Save Money. Save Time. Go Green.

Imagine how it would feel never to worry about debt again.

by admin - February 24th, 2010

Primerica DebtWatchers™

Empowers you to achieve debt freedom. 

 

Have you tried to get out of debt before?  Were you overwhelmed by your options?  Without an idea of where to start, chances are, your food intentions were undermined.  If you feel overwhelmed by your personal debt situation, or want to get out of debt but don’t know where to start, Primerica DebtWatchers is the product for you.1

Available through Primerica, in partnership with Equifax, DebtWatchers can help you get a handle on monitoring your debt and create a plan towards eliminating it.2,3  It allows you to take control and be informed and up-to-date about your debt situation, all in a way that’s incredibly easy to understand.

Primerica DebtWatchers:

What It Does How It Help You
Allows you to use the information in your Equifax Credit Report™ to put together a simple to understand “Fast Pay Plan” for paying off your debt.4 You can see the date when your debts could be paid off sooner than you thought – without paying additional interest!
Notifies you electronically on an ongoing basis, comparing your Fast Pay Plan with actual balances as reported to Equifax by your creditors. See how following your Fast Pay Plan impacts your actual debt balances in a dynamic way.
Notifies you via email or text message of key changes to your Equifax Credit Report™ such as when new accounts are opened or someone makes an inquiry into your credit file. Stay informed and up-to-date about you Equifax Credit Report™ and know who’s making credit inquiries.
Provides access to 4 Score Power®5 Reports, which include 4 full Equifax Credits Reports™ and 4 updated FICO® Scores every 12 months.5 You can see your FICO® score and Equifax Credit Report™ online, receive an explanation of what your score means and the factors affecting your score, and use an interactive Score Simulator to see how your actions may impact your score.6
Includes Identity Theft Insurance up to $25,000 with no deductible (certain limitations and exclusions apply).7 Provides protection in the event of identity theft.

 

All this and more … for only $14.95 a month!

 

Primerica DebtWatchers Is Different!

Primerica DebtWatchers is easy to use, and provides you the accountability you need to get on the road to debt freedom.  It’s automated, dynamic and when you follow the plan you create, it works!

 

The Journey to Debt Freedom Can Begin with One Step

Sign up for DebtWatchers today and take the first step towards debt freedom.  It’s easy!

Go to my.primerica.com and click on the “Register for an account” link to set up a new account with Primerica.  Follow the registration instructions online and keep this brochure handy – you will be asked to enter your Primerica representative’s five-digit solution number, ‘TEUJ8’ for Kathleen McCann, kmccann@primerica.com.  To protect your identity, you may be prompted to answer questions about your credit file that only you would know. 

 

NOTE:  Primerica, representatives of Primerica, Equifax and DebtWatchers will not act as an intermediary between DebtWatchers customers and their creditors and do not imply, promise or guarantee that credit files or credit scores will or may be improved, repaired, boosted, enhanced, corrected or increased by the use of the DebtWatchers product.  See http://my.primerica.com and below for additional important Disclosures.

1.Primerica DebtWatchers™ is a trademark of Primerica Client Services, Inc.  2.  References to Primerica refer to Primerica Client Services, Inc., an affiliate of Primerica Financial Services, Inc.  3. References to Equifax refer to Equifax Consumer Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Equifax Inc.  4. Equifax Credit Report™ is a trademark of Equifax Inc.  5. ScorePower® is a registered trademark of Equifax Inc.  6. FICO® is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation.  7. Identity Theft Insurance underwritten by member companies of American International Group, Inc.  The description herein is a summary only.  It does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described.  Please refer to the actual policies for complete details of coverage and exclusions.

 

© 2009 Primerica Financial Services

39711/10.09/09PFS252-1/A9105

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Mixed blessing: credit card reform may shock some.

by admin - February 24th, 2010

CreditCardPicture

This is an insightful article from the Associated Press, as seen on http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Mixed-blessing-credit-card-apf-2338521177.html?x=0

2/23/2010

Mixed blessing: credit card reform may shock some

New credit card law restricts bank tactics, but sent interest rates up and credit lines down

AP Associated Press

By Eileen Aj Connelly, AP Personal Finance Writer , On Sunday February 21, 2010, 2:29 pm ESTNEW YORK (AP) — Your next credit card statement is going to contain an ugly truth: how much that card really costs to use.Now, thanks to a long-awaited law that goes into effect Monday, you’ll know that if you pay the minimum on a $3,000 balance with a 14 percent interest rate, it could take you 10 years to pay off.

