will save you fuel. Do you drive around with your wardrobe? Your second garage? According to FuelEconomy.gov, an extra 100 pounds off the car equates to 1-2% in fuel economy savings, which translate to $0.03 – $0.06 cents at the pump, which doesn’t sound like a big deal, but we sure as hell flip out when gas changes by a few cents at the pump.

This post "HOWTO: Save Money at the Pump (Free eBook)" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

I got a hit with a $39.00 late fee, for paying my Citi Dividend card late. In today’s multiple-payment option age, paying your bill late is really silly—especially when you have the money. Although it was my fault for paying late, I still don’t like fees. So… what’s the best way to get rid of them?

Just ask!

My prefer method of contacting banks for non-emergency needs is via the Internet. For me, I get better results when I write, since I’ll come off as less of an idiot, and my words can be more neutral.

Contacting Citi Bank’s “Online Customer Care Specialist” is easy enough. Login to your account, look for Help/Contact Us on the far right, select Contact Us, and then click on Send A New Message. Select the message topic and type away.

I typed up a short message, which basically told them the real reason why I paid late (I forgot), how it was my first time ever paying late, and I ended the message with a request for the fee to be waived. The result?

Kudos to Citi’s online customer service for their fast response:

The late fee refund was posted immediately. Woot!

Your results will of course vary. If you frequently pay your credit card late, you can only get these fees waive so many times. The best bet is to ask nicely, give them at least a good reason, and remind them that you’re a loyal customer (or will be one). If you get denied, don’t fret—just chill out and try again by phone. Remember that different customer service representative will yield different results, so you can always try calling a few more times.

Easiest way to avoid all the hassles? Don’t be like me, pay your bills on time!

Related Post:

• How to Get Rid of NSF Fees? Just Ask!

This post "HOWTO: Get Rid of Late Fees? Just Ask!" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

“Going to the postal office? No need, just come visit my den.”

“Hey wait, come back! I’m talking about PC Postage!”

If you handle a lot of mail through the postal office, you should definitely consider the convenience of PC postage, especially for certain businesses such as doctor and lawyer offices (your staff will thank you). Whether you’re an avid eBayer or you sell the occasional trinkets or two through online auction sites such as Craiglist, Amazon, or Half.com—being able to print out postage via the comforts of your home or office, is indeed sexy.

Of course, all good things in life comes with a fee, and PC postage services are no exception. Selecting the service to go with will depend on your shipping volume and needs. Here are some choices:

Click-N-Ship from USPS

The fairly straight forward click and ship from USPS. You may have seen their advertisement. Simply register and select the service you wish to use. You can pay for the postage directly online via your credit cards. You can also request for free shipping supplies for certain services from USPS.

Pros: No service charge. No software needed. Free shipping supply.

Cons: Limited to select services, such as Priority Mail and Express Mail, which are expensive.

Endicia from Envelope Manager Software

My service of choice for wannabe mass mailer. $9.95 or $15.95 per month. You can prepay a year to receive some discount, I pay an annual $99.95 fee for the standard service. The Premium service comes with a nifty “stealth” mode, where you can hide the actual postage amount on the mailing label. This way, you can rip people off on handling fee without worrying about repercussion. Just kidding! But seriously, mailing packages can add up in cost. The DAZzle software can be complicated to use at first, but it’s fairly flexible and allows for a good range of customization for your mailing labels.

Pros: Covers all USPS services. Fairly flexible software with good postage log. Good customer service. Stealth mode. Simple electronic refund.

Cons: Software can be difficult to use. Hassle conventional refund. Service fee can add up.

Stamps.com from uh, Stamps.com

I tried Stamps.com briefly before. One of its main draw is the ability to print out actual 39 cents stamps, very neat. Its PhotoStamp service has a certain novel attraction, great for special occasions. It’s software is straight forward to use, and its initial package comes with a free digital scale and free postage. The drawback would have to be it’s monthly fee of $15.99, which can definitely add up through time. They also offer a special service tailored especially for legal offices.

Pros: Covers all USPS services. Easy to use software, okay customer service. Initial Free Trial comes with many bonuses.

Cons: Monthly fee adds up, software isn’t as flexible to customization.

PayPal Shipping from eBay

Using this service will of course, require you to use eBay and/or PayPal for the transaction. There’s no monthly fee, as the cost of service is added to each label you print, with amounts varying depending on services (around $0.10 per label). PayPal shipping is handy to use for those that don’t ship enough volume to warrant dedicate service such as Endicia or Stamps.com. Although, if you’re shipping via a service such as Priority Mail, you should just use USPS’s Click-N-Ship to save on PayPal’s $0.10 surcharge.

Pros: No monthly fee. Fairly easy to use.

Cons: Requires eBay and/or PayPal. Surcharges can add-up. Limited service option and customization.

There is another service call Shipstream Manager from Pitney Bowes which I haven’t tried yet. Their service is heavily oriented towards small and medium business that handles large quantities of packages. The monthly fee is $18.99.

Besides all the stuff mentioned, PC postage have other benefits such as: reduced delivery confirmation fees, better package organizations, increase professionalism in packages, and reduction in address labeling errors.

The simple low down is, if you mail a lot of crap and you hate standing in line at the postal office, you should definitely services such as PC postage. Click, print, drop off and run away.

This post "HOW TO: Print Postage Online" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

Remember that IVR Cheat Sheet from awhile back? Well the handy database (on how to reach a live operator) can now be found at gethuman.com.

So I had to cancel a pre-order from BestBuy.com today. After spending over 8 minutes fiddling through the menu of Best Buy’s “Customer Care” phone system, I gave up trying to reach a live operator. This is when I remembered the IVR cheat sheet.

