Helpful guides on credit, loans, and debt

Helpful guides on credit, loans, and debt: From USA.gov:
"Almost every day, you’re involved in some type of financial transaction requiring an educated decision. Click the link above for advice from the Federal Trade Commission on shopping for a mortgage or auto loan, checking the accuracy of your credit report, dealing with debt collectors, or looking for ways to protect your personal financial information.


You can also find the Federal Trade Commission on Facebook and Twitter.
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Report Lost Wallets to Police for Easier Card Replacement [Annoyances]

Report Lost Wallets to Police for Easier Card Replacement [Annoyances]: From LifeHacker: "

Losing your wallet is an extremely annoying, time-consuming (and scary) experience. Reporting it to the police will make replacing the items inside it much easier and less costly.

Photo by Ryan Loos.

A couple of weeks ago I had that sinking feeling when I patted my pocket and the reassuring lump of my wallet wasn't in there. I convinced myself that I must have just left it at home, but when I got back from work and turned my room upside down I realised that no; gone it was and so commenced the joyless task of calling all of the various authorities – banks, RTA, etc.

You can't imagine how much of your life you keep in your wallet until you try to replace it all, and it's not just the regular cards, it's the photos and odds and ends you keep there for a rainy day – my favourite guitar pick was in that thing….

So anyway, cue call after call with the same content 'Hi, my name's Peter. Wallet: gone. Cards: need.' Some of these are quick and easy – banks replace your cards free of charge. Places like the RTA, on the other hand, do not. Would you believe that Qantas charges for a replacement Frequent Flyer card?

Fortunately the first thing I'd done was to call the police to see if it was handed in and raise an incident report. It turns out that a lot (not all, but most) of the organisations who issue cards will ask 'Was your wallet lost or stolen?'. If it's stolen and you have a police report number you can generally get your cards replaced gratis. This saved me $36 with WA Vehicle Licensing – not a huge saving, but when it comes to avoiding the insult of having to pay to replace all the cards after the injury of losing the best part of your proof of identity I'll take that as a small win.

So the moral of the story here is that if you DO wind up in the unfortunate situation where your wallet's gone walkabout and taken your life with it, make sure the first call you make is to the police.

This story was sent in by a reader over at Lifehacker Australia, but a quick Google search reveals that this is good practice in the US, too—whether its your bank cards, driver's license, or even your gym membership card, a police report is more likely to get you a free replacement. It's also a good idea to keep a running record of what you have in your wallet before you lose it, since you'll need to provide as much detail as possible when you file the report.

Report Your Lost Wallet to Simplify Card Replacement [Lifeahcker Australia]

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Big Changes to Your Credit Card Terms

Big Changes to Your Credit Card Terms: From GovGab: "If you have a credit card or two (and I've been known to have many more than two), you might be interested in knowing about some recent changes designed to protect you from certain credit card fees and rate increases. They're part of the provisions of the Credit Card Act's amendments to Regulation Z (Truth in Lending).
Yesterday the latest set of rules for credit card companies was issued. Essentially, if you are late making your minimum payment, your credit card company can't charge you a fee of more than $25 unless:

• one of your last six payments was late (in which case your fee may be up to $35), or

• your credit card company can show that the costs it incurs as a result of late payments justify a higher fee.

In addition, your credit card company can't charge a late payment fee that is greater than your minimum payment. So if your minimum payment is $20, your late payment fee can't be more than $20. Similarly, if you exceed your credit limit by $5, you can't be charged an over-the-limit fee of more than $5.

Other recent changes include:

• Your credit card company can't charge you inactivity fees, such as fees for not using your card.

• Your credit card company can't charge you more than one fee for a single event or transaction that violates your cardholder agreement. For example, you can't be charged more than one fee for a single late payment.

• If your credit card company increases your card's Annual Percentage Rate (APR), it must tell you why.

• If your credit card company increases your APR, it must re-evaluate that rate increase every six months. If appropriate, it must reduce your rate within 45 days after completing the evaluation.

Interested in reading about the first set of rules for credit card companies that came out in February? See the Federal Reserve's What You Need to Know: New Credit Card Rules Effective Feb. 22, or visit the FAQ at USA.gov.

What do you think about the new credit card regulations?"

Time to Save for Holiday Shopping

aTime to Save for Holiday Shopping: From GovGab: "I read a interesting blog post from the Baltimore Sun recently about a holiday savings program Toys R Us is starting. The idea of the program is to encourage people to start saving for their holiday shopping now, so that buying presents won't be as much of a burden later in the year.

While it's great that a store is encouraging people save money for big purchases, the author of the blog post points out that you may get a better return on your investment from a bank or other type of savings plan.

Here are some things to consider when trying to figure out which savings option is best for you:

• Are there hidden fees? Is there a fee to join the store's program or are there fees associated with different bank option savings plans?
• What's the interest rate? Check to see whether you'll make more in interest with a savings account at a bank or through the store program.
• What's easier for you? Which program makes it easiest for you to contribute to your savings? You don't want to jump through hoops to set aside money.

If you're wondering where you can pinch pennies to start setting aside money for your big purchases, read 66 Ways to Save Money. You'll find ideas on how to cut back and trim costs in your everyday life, without making saving a burden.

How early do you start saving for the holidays? Are you more inclined to try a store savings program or look at options through your bank?"

Choosing a Credit Card

Choosing a Credit Card: From GovGab:
"Recently I’ve been getting offers for a credit card that I don’t want or need. The more I ignore the offers, the hotter their pursuit and soon the offers were arriving every week!
In a moment of weakness, I considered the offer. I did something a little unusual – I read the fine print. It was very interesting, particularly this little bit: no annual fee for the first year. It had a footnote that I thought might explain the annual fee in subsequent years. I had to turn the paper over to the back and the footnote in teeny tiny print says, “For details, please read the “Pricing Information” section and the Terms and Conditions included with this offer”. Well guess what? The offer was a single sheet of paper and nowhere is there a section titled “Pricing Information” or “Terms and Conditions”. I guess they expected me to lose interest before I got that far.
This is the moment I decided that I don’t want a credit card from a company that goes to such lengths to hide basic account information from a potential customer. I picked up the phone, told them that I am not interested in their credit card offer and to stop sending it to me.
New rules were put in place a few months ago to help protect consumers from deceptive credit card practices, but most of the new credit card rules apply to existing accounts.
If you’re smart, like the average GovGab reader, you’ll be sure to read credit card offers carefully before you get yourself into an account that doesn’t suit your needs. You can find help understanding the terms and fees of your credit card offer and show those credit card companies that you’re too clever to fall into their financial trap.
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New Credit Card Rules

New Credit Card Rules: From LifeHacker:
"Even though I rarely use credit in the check out line, credit card debt is part of my life. I can't say that I completely understand my monthly statement (I just pay it) but hopefully the next one will make more sense. I'm optimistic because new Federal Reserve Board rules that require credit card companies to be clear with consumers go into effect today.

In May 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility,
and Disclosure Act of 2009 (also called the Credit CARD Act).
The law is considered to provide the most sweeping changes in card
protections for consumers since the Truth in Lending Act of 1968. Some of the new law went into effect in August.

Among the rules that start today, credit card companies have to notify you 45 days in advance of increasing your interest rate, changing fees (which now have caps), or whenever they plan to make any other significant changes to your card agreement. Companies cannot increase the interest rate of a new account for the first year and these increased rates can only apply to new charges. There are a few exceptions to these rules, such as introductory interest rates that expire in less than a year and revert to previously disclosed rates. The Federal Reserve Board has set up a website to help consumers choose a new credit card.
What do you think of these new credit card rules?

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