My New Choice

The banking industry has undergone numerous changes over the years making it important for consumers to stay abreast of changes to manage their accounts well.

The consequences of making mistakes while managing your checking account can not only be embarrassing in the case of returned checks but also very costly.

Banks have been criticized for charging excessive penalty fees as well as failing to conspicuously disclose important information for various accounts. Wasting money on fees and penalties is not necessary and can be avoided by practicing the following tips.

• Find the right bank. Not all banks are created equal. Each institution has unique accounts, terms and policies making some better than others. Take the time to compare banks – both local branches and virtual banks which operate online. Understand your own banking needs and spending habits to find a bank and account that is best suited for your personal habits.

• Play by the rules. Before you open an account, carefully read the terms and conditions as well as individual policies to ensure you know how to manage your account. By becoming familiar with these rules you are in a better position to actually manage your account accordingly. Just because the banks don’t always draw attention to their policies, it is your responsibility to seek out this information and follow the rules to avoid mistakes which can lead to fees and loss of money that could be used elsewhere in your budget. Specifically you should understand policies regarding how long your bank will hold deposits, how your bank handles an overdrawn account and what protection is offered in the event of fraudulent use of your account.

• Track all transactions. The key to managing your checking account is simply paying attention and tracking all transactions. This may become increasingly difficult in an era where consumers frequently use debit cards for day-to-day transactions as well as electronic deposits and payments. It is imperative that each and every check, debit card purchase, electronic payment, automatic payment and deposit is logged in your check register.

• Take advantage of online features. Most banks today offer customers the option of managing their account online. This can include online bill pay, transferring money between various accounts or simply logging on to balance your check book. The advantage of routinely checking your account online is the opportunity to spot and in some cases correct errors before they result in an overdrawn account.

• Money management tools. Another benefit offered by technology is the ability to sign up for free money management tools via the Internet. There are dozens of websites that help consumers create a budget, track spending and many even link to your bank account and other accounts to automatically update financial information. This can be very useful for people who juggle several credit card, savings, investment and other accounts by providing a “one stop shop” to manage their accounts.

More consumers are paying attention to their personal finances and the need to carefully manage various accounts to save money. Debt reduction, building savings and establishing long term financial security begins with making the best use of each and every dollar available. Checking accounts are not a new concept however the way in which you manage your checking account has certainly changed from just a few years ago.

Advances in technology not only make it easier to manage your account but also easier for mistakes to be made by both consumers and banking institutions. Avoid paying costly fees and penalties and protect your hard earned cash by implementing these tips to manage your account with ease.

Trisha Wagner is a freelance writer for DepositAccounts.com, where you can compare rates of checking accountsfrom dozens of banks in one place. Trisha writes regularly on the topics of personal finance and savings accounts.

The falling dollar and rising prices has left many people tightening their financial belts to the limit, in some cases even facing the need to borrow money to pay existing debts (certainly not a recommended practice).

More and more people are finding it difficult to pay their bills and are faced with credit scores that are declining due to delinquent payments.

The downward slope of a declining credit score is a slippery one and many people feel helpless when they find themselves in this situation.

Credit Repair Service

When faced with a stack of mounting bills and a diminishing pile of money, some people throw up their hands and hope the situation will magically get better. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Instead they find their credit score has gone down the drain.

By monitoring your credit report on a consistent basis, you will be able to detect any problems early on and take steps to correct the problems. There will be occasions where the blemishes on your credit report are due to your financial mistakes, although there are also instances where the credit report contains inaccurate information.

This is where a credit repair service, such as Ovation Credit Report Repair, step in to help people clean up their credit reports.

As you might imagine, there are plenty of “fly by night” operations that don’t have your best interests in mind. Be careful when selecting a credit repair service and look for a company that offers things such as a free consultation, no upfront costs, and no long term contracts.

Educate Yourself

The credit repair services are great for people that don’t want to take the time to educate themselves about their options. Given that you are here reading this, I’m going to assume that you are not in that category as you are obviously making an effort to educate yourself.

That is where Ovation Credit Report Repair sets themselves apart from many of the companies in this industry, as they provide a wealth of free knowledge in their Learning Center. You’ll find things such as: e-books, videos, and podcasts. They also have something called Credipedia, which is their Credit 101 encyclopedia of all things credit.

