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Credit Card Fraud

Posted by admin on Jan 31, 2010 in Credit Issues | 0 comments

This day and age, credit card fraud is very common.  Victims of credit card fraud often experience a lot of hassle and stress.  If you have a credit card, you should always be aware of the security features that is included with the card.  If you are looking to get a credit card, you should always make sure that it offers plenty of security.

With credit card companies all over the United States, credit card fraud is becoming more and more common.  Consumers are becoming more and more aware of the situation, and always look for ways to protect themselves.  Many companies that offer credit cards are looking into other methods of security, to prevent credit card fraud from happening.

The best way to protect yourself against fraud is to check the monthly credit card statements you receive.  By looking at your statements, you’ll easily be able to tell if your account has suffered any type of fraud.  If you notice any type of fraudulent charges, you should instantly contact your credit card company and inform them.  This way, they look into it and try to retrieve the money that was illegally stolen from you.

Another way that you protect yourself from fraud is to never reply to emails that may appear to be sent by your bank or credit card company.  There are a lot of fake emails going around, that will steal your information should you enter it in.  You should always use caution with emails, and reply only if you know that the email was indeed sent from your bank or credit card provider.

You can also protect yourself from fraud by keeping your credit card around you at all times.  When you hand it to someone to make a payment, ensure that it is given back to you promptly. You should also keep it safe from others so they can’t view your information.  When you carry your credit card with you, you should always keep it in a safe place, such as your wallet.  This way, you don’t have to worry about it falling out.

There are always steps that you can take, to avoid falling into the trap of thieves and criminals.  Criminals are always out there, looking for ways that they can steal your credit card information.  Therefore, it’s up to you to protect yourself.  Credit card fraud happens quite frequently these days, normally as a result of credit card holders not being aware of how to protect themselves.  Anytime you suspect credit card fraud, you should contact your bank or company.  This way, you can let them know what happened – and take the necessary steps in stopping fraud before it goes on any farther.

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Car Donation Tax Deduction

Posted by admin on Jan 31, 2010 in Tax | 0 comments

Next to wanting to contribute to charitable causes, perhaps your biggest motivation to donate your car is the substantial tax break it can give you. Don’t be misled by information about your return, because the tax breaks you can get from a car donation may not be as big as you think.

If your car donation is worth more than $500, then you should read “Revenue Provisions” in Section 884 of Title VIII. This details the new restrictions on car donations value at more than the aforementioned amount.

In a nutshell, the provision caps the allowable amount of tax deductions to the gross proceeds received by the recipient (the charitable organization you donate your car to) from the sale of your donated vehicle. When you donate a vehicle with a claimed value of $500 or more, your tax-deductible amount will depend on how the charity uses the vehicle.  For example, if the charity sells the car, then you can only deduct the amount of gross proceeds that the charity received from the sale. On the other hand, if the charity plans to use the car for tax-approved charitable work as approved by the law, you can claim the car’s fair market value.

The same law also requires the charity to provide you with a written acknowledgment of the contribution within 30 days from the day you make the donation. If your recipient gives you a false or fraudulent acknowledgment, they will face a penalty.

In many instances the tax breaks you get from donating your car are enough to cover (or exceed) the amount you could have sold the car for. Remember that you usually do not have to pay for any paperwork or dealer fees when you donate your car. In the end it is still more sensible to donate you car rather than sell it. This way you don’t only make a profit – you also help worthy causes.

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Avoid Mistakes when Investing

Posted by admin on Jan 26, 2010 in Investing | 0 comments

Along the way, you may make a few investing mistakes, however there are big mistakes that you absolutely must avoid if you are to be a successful investor. For instance, the biggest investing mistake that you could ever make is to not invest at all, or to put off investing until later. Make your money work for you – even if all you can spare is $20 a week to invest!

While not investing at all or putting off investing until later are big mistakes, investing before you are in the financial position to do so is another big mistake. Get your current financial situation in order first, and then start investing. Get your credit cleaned up, pay off high interest loans and credit cards, and put at least three months of living expenses in savings. Once this is done, you are ready to start letting your money work for you.

Don’t invest to get rich quick. That is the riskiest type of investing that there is, and you will more than likely lose. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it! Instead, invest for the long term, and have the patience to weather the storms and allow your money to grow. Only invest for the short term when you know you will need the money in a short amount of time, and then stick with safe investments, such as certificates of deposit.

Don’t put all of your eggs into one basket. Scatter it around various types of investments for the best returns. Also, don’t move your money around too much. Let it ride. Pick your investments carefully, invest your money, and allow it to grow – don’t panic if the stock drops a few dollars. If the stock is a stable stock, it will go back up.

A common mistake that a lot of people make is thinking that their investments in collectibles will really pay off. Again, if this were true, everyone would do it. Don’t count on your Coke collection or your book collection to pay for your retirement years! Count on investments made with cold hard cash instead.