“Jaws will drop,” said David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson Report, a newsletter that tracks the industry. “I don’t doubt for a nanosecond that it’s going to give a lot of people a sinking feeling in their stomachs.”

That’s not all that will make them queasy.

During the past nine months, credit card companies jacked up interest rates, created new fees and cut credit lines. They also closed down millions of accounts. So a law hailed as the most sweeping piece of consumer legislation in decades has helped make it more difficult for millions of Americans to get credit, and made that credit more expensive.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The law that President Barack Obama signed last May shields card users from sudden interest rate hikes, excessive fees and other gimmicks that card companies have used to drive up profits. Consumers will save at least $10 billion a year from curbs on interest rate increases alone, according to the Pew Charitable Trust, which tracks credit card issues.

But there was a catch. Card companies had nine months to prepare while certain rules were clarified by the Federal Reserve. They used that time to take actions that ended up hurting the same customers who were supposed to be helped.

Consumer advocates say the law still offers important protections for the users of some 1.4 billion credit cards.

“We expected some rate increases; we expected some annual fees,” said Ed Mierzwinski of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, an advocacy organization that lobbied for the law.

To be sure, the law takes effect while credit card companies are still reeling from the recession.

In 2007, the top 12 card issuers earned a combined $19 billion from credit cards, according to The Nilson Report. A year later, amid the financial meltdown, profits for those companies fell more than 65 percent to $6.32 billion. The plunge was largely because defaults ballooned as unemployment soared.

Profit figures for 2009 aren’t yet available. But banks wrote off about $35 billion in credit card debt last year, as the unemployment rate topped 10 percent. Analysts predict the default rate will remain at least twice as high as normal through this year, and longer if unemployment stays high.

At the same time, the law is expected to cut into future profits. FICO Inc., the company best known for its credit scores, projects the average card will generate less than $100 a month in revenue within three years, down from $200 a month before the law.

That helps explain why the industry reacted so aggressively to the legislation. Among the moves it made:

– Resurrected annual fees.

Annual fees, common until about 10 years ago, have made a comeback. During the final three months of last year, 43 percent of new offers for credit cards contained annual fees, versus 25 percent in the same period a year earlier, according to Mintel International, which tracks marketing data. Several banks also added these fees to existing accounts. One example: Many Citigroup customers will start paying a $60 annual fee on April 1.

– Created new fees and raised old ones.

These include a $1 processing fee for paper statements for cards issued by stores such as Victoria’s Secret and Ann Taylor. Another example is a $19 inactivity fee Fifth Third Bank now charges customers who haven’t used their card for six months.

Other banks increased existing fees. JPMorgan Chase, for instance raised the cost of balance transfers from one card to another to 5 percent of the transfer from 3 percent.

– Raised interest rates.

The average rate offered for a new card climbed to 13.6 percent last week, from 10.7 percent during the same week a year ago — meaning cardholders had to pay almost 30 percent more in interest, according to Bankrate.com.

For millions of other accounts, variable interest rates that can rise with the market replaced fixed rates. The Fed is expected to start raising its benchmark interest rates later this year, which would likely trigger an increase on those cards.

Besides making credit more expensive, banks also made it harder to get and keep credit cards. One big reason: Since the financial meltdown, many credit card issuers have been trying to reduce risk.

The number of Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards in circulation dropped 15 percent in 2009, for example. Rarely used cards were among the first cut off. Some cards linked to rewards programs for purchases like gasoline were likewise shut down.

Card companies also slashed credit limits for millions of accounts that remain open. About 40 percent of banks cut credit lines on existing accounts, according to the consultant TowerGroup, which estimated that such moves eliminated about $1 trillion in available credit. Much of that was unused.

Credit lines were frequently cut in regions most affected by the housing crisis and high unemployment, such as Florida and California, said Curt Beaudouin, a senior analyst at Moody’s Investors Service. “They’re not doing it willy nilly, they’re doing it systematically,” he said.

Companies are also making fewer solicitations. Mailed offers for new cards increased in the final three months of 2009 for the first time in two years, but there were only about 575 million. That’s about a third of the average number of quarterly offers from 2000 through 2008, according to Mintel.

Because the law makes credit cards less profitable, some subprime borrowers may not be able to get cards at all, at least for the next few years. There’s no fixed definition, but subprime borrowers generally have a FICO score below 660. For a good portion of this group, options may be limited to alternatives like PayPal and other electronic payment services, prepaid cards and payday lenders.