By taking time to educate yourself regarding the options available to you, the process to dispute inaccurate items on your credit report, and your finances in general, you can most likely avoid having to pay for the services of a credit report repair company. If you’re still unsure, or intimidated, of the process then it might be worthwhile to have a free consultation with a service such as Ovation.

In most cases, you will be able to handle your credit repair on your own if you are willing to commit to the work that will be required. Whether you ultimately decide on using a credit report repair service or not, just be sure that you are making an educated decision and not jumping in blindly.

Disclaimer
This post has been a paid review and contains my thoughts on the positive and negative aspects of the site or service in question. With the intent of providing information that is valuable to my readers, if you object to this post please let me know.

While it is no doubt more convenient for consumers to rely on credit cards than use cash for all of their purchases, it may not be the same for those people who are in professions that rely heavily on cash tips.

In the days of old, it was possible for many waiters, cab drivers, attendants, porters, bell boys, doorman, performers, and other such “tipped” workers to live off of the cash tips they earned on the job. Many were able to keep the cash tips unreported as income as there was no paper trails to prove otherwise. Additionally, it was a nice benefit to having instant access to cash before payday rolled around.

However, there are more and more people carrying credit cards than cash for safety or convenience reasons and it is affecting the incomes of those who accept tips. There is now a very obvious paper trail when credit card tips are involved, which employees must report to the IRS as part of their income. As many patrons are now prone to paying their bills and adding the gratuity onto their total bill, waiters and other workers no longer get to keep tips outright on a daily basis.

There seems to be one advantage of customers using credit cards to pay for meals and such. It seems that consumers who add a tip to their total bill typically will give a higher tip than those laying cash directly on the table. Perhaps it is psychological: Simply writing down a number to many is different from having to count out and leave actual dollars.

Not only are waiters and other customer oriented staff effected by a so-called “cashless” society, but others who count on cash donations are also seeing a slowdown. For instance, musicians or charity groups, such as the street corner Santa’s, have in the past been able to make a decent day’s take from appearing or performing on a public street. However, since less people are carrying around actual cash in their pockets, less money is being tossed into the hats and collection baskets of those soliciting donations.

While a future life without cash is unlikely, at least in the approaching few years, it may actually become a necessity for business people such as cab drivers and yard sale entrepreneurs to be able to accept credit cards or face lost income. Many charities and groups who thrive on donations have reported to see an increase in online transactions despite the fact they are seeing less actual cash donations. Consider places you visit regularly and note that if money is changing hands there is probably a credit card sign on the door.

Overall, technology is making it easier to become a cashless society and having at least one credit card on hand can help protect you from fraud when making purchases, unlike regular bank debit cards. If you plan to use a credit card the next time you visit a hotel or dine out at a restaurant, throw a few extra bucks into your wallet for the wait staff. They’ll appreciate your effort.

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Tisha Kulak is a writer for Creditorweb.com, where she writes about credit card offers, finances, credit cards, and responsible credit card use.

Online shopping has revolutionized the way we shop.

We sit in the comfort of our own homes and survey different brands of the same item, check and compare prices, read user reviews and decide what it is that suits our own needs best.

There are a lot of benefits when you shop online, including:

Better Access

Searching for products is easier online, you can more easily access items and while something may have run out of stock at a particular store, you can still see it online! You don’t have to wait for the store to open; you can shop on holidays too!

Another huge plus of shopping online, is not having to battle the hordes: crowds can be a real nuisance when you are out shopping, they slow you down and prevent you accessing the good deals. This is especially true when you are doing last minute holiday shopping and everyone else has the same idea!

Save Time, Save On Gas

You also save a lot of time when you shop from home, because you don’t have to waste time traveling to the store. As an added bonus, with the price of gasoline continuing to rise, you also save money on gas since you don’t have to drive to the store.

Save Money

The reason that shopping online can be cheaper is because it cuts out the overhead of running a store: rent, electricity and utility bills, paychecks for employees, maintenance costs etc. The seller can therefore afford to sell you an item at a cheaper rate. Also online coupons can save you a lot of money.

