September 28, 2009
Many real estate agents and home appraisers are complaining that new rules for appraisers are having an unintended consequence: a lot of bad appraisals. Many agents and mortgage brokers say problems are delaying sales and refinancings, and could be costing homeowners up to $3 billion each year.
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September 27, 2009
Here’s a newly released coupon for 25% off real FICO scores and all other credit products at myFico.com. Use the promotional code FINANCIALHELP25 to get 25% off and a FICO score for less than $12, the best discount currently available:
The code is good until September 30th (although try it anyways and see if it works after that date), so be quick about it. For the Equifax credit score only, you can get it for $10.95 using the code SW94608, which is over 30% off. You enter the promo code relatively late in the buying process, right before entering your credit card information. Look for this:
Experian no longer allows Fair Isaac to sell FICO scores to consumers at all (even though lenders still buy and use them). They sell their own “FAKE-O” version now. Lenders almost always use FICO scores in their decisions, so those are the only ones you should pay for.
For the diligent, a cheaper alternative is to sign up for a free 30-day trial of Scorewatch, which includes two free Equifax scores and reports. Just remember to cancel as soon as you decide you don’t need it anymore. You are allowed to cancel online, without having to even call in.
You can always request your credit reports (not scores) once every 12 months at AnnualCreditReport.com. If you’ve already done that, you can still try these other direct methods for the unemployed, those denied credit, and victims of identity theft.
September 26, 2009
Sometimes, there’s no one to blame but yourself.
For whatever reason, my doctor visit a few days ago really struck a chord and got my blood boiling. I caught a cold and I went to see a doctor to make sure it’s just regular coughing and nothing more serious. The $25 co-pay seemed unnecessary but for the peace of mind, it was a good idea (especially when your wife is pregnant and insisted that you go).
When I got there, yada-yada-yada, the doctor said I’ll be fine, yada-yada-yada, and I came out with coughing medicine and a generic version of Claritin D. Only that the bill wasn’t $25, it added up to be $42. Worst of all, I didn’t even know how much it was until the medicine was already prepared and the cashier asked for a signature.
The logical side of my brain is telling me that I’m over-reacting (and I know I am), but the emotional side is really crying foul right now. Why did a 10 minute talk with the doctor and medicine that I could get at a pharmacy for $10 cost so much, especially when I am already insured? $40 is an I can likely forget, but I honestly can put two twenties to better use.
At least there’s some good that will come out of this. If I want to stop paying for some doctor’s McMansion, then one of my main focus should be on having better health. Everyone knows that bad habits lead to poor health, which leads to more hospital visits. So I have a plan. Here’s what I (and everyone who cares) should do.
I’m no nutritionist, so my plan is quite simple. Yet, if all of us just do these two simple things, we could cut our health bill tremendously.
If I didn’t get sick, I could get my $40, wait, $41.47 back.
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September 25, 2009
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Image from Flikr.
After AT&T delayed the launch of the iPhone multimedia messaging service (iPhone MMS) multiple times, the new, free feature will finally be available on iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. If you have an iPhone 2G or iPhone 1G, the wait is not over for you. There’s no word on when iPhone MMS will be available for those models. It might take as long as reaching tax resolution or longer.
PC World reports that AT&T, the exclusive iPhone carrier, would not allow iPhone MMS to launch until the network was ready to handle the additional traffic. PC World also thinks that this was an unnecessary precaution because “the service in question has been out for years on other handsets and hasn’t exactly taken the mobile world by storm.”
The new iPhone MMS feature allows users to send photos, audio recordings, video clips or contact information and has a short messaging service. AT&T expects iPhone MMS to create record traffic volumes. In June, when Apple announce the iPhone MMS was ready, AT&T was concerned that it would crash the network.
While the same service on other phones has not generated groundbreaking levels of traffic, in my experience iPhone users have a tendency to take advantage of every feature they can, whether they need to or not. … click here to read the rest of the article titled “iPhone MMS | Free Service Finally Launches Today“
September 24, 2009
A pregnant woman is pregnant again… at the same time, and they aren't twins! (Photo: wikipedia.org)
Todd and Julia Grovenburg of Arkansas are expecting new additions to their family. However, unlike the vast majority of expectant mothers with two kids on the way, Julia Grovenburg isn’t going to have twins, and the children aren’t going to be at least nine months apart. Her children, a girl to be named Jillian and a boy to be named Hudson, were conceived two-and-one-half weeks apart. They’re growing alongside one another and will have separate due dates.
Think one kid is expensive? Try two of them this way!
Julia Grovenburg is experiencing superfetation, which was discovered during a routine ultrasound. ABC News reports that this rare medical occurrence has doctors beside themselves.
“They saw one sack, one baby developing, and that baby had a certain gestational age; then they noticed a second heartbeat in a child that was much, much younger developmentally,” Dr. Karen Boyle commented. She also noted that the difference in size and development between the fetuses is uncommon. … click here to read the rest of the article titled “Pregnant Woman Pregnant Again | A Rare Superfetation Case“
September 23, 2009
As lawmakers prepare to implement sweeping credit card reforms, Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are moving to overhaul overdraft fees and practices that have been criticized industry wide as excessive and harmful to consumers.