“Not everyone either deserves or should have an open-ended credit card,” said Roger C. Hochschild, chief operating officer of Discover Financial Services.

Joining those who won’t easily get cards: college students and others under age 21. The law strictly limits card marketing on campuses, ending giveaways like T-shirts and pizza Cards can only be granted to applicants who show they have the means to repay, or those who have a co-signer who can pay.

“Some of the more vulnerable parts of the population are a little bit more protected,” said Georgetown University finance professor James Angel. But he predicts card companies will find ways around most of the new restrictions. And once the economy recovers, he expects the lending spigot to open again.

In the meantime, there is one group of consumers that banks will chase after — those who carry a balance from month to month for at least part of the year, and pay their bills on time. They’re the most profitable and least risky group for banks.

Also a target customer: anyone willing to do more business with the bank that issues their card, say opening a checking or savings account or taking out a mortgage.

“What we want is a deeper relationship with our customers,” said Andy Rowe, an executive vice president with Bank of America’s card business. Customers willing to stick with a single bank may even be able to get annual fees waived or get a better interest rate, he said. “That’s where the competition will be.”

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Watch Out for New Credit Card Traps

by admin - February 24th, 2010

CreditCardPicture

I thought the following article was very pertinent and informative.  It is shown as is from http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108883/watch-out-for-new-credit-card-traps?mod=bb-creditcards

Watch Out for New Credit Card Traps

by David Ellis
Monday, February 22, 2010

provided by CNNMoney.com

If you haven’t heard, big changes are soon coming for the credit card business.

The CARD Act, which was signed into law last May, is effective as of Monday, meaning big changes for the millions of card-carrying Americans across the country.

Among other things, it will eliminate some of the more egregious practices of the past like so-called “double-cycle billing,” arbitrary rate increases and hefty fees for exceeding your credit limit.

But while the new law also promises consumers more transparency about their credit card bill, cardholders still need to watch out for a whole new series of traps and tricks.

Higher Fees

For starters, consumers could suddenly find themselves socked with a variety of new fees and charges.

Banks and other card issuers have already been aggressively implementing new fees or raising existing ones to help make up for any potential revenue lost as a result of the CARD Act.

Last May, for example, Discover Financial Services announced it would start charging a 2% fee on all purchases made outside the United States.

And whereas 3% was once the standard charge for rolling over a balance from one credit card to another, issuers like JPMorgan Chase are now assessing customers a 5% fee, according to Bill Hardekopf, CEO of the card rating site LowCards.com.

But with the new law setting no restrictions on the types of fees issuers can implement, consumers should pay particularly close attention to the “Terms and Conditions” section of their statement so they know exactly what they are being charged for, warn experts.

“Fees are the one source of revenue that will become more and more important,” said Hardekopf.

Tougher to Get a Card

As Congress moved closer to passing the law last spring, banking industry advocates cautioned that shaking up the status quo would mean that credit would be more difficult to come by for consumers.

So far, that seems to be playing out as predicted.

The amount of credit made available to consumers by credit card companies plunged by $252 billion, or 7%, between March and September of last year, according to IRA Bank Monitor.

Credit is poised to tighten even further. As part of the CARD Act, credit card companies will be severely restricted in how they market cards to college students, potentially shrinking an important part of their business.

But issuers are also expected to implement much more severe underwriting practices. Some may demand, for example, details on an applicant’s income or proof of other savings.

Consumers with poor or even a mediocre credit history, as a result, may find it much more difficult to get a card or have their credit limit extended after the new law takes effect on Feb. 22, said Joseph Ridout of the advocacy group Consumer Action.

“I think it is fair to assume that credit card companies are going to scrutinize their potential customers a lot more closely than they did in the past,” he said.

Fewer Rewards

Consumers may also be increasingly unable to enjoy the fruits of their spending as a result of the new law.

It wasn’t that long ago where a cardholder could easily earn credit towards a free airline ticket or cash back for every dollar spent. But issuers are now quietly becoming more stingy with their rewards in an effort to save money.

American Express, for example, recently told its co-branded card customers they would not be able to accrue reward points on their purchases if they were late with a payment. Only by paying a $29 fee could they recoup those points.

To avoid missing out, experts suggest that consumers carefully read any notices they get from their credit card company about changes to their loyalty or rewards program.

“Rewards can be another way of penalizing people too,” notes Nick Bourke, manager of the Pew Safe Credit Cards Project.

