Why I’m Financing New Furniture

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It all started with me pointing at a small rip in our couch worn with 17 years of use. I told my wife the next home related item we should save for and replace was the furniture in our living room. Two days later I found myself filling out an application for a 24 month, zero percent interest financing offer to order a couch, love seat and recliner combination. The obvious intent of my statement to my wife was to begin saving money. When enough funds had been stockpiled, we would go shopping for furniture. After some investigation and discussion, […] Read more »

Your Credit Score Might be About to Change

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Your credit score can have a dramatic impact on your life. It determines your ability to secure financing for things like automobiles and homes, as well whether you qualify for credit cards and other lines of credit. If you monitor your credit score, you may want to pay extra attention in the next few months as Fair Isaac Corporation rolls out some tweaks to the FICO score calculation with FICO 10. What’s Changing? The new model will look at consumers’ account history over the previous 24 months which is longer than had been done previously. Who’s Affected? Those with high […] Read more »

How Do Interest Free Promotional Offers Really Work?

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Our washing machine’s drum bearing was going out, and our appliance repairman notified us they were authorizing replacement through our appliance protection plan. The new washer my wife and I picked out was completely covered by the plan, but we were also contemplating buying the matching dryer. As we talked about it, the sales person described a 6 month no interest finance option. Many retailers offer similar offers, and it’s important to keep in mind exactly how they work. Line of Credit They may not say it, but you have to qualify for the offer. You’re actually applying for a […] Read more »

Credit Card Rewards Cost Me $140

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Credit card reward programs put real money in your pocket if used correctly. Used incorrectly they can actually cost you money. A recent personal experience is a textbook example of how dangerous credit card rewards programs can actually be. I noticed I had $40 of Best Buy reward dollars about to expire. Not about to let $40 be wasted I hunted around on their website for something to buy. I found an inexpensive drone that I could get for no additional money out of my pocket. However, the reviews were terrible. One of them pointed off to a different drone, […] Read more »

Best Buy’s Lease to Own Program: Friend or Foe?

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Electronic retailer Best Buy is rolling out a new lease to own program that would have consumers potentially pay double the retail cost of products. The program takes advantage of people with poor credit for no other reason than, they can. Lease To Own Program Background People wishing to purchase an item using the lease to own program agree to 12 monthly payments that may add up to over double the retail cost. The terms of the agreement state the consumer doesn’t own the item until the last payment is made. Best Buy claims the program is for people who […] Read more »

Three Steps to Using Zero Percent Finance Offers

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Zero Percent Finance Offers

Zero percent finance offers save people money when used correctly. Read on to find out more about how to avoid the pitfalls of zero percent finance offers. My wife suddenly stopped, pointed, and said, “That exactly what I’m looking for!” Walking through Home Depot,  she had spotted an outdoor sectional couch she claimed would be perfect for our deck. She had mentioned her desire to buy an outdoor couch, but hadn’t saved enough to cover the $500 price tag hanging from the couch. We could continue to save and hope the couch was there when we had the cash, or […] Read more »

Are Personal Loan Predators Lurking In Your Mailbox?

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I’ve been receiving a different type of credit offer in the mail as of late. I’m used to the credit card offers at this point, ripping them in half and throwing them in the trash without thinking about it. Maybe I’ve been getting this type of offer all along, it seems lately I’ve been constantly getting offers for unsecured personal loans in my mailbox. The mailings offer large sums of cash to be used for debt consolidation, home improvement, or whatever I could use funds for. After being flooded with these offers for months, I decided to just a little […] Read more »

Beware Of Credit Card Balance Transfer Offers

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Credit card companies are at it again. Maybe it’s been happening all along and I just didn’t notice it. That might actually be the point. Opening a letter I received from a major credit card company I was disgusted at what I read. I have no problem taking advantage of a 0% interest offer if diligent payments are made to ensure NO interest is paid. But what I saw exposed credit card companies for what I know they are, financial predators. What I received was a balance transfer offer letter. It suggested that it would be a great idea to […] Read more »

Amazon Just Upped It’s Game With The Amazon Prime Rewards Signature Card From Chase

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Retailers are doing battle in the online space. Mainly it’s traditional retail giants trying to keep up with Amazon. Now Amazon is hitting back. If you have an Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card from Chase, and you’re an Amazon Prime member, you recently received something in the mail that makes shopping at Amazon even more attractive. If you don’t fall into both of those categories, Amazon just gave you another reason to do so. A few months ago I applied for an Amazon Rewards Visa Signature card from Chase because of a $70 incentive that brought down the price of […] Read more »

Why Every Student Should Have A Credit Card

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  Students are simply not getting adequate financial education before being expected to handle their own finances as adults. In my kids’ high school there is a single semester personal finance class, but it is an elective. If the goal of an education is to give young people the skills they need to be successful functioning adults, how can this not be a required class? Even then, a single semester seems like a dreadfully inadequate amount of time to cover seemingly infinite financial subjects such as budgeting, tracking spending, insurance, and retirement planning. The responsibility to teach these lessons falls […] Read more »

5 Misguided Beliefs That Actually Hurt Your Credit Score

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There was a time when I paid very little attention to my credit score because I thought that it is not important. This was the time when the ‘juiciest’ credit card deals out there were unattainable, when a loan secured against our house came with 7.5% interest rate and when all that came through my post box were bills. I still don’t check my credit score regularly; this time I don’t check it because my credit score is a perfect 999, which I suppose is as high as one could get. Boring, I know; but very handy. Now, offers for […] Read more »

Costco American Express to Citibank Transition: One More Mess

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Costco’s transition from American Express to Citibank occurred on June 20th. Not only did Costco stop accepting American Express, but the Costco Amex Rewards cards stopped functioning all together. I personally did not find the transition smooth, as in my opinion Costco did not do a good job of providing timely information to customers regarding what was going to happen to their account and when. But when June 20th came, the transition was was complete, with no more hiccups to deal with. I only wish that was true. I could have missed my first payment to Citibank due to incorrect […] Read more »

Three Reasons To Decline a Credit Limit Increase

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The email was from a credit card provider and the subject line said “Congratulations!” I opened the email to find out that I was being offered a $3000 credit line increase. The line of credit in question was one we used for our hotel bill on our trip to Austin, Texas as the card gave a significant percentage cash back for travel expenses. We hadn’t used the card literally in years, and I’m guessing that the use of the card prompted the issuer to sweeten the pot for us to continue to use it. I was about to click on […] Read more »

How to Increase Your Credit Score Without Using Credit Cards

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How to Increase Your Credit Score Without Using Credit Cards

If you’ve read any of my articles before, you know I’m not a big fan of having a credit score.  In fact, I believe the best credit score is no score at all.  So why would I write a post about how to increase your credit score? Well, in some cases it’s easier to increase your credit score quickly rather than waiting for it to go to zero while you’re in the transition of getting out of debt (which may take months to years). This might be necessary if you have an immediate need for buying a home or renting […] Read more »