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Archive for October, 2007

Day 28 of 33 Days And 33 Ways To Save Money And Reduce Debt: Find Out How Bad (Or Good) Your Situation Really Is

October 19th, 2007

NCN

Click here to read all of the 33 Days And 33 Ways To Save Money And Reduce Debt posts.

Day 28: Find Out How Bad (Or Good) Your Situation Really Is

Do you know how much you owe on your house? Do you know how much money you have in your checking account? How much would you need to payoff your automobile loan? Have you checked your credit report lately? As you begin to get out of debt and save money – you really need to know “where you are today”.

Create a list of your credit accounts – something like this:

Credit Card 1 – $4000

Credit Card 2 – $5214

Mortgage – $124,400

Hospital – $1300

Automobile – $16,000

If you don’t know how much you owe, then you really can’t begin to create a plan to get out of debt. So, go online (or call) and find out exactly how much you owe on each of your credit cards. Call your bank and find out the “payoff” amount for your automobiles. Call your mortgage company and find out the “payoff” or “remaining balance” on your mortgage. You need to know how tall the mountain is before you decide how to climb it.

Create a list of your savings / investment accounts – something like this:

Online Savings – $400

401K – $11,000

Pension Plan – $12,000 or X years of contributions

Social Security – Regular report from the Social Security Administration

Most retirement plans now offer online account management. Log-in to your account and find your balance. While your logged in, you might want to take a good look at the types of funds you are investing in. If you are a beginner, you might find that all of your retirement funds are going to one fund, one fund type, or they might be just sitting in a money market account, waiting for you to tell them what to do. If you have a pension plan or social security, keep up with the regular updates you should be receiving in the mail or from your employer (pension plan). While the numbers besides these accounts might be “estimate” – it’s still good to know “where you stand”.

If you haven’t checked your credit report lately, click here to read my article about how to get 3 (or 6) annual credit reports – for free!

You should also consider a list of insurance policies and any other accounts that could effect your long-term financial situation.

Have you recently “run the numbers” and added up how much you actually owe? Are you doing better (or worse) than you originally thought? Leave a comment and let us know.

Click here to read all of the 33 Days And 33 Ways To Save Money And Reduce Debt posts.

Observant readers will note that this series has taken much longer than 33 days. I can assure you, I am blogging as often as life permits.

Posted in 33 Days, Credit, Investing

10 Comments »

Are You Hiding Debt From Your Spouse? Yikes! Suze Orman On The Oprah Show

October 18th, 2007

NCN

Did you happen to see Oprah today? (I rarely watch her show – but my wife was watching and she called today’s show to my attention.) Oprah interviewed a woman who had hidden – wait for it – more than $50,000 in debt from her husband. (I was going to write an article about the show, but Dedicated to Financial Freedom has already done a nice job of recapping.) If you want to see clips of the show, click here to visit Oprah’s site. (By the way, I’m not a big fan of Suze Orman, and I think she was a little harsh on the husband – but she does a very good job of setting this couple straight.)

After watching the show, I was left with huge questions -

Do you hide money / purchases / debt from your spouse?

How could she spend thousands of dollars a MONTH and her husband never notice?

Is there really THAT much pressure to “keep up with the Joneses”?

Is the fact that my wife and I sit down and discuss our finances THAT rare of a thing?

Do we have an entire generation of couples / individuals / students who are addicted to credit and debt?

I know that folks struggle with debt, but I figured (naively, I’m sure) that most couples were struggling together – for richer, for poorer and all that jazz. Wow.

Posted in Polls

16 Comments »

Free Entertainment – Georgia State Parks

October 17th, 2007

NCN

I had a great day today. I drove over to a local Georgia state park and spent the morning day-hiking. The park usually charges $3 for parking, but on Wednesdays, you can park for free. So, I grabbed my bottle of water and hit the trails. (To read about my day and to see pictures, visit No. Calories Needed and read about my day at George L. Smith Georgia State Park.)

If you are looking for an inexpensive (or free) form of entertainment, consider a state park. Before you go, remember to pack some bug spray (I forgot) and plenty of healthy snacks. I had forgotten how awesome out park system is – and I was amazed that I was the only visitor. (As I was leaving, I did notice a couple of guys fishing, but I’m not sure if they were visitors or employees.) I think I’m going to do a mini-tour of the state parks in our area – and see which ones I like the best.

As for the lost wallet – I have a new driver’s license and, so far, I haven’t noticed any irregular account activity. If you are unfamiliar, I lost my wallet this past weekend – and my social security card was in the wallet! So, as a word of caution, please remember to take your social security card out of your wallet! Go!

If you happen to live in Georgia, click here to find out more about Georgia’s State Parks.