Rising Rates

One of the biggest victories for consumers in the new law are a series of limits on how and when credit card companies can set interest rates.

Whereas in the past, banks could raise your annual percentage rate just for missing a payment on your cell phone bill or without giving a consumer much advance notice, such practices will soon be outlawed. Issuers now have to alert you at least 45 days in advance before raising your rate under the CARD Act.

The new law won’t shield consumers from rate hikes altogether, though.

In recent months, banks have moved consumers over to so-called variable rate cards, whose rates fluctuate based on the direction of the prime rate. And with that rate at historic lows, experts said consumers should be prepared for at least a moderate increase in their APR at some point.

The new law also does not include any sort of interest rate cap banks and issuers can charge customers that are late on their payment by two months or more.

Credit card companies may remain reluctant to impose any usurious rates ahead of a review of penalty rates and fees by the Federal Reserve scheduled for later this year and given the public discontent for banks these days.

But that doesn’t mean the days of big rate hikes are gone for good, Bourke said — especially for consumers who are overwhelmed by debt. So experts suggest consumers should take extra care to stay current on their bills.

“The [CARD] Act doesn’t absolve anyone from having to pay back their bills or take people out of harm’s way if they run into trouble,” said Bourke.

Copyrighted, CNNMoney. All Rights Reserved.

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Reduce your Grocery Bill Using Coupons

by admin - February 24th, 2010

The following are my notes from the Fun and Frugal session of the Women’s Conference at Calvary Baptist Church on 2/6/2010.  Thank you, Kathy Riley, for the wonderful collection of ideas!

 Fun and Frugal

By Kathy Riley

2/6/2010

 General Coupon Use Information

*  Being frugal is part of being a Proverbs 31 woman.  Now we would say, “She rose early and clipped her coupons to buy her family meat at the grocery store.”

 *  Wait to buy products when you have a coupon.  Use the coupon in combination with the sale that usually occurs within the date range on the coupon.  Take advantage of coupon stacking by combining a manufacturer’s coupon and a store coupon for the same product.  When you use coupons, you can’t be really brand loyal.  Be flexible.

 *  Grocery stores may be over priced for regular prices, but when they have sales, they have GOOD sales.

 *  Get to be friends with the butcher so you can hear more about the best buys for the meats.  Marked down meat is ok if you freeze or cook it immediately.

 *  Always check the price per (oz, items, etc.).  Bigger is not always better.

 *  Buy the grocery stores loss leaders (milk, chicken, etc.).  You’ll often see them in their ads and on the endcaps of the aisles. 

 *  Most stores only double coupons up to 50 cents.  Use coupons over 50 cents at WalMart or other discount store.

 *  You need to have storage space to store the items.  You stock up on products when you’ve got the coupons for them.  If you buy several or dozens when you’ve got the coupons, you’ll never have to buy them for full price because you’ll always have them on hand.

 *  Plan meals around what’s on sale this week plus what you’ve already stocked up on.

 

Store Specific Information

* Look for grocery sales like Kroger’s mega sales: 10 for $10 or buy 10 items and take $5 off.  There are usually 6-8 weeks between mega sales.

 *  Kathy likes Walgreen’s deals.  They issue mega bucks for each purchase.  You cannot use more than 1 coupon per item.  Walgreen’s bucks expire in just 2-3 weeks, so you must use them!  Walgreen’s also has some free sale items.  Get to Walgreen’s by Monday.  They will run out quickly.

 *  By combining all these tips (coupons, sales, Walgreen’s bucks) you may actually wind up getting products for free or getting money back from it.

*  Walgreen’s prescrips programs.  Shop around between stores – CVS, Walgreens, WalMart.  Many will price match.

 *  Target has started honoring others stores’ prices.

 Where to find coupons

Coupons.com

Smartsource.com

Redplum.com

Ppgazette.com

Bricks.com

Kraft.com

All You magazine

Blinking red boxes in stores

Peel off coupons on products

Tear pads (notepads of coupons found in store aisles)

Target.com (click on coupons)

Sunday papers

Ask others for their unused coupons

 

You may want to have a separate email address for the e-coupons you sign up for online.

E-coupons from the store websites

Cellfire.com

Shortcuts.com

Earthfare.com – free items

Organiccoupon.com

Retailmenot.com

Hotcouponworld.com

 

How to organize your coupons 

File only online coupons in the regular expandable coupon file.  Create a weekly folder for the whole coupon circulars from the newspaper, marking the dates for each week on the folder.  You may want to keep these up to a year.  The websites above will tell you which circular has which coupon that correspond to this week’s sales.