A quick Google search brought me to gethuman.com, and a quick scroll-down lead me to the direct-to-human telephone number for Best Buy (800‑591‑3126).

One and a half minute later, my order was cancelled without a hassle. Woot!

Gethuman.com is definitely worth a bookmark.

Funny thing, the Best Buy rep was wondering how I got the number.

“Were you transfered here from a supervisor?” asked the Best Buy CSR.

“Ah, I’m not sure how I got transfered here.”

*tehee*

_________

1. For the win

This post "GetHuman.com, FTW¹" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

Cap: Sorry sorry, I couldn’t help it. I know how you feel, Viagra Blog. *giggles*

Viagra Blog: Look, you brought me out here in the middle of nowhere for a reason right? Don’t tell me you’re—

Cap: No. No way. Heck no. I’m only 23, dammit. Anyway, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.

Cap: Viagra Blog, meet Spam Karma.

Spam Karma: Hellooo there, sexy.

. . .

I get a lot spam, believe it or not. Like out of the wazoo. You’d think a blog without any content, depth, and value – would have no trouble with spam, but alas, this isn’t fantasy land. It’s the Internet.

Ever since I switched from Blogger to WordPress, and got my own domain – I’ve been spammed to death. Manually deleting them is tiring. If they were good o’ spam like pornographic materials, I wouldn’t care. But they’re boring spams about Viagra, and OEM software. I hate it.

So instead of figuring out a solution, I complained to another person. Namely, Jim from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.

The exchange went something like this (or not):

Cap: Jim, I can’t give you more power to the shields. These spams are killing me.

Jim: STFU and download Spam Karma.

And that was that. Life got better, my cholesterol level went down and I became one happy camper. So if you have a WordPress blog and you’re besieged by spam, download and install Spam Karma! Afterwards you can dance the night away!

This post "Viagra Blog, Meet Spam Karma" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

No?

Okay, ever felt like you got rip off?

According to some survey that I’m making up, the auto repair industry has some of the lowest customer satisfaction rating. The next lowest rating would be the bakery industry, whereas consumers complain that there aren’t enough bakeries located in the US.

Finding a trustworthy auto repair shop is difficult, but not impossible!

When the brake booster in my sister’s car failed, it took numerous trip to different repair shop for me to realized that most shops in my area are run by shady people. Most of the shops couldn’t diagnose the problem properly, even though the symptoms were clear. (Hissing noise from vacuum leak around booster area, no press from brake pedal, etc.)

So I went to AAA’s website and searched for some AAA approved auto repair shop in the area. To narrow the list down some more, I selected those that are ASE certified for brake repair, and those that have had high customer satisfaction rating. This is another reason why AAA membership is worth it for me. Plus I got 10% off the repair cost!

I eventually found Herman’s Expert Automotive, located in Anaheim, California. They diganoised and fixed the problem without an issue – and at a fair price.

What I really like about their website is that it contains 10 very helpful tips on how to avoid auto repair rip offs.

Here are a couple that I think are important:

2. Preventive maintenance. Know and be responsible for the recommended maintenance guidelines for your car or truck (most cars and trucks require changing the oil and filter every six months or 5000 miles, whichever comes first, and lubrication once a year, or 10,000 miles–but check your car’s manual to be sure). The more you know about your car, the harder it will be to cheat you. Even basics can be helpful. We had one young woman client who pulled her Volkswagen Bug into a gas station repair shop. When the attendant asked her to pull up the hood, she knew she was in the wrong place! (in case you haven’t owned a Bug, the engine is in the back of the car, not under the hood).

3. Always bring your car in for a general inspection before going on a road trip. Don’t let yourself get into a situation where you can be taken advantage of. We had one customer’s car break down while crossing the desert in Needles, California. He was told his block was cracked, and that he should leave the car there to be junked. He towed it to us instead, and the repairs were under $200.

4. When in doubt, get a second opinion. We’ll say it again: When in doubt, get a second opinion. It will be worth the extra time in the long run, especially with a new mechanic. Call other garages for estimates before authorizing repairs. If your car is disabled and you don’t trust the diagnosis or estimate, it’s worth the extra hassle to tow it to another shop if need be.

7. Never say, “Do whatever you think it needs.” If you are bringing your car in for a 50,000 mile service, for example, read your car’s owners manual and make a list of exactly what needs to be done.

Once again, don’t forget to check out the entire list of 10 tips!

This post "HOWTO: Avoid Auto Repair Rip Offs" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.

I really, really didn’t feel like paying for a $19 insufficient fund fee, even though its my fault. So I decided to email Bank of America and ask them to waive the fee. I kept the email as short as possible. I asked if they could waive the fee, that I believe it was my first instance of insufficient fund, explained to them the fraudulent charge issue, and asked politely again if they could waive the fee. Five points for Bank of America’s customer service with the fast reply (within 6 hours):

The $19 credit posted the next day without issue. Thanks Craig!

As mentioned before by Ramit Sethi from IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com, customer acquisition cost is pricey. This fact is even more evident today, as banks are now constantly offering account sign-up bonuses. So if something doesn’t go the way you want, just ask them to fix it! Most banks would rather keep you as a customer than squabble over a fee or two.

Welcome to the age of relationship marketing — where even though the customer isn’t always right, most companies will still try their best (pretending you’re right) to retain you as their customer.

A few years ago I would have just ignored the fee. Thanks to the many PF blogs out there that changed my mindset!

This post "HOW TO: Get Rid of NSF Fees? Just ask!" is from StopBuyingCrap.com.