The West Egger

I always knew that my management company (or their insurance) would not cover any of my belongings if something were to happen to my apartment. For many years, I never considered my possessions to be of enough value to get any type of insurance coverage. Now that I live on my own and have acquired a lot of “stuff”, I felt the need to get some peace of mind over all of it. Just last year, I was walking home from the subway  and saw a couple buildings down the block from mine go up in flames. The street level had a laundry-mat/dry cleaners in one building and a chinese restaurant in the other, with apartments above both. It could have just as easily been my building that caught on fire that day, and I would haven’t have had any assistance in getting my life back in order.

Recently, I decided to get some peace of mind from fire, theft, plumbing issues, etc. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Annual debit card spending (in 2009) exceeded credit card spending for the first time in history. I know that we have been consistently moving towards a pay by plastic society, away from paper cash and checks, but was under the impression most of these moves were on credit cards.

I’d like to think the increase in debit card spending is triggered by an active effort to be more financially responsible. I know that last year I tried to start using my debit card, which is a big step for me (I’m very attached to my rewards credit card).

It turns out that consumers were given some help by banks which chose to massively reassess credit limits. Unused portions of credit lines were reduced, and some cards were just closed due to inactivity. Some consumers had no option other than to increase debit card spending.    [Read the rest of this entry...]

I recently saw someone use the Student Advantage discount card. The encounter got me thinking about how little this card is advertised and how much money it saved me in college. On campus I used to see credit cards advertised in front of dining halls, but no where was this student specific discount card mentioned. I was introducted to the Student Advantage card through a friend who used it for discount movie passes. [Read the rest of this entry...]

A friend e-mailed me last week asking about her 401k options. She left her former employer, but also left her 401k plan with them. She was wondering if she should roll the old account over into an account with her new employer.

I let her know that while that is definitely an option, she may be wiser to move the money into a seperate IRA account. When done correctly, an “IRA rollover” has no penalities and no tax implications. In addition to the tax benefits, I have a three reasons why I prefer this option over moving to the new employer.

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My new year’s resolution was to stay on top of my credit reports. Unfortunately, Equifax put a snag in my plans when they refused to provide me with  my free credit report. I tried from January – March to get my report via www.annualcreditreport.com, by calling 1-800-FACT-ACT, and even by writing to them. I spoke with their not so excellent customer service department a few times (1-866-640-2273), set up an account with them, and even offered to pay for my free credit report. I had given up on my resolution officially until today.

Today I went to annualcreditreport.com and gave it one last try. To my surprise, the process went smoothly, with no errors, no messages of a “hold” on my account, and no request to call customer service. I got my credit report and printed it.  For anyone out there that has had trouble with Equifax in the past, please keep trying! I may even be able to help. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Like many of my peers, I am a renter. I recently moved apartments and went through the grueling New York City apartment application process. I was successfully able to find an apartment on my own without a broker (which is a feat in itself). In addition to the laundry list of documents that the management company required with my application, they ran a credit check. At the lease signing, I was bold enough to ask my credit score. Lucky for me, I was pleasantly surprised.

In a past post, I wrote about trying to stay on top of my free credit reportsevery fourth months. The first company I had chosen to request a report from was Equifax, after months of trying to track down my free report online and over the phone, I still have been unsuccessful (I even tried to pay for a report). They may possibly have the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. I won’t give up and will post an update when I can actually get my report from them.

For now, I want to explore the components of FICO scores and how exactly that great score that got me approved for my apartment may have been calculated. [Read the rest of this entry...]

The other day, I ran across an excellent article on Forbes.com discussing student loan repayment options. It drew my attention because I have a mix of public and private loans that I am currently in the process of repaying. I thought I knew all of the different repayment options and lingo, but I was pleasantly surprised. The article starts with basics like level repayment, and goes further to explain  additional topics like the difference between deferment and forbearance.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

It recently occurred to me that many of my peers have heard that it’s not a good idea to cancel an old credit card, but don’t know why. The reason unused credit cards with no balance can be beneficial lies in the esoteric Debt to Credit ratio. I discovered the Debt to Credit ratio after watching TV programs like the Suzie Orman Show and CNBC’s On the Money. These shows helped explain the logic, reasoning, and consequences that lie behind the common truism of not canceling an old credit card.

Initially, it seemed unnecessary for me to keep an open account with my first credit card from college.  I no longer use it due to the out of date rewards program, high interest rate and a low credit line. Thinking the benefits of keeping an unused card open to be a myth, I canceled my first credit card a few years after opening it. However, when I realized the adverse effect this action had on my overall credit score and available credit, I had no choice but to declare this myth a reality.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

I’m back from my studying hiatus and ready to dive back into the blogging world. A couple of months ago, I joined Lending Club , a peer to peer lending site. I was hesitant at first but after reading a lot about the site and finding out that it has registered with the SEC, I went ahead and took the plunge. From what I recall, Lending Club is the first peer to peer lending site to register and get approved by the SEC. The competitors are following in its footsteps.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

I remember that after my first full year out of college, I was eager to file my taxes anticipating a chunky return. The first obstacle in the path to my return was figuring out what program to use. To help out my fellow young professionals, I have laid some out different options for filing online (and offline too, but who uses paper these days). [Read the rest of this entry...]