 

Websites to follow

You may also get coupons by writing to the product’s company’s address or going to their website. 

 

Coupon Katie [local for Knoxville, TN] – http://couponkatie.com/

Couponing in Critical Times – http://couponingincriticaltimes.blogspot.com/

Coupon Mommie – http://www.couponmommie.com/

Frugalissa Finds – http://www.frugalissafinds.com/

Southern Savers – http://www.southernsavers.com/

Faithful Provisions – http://www.faithfulprovisions.com/

Coupon Mom – This is a database of coupons.  (Coupon Mom.com  S = Smart Saver) – http://www.couponmom.com/

Money Saving Methods – http://www.moneysavingmethods.com/

Living On More for Less – http://www.livingonmoreforless.com/

Saving and Giving – http://savingandgiving.blogspot.com/

Money Saving Mom – http://moneysavingmom.com/

Mojo Savings – http://mojosavings.com/

Stretching a Buck – http://www.stretchingabuckblog.com/

The Thrifty Couple – http://thethriftycouple.com/

Saving With Amy – http://www.savingwithamy.com/

Frugal Reality – http://frugalreality.com/

Hip 2 Save – http://hip2save.com/

The Coupon Project – http://www.thecouponproject.com/

Commonsense with Money – http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/

Be Centsable – http://www.becentsable.com/

Give Me Neither – http://givemeneither.com/

Kathy shops Kroger and Walgreen’s weekly and shops WalMart monthly.

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Save Water

by admin - January 22nd, 2010

The biggest water users in your home are your toilets, shower, dishwasher and washing machine. Do your best to use the least amount of water possible for any task. This will save you money and be green as well.

GENERAL TIPS
- Collect the water while you wait for your water to warm up before washing your hands or taking your shower. This can be used for the toilet tank, cleaning, for watering your plants or whatever you think is best for your home.
- Turn off the faucet whenever you are not actively using the water.
- Use cold water whenever you can. Hot water is more expensive because it has to be heated in your water heater first.
- Install aerators on your faucets.
- Use water barrels to catch rain water from your home’s gutters to store and use later to water the lawn or flower beds.
- Rinse friuts and vegetables in a bowl of water heather than letting the faucet run.

TOILETS
- Install a dam in the toilet tank to reduce the water used. You can also use a glass bottle, weighted down so it won’t float around and interfere with the toilet flapper.
- Use the restroom at work before you go home for the day.
- In extreme cases, only flush for #2.

SHOWERS
- As noted above, if you can collect the water while you wait for the shower to warm up, that can be used elsewhere. Also, if you can catch some of the soapy water, that can be used on your plants and flower beds. The soap actually helps to repel insects from your plants.
- Install low flow shower heads. There are some you can even turn off while you are soaping up.
- In extreme cases, you could get wet, turn off the water while you soap up, then turn the water back on to rinse off everything at once. NOTE: I wouldn’t do this if it is cold in the house. Brrr!

DISHWASHER
- Only use the dishwasher if there is a full load of dishes.
- Soak dishes and utensils that may be hard to clean in the least amount of water needed rather than running the water over them.
- You can use a large, plastic tumbler with a large, flat, stable base to soak the dirty silverware and utensils. I use a 1/2 gallon (64 oz) size cup from an oversized drink at a fast food restaurant. This also saves me time because I don’t have to scrub them. I run this cup through the dishwasher with each load.
- You could skip the dishwasher altogether and soak, scrub and rinse the dishes by hand.
- When it is time to replace your dishwasher, try to find the best energy star rated appliance you can reasonably afford. This will be more energy efficient, using less water and electricity.

WASHING MACHINE
- Only use the washing machine if there is a full load of clothes.
- Soak dishes, utensils and clothes that may be hard to clean in the least amount of water needed rather than running the water over them.
- When it is time to replace your washing machine, try to find the best energy star rated appliance you can reasonably afford. This will be more energy efficient, using less water and electricity.

I hope this helps you and your family. Best wishes always!

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Welcome to our site!

by admin - January 8th, 2010

Welcome to “Save money. Save time. Go green.” We will cover various topics to help you do just that. We have categorized these topics by which bill they will impact whenever possible so you can easily decide which posts you might need to read first. More to come in the following days.

Thank you for taking the time to visit with us.

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