I recently read an article that claimed America could save 10 billion dollars a year if we stopped processing checks. I’m thinking this figure included some layoffs so it wouldn’t be all positive, but it still caught my attention. When I was growing up in the 90’s picturing what life would be like …
Credit vs. Debit
Back to the Basics: When checking out, should I choose CREDIT or DEBIT? Answer: CREDIT Why: If you have a Visa or Mastercard logo on your debit card and choose credit, you’ll be asked to sign for your purchase. All signature transactions go through the Visa or Mastercard Network. These …
What’s In Your Credit Score?
Paying bills such as phone bills, utility bills, insurance and rent payments DO NOT report to any credit bureaus. (With this said, failure to pay these items could result in collection which WILL bring down your score - I’ve seen a lot of derogatory Verizon accounts reporting) What goes into your …
What Affects Mortgage Rates?
We’ve had our fair share of bad news recently. Earthquakes, tsunamis, lockouts, rioting. Since it’s a crisp 82 degrees in sunny Charlotte NC, I’m finding it hard to report anything negative. I previously mentioned how investors are fleeing stocks and entering the bond market (I don’t expect this to …
Tsunami Economics
I can tell you there hasn’t been anything “fun” within the markets the last few days. Unfortunately, a lot of investors are on edge because of the recent (on-going) disaster in Japan. Much like the children’s song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REftXTSgR8k&feature=related ; our global economy …
What are Interchange Fees?
I had a conversation with someone about credit cards recently and heard something that made me smile. “Credit card companies hate me. I use the card for everything and pay it off each month.” I know what he was saying but he couldn’t be more wrong. Financial institutions make a lot of money from …
Retirement LOL
FYI, LOL, BTW - all abbreviations we have grown to love. I’m going to hit you with one not as common, but so much cooler right now. What is it? FICA, better known as the Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax. I knew if I titled this post “Payroll Tax” no one would continue reading. So what makes …
