miahz » finance

My Credit Is Ahead of the Curve

Jeremiah — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:05:44 +0000

A month ago i signed up at Credit Karma which provides a free look at your credit score any time you want. The point being you should be aware of changes to your score so you can follow up on any issues with creditors. And it provides a no-cost alternative to the credit score/report subscription scams (Google “credit score”).

My score went up one point from last month. I’ve had solid credit for a while, and it’s nice to put a number on it, and to see that i’m ahead of most scores. I found Credit Karma when Mint kept asking me to fill in my credit score and i didn’t know what it was.

My position on the chart, ahead of the majority of the population.

As for how i got my score up to that zone, that’s for another post.

Quote Of The Day

Jeremiah — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 22:41:24 +0000

“If you need it now you’ll need it in two weeks. If you don’t need it in two weeks (or don’t remember to go back and buy it) you’ve just saved yourself some money.”

Credit Review: 7 simple steps to grow your fortune [via]

Cash Back On Gift Cards

Jeremiah — Sat, 03 Dec 2005 00:42:38 +0000

Tip: Many supermarkets and drugstores (like Safeway) sell gift cards to stores like Starbucks, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, Circuit City, you name it. Buy a gift card at a grocery store with this card, and boom! 5% cash back.

MyMoneyBlog: What’s in MY wallet? My daily-use credit cards (Part 1 of 3)

Good stuff. Used to use my Dividend card for everything, but the balance got away from me, so now i stick to fuel and larger easy-to-track purchases. I’m mad i didn’t see this a few days sooner—i just bought a Starbucks gift card from a Starbucks store. Never crossed my mind to swing by Safeway.

SavING

Jeremiah — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 09:16:22 +0000

I need to start saving. ING Direct‘s savings options look pretty good—no fees or minimums [Quicken or Microsoft Money. I’ve been sort of using a simple Excel sheet mostly to keep track of my bills and make sure i have enough to pay them. But it’s too manual. And only a narrow view of all my finances. Not quite the comprehensive monthly budget i’d like.

Update:
And with a little searching, i found the answer to my only remaining question: “Can i direct deposit into an ING Direct savings account?” This Consumerism Commentary article links to ING’s routing number and other info, necessary for direct deposits.

Wal-Mart’s Bait

Jeremiah — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 07:41:13 +0000

Wal-Mart’s Pricing Strategy.

WalMart goes to great lengths to have an alluring and unbeatable opening price point item in each category- from TV sets to cosmetics to bathing suits. These are the “unbelievable” prices that the company has become famous for (for example, a microwave oven for $14.67). The psychological impact of this opening price point is huge- consumers are led to believe that all of WalMart’s prices are this low. However, the reality is quite different.

I think i use Wal-Mart pretty well—mostly for their just-as-good generic-brand imitations (ibuprofen, allergy medicine, etc.) and items i know have the best price. Though i have to admit, those $97 TVs always make me slow my pace and look closer on my way to the gummi bear aisle. But usually, i just play it safe and go to Target.