Comments for Mend Your Money

Comment on It’s November already! Yikes! by Judith Auslander

Judith Auslander — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:52:31 +0000

Boy, you must be busy – it’s now the middle of December. Yikes! the holidays are here girlfriend. I tend to buy presents all year round – when I see something – I grab it – especially if it is on sale. So most of my holiday shopping is done way in advance.

Comment on It’s November already! Yikes! by Tammy Barbee

Tammy Barbee — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:56:20 +0000

It is true that during the months of November and December can be very stressful. I like your point number two that states “Write in when your bills are due, and promise to pay them on time”. I have started doing this with my bank buy doing more Online banking and in the future having alerts sent to me so that I can continue to pay bills on time.

Comment on It’s November already! Yikes! by Dave Meyer

Dave Meyer — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:50:16 +0000

The holidays are certainly a stressful time for so many people. And like our money, if we organize our time, we can begin to exert some level of control over it. This is an excellent reminder of what we need to do to make our holidays a joy, not a trial.

Thanks….

Comment on Simple Recipes Your Family Will Love by Elaine Lockard

Elaine Lockard — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:54:05 +0000

Thank you Cindy for a great find here. My clients I think will like this site because it has such simple meals and suggestions. My clients have chronic problems and anything that can simplify their life is well worth a look. And with the holidays fast approaching, tips on food are very needed.

Comment on Quick and Easy Ways to Make Extra Money by Tammy Barbee

Tammy Barbee — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:37:25 +0000

Thank you for the information. I would like to check out the Send out Cards one and I did sign up for eBay.

Comment on Paying for the Holidays by John Agno

John Agno — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:27:34 +0000

Stress-free Holidays is an oxymoron.

The best way to celebrate is to reduce gift giving to worthy charities and simply enjoy to blessings of visiting with friends and family.

Comment on Categories Rule! by Tammy Barbee

Tammy Barbee — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:27:37 +0000

I must admit that I was off my spending habits for some time until I looked at my bank statement online on what I was spending at the restaurants. I decided to get back to the way I was spending which was less spending and preparing my foods at home by going to the grocery store, using coupons, finding ways to save, and trying to build up my retirement.

Comment on Helping Kids Make The Right Decisions by Doris Helge, Ph.D.

Doris Helge, Ph.D. — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:24:17 +0000

You did it again! What a lovely article for parents who so often wrestle with the “how to” about this important issue.

Bravo!!

Comment on Questions by Helen Kinney

Helen Kinney — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:25:35 +0000

Do you have a twitter account in which people follow you? If so what is your screen name?

Thanks!

Comment on Helping Kids Make The Right Decisions by Dave Meyer

Dave Meyer — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:27:28 +0000

Kids definitely need to learn about money BEFORE they go off to college. It’s amazing how many young adults lack the basic skills to open a bank account, buy the right auto insurance, or even know about the importance of renters insurance. There’s a great book for teens and young adults that may help them understand some basic money concepts. It’s called “The Wealthy Barber” by David Chilton.

Keep up the great work, Cindy……

Comment on Helping Kids Make The Right Decisions by Jerilyn Mckinley

Jerilyn Mckinley — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:28:33 +0000

Yes. Parenting can kill you more when your kids are in their teens. I remember when my kid was a teen. He has made me cry many times. I think its just the phase they are going through.

Comment on Keeping Good Records Reduces Stress at Tax Time by Kathy M.

Kathy M. — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:31:14 +0000

Very helpful, Cindy! And I’m so glad to read this NOW, vs. at the last minute when I’m scrambling to get my taxes together. Good grief, I can go into tax seasoned feeling organized for a change. =^)

Comment on Paying for the Holidays by Dave Meyer

Dave Meyer — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:10:33 +0000

Nice article, Cindy. It brought back memories.

When we first got married (35 years ago) we used something called a “Christmas Club Account” to pay for our holidays. These were savings accounts that paid little or no interest, but “required” monthly deposits to be kept up to date. The big advantage was that come Thanksgiving day I would receive a check from my bank to pay for all of our Christmas purchases.

If you want to take the stress out of the holidays, pay for them in advance with a tool like this.

Comment on What does Pay Myself First really mean? by Tammy

Tammy — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:24:01 +0000

Cindy,

Everytime I get paid, I try to pay myself first. Sometimes it is hard to do because you have bills that come up here and there and then other things come up that take away from paying yourself.

My question is does the 10% still apply as paying yourself first? or what are your thoughts on how much to pay yourself?

Comment on Did Your Bank Flip You “The Bird”? by Kids and Money — July 15, 2009 - by Money Hacks

Kids and Money — July 15, 2009 - by Money Hacks — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:26:54 +0000

[...] Morus, The Money Mender presents Did Your Bank Flip You posted at Mend Your [...]