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Read more about Bank Of America, JPMorgan Overhaul Overdraft Fees…
September 22, 2009
My grandpa always knew of a workaround, and my mom always knew of a more frugal alternative.
In my family, few could rival my grandfather’s creativity in creating handmade equivalents. Naturally, he became the go to person whenever we needed a workaround. Bought a camera that didn’t come with a stand? Grandpa would fix that with a few paperclips (I’m not kidding). Had a garage door opener with a broken clip? Problem solved with a few strings.
My mom is extremely resourceful when it comes to ways of saving money. Just when you thought you got maximum mileage out of something you bought, my mom could always reuse it in a whole new way. Every time I thought buying was the only option, my mom would give a suggestion for a free alternative.
I was lucky to be so closed to them, but there’s no need to envy me. If you don’t know anyone resourceful, then become one yourself. It’s not like you are missing anything to do so. In fact, I’d argue that you have too much to truly become more creative. My grandfather figured out how to fix and make his own tools because he had no money to buy them. My mom figured out how to save money because she didn’t have much to spend and a whole family to feed. They didn’t even purposefully set out to become successful at it, yet they could in some way be categorized as experts of what they do. If you want to become successful, here are a few crucial points to remember.
The last point is worth repeating. Far too many people give up as soon as initial results don’t point towards success. Michael Jordan is talented, but he was cut from his high school varsity basketball team in his tenth grade. If he simply gave up, not only himself, but all of sports, let alone basketball will be very different today.
No one is born successful. There’s talent, but the reason for over achievement is largely due to the willingness to work hard, the eagerness to take action and the determination to not giving up.
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Read more of How to Become Successful in Anything Worth a Damn…
September 22, 2009
I hope that all of you in the Atlanta metro area are safe and dry right now. I’d also like to take this chance to correct a common misconception, which is often promoted by the media every time a flood occurs. As just one example, take this CNN article:
He hustled out of bed and rushed to the door. There were his neighbors, surrounded by floodwaters the neighborhood is supposed to experience only once every 100 years.
The highlighted sentence is not accurate, and gets people thinking strange thoughts like “Oh the last flood was in 1969, I should be good until 2069 or so”. The fact is there is a reason we hear about such floods all the time. Let’s look at what FEMA has to say:
The term “100-year flood” is misleading. It is not the flood that will occur once every 100 years. Rather, it is the flood elevation that has a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded each year. Thus, the 100-year flood could occur more than once in a relatively short period of time.
Again, if you live in a 100-year floodplain, you have 1 percent chance of being flooded every year. Think of how concerned you’d be if you were told there was a 1-in-100 chance of your house burning down every year. The way the math works out, this means that over a 30-year mortgage, there is a 26% chance you’ll have a 100-year flood during that time period (1 – (0.99)30). This is also why most people with home loans in such areas are required to buy flood insurance.
Many people are in 500-year flood plains, which gets people even less worried. “The last flood was in 1909, we’re good for another 400 years!” Actually, having a 0.2% chance of a flood each and every year works out to a 6% chance of occurring at least once over a span of 30 years, or 1-in-17.
If you haven’t already, take some time and check if you are in a flood plain here. Some may consider buying flood insurance even if you are not required to by your mortgage lender.
Read more about 100-Year Floods Are More Common Than You Think…
September 21, 2009
Deep into this recession, we know that an increasing number of people can no longer pay their mortgages, their credit card balances or their car loans. Now throw into the mix the rising number of defaults on student loans.
Read more about Well Educated and Flat Broke: Student Loans Take a Toll…
September 21, 2009
This is a guest post from Kerry K. Taylor, author of Squawkfox, a blog where frugal living is fun. On today’s episode of The Personal Finance Hour, Jim and I will be discussing job-hunting skills. First, though, here’s Kerry’s advice about résumés.
If you’re anything like my friends, your résumé is probably a little stale and perhaps a lot rotten. I’m sure your skills are not rotten and don’t deserve to be trashed as rubbish. But honestly, very few job hunters know how to write a résumé that lands them a job interview. Since having income is an important step towards getting rich slowly, it pays to review your résumé for rottenness before sending it out.
I’ve been on both ends of the résumé game. I’ve reviewed hundreds of résumés as part of a hiring team. I’ve also applied to numerous jobs in various fields using countless résumé types. Over the years I’ve discovered why few résumés stand out and why most could use a rescue. If you’re looking to land a job interview and haven’t had much success, then grab a life preserver and try these five ways to rescue your rotten résumé.
Tip One: Match Your Skills to Employer Requirements
News Flash: Your résumé isn’t about you. It’s about how well your skills and experiences match the employer’s job requirements. If your résumé reads more like a personal history book then you’re heading to the rotten résumé pile. Sorry. The most effective résumés are clearly focused on a specific job title and address the employer’s stated needs.