Sending Gifts Is A Snap

One great advantage of shopping online is being able to send gifts to people with minimum fuss, even if they live in a different city or even a different continent!

Say you want to send a gift to your dad for Father’s day (it’s coming up on June 15th so there isn’t much time left), but he lives in a different city. Hop online and search for something he might like, once you find the right gift you can have it delivered directly to his doorstep on the correct day, without ever leaving the comfort of your computer chair!

Pre-Owned Items

Another huge benefit of shopping online is the access it provides to pre-owned items, both as a buyer and a seller.

As a buyer, you can often save a considerable amount of money by finding pre-owned items for sale online. Just like buying a used car, you can often find items that are still in great condition that the current owner no longer wants because something better came along.

You also have an opportunity to turn around and sell your own items online. Just like you might be online looking to buy someone’s pre-owned items, there are people looking to buy your old items. This can be a great source of additional income, some people have even turned it into a profession.

Buyer Feedback

Consumer message boards and forums have made manufacturers more quality conscious and accountable. Being able to read user comments on any particular product comes in extremely handy when you are trying to make up your mind about what to buy. You have the benefit of other people’s experience, either good or bad with a product.

These are just some of the reasons why online shopping has become as popular as it has.

How has shopping online changed the way you shop?

For those of you that are planning a getaway this spring or summer, I am going to talk a little bit about the dos and don’ts of travel to help save ourselves some money and some hassle.

Check All Options

When you do your booking, especially for air tickets, check all the possible ticketing sites and compare the offers that each one has so you can pick the lowest one or the one that suits you best in terms of travel date, time, kind of carrier etc.

A lot of you may be aware that you get better deal on weekdays rather than weekends. Also there is this site which claims to do all the hard work for you by comparing a combined total of 500 travel sites and some 600 airlines to find you the cheapest deals, so you may want to check that one out.

Having said this, don’t ignore the option of visiting a travel agent completely, because the internet may not always be the cheapest place to buy. Sometimes sitting across from someone who will plan out and book your itinerary makes more sense. What travel agents can sometimes do is give you the benefit of bulk booking.

Check Yahoo Message Boards

Message boards are a great place to find out what travel deals people are talking about, what bad experiences they have had so that you know what or where to avoid and you may find some links to pages that you may have been looking for!

Last Minute Deals

Sometimes waiting till the last moment can get you the best possible deal, because hotel rooms can go on ’sale’ too! The only problem with waiting for the last minute deals is that you run the risk of not finding any deals and having to pay a price that might be higher than had you planned ahead.

This approach can work well if you have some flexibility in your schedule.

Flying is Cheaper Than Driving

I love driving, but on a long distance trip flying is usually cheaper and obviously a time saver as well. If you notice, fuel prices these days are just sky-rocketing so filling your tank keeps costing more and more, whereas air ticket prices have not increased that much. And if you are flying, remember a round trip is cheaper than a one-way ticket.

If you are driving and opt for a rental car, remember that most of the time you may not require travel insurance because your current car insurance policy may cover you, just be sure to check with your insurance agent. If not, you can pay by credit card as many cards now offer coverage when renting a car.

Tips Traveling With Kids

Notice how excited a kid is at the thought of taking a trip, but once you are on your way that same cheerful, excited kid becomes whiny, bad tempered and perilously close to a tantrum?

First make sure the child has plenty to keep him or herself occupied. Toys, books, puzzles, some favorite music etc. I found this very useful and comprehensive list, full of suggestions for babies and older kids.

When you sense that your child’s about to lose it, divert him or her. Distract them with a game, engage them in some activity such as looking for something that isn’t really lost, or even read out a favorite story. These are good to keep in mind because a happy child is the difference between a good holiday and awful one!

If you are tallying up your expenses every month, you may be shocked at how much you are spending on groceries.

Obviously, groceries aren’t a luxury you can do without and perhaps that is why so many of us are lenient with our grocery budget.

However, there are many ways to reduce this monthly expense.

