Jill Russo Foster

Tips for Successful Personal Finances

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Understand Your Credit

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Let’s talk about where your credit is today.  Those of you on my newsletter list should have recently pulled your January credit report.  What are you hoping to accomplish?  Do you want better credit?  Do you want to be able to get financing when you need it at a reasonable interest rate?  You can do this and it is possible.  If your credit isn’t where you want it to be, you can change it.  There’s no magic want and it can’t be done overnight (and you can pay someone to improve your score), but you can see improvements in a relatively short amount of timchoicese.

Here are some credit score tips:

  • Always pay at your bills on time.  If you don’t have the money to pay your bill when it’s due, make at least the minimum payment required, so as not to be late.  If it’s the timing that is an issue, change the due date.  Many companies will do this very easily.
  • Pay down your debt.  Reduce the total amount your owe on credit.  Make a plan to pay it down and stick to it.
  • Watch your spending.  If you can’t afford something, determine is it a need or a want.  Needs are must have such as food, clothing, shelter.  Wants are your desires, you can live without but would be really nice to have, but maybe you need to set a goal to get that want in the future.

All this over time will improve your credit and thereore credit score.  The thing to remember is the newer credit counts more than item from the past.  So there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Your first credit report of 2020

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This month use Experian

Hello, it’s Jill again, reminding you to get your finances in order so you can start the new years off right.

How to Order Your Credit Report

The only authorized source for your report is AnnualCreditReport.com. You won’t be charged and they won’t force you to sign up for “credit monitoring”. It’s yours to review by law. Learn more.

Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com:

  1. Select your state, then click Request Report.
  2. Fill out your information, then click Continue.
  3. When it asks you to select a service, select Experian.

Not comfortable ordering online? There are other ways to order your report:

  • Mail your postal order by downloading the form at AnnualCreditReport.com
  • Call in your order at 1-877-322-8228

What should you do with your report?

  • Review it for accuracy!
  • Follow the instructions to correct any errors.
  • And, always remember to keep copies for your records.

Were you hoping for your credit score instead? Try CreditKarma.com. It doesn’t give you a FICO score, but it comes close. And, there’s no charge for you. CreditKarma funds their service through website advertising.

P.S. I’ll send you another reminder in April for your next report of the year.

Time To Order Your Credit Report

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For your last report of the year, use TransUnion

Hello, it’s Jill again, reminding you to get your finances in order by ordering your last credit report of the year.

How to Order Your Credit Report

The only authorized source for  your report is AnnualCreditReport.com. You won’t be charged and they won’t force you to sign up for “credit monitoring”. It’s yours to review by law.

To Learn More, Visit AnnualCreditReport.com:

  1. Select your state, then click Request Report.
  2. Fill out your information, then click Continue.
  3. When it asks you to select a service, select TransUnion.

Not comfortable ordering online? There are other ways to order your report:

  • Mail your postal order by downloading the form at AnnualCreditReport.com
  • Call in your order at 1-877-322-8228 FREE

What should you do with your report?

  • Review it for accuracy!
  • Follow the instructions to correct any errors.
  • And, always remember to keep copies for your records.

Were you hoping for your credit score instead? One option is to take a look at CreditKarma.com, Quizzle.com or CreditSesame.com. They won’t give you a FICO score, but they come close by providing a close approximation of your score. And, there’s no charge for you.

May you have a fun and meaningful holiday season from Halloween through to New Year’s Eve and everything in between.

Are You Part of the Equifax Breach?

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By now you should have heard about the Equifax credit breach.  About 1.5 million people may have been exposed in just this breach.  Are you one of them?Credit Report Shock

First, if you are not sure, check to see if you were exposed.  Click here to check.

Then follow the instructions to submit your claim if you were exposed.  There are choices to make when you submit your claim, so take you time and read everything before making your choices.

Hopefully, you were not exposed, but if you were you need to act fast to submit your claim.

Reducing Your Interest And/Or Fees

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Last, we spoke about bank accounts – now I’ll talk about credit cards.

Do your homework and determine what credit cards your have, what interest rate and fees your paying.

First, you must be honest with yourself and decide which of these two categories you fall into:

  1.  Credit card balances are paid in full each and every month
  2.  You pay your credit card monthly, but carry a balance month to month

Which one are you?

If you are number #1, you are not concerned about the interest rate associated with your credit card.  You pay the balance in full each and every month, so there isn’t interest charged to you.  You need to look at the fees that you might incur.

If you are a number #2, you care about the interest rate and the lower the interest rate is, the less you pay each and every month while you are carrying a balance.

Are you using the right credit card for the spender you are?  If not, look around to determine if there is a better option for you.

Make Your Money Grow

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Do you have the best bank / credit union accounts?   How can you tell which is best for you?

For your bank / credit union account, you want to earn the highest interest rate (paid to you) with no (or the lowest) fees.  Start by looking at what you currently have – how much are you earning and paying?  Once you know this information, you have a starting point.  Now compare that with what other’s offer.  Can you do better?  Don’t forget while looking compare both local, out of state and virtual banks / credit unions.  What would you have to do to eliminate all fees?

Keep in mind, that the bank and/or credit union you are looking at must (non negotiable) be FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) for a bank or savings and loan.  Credit Unions are insurance through NCUA (National Credit Union Administration).  This protects your money up to $250,000.  Once you confirm this, then look at how you earn interest and what fees are involved before making your choice.

Personally, we bank both locally and virtually.  We earn interest on both our checking and savings accounts with no fees and do NOT have to carry a large balance in the account to do this.  So if we can do this, you can too.