Posted in Frugality

4 Comments »

I Lost My Wallet – How To File Fraud Alert With Credit Bureaus – Experian Equifax TransUnion

October 15th, 2007

NCN

I recently lost my wallet – and after reading this post over at Five Cent Nickel about what to do when you lose your wallet – I decided that I needed to alert the various credit bureaus. My social security card (foolishly) was in my wallet, so I visited all three credit bureaus and filed fraud alerts. Here are the details -

Experian:

The Experian credit fraud website allows you to file three types of fraud alerts – a 90 day initial alert, a 7 year victim alert, or a 1 year active duty military alert. The 7 year victim alert requires a police report – and since I lost my wallet and I haven’t filed a police report, I simply filed the 90 day initial alert. After entering some basic information (name, address, social) and accepting the terms of use, I was directed to a page where I answered a few questions about my credit history. Once Experian verified that I was who I said I was, a confirmation page appeared, notifying me that a 90 day hold had been placed on my account – an no one should be able to apply for credit using my social security for the next 3 months. Any potential creditor must contact me directly before processing a credit application. I was then directed to a copy of my credit report. I am happy to report that all accounts have a zero balance. My wife also placed a fraud alert on her report.

Note: Experian stated that they would contact the other 2 bureaus and notify them of the fraud alert – but I went the extra mile and alerted them myself. Or, at least, I tried to.

Equifax

Equifax does not have an online fraud alert form -that I could find – so I called their support number 1-888-766-0008. The process for filing a fraud alert is automated – I was asked to input my social security number, a portion of my address and my phone number. After a minute or two on hold – I was informed that the automated system was down – and that I needed to send in a letter alerting Equifax that I wished to submit a fraud alert – and the letter had to include about twenty different types of documents. My hope is that Experian has already contacted Equifax – and that the fraud alert is already active.

Edited July 29, 2008 – Equifax now has an online fraud alert form. Simply visit the Equifax home page and press the button that says “Free Report, Security Freeze, Dispute And Fraud Protection“. From there, you should be able to file a fraud alert and / or freeze your credit.

TransUnion:

TransUnion does not have an online fraud alert form -that I could find – so I called their support number 1-800-680-7289. I was then prompted to enter my personal information (date of birth, social, etc.) and I was informed that I should receive a letter in the mail verifying that a fraud alert had been noted.

I am amazed that only 1 of the 3 bureaus has an online form for submitting fraud alerts. One would think, especially considering the reality of identity theft, that all three bureaus would have online forms (which would be prominently displayed on the bureaus’ home pages.)

Identity theft – reason 138 to hate credit.

Posted in Money Management, Resources

23 Comments »

I Lost My Wallet – What To Do – Plus A Stroll Through The Blogroll

October 14th, 2007

NCN

I lost my wallet – which had my credit cards, social security card, checkbook, debit cards, and health insurance card inside – and I am, understandably, freaking out. I have called all of the credit card companies and canceled all of the cards. I have called my bank and put a “restrain” on my account – apparently, this means that nothing will post for the 24 hours or until I visit my local branch and decide what to do next. I went online and requested a new insurance card. I will head to the DMV in the morning to pickup a replacement for my driver’s license. (If you live in Georgia like I do, you can request a replacement copy online – but you have to KNOW your license number – but, alas, I do not know my license number, so I have to go into the local DMV and provide them with some identification so that they can issue me a replacement.) I searched the Social Security website, and once I get my new license, I should be able to get a new copy of my social security card. If they won’t accept the license, by itself, I called my dad and he has my birth certificate. I can use it, along with my license, and get a new card. I’m bummed out, and I hope that it just “shows up”. I’ve searched the house, high and low, but there’s no sign of it. I hope that no one is running around, opening up accounts in my name or using my bank information – but there’s not much I can do about that at this point. I’ve notified all of credit card companies and my bank, so I’ll just have to hope for the best. (By the way, don’t be an idiot like me – take your social security card out of your wallet! Yes, yes, yes – I KNOW that I should have done so a long, long time ago – but even your loyal personal finance blogger forgets things from time to time.)

Anyway, If you are looking for some interesting posts from folks who actually know how to manage their money, check out the following posts from last week:

Articles from the Money Blog Network:

AllFinancialMatters has been blogging for three years – and he’s giving away a book and a $100 gift card.

Blueprint has advice for where to get a flu shot – I’ve never gotten a flu shot because I’m afraid of needles.

Consumerism Commentary suggests that folks who use ING’s Electric Orange might want to check their overdraft protection – did it go down or go away?

Nickel breaks down information about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act – good stuff for anyone who is dealing with collection agencies or creditors.

Free Money Finance comments on an odd suggestion from Kiplinger’s – Save Money By NOT Having A Hotel Reservation.

Get Rich Slowly is eating well -but he’s not spending a lot of money – Eating Out While Saving Money.

Mighty Bargain Hunter asks – separate or joint checking accounts? My wife and I have 2 accounts – both are joint.

Articles from my Blogroll:

SVB lists the 10 cheapest ways to exercise – a list I should memorize.

Lazy Man shares some thoughts from his first day as an unemployed lazy man.

Ben writes about losing your job and finding happiness.