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Re-Financing to Consolidate Debt

Posted by admin on Jan 23, 2010 in Refinancing | 0 comments

Some homeowners opt to re-finance to consolidate their existing debts. With this type of option, the homeowner can consolidate higher interest debts such as credit card debts under a lower interest home loan. The interest rates associated with home loans are traditionally lower than the rates associated with credit cards by a considerable amount. Deciding whether or not to re-finance for the purpose of debt consolidation can be a rather tricky issue. There are a number of complex factors which enter into the equation including the amount of existing debt, the difference in interest rates as well as the difference in loan terms and the current financial situation of the homeowner.

This article will attempt to make this issue less complex by providing a function definition for debt consolidation and providing answer to two key questions homeowners should ask themselves before re-financing. These questions include whether the homeowner will pay more in the long run by consolidating their debt and will the homeowners financial situation improve if they re-finance.

What is Debt Consolidation?

The term debt consolidation can be somewhat confusing because the term itself is somewhat deceptive. When a homeowner re-finances his home for the purpose of debt consolidation, he is not actually consolidating the debt in the true sense of the word. By definition to consolidate means to unite or to combine into one system. However, this is not what actually happens when debts are consolidated. The existing debts are actually repaid by the debt consolidation loan. Although the total amount of debt remains constant the individual debts are repaid by the new loan.

Prior to the debt consolidation the homeowner may have been repaying a monthly debt to one or more credit card companies, an auto lender, a student loan lender or any number of other lenders but now the homeowner is repaying one debt to the mortgage lender who provided the debt consolidation loan. This new loan will be subject to the applicable loan terms including interest rates and repayment period. Any terms associated with the individual loans are no longer valid as each of these loans has been repaid in full.

Are You Paying More in the Long Run?

When considering debt consolidation it is important to determine whether lower monthly payments or an overall increase in savings is being sought. This is an important consideration because while debt consolidation can lead to lower monthly payments when a lower interest mortgage is obtained to repay higher interest debts there is not always an overall cost savings. This is because interest rate alone does not determine the amount which will be paid in interest. The amount of debt and the loan term, or length of the loan, figure prominently into the equation as well.

As an example consider a debt with a relatively short loan term of five years and an interest only slightly higher than the rate associated with the debt consolidation loan. In this case, if the term of the debt consolidation loan, is 30 years the repayment of the original loan would be stretched out over the course of 30 years at an interest rate which is only slightly lower than the original rate. In this case it is clear the homeowner might end up paying more in the long run. However, the monthly payments will probably be drastically reduced. This type of decision forces the homeowner to decide whether an overall savings or lower monthly payments is more important.

Does Re-Financing Improve Your Financial Situation?

Homeowners who are considering re-financing for the purpose of debt consolidation should carefully consider whether or not their financial situation will be improved by re-financing. This is important because some homeowners may opt to re-finance because it increases their monthly cash flow even if it does not result in an overall cost savings. There are many mortgage calculators available on the Internet which can be used for purposes such as determining whether or not monthly cash flow will increase. Using these calculators and consulting with industry experts will help the homeowner to make a well informed decision.

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Accounting Methods – Cash and Accrual

Posted by admin on Jan 21, 2010 in Tax | 0 comments

When starting a business, you have to determine the method you are going to use for accounting and paying taxes. The two choices are the cash method and the accrual method.

Cash Method

If you are looking for simplicity, the cash method is probably your best accounting choice. Generally, income and deductions can be claimed when payment is actually received or made. This is best shown with an example.

I open a small business and have to order business cards and stationary. I receive the products and pay the invoice on November 18, 2005. Under the cash method, I can deduct the cost on my 2005 tax return.

Some businesses are restricted from using the cash method. C corporations may only use the cash method if they have less than $5 million in gross revenues for a particular year. Professional Service Corporations can use the cash method without limit, while farming corporations can due so if gross revenues are less than $25 million. Tax shelters are prohibited from using the cash method.

Accrual Method

The Accrual Method of accounting is a bit more complex. Under this method, the focus in on the date the expense is incurred, not paid. Although this may seem a small difference, it can play havoc with your books and piece of mind.

Using our previous example, assume I order business cards and stationary on the December 18, 2005. I receive the products on December 30th, but don’t pay the invoice until January 20, 2006. When can the expense be claimed? It depends on when economic performance occurred.

Generally, economic performance occurs when goods or services are provided to you. In the above example, economic performance would arguably occur when the business cards and stationary were delivered with the invoice on December 30th. Thus, I would be able to deduct the expense for the 2005 tax year.

In Closing

As you can see, the cash method is the easier of the two accounting methods. To determine the best method for your business, speak with a tax professional.

