Jill Russo Foster

Take Time To Protect Your Identify Now

Well it happened again – this time EquiFax! This is not the first time nor will it be the last security breach.

Here are some suggestions that you may want to take to help to protect your identity:

• Personally, I am not a fan of doing banking on my phone, so I don’t have these apps. But I do have many texts (one for each transaction) and this way, I can catch anything immediately. I will be adding my credit cards to this process.

• In addition, I use two-step authentication for all my accounts. Having a code either texted or phoned to me to use to access my account.

• Check your credit report. I am a firm believer of this and now even more so. If you need reminders to check your credit for free three times per year, sign up for my newsletter here and you will get email reminders to check your credit every four months.

• Monitor your accounts. I typically check in a couple of times a month, both my bank and credit card accounts just to look for anything that I don’t recognize. If you don’t want to do this, make sure you reconcile your accounts monthly.

• You may want to set up credit monitoring service and/or freeze your credit report. You can check out my article on Credit Freeze here.

• Change your passwords regularly.They shouldn’t be easy to guess (use a combination of upper and lower case letters, number and symbols) and don’t you use the same password. Each account should have its’ own individual one.

Take the time now to protect your identity. It’s much easier to do this proactively than to deal with the turmoil of identity theft later.

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Fact Checking Charities

Fact Checking Charities

My heart breaks with all the information and photos from hurricane Harvey and now Irma. We all want to help and these people need our help. but you want to give where your money will do the best and not go to scammers. If you choose to give, and I’m sure you do, make sure your money goes to those in need through a charity that you have researched.

Unfortunately, it’s fairly easy to set up a charity, and fundraisers can legally keep most of the money donated to the cause. Not to mention the scammers who are out there to take your money. Before you donate, find out whether the charity is legitimate. You should also find out how your money will be spent.

You can start your research at www.Give.org (associated with the Better Business Bureau). This organization researches charitable organizations to find out how they use the funds they receive.

Here are some tips to help in your research:
• Find out if the charitable organization has a 501(c) status (IRS code for non-profit organizations). Non-profits have stricter requirements, and your donation will be deductible on your tax return.

• Find about how much of each dollar is being used for the cause versus administration costs. The more administrative costs, the less of each dollar is being used for those in need. Look for the lowest administrative costs.

• For cash donations, request a receipt to use as documentation on your tax returns. All donations over $500 will require additional paperwork, so speak with your tax preparer ahead of time.

• When donating non-cash items such as food, clothing, furniture, etc, you will need an itemized list of the items you donated and the total value. Most charities will ask you to value your own items.
Make sure you get a receipt for your donations with the charity’s information on it.

Do your research and chose the organization(s) wisely. This is a great way to help out others who are less fortunate than you during this hurricane season.

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Service Interrupted!

Today would have been the day for our newsletter, Money Choices to resume, after our summer break.

But with Hurricane Irma heading to Florida, we have put this issue on hold. It’s more important for my assistant to take care of herself, family and be safe. Wishing everyone in the path of these hurricanes a safe and uneventful experience.

Bear with us and we’ll be back soon.

Fees, fees and more fees!

How many credit cards do you have that charge a fee?

Do you pay:

annual fee?

foreign transaction fee?

balance transfer?

cash advance?

and more

We’ll you are not alone. There are so many credit card to choose from, that you can avoid these fees by having the right credit card for this situation. We have a card that we use for foreign travel – no fee. We have a low interest card 8% with no fees for when we need to finance a purchase (that we know we won’t be able to pay off in full when the bill arrives). So it’s understanding what your needs are and what credit card meets them.

CreditCards.com released a report listing what credit cards offer what. This will help you to decide if you have the correct credit card for your needs and may help you to save money.

What’s does your credit report and score say

Do you ever wonder what your credit report and score sway about you?

It might help for you to think of your credit report and score as your GPA. What you did in college was equated to a GPA. The same is true for you finances. What you did or didn’t do with most of your finances becomes your credit score.

Do you want to improve your credit? Then you need to make changes.

What do you want to know about your credit? I am working on a new program and want your input. Tell me specifically what you would want included – what info, what steps and more. Post your comments here.

Think you have bad credit

You may think you have bad credit, but you can change that by being informed. Information is the key to understanding what to do and what not to do. I truly believe that you control your own financial destiny.

To start, make a promise to be more informed – read more credible information, understand what is considered a good credit score and more. Learn this information and take steps each and every week to improve your credit score from where you are now. Make a plan!

If you credit is less than you desire, start by reading articles on my website, read this report from a survey that US New and World Report did with lots of helpful information that you may not be aware of. There is more information out there, but make sure it’s from a reputable source. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about your options.

Your Path to Great Credit

You know that your credit is an important part of your financial life. You know that the higher your score the better the terms are when you apply for credit – lower interest rate, lower monthly payments and more. You may have wanted to improve your credit score, but it’s too confusing and you don’t know where to start.

Let me tell you that this is a journey and there is no instant magic pill. It takes hard work and dedication on your part. Where do you start? The first step is to know your credit score. You can get a close approximation of your FICO score. Yes, it’s time to face the reality and look at it. You need to know where you stand. To see your credit score, go to my resource page and see how to access your credit score for free.

The next step is to make a plan. These are the small steps you take each week to do just one thing to improve your credit score. They can range from not using a credit card to make a purchase, make sure to pay that bill on time, bringing in more money to be able to make that payment and more.

I know this is hard. Years ago I had way too much credit card debt and I couldn’t image that I would every be debt free. But there came a day when I came to the realization that I needed to deal with it. I made a plan and stuck to it and was out of debt. As a result, my credit score increased to be excellent. I know that you too can do this.

Here are some more information to help you understand what it’s costing you.

Good credit card debt

Reading your credit report

Budgeting

We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.

Saving money daily – discounts

I love getting a discount. Don’t you?

When we grocery shop, we use coupons, meal plan and shop the sales. We eat healthy with any organic products, so there aren’t as many coupons as in the past. Yes, items do go on sale, but it can still be expensive.

Our grocery store gives us gas points. For every dollar we spend, we get points – 100 points is 10¢ off per gallon. Last weekend we saved 90¢ per gallon. That certainly helps our budget and can helpful to you.

Are you getting all the rewards possible? Learn more on discounts and rewards.

Saving money daily – eliminating expenses

What are the things you are willing to do without or do differently?

In our household, we do our own yardwork and save by not having to pay for a lawn or snowplowing service. The trade off is that it takes time to do these tasks and we had to purchase the lawn mower, weed wacker and snow blower. This can be a big initial expense. But, we don’t have monthly bills.

Our town has private trash collectors, that’s another monthly bill. We take our own trash to the transfer station and eliminated that bill years ago.

What are you willing to do or doing that have helped your finances?

For more tips, please visit my website.

Saving money daily – our garden

As far as I can remember back, my family has always had a garden.

Ours in smaller, but we grow what we need. Ever spring we start with herbs in a flower box, just outside the back door. This year is rosemary, parsley, basil and cilantro. You can start from seed or buy the plants all for a minimal amount of money and have fresh herbs all summer long. When the weather turns colder, we will freeze the remaining herb for later in the year.

Our garden has tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, squash, broccoli, peppers, kale and more. There is nothing better than to be able to walk out into the yard and pick what you want for dinner.

Everything we grow is that much less that we buy at the store. As August arrives, everything is starting to be ready to pick. This saves money each and every trip to the grocery store.

For more money saving tips, follow me on social media Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and my website.