October 2010 Archives - Free From Broke

Credit CARD Act and Its Affect on College Students

According to a 2009 study by Sallie Mae, the average credit card balance for college students was $3,173.

Only 15% of college freshman surveyed had a zero balance.

Of overall students, 82% carried a balance and had monthly interest charges. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 put new rules in place to help consumers better understand their credit cards and cut down on unfair practices from credit card companies. Of those rules, there are some that college students should be especially aware of.
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How to Prepare for Downsizing Within Your Company

Written by Contributor 10 Comments

How can you survive a layoff?

Over the past few years, U.S. workers have been losing their jobs left and right, helping to bring the national unemployment rate to just under 10 percent currently. The majority of these jobless folks weren’t fired for poor performance, either. They were let go due to downsizing.

If you’ve heard this term around your place of business lately, you may want to know exactly what a downsize is, how to avoid it and what to do if you actually lose your job because of it.
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ZYNC Card From American Express – Review

Written by Glen Craig 4 Comments

Have you seen the commercials for the ZYNC Card from American Express? I’ve got to say, I was curious about the card when I heard about how you can tailor the card to fit your lifestyle. As an American Express card user, and fan, I had to look into the Zync card further. Here’s what I found:
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Schumer Box And Credit Card Offers

Written by Glen Craig 7 Comments

Ever hear of the Schumer Box? It’s actually an important piece of information that you will find in a credit card application and something you need to be aware of when considering a credit card.
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My First Credit Card – And The High It Gave Me

Written by Glen Craig 19 Comments

It’s been many moons but I remember my first credit card. It was a retail card for A&S (remember that store?). I forget what I was buying (a sweater maybe?) but there was a discount offered if you signed up for their card. “What they hey,” I thought. Why not sign up and see what happens? So I did. And a few minutes later I was the proud owner of a new credit card! Ahh, memories.
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What To Do With Your Money In Your 20s, 30s, And 40s – Ideas From Generation Earn

Written by Contributor 12 Comments

Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back

Most of us don’t move through life in pre-determined stages, but there are still some generalizations we can make about money and age. These ideas for what to do with your money in your 20s, 30s, and 40s come from my new book, Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back, which was just published by Ten Speed Press.

In your 20′s:

Invest in your career. Your career is the one place where it makes sense to splurge. This might mean investing in the services of a career coach, or taking a leadership development class. It could mean something as seemingly superficial as working with a personal shopper to make sure your wardrobe helps you look and feel good at work. Or perhaps purchasing some guide books about your chosen field. Investing in your career now, when you have time, can pay off hugely later.
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What Is A Mortgage Escrow Account?

Written by Glen Craig 12 Comments

When you are purchasing a new home one of the terms you are going to come to know is mortgage escrow account.

“But what is a mortgage escrow account? What’s the purpose of it when owning a home?,” you may be thinking to yourself.

Great questions.

Before we get into what a mortgage escrow account is let’s look at what escrow, in general, is…

Basic Concept of Escrow

Escrow is widely used in many business transactions where the buyer and seller cannot make a simultaneous exchange of money and goods or services and neither would want to deliver first without the guarantee to receive later (neither party wants to risk being the one left without the dough).

To resolve the trust issue between a buyer and seller, a third party, known as the escrow, can work on behalf both the buyer and the seller to ensure that once a party fulfills its contractual obligation, the escrow will release to the party what it entitles from the transaction.

Such escrow service is also standard practice in real estate transactions where the buyer deposits money with the escrow and the seller delivers title documents to the escrow, and the escrow firm will not release the funds to the seller or convey the title to the buyer until both the funds and the documents are placed with the escrow.
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More 0 Percent APR Credit Card Offers Expected

Written by Glen Craig 18 Comments

SmartMoney is reporting that we should expect to see more 0% APR credit card offers available for those who have credit scores of 720 and above. Balance transfer offers are also on the rise.

It wasn’t long ago that credit card companies cut out 0% APR offers and balance transfers since those with better credit tended to also be less profitable as they usually paid off their balances. According to the SmartMoney article, credit card issuers are hoping that the more credit-worthy will spend with their new cards and keep a balance beyond their introductory offers.

Here is what we can expect from these new credit card offers (from SmartMoney);

Where To Find Cheap Fun Family Activities – 6 Places

Written by Glen Craig 19 Comments

Ask anyone with kids and they will tell you – going out with the family can be expensive! Think about it – every activity you might do yourself is multiplied by the number of people in your family. Going to the zoo by yourself could cost you $10, for example, but for a family of five that could be $50 just to walk in.

But there are ways to find cheap, fun family activities! Here are six places to look:

Working Hard For What You Want – New Jetta Ad

Written by Glen Craig 31 Comments

Have you seen the latest commercial for the new Volkswagon Jetta? In the ad (called Moonighting), the main character, Tom, is working as a nurse (? I think) and he sees some ads for the new Jetta. He then goes through the classified’s and proceeds to take on a number of jobs in order to afford the new car.

Here is what we see Tom doing to earn money:

Nurse – what appears to be his regular job.
Golf ball collector at a driving range – you know the guy that drives the little car that gets hit with golf balls.
Self-defense dummy – you see a group of women beating up on him while he wears padding.
Dog walker.
Dresses up as a hot dog and hands out ads for a food joint.
Bicycle cab driver.
Rodeo clown.
Nude model.