Your credit score – issued by each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) – is your personal rating of creditworthiness. A shoddy score can wreak hell on your finances, making it nearly impossible to refinance a mortgage, lock down a loan, or even rent an apartment in some places. So if you’re looking to trash it, here’s what to do (according to The Business Insider: Get into debt – Going on a mindless shopping spree is an easy way to send your finances to the landfill. According to Credit Karma’s Credit Score Simulator, a fair score of 640…
Archive for October, 2011
What Percent Are You?
Posted on October 24, 2011 by Saldutti
Does your household have an income? Is that income less than $500,000 a year? Then welcome to the 99%. Curious to see where you stand? Here’s a handy tool from The Wall Street Journal: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/10/19/what-percent-are-you/ Use it to enter your household’s income and then click the Rank Me button. It’ll tell you where you fall, percentage-wise. What do any of us do with this information? What will you do with this information? One of the curious things I see with regards to this ranking system is how many folks who aren’t in that top 1 percent – or even 5…
Go on a 'BS' Diet and Watch Your Wallet Grow
Posted on October 18, 2011 by Saldutti
You go shopping to get a few items to update your wardrobe. You try on outfit after outfit, separating the items into two piles: buy and skip. There are plenty of “buys,” but very few “skips.” And with a budget of $200, you know you’ll be making some cuts. Yesterday, you paid your bills and budgeted what you can spend without going overboard. But those dark denim jeans and angora wool cardigan are calling. So is the silk teal blouse. You tell yourself, “Perhaps I can put these on my card. What’s another $200? I’ve been paying my bills on time.”…
Save $1,000 By the Holidays
Posted on October 11, 2011 by Saldutti
It’s not too early to get a head start on the holidays — saving for the holidays, that is. By making moves now to cut costs, you can save up to $1,000 or more over the next two months to pay for holiday gifts with cash rather than credit. Kiplinger.com has skipped several of the usual savings recommendations (such as dining out less and cutting out your morning Starbucks stop) and highlighted some cost-cutting moves you might not have considered. The actual savings in the examples below will vary (especially depending on which ones you can implement). Ways to save: Adjust your…