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Home Equity Line of Credit Information

Posted by admin on Jan 20, 2010 in Loan | 0 comments

The home equity line of credit is a device used by homeowners who want to borrow against the equity in their home. There are several different types of home equity lines of credit. These differences are frequently based on the interest rate charged the homeowner.

Sometimes a home equity line of credit will have variable interest rates. With variable interest rates, the homeowner cannot know for sure from month to month what the interest payment will be. The interest rate on the loan will vary to the same degree as the interest rate set by the Federal Reserve Board.

In some cases the home equity line of credit offers a low introductory interest rate. These rates sound attractive, but they hide the fact that the homeowner will later be asked to pay a considerably higher rate. The homeowner needs to read the loan materials carefully in order to learn exactly what the payments could be at a much later date.

Other differences in the home equity line of credit often concern the costs of the application process. Some offers of a home equity line of credit come with a large one-time fee. Other offers for a home equity line of credit might avoid mention of such a fee but then add continuing costs. It is also possible that a home equity line of credit could tack on a balloon payment. This is a sizable payment that is demanded from the homeowner once the period of the offer of credit has ended. Alternate offers for a home equity line of credit could avoid requesting a high balloon payment but instead request much higher monthly payments.

If the differences in the various types of home equity lines of credit confuse the homeowner, then it may be better to consider alternatives to the home equity line of credit. The homeowner who does not want to get a home equity line of credit can either takeout a second mortgage or borrow from credit lines that do not use the home as collateral.

In order to borrow from credit lines that do not use the home as collateral the homeowner needs to seek out those who value what he has to offer. Perhaps he owns land in a distant region where the land value is going up. This could possibly be used as collateral on a different type of line of credit. A small business owner who did not want to risk his home for a home equity line of credit might need to think about using the business as collateral.

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Chasing a Chase Credit Card?

Posted by admin on Jan 17, 2010 in Credit Issues | 0 comments

Credit cards indeed have become one of most indispensable tools in managing finances nowadays. Aside from being an effective way of obtaining credit, credit cards also make it easier for people to spend their money the right way. That is why making the crucial decision of choosing the right credit card should be paid more attention.

One of the most popular brand names of credit cards in the market today is the Chase credit card. Like any other credit cards, Chase credit card is a brand name of credit card like MasterCard or Visa that is accepted worlwide. Aside from Chase credit card, the company also offers travel cards, Auto & Gas cards and student cards. Indeed, there are a number of ways in which Chase credit card can be advantageous and beneficial. Probably, the best feature Chase credit card has is the convenience it offers to busy and working people. A Chase credit card is also perfect for customers who are comfortable online. Aside from making it easy for the customer to maintain their account online, Chase credit card lets you check your balance and pay your bills through a secured web site.

Having a chase credit card is quite convenient for the customer because it lets the credit card holder purchase goods easily and quickly whether they buy it directly, over the phone, or even on-line. Since Chase Credit cards are international cards, it is beneficial for people who travel a lot because they can use it all over the world wherever they see the Chase credit card logo.

More and more people are choosing a Chase credit card because it offers a lot of credit card processing alternatives. Because Chase credit cards offers a wide array of processing options, many people appreciate it compared to other brands. One of the most enticing offer Chase credit cards has is that it is available in numerous places. Chade credit  cards also offer many deals and promotions like lower introductory APRs and waived membership fees that allow the holder to save more money.

There are alos many types of Chase credit card that offer reward programs for every purchase the holder makes. For instance, one type of Chase credit card allows you to earn travel miles for every dollar spent using your your Chase credit card. Another type of Chase credit card also allows you to earn reward points for every dollar you spend. These points will then enable you to purchase from a Chase credit card catalogue and they will have your chosen item shipped to right next to your doorstep! These reward options you get from using a Chase credit card are great because it will give your tangible gifts and rewards, free trips and wonderful merchandise without spending a single cent. A Chase credit card is handpicked by many people because its company makes sure that they give good customer service to its customers. Aside from getting all the great deals the card offers, having a Chase credit card can also give the holder instant access to customer support around 24/7. This will enable the customer to contact someone if his or her Chase credit card is stolen. Apart from this round-the-clock feature, Chase credit card also protects its customers from identity of thieves.

When you apply for Chase credit card, some of the benefits include 0% intro APR on all purchases and balance transfers you make for up to six months. Chase credit card does not charge any annual fee so it will fit your budget and, a Chase credit card have interest-free grace period as long as you pay your bill in full each month. Having a Chase credit card also allows the holder to earn cash rewards on purchases and cash rewards. Apart from these, chase credit card has no balance transfer fee for balances transferred during the introductory period and you have the privilege to apply online over a secure server.

Although it offers a lot of advantages, bear in mind that a chase credit card it is still a credit card. And like any other credit cards, there are also a number of ways in which chase credit card usage can be less positive.

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