Linking customized examples that demonstrate your experience, skills, and knowledge to a specific job posting helps you:
Need some examples and help? Download my Make Your Match worksheet to rescue your résumé from the rotten pile.
Tip Two: Add Action Words!
If your résumé seems dull and lifeless, chances are you need to activate it with some action words. Action words, or verbs, bring life to an otherwise rotten résumé by setting your skills on fire, giving your credentials authority and power. Verbs are important to include since they show hiring managers what actions you’ve taken in previous jobs. You’re being hired to do something, so show what you’ve done by preceding your skills and experiences with action verbs!
Can’t find the right verbs to match your skills? Learn how to word your résumé right by adding the 6 action words that make your résumé rock.
Tip Three: Use Your Keywords
Where action verbs activate your résumé, keywords are the nouns that explain to hiring managers what things you performed the actions on. Employers want to know the skills and qualifications you offer, so explain what skills you possess with the right keywords and get yourself onto the interview list!
To find qualified candidates, some employers use software programs, internet job boards, and résumé databases to search for those applications matching the keywords they target. In today’s world of keywords and search engine technology, if your résumé doesn’t contain the right mix of job-specific keywords, then your résumé may stay buried in the digital dungeon that is a candidate database even if you’re fully qualified for the job. Now that’s rotten!
Keyword nouns tend to be the hard skills and industry-specific qualifications that employers look for in a job candidate. Here’s where to find your keywords:
A great place to get keyed into your keywords is to review five to ten employment ads with similar job titles and see which words are repeatedly mentioned. Once you see a pattern, highlight and list these keywords and be sure to include them in your résumé and cover letter.
Tip Four: Choose the Right Résumé Format
Struggling to format your résumé isn’t much fun — I think we’ve all been there — but choosing the right format for your résumé is actually easy. Aside from academic résumés, there are two common résumé formats, they are: chronological and functional.
Chronological Résumé Format
The most popular résumé format is the chronological résumé. The chronological format lists your most recent employment history (or education) first, ordering your jobs by date in a time line. This is the traditional method of formatting a résumé, and places more emphasis on your job titles and your employment history over your skills. Chronological résumés can work best for job seekers with a stable career progression in one or two fields.
Use the chronological résumé if:
The chronological résumé is the type most hiring managers expect to see. It’s quick to read, easy to follow, and provides a ready-made template for interview questions.
Functional Résumé Format
The functional résumé focuses attention on skills and achievements, rather than job titles and places of employment, making it a winner for career changers or new college graduates. Functional résumés give you the platform to showcase only skills and experiences of which you are most confident – which means your work experience is described by showing the transferable skills you mastered in a Relevant Skills section.
For example, if you developed skills through a hobby or volunteer work and you now want to use those skills in a paid job, those skills might not show up in a chronological résumé but they could stand out in a functional format where you’re not limited to describing your skills under job titles.
Use the functional résumé format if:
A small word of warning: Many hiring managers are highly suspicious of candidates boasting their skills in functional résumés since this format can often hide questionable employment records. But despite this negative, the functional résumé can land you the job interview if you do it right by grouping your relevant skills into sub-sections and have the right qualifications to match the job requirements.
Tip Five: Remove These Rotten Résumé Words
Using the wrong words on your résumé can really make it rotten. You may be surprised with these rotten words though, especially since these words are common, they are accepted, and they litter the average résumé with buzzword badness. Here’s how to rescue two rotten résumé words and turn your application into one solid winner!
Responsible For
Of course you’re responsible for something. But how many? How long? Who? What? When? Rather than waste the hiring manager’s time reading a vague list of responsibilities, be specific and use quantitative figures to back up your cited skills and accomplishments.
Employers want the numerical facts. Write percentages, dollar amounts, and numbers to best explain your accomplishments. Be specific to get the point across quickly. Prove you have the goods to get hired.
The résumé that avoids vague responsibilities and sticks to facts detailing figures, growth, reduced costs, number of people managed, budget size, sales, and revenue earned gets the job interview.
Detail Oriented
What does detail oriented mean? Give the specifics to the details with which you are oriented. Please, orient your reader to the details!
If you have the details, do share them with the hiring manager. Give the facts, the numbers, the time lines, the dollar figure, the quantitative data that sells your skills and disorients the competition.
Looking for more rotten résumé words in need of a rescue? Avoid these 6 words that make your résumé suck.
Rotten Résumé Conclusions
Résumé writing is not rocket science. But your résumé must impress the reader in seconds to be effective. Otherwise, your skills and experiences will be recycled faster than you can say “paper shredder”. But if you follow these five simple rules you too can stay out of the hiring manager’s trash and land that job interview.
Also, be sure to update and edit your résumé frequently so you’re ready for every job opportunity. If you’re still feeling stuck then check out these free résumé examples to get going. It’s a lot easier to see what makes a résumé awesome and then do the work to rescue your own.
You can read more from Kerry at her blog Squawkfox. She has also written a free 92-page eBook: The Insider’s Guide To Frugal Food & Fitness! Also note that we’ll be exploring other career advice on today’s episode of The Personal Finance Hour.
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Martin Rogen 