March 17th, 2010
Tax Credits You May Be Eligible For!
You probably already know about the Making Work Pay tax credit and the Home Buyer tax credit, but did you know you might be eligible for a tax break thanks to your text message donation, or for job-hunting expenses, or simply being a college student? Check out the following tax credits and deductions to ensure you are maximizing your deductions as you file your 2009 taxes.
March 15th, 2010
Monday Jumpstart to Personal Finance & Credit Report News
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working on a bill of sweeping regulatory changes to ward off future collapses in our financial system. The much-needed bill to protect consumers and industries is expected to address issues such as mortgages and credit cards, as well as an early warning system to monitor companies that pose a financial crisis with new mechanisms to prevent firms from getting too big that their failure would threaten our financial system, CNNMoney reports. This is definitely a step towards safeguarding the economy from Uncle Sam, but the bill will still have to make it through the Senate and Congress before we see it come into play.
This week’s personal finance and credit score roundup is full of helpful articles and blogs to keep you on track with budgeting, job-hunting, and fixing up less-than-perfect credit scores.
March 12th, 2010
Credit Karma To Talk Money At SXSW Conference Panel
Anyone who is anyone on the cutting-edge of new technologies—whether they are fans of it or part of the industry—will be following the ultra-cool South By Southwest (SXSW) Music+Film+Interactive Conferences in Austin, Texas. Which is exactly why Credit Karma is on a panel for this year’s conference to talk about fresh innovations in money, banking, and personal finance.
Credit Karma is sharing the floor with fellow leaders and visionaries of the personal finance world such as Lending Club, SmartyPig, and Mint. This panel fits right into SXSW Interactive, which hosts presentations and products on the latest products, trends, and issues surrounding new technologies and innovations. It’s the ultimate cool geek event that showcases the convergence of intelligent design and exciting creativity.
March 9th, 2010
What Does Your Email Provider Say About You?
You may have kept your AOL account since receiving a free disc in the 90’s, signed up for Yahoo! in college, got a Gmail invite, or moved to Comcast when you finally installed broadband, but what does it say about you? When categorized by email provider, the credit score and debt averages of users begins to tell a story. Do Gmail users take on larger mortgages? Do Yahoo! users have lower credit card limits? Credit Karma takes a closer look at how users of the most popular email providers stack up.
Disclaimer: Our analysis is for informational purposes. The data shows correlations for a number of reasons and is based on averages. As anyone who has taken a statistics class knows, causality and correlation are very different.
March 8th, 2010
Monday Jumpstart to Personal Finance & Credit Report News
The Wall Street Journal’s attention-grabbing headline is a sign of the times: Coupon Clipping Is Newest Extreme Sport. In a recession that’s left Americans struggling with at-risk loans, defaulted credit cards, slashed paychecks, and 8.4 million unemployed, penny-pinching is a practical and ever-more popular way to save money. The number of coupons redeemed rose to 3.3 billion last year, up from 2.6 billion in 2008. Sites like Groupon and RetailMeNot have taken coupon clipping high-tech, adding social networking and online access to offer consumers a fresh take on saving money the old-fashioned way.
Find more ways to make the most of your money with our personal finance roundup, plus articles and blogs to brush up on your credit health.
March 3rd, 2010
Review: Prosper’s Talk About The Taboo Campaign
If people will divulge the ups and downs of their love life via Facebook and Tweet about their breakfast, Prosper’s Talk About The Taboo campaign hopes America will be as eager to open up and talk about what’s in their wallets.
Prosper, a peer-to-peer lending site, boldly goes where financial companies haven’t ventured before to bring taboo topics about personal finance into consumers’ everyday conversations.
March 1st, 2010
Monday Jumpstart to Personal Finance & Credit Report News
CNN Money reports that personal income rose a modest 0.1%, equal to 11.4 billion total nationwide, in January. While the number is lower than economists’ expected figure of 0.4%, on the other hand, spending by individuals jumped 0.5% in January, equal to 52.4 billion total nationwide, which is above economists’ expectations. While these figures aren’t through the roof, increased spending and income is still a good sign the economy is slowly gaining momentum towards recovery.
Follow today’s roundup of personal finance and credit score topics for the latest news and advice.
February 26th, 2010
Top 7 Costly Changes On Your Credit Card
With the CARD Act striking down the credit card industry’s predatory practices, issuers are coming up with creative, sneaky ways to make up for the $15 billion dollars in penalties and fees they stand to lose. By adopting new fees and finding loopholes, issuers will profit off of consumers unaware of these tactics.
Before you find yourself paying dearly for your credit card, be aware of the potential changes that threaten to burn a hole in your pocket and possibly your credit score.
February 22nd, 2010
Review: Blippy — The Whole Wide World Knows What You Are Buying
New site Blippy.com is all about divulging the private and provocative details of your financial life online. Think of Blippy as Twitter meets Mint.com, in which you link your credit card accounts to Blippy so transactions show up automatically for others to view and comment on. Everything from your $13.00 Lady Gaga CD purchased on iTunes.com to your $600 Playstation 3 from Best Buy will be posted on Blippy’s homepage for viewers to track. But, how will this be helpful to your financial life? Believe or not, Blippy acts as a shopper’s conscience and a deal-hunter’s best friend.
Blippy has a simple, straight forward registration, which– did I mention?– is free. Users link their credit card or online accounts, such as Netflix or iTunes, to Blippy.com and every time you make a transaction, the amount and location of the purchase shows up right on the homepage. You can comment on purchases, such as thoughts on a music choice or favorite dish at a local restaurant. Users can also hide purchases so only select friends can see.
February 22nd, 2010
Monday Jumpstart to Personal Finance & Credit Report News
After months of banks’ preparation and consumer anticipation, the final reforms of the CARD Act take effect today to change the way credit card issuers interact with cardholders.
Hoping to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive industry practices, the provisions in place today include banning double-cycle billing, stricter regulation of under-21-year-old customers, fixed payment due dates, and a 45-day notice before changing terms such as interest rates. While issuers are forced to comply to these laws, it also has the effect of changing credit card terms towards imposed annual fees, increased interest rates, and tighter credit score requirements as issuers scramble to recoup losses caused by the CARD Act reforms.
Keep up with more personal finance news and credit score help with the following roundup.