Here are 12 simple ways to save money on groceries:

1. Buy a few Sunday papers each week and clip coupons. However, you should only save coupons of items you really enjoy. Never buy something solely because it is on sale.
2. Before you go to the store, carefully plan a sensible list. Do not stray from the list once you are in the store, no matter what is dangled in front of you in the checkout line.
3. Always buy at least a week’s worth of groceries. The more trips you take to the store, the more you risk “impulse buying.”
4. Always shop on a full stomach. You will likely buy more food when you are hungry.
5. Where applicable, you should opt for poultry instead of the much pricier red meat.
6. If possible, go to the store without your children. They have a tendency to help you fill the shopping cart.
7. Don’t be a name brand snob. Generic store brands are often just as good and will save you a lot of money in the long run.
8. Foods like pasta, rice and beans are filling and inexpensive. They make good staples in a frugal diet.
9. Items with the highest markup are often placed at chest and eye level. Don’t forget to check out foods that are stored lower on the shelves, as they may offer the best deals.
10. Shop early in the morning or late at night to avoid crowds. The faster you zip through the store, the less likely you are to stray from your list.
11. Watch your cashier ring up your items and then carefully review your receipt. Mistakes are more common than you realize and they will cost you unnecessary expenses.
12. Two words: ramen noodles.

One of the least flexible expenses in your household budget is the grocery bill. However, the tips above should help you be a little more diligent and creative when trying to reduce the cost.

By-line:
Heather Johnson is a freelance writer as well as a feature article contributor for Reward Programs, a site which helps consumers pick the best rewards program to best meet their needs. Heather welcomes your comments and emails related to job inquiries at her email, heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.

Some of us are lucky – or foolish depending on how you look at it – in that we will be receiving a check in the mail from Uncle Sam bringing the glad tidings of a tax refund!

Forbes estimates that on average, tax payers will be receiving approximately $2,480 by way of a tax refund.

So “Splurge or Save?” That is the question!

Since this blog is all about becoming debt free, you won’t see me advising you to go spend every last penny of your tax refund if you do have debts to pay off. So let’s discuss some of the options for making good use of that tax refund.

Pay Towards Your Debt (Credit Cards, Mortgage, etc.)

Paying towards your debt, particularly credit card debt given the high interest rate on many credit cards, is a wise use of your tax refund. You will be able to reduce the amount of interest you are being charged on a monthly basis and will feel much better by knocking out a chunk of your debt.

If you don’t have any credit card debt, or the rates are very low, you might benefit from using your refund to make an extra principal payment on your mortgage. Given the reduction in savings rates in recent months, you may be able to do better by paying towards your mortgage rather than holding the funds in savings.

One last option related to your debt is that now might be the time to take advantage of decreasing rates and refinance your mortgage. The tax refund could be used to help cover the closing costs during a refinance.

Car Related Expenses

If you haven’t had your car serviced in awhile, there is no better time than now and you can use your tax refund to cover the expense. Perhaps the car needs new tires, or an oil change and tune-up that you have been putting it off.

Proper upkeep of your car will reduce the chance of a breakdown, while also increasing the fuel efficiency of your car. Car maintenance items are best handled early before it becomes a much more serious and costly problem to fix.

Maybe you have been thinking about selling your car in the near future, you can use your tax refund to get it detailed. This costs you approximately $175 and can boost the resale value of your car by as much as $1000+/-.

Set Up a Fund

If you don’t have one already, set up an emergency fund for those times when you are really in need of the extra cash. This is a great fall-back to have in place at all times!

Also, if you are planning for a major expense in a few months time, such house repairs, make a fund for that specific purpose and put away the money in a high yield savings account so that it is available when you need it, along with a small bonus!

Splurge?

If you want, you can apportion part of the refund for all of the nice, sensible expenses above and use the rest to go a little crazy. While you certainly want to be frugal with your money, you don’t have to deprive yourself of all pleasures.

So what will you spend it on, how will you treat yourself?

Perhaps a day’s spa treatment to rejuvenate and revitalize you! Or perhaps dinner at your favorite restaurant and a show you have been meaning to see for a while. Or perhaps you can go in for that Blackberry or X-Box or whatever gadget you have been lusting after. Or perhaps you can take a trip out of town for the whole family.

Charity

Last but certainly not least, you can use your tax refund to help those less fortunate by donating the funds to a worthwhile cause that you support. Having the ability to help someone in need can be very rewarding, and chances are you will remember that much longer than the dinner out at the fancy restaurant.

So…what have you planned to do with your refund?