Other quick tips, that may help you:

  • Don’t link your savings account to your ATM / Debit card
  • Set up automatic savings deposits with each and every paycheck (pay yourself first).

Remember, that every penny your earn or save is more money in your pocket.  Those pennies add up.

 

January Credit Report Reminder!

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It’s January 2019! Time to start the year off right!

Hello, it’s Jill again, reminding you to get your finances in order for the New Year by checking your credit report. For your first report of the year, use Experian.

How to Order Your Credit Report

The only authorized source for  your report is AnnualCreditReport.com. You won’t be charged and they won’t force you to sign up for “credit monitoring”. It’s yours to review by law.

To Learn More, Visit AnnualCreditReport.com:

  1. Select, Request Your Free Report.
  2. Fill out your information, then click Continue.
  3. When it asks you to select a service, select Experian.

Not comfortable ordering online? There are other ways to order your report:

  • Mail your postal order by downloading the form at AnnualCreditReport.com
  • Call in your order at 1-877-322-8228 FREE

What should you do with your report?

  • Review it for accuracy!
  • Follow the instructions to correct any errors.
  • And, always remember to keep copies for your records.

Were you hoping for your credit score instead? One option is to take a look at CreditKarma.com, Quizzle.com or CreditSesame.com. They won’t give you a FICO score, but they come close by providing a close approximation of your score. And, there’s no charge for you.

P.S. I’ll send you other credit report reminders in May and September to help you keep track for the year.

I work with individuals, couples and families who struggle with their finances and need help getting on the right road – sooner rather than later.
Biography
Jill Russo Foster is an award winning author and nationally acclaimed speaker. Her books – Thrive In Five: Take Charge of Your Finances in 5 Minutes a Day and Cash, Credit, and Your Finances: The Teen Years – help teens and adults understand the importance of personal finance. Using real world examples and her knowledge of the credit and loan industries, she offers information and advice that can be immediately put into action. Her website is www.JillRussoFoster.com

Buy my Books
Cash, Credit, and Your Finances:
The Teen Years

Help your teenagers learn about credit, loans, and savings before they leave home.

Most of our financial problems today are caused by a lack of knowledge. No one wants to admit that they don’t know how to handle their money, but few people do. Today’s world is not a cash world, it’s a credit world. A credit world is a much more complicated world to live in. If your children don’t learn early, they could be headed for trouble.

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Buy the Book
Thrive in Five: Take Charge of Your Finances In Five Minutes A Day

Each year do you resolve to improve your finances only to have something happen that pushes you back to the same place you were last year?  Thrive In Five: Take Charge of Your Finances in 5 Minutes a Day will help you change that.  With daily short tips that take five minutes or less, this book will help you  improve your credit score, spend less, and save more money – all while getting organized!

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111 Ways to Save

If you want to tighten your budget and reduce spending, but don’t know where to start, stop waiting! Try any of these super easy cost-cutting tips to find extra cash in your wallet.
The money saving tips are organized by category, so you can tackle each area of your life.
Savings can be found throughout our lives, but sometimes you need to have a suggestion to see it for yourself. These simple tips will help you to reduce your expenses. In addition, there are charts and lists to simplify your meal planning, travel packing lists, and more to help you plan ahead and save money.
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In One More Day

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You have heard about all the security breaches – from major retail chain stores to credit bureaus and more.  You can’t turn on the news or read a newspaper without learning about another breach.

Because of this, I have always encouraged you to freeze your credit to lessen your changes of identity theft.  Well tomorrow is a big day for consumers.  Credit report freezes will become free – no more small fee to freeze your credit and another small fee to unfreeze – all this adds up.  As of tomorrow, September 21, 2018 and just after the one year anniversary of the Equifax breach, there will be no cost to freeze your credit.

Please remember that you will receive a PIN with your freeze.  You will need to keep this in a safe place, but not so safe that you forget where you put it to unfreeze your credit.

In addition, fraud alerts will now be available for 1 year (it was 90 days in the past).

Get out there and take advantage of the free credit freeze tomorrow!

Is A credit Freeze Right For You?

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Here is Connecticut we have been experiencing a heat wave (although the weekend was great), we have another 90+ days ahead!

So in an effort to stay cool, let’s take about credit freezes.  Have you done this?

If you don’t plan on needing credit in the near future, you may want to consider this.  A credit freeze is one way to help protect your identity from being stolen.  You freeze your credit reports (yes, all three credit reports), so that no one can access your credit report (not even you) to open new accounts.

The reason why I say not needing your credit in the near future, is because there is a cost to freezing and unfreezing your credit report.  So if you have plans to open a new credit card, finance the purchase of a car, buy or refinance a home in the near future, this could be costly.

Here is a great article from AARP  walking you through the steps of a credit freeze.

Your Credit Report

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In my last post, I suggested that you consider freezing your credit.  Another option would be credit monitoring.  I personally am not a fan of paying for a service that you can do yourself for free.  This is how you do this yourself.

You can review your credit three times per year for FREE!  The Credit Card Act of 2010 lets you have a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies once every 365 days.  I suggest that instead of you accessing your credit report once a year, that you access your credit report three separate times in a  year and do this yourself.

We make that easy for you.  If you subscribe to this newsletter, Money Choices (www.JillRussoFoster.com) you will receive a reminder email three times per year to access your credit report.  This will not be posted on social media, you will have to subscribe to Money Choices to get this reminder.  Do this today, as your next reminder is coming in a few weeks.  You can then see what is happening on your credit report and catch any suspicious activity.  Sign up today!