How to Start an Emergency Fund

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One of the best things you can do for your personal economy is to start an emergency fund.

Your emergency fund can help protect you against financial setbacks, since it provides you with a little extra cushion to draw on.  Rather than turning to debt, you can use money in your emergency fund to cover unexpected costs.

Experts recommend that you save at least six months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund.  So, if you spend $3,000 a month, you need to have $18,000 in an emergency fund.

That’s a daunting task.

How can you get started when you have that huge amount of money hanging over your head?

Here’s How to Start an Emergency Fund

Break It Down

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Starwood Preferred Guest(R) Credit Card from American Express Review

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Are you looking for an incredible travel rewards credit card that allows you to earn free nights at high-end hotels and resorts AND can be used towards airline miles programs?

How about a card that, besides rewards, comes with additional travel benefits, purchase protections, and more?

Then look no further than the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express.

Here are some of the benefits of the Starwood Preferred Guest card at a glance:

  • Starpoints® bonus: earn up to 25,000 bonus points: 10,000 after your first purchase and another 15,000 after you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months of Cardmembership
  • That’s enough for a weekend getaway to a Category 4 Hotel like the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, or six free nights at a Category 2 Hotel
  • Free Hotel Nights: redeem Starpoints at over 1,100 hotels in nearly 100 countries worldwide – with no blackout dates
  • Free Flights: redeem Starpoints on over 350 airlines with SPG Flights – with no blackout dates
  • Get 5,000 bonus Starpoints after you transfer 20,000 Starpoints to a frequent flyer program with more than 30 airlines
  • No limits on the number of Starpoints you can earn
  • $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $65
  • Terms and restrictions apply.

Starpoint® Rewards Program

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Credit Score – What Does It Mean?

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Credit Score Ranges

What Is A Credit Score?

You’ve heard that a credit score is important, haven’t you?  You may have even heard how you should protect your credit score.  But a lot of people are still unsure of what a credit score actually is.

Let’s take a look at credit scores and what they mean.  This way you know once and for all what they are and how they are used.

A credit score is a calculation based on information from a credit report which gives a representation of how credit-worthy a person is or how likely a person is to default on their loan.

Let’s take a quick step back, shall we?  We’re talking about credit scores but it’s important to understand what a credit report is all well.  Your credit report is basically a listing of all the credit accounts you have and your history paying your credit, or debt, off.  Sometimes the report is referred to as your credit history.  The information comes from the lenders who report your activity to the three major credit bureaus.

To quickly sum up — your credit report gives information and a history of your credit accounts.  Now back to credit scores…

Your credit score gives a number range to quickly sum up the information from your credit report.

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BankAmericard Travel Rewards® Credit Card – Review

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Isn’t it great when your credit card gives back to you?  And if you travel it’s nice when your card works with you to make travel easier and rewarding.

That’s the BankAmericard Travel Rewards® credit card!

This credit card from Bank of America offers up some interesting travel rewards features.  Take a look at a quick rundown of the card:

  • Earn 10,000 bonus points when you spend $500 on purchases in the first 90 days of account opening, which can be $100 towards travel purchases
  • Earn flexible travel points good for everything from flights to baggage fees
  • Earn 1.5 points for every dollar spent on purchases – 50% more than the average rewards programs which only offer 1 point per dollar
  • No limit to the total number of points you can earn and points don’t expire
  • No annual fee
  • Simply pay for your travel with your card. Then, call or go online and you can redeem your points for a statement credit towards all or part of your travel purchases
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Chip Technology provides you expanded global acceptance when shopping anywhere you go, outside of the U.S.

Let’s look a little more in-depth at the card now. Continue Reading

BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ Credit Card – Review

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It’s nice when a credit card does more than just give you credit, isn’t it?

In fact earning cash rewards is a pretty nice perk to get from your credit card.  And when it’s easy to get your cash back then it’s all the better.

Enter the BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ credit card.

Here’s a quick look at what this cash rewards card has to offer:

  •  Get $100 cash rewards bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first 90 days of account opening
  • 1% cash back on purchases everywhere, every time
  • 2% on groceries and 3% on gas for the first $1500 in combined gas and grocery purchases each quarter
  • Get a 10% customer bonus when you redeem cash back into a Bank of America® checking or savings account
  • 0% introductory APR for 12 billing cycles for purchases and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days, then, the regular APR
  • No Annual fee
  • No rotating categories and your rewards do not expire

Nice, right?

Now let’s dig a little deeper into the BankAmericard Cash Rewards™ credit card… Continue Reading

25 Ideas For Your Income Tax Refund

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Tax day is finally past!

Whew!  Are you getting a big IRS income tax refund? It’s always nice to get a nice chunk of change coming back to you!

But what will you be doing with your income tax refund?

I’m not always fond of looking forward to a large refund but they do happen and I know some people love getting them.  If you are getting a large income tax refund then at least put some thought into how you are going to use that money.

Having a little windfall in the bank is a great thing and when it’s a sizable amount you can really make some differences with your finances.

I came up with some ideas for a large income tax refund.  I’ve broken it out into different sections to make it easier for you to find something of interest.  Here goes:

25 Ideas for Your Income Tax Refund

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Blue Cash Everyday ® Card from American Express – Review

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American Express has a great card in it’s “Blue” family – the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express.

This is a nice no-nonsense cash back card that’s easy for people to understand.  These days that’s getting harder to find as credit card companies make their rewards harder to get or increase the annual fee to make up for the benefits of the card.

Here are some basics of the Blue Cash Everyday Card:

  • Earn 100 Reward Dollars after you make $1,000 in purchases in the first three months of Cardmembership.
  • Earn Cash Back: 3% at US supermarkets, up to $6,000 per year in purchases, 2% at US gas stations & select US dept stores, 1% on other purchases. Terms and limitations apply.
  • Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit.
  • Simple and Straightforward: With the Blue Cash Everyday Card, you can start earning cash back. No rotating reward categories. No enrollment required.
  • No annual fee, 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months. After that, your APR will be a variable rate, currently 12.99%-21.99% with flexibility to pay over time.
  • Terms and Restrictions Apply.

Let’s take a look at what the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express has to offer.Continue Reading

Credit Report Versus Credit Score – You Better Know the Difference

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I hear a lot of people interchanging the term credit report with credit score.

I do it myself.

But there’s a Big Difference between the two.  See how I bolded that there?  That’s how important it is.

Knowing the details of a credit report vs a credit score will help you better understand your credit.  And that can help you save money!

Differences Between a Credit Report and a Credit Score

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Citi ThankYou Preferred Card – $150 in Gift Cards | Review

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How would you like a credit card that offers rewards as well as a nice 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers?  Add to that a $150 gift card bonus?

Sounds interesting, right?

This is what the Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card is offering.  Join me as we walk through what the card offers…

The Citi ThankYou Preferred Card

Let’s start with a basic overview of the card:

  • Earn 15,000 bonus ThankYou Points after $1000 in card purchases within 3 months of account opening – enough for $150 in gift cards or other great rewards!
  • 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases for 12 months.  After that, the variable APR will be 12.99%-22.99% based upon your creditworthiness*
  • Earn 1 ThankYou Point for every $1 you spend on all purchases
  • No expiration and no limit on the points you can earn
  • Redeem ThankYou Points for merchandise, travel rewards, gift cards, cash and more
  • Earn extra points when you shop through the ThankYou® Bonus Center, a network of 600+ retailers you know and love
  • Travel with ease and enjoy global acceptance with Chip Technology
  • No annual fee*

Now let’s dig a little deeper, shall we? Continue Reading

When is Bankruptcy a Good Option?

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1,376,006.

That’s the number of bankruptcy filings in the United States (according to US Courts) for the 12 month period that ended March 31, 2012 – the most recent 12 month period for which statistics are available.

Obviously, if you are filing for bankruptcy you have plenty of company.

But when is bankruptcy a good option?

Bankruptcy has become so common, that is no longer carries the stigma it once did.  In there are folks out there that think ‘YOLO, I’ll just declare bankruptcy if it gets bad.’   That doesn’t mean you should file for bankruptcy or that it doesn’t come with risks.

The Cost of Bankruptcy

When I talk about the cost of bankruptcy, I’m not talking about attorney fees or court filing fees – what I’m referring to is the effect it will have upon your life.

That will be much more expensive than a couple thousand dollars you will pay for the bankruptcy procedure itself.

Before filing for bankruptcy, consider the impact it will have on your life… Continue Reading