Comment on Did Your Bank Flip You “The Bird”? by Carnival of Financial Planning - Edition #97 - July 10, 2009 | Dividend Tree

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:13:15 +0000

[...] Morus, The Money Mender presents Did Your Bank Flip You posted at Mend Your [...]

Comment on Did Your Bank Flip You “The Bird”? by Sharon Farrell

Sharon Farrell — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:38:19 +0000

I have found that by re-adjusting my budget to make the day after the statement date “my” due date for payments, that I no longer have any problem with late payments, plus it does save some on the interest charges to pay ahead of the due date.

Comment on Did Your Bank Flip You “The Bird”? by Janette Del Angel

Janette Del Angel — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:37:08 +0000

I have several friends that are being negatively impacted by the credit card companies. Most recently, a customer accounts were compromised. The credit card closed the accounts and reissued new accounts. In the transition of the banks actions the payments were late. As a result, several charges were added to the accounts (late payment, additional interest). Also the interest rate tripled.

The customers could not make the new payments. As a result of the banks action, the customers were forced to close the accounts. The bank required fixed payments that were not feasible to the customers. The customers were adament to set the payment amounts. The next option for the customers was bankruptcy. This was all a result of the banks actions and inflexibility to correct the negative impact of their actions.

I am seeing an increase in this behavior from the banks. Seems like the credit cards companies are legally being allowed to operate as loan sharks.

Wall Street ponzi schemes, legalized loan sharking…what will the consumers have to deal with next?

Comment on Did Your Bank Flip You “The Bird”? by Greenpa

Greenpa — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:18:16 +0000

Something else you can do- DEFAULT – now. Instead of later. You may save your neck that way.

It’s something to think seriously about- the main reason defaults are rising- is that the discredited card companies are forcing plain, honest folks into bankruptcy; every day.

If you suddenly find yourself really struggling to pay your bills each month- remember who your friends are- and who your enemies are. And don’t wait until you’re up against the wall.

Guaranteed; this is what will happen: you’ll get a friendly call, hoping you’re well, and nudging you for payment. Then you’ll get angry calls for about 4 months; warning you that the world will end if you don’t pay up. Then they WILL give it to a collection agency, who will also threaten. Then- at about a year; they’ll start offering to settle for half; or a third; of the total. Every time.

And you won’t have had to pay them, for that year.

Yep; it’ll mess up your credit report and score. If that’s happening anyway – just what do you have to lose?

Comment on Did Your Bank Flip You “The Bird”? by Cindy Morus

Cindy Morus — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:46:00 +0000

Roni asks: “I notice that you say to not close the card, however I am wondering if there are not some situations that warrant it. I recently got notified from Capital One of a change that will increase my interest rate to 23% IF a payment payments are even one day late.

Then, you must make 12 “on-time” payments to restore your interest rate. With bill pay I have found that it can be a weekend or holiday or it can be close of day on the East coast (they find any reason), etc. and it isn’t difficult to have your payment fall one-day late for a variety of reasons.

This is absolutely corrupt as far as I’m concerned and I must either ‘opt out’ of this agreement and close my card or agree to it.

They have also raised my interest rate, but that I could live with since I’m not using the card anyway.

The fact that the credit card bill is a year away and it still doesn’t cover all the bases is a mystery to me.”

Cindy answers: “Making on-time payments every single month is the most important thing you can do to maintain your credit score and keep your interest payments low. Make your automatic payment go a couple of days early so you’re not late if the due date falls on the weekend or a holiday.

With the new Credit Card Act of 2009, your payment will have the same due date every month and if the due date falls on a weekend or holiday and arrives the next day it won’t be late.

Listen to the Credit Card Act of 2009 teleclass replay for more information on what’s changing on February 1, 2010.”

Comment on Did Your Bank Flip You “The Bird”? by Cindy Morus

Cindy Morus — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:40:52 +0000

Patricia asks: “Thanks for this very important information. I do have a chase account as well as my husband so this news concerns both of us. Let’s see if I understood right, to continue to pay at the lower interest rate, I would have to close my account and pay off the balance? Or, would it matter if I close or not?”

Cindy answers: Currently Chase is offering to close the account and change you to a higher interest rate in order to maintain a lower payment. This may be your only opportunity to keep the payments low. This policy can change at any time and may be different for another credit card.

Comment on Are 0% Cards Still Available? by Helen C Key

Helen C Key — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:19:13 +0000

Hi MendYourMoney,

I was browsing through your article on credit cards and I thought you may be interested in taking a look (and hopefully writing about!) our website called NerdWallet.com. It is an exciting new venture founded by three former Wall Street professionals that enables users to find the appropriate credit card given their credit score, the amount they spend each month, the rewards they prefer, and much more.

NerdWallet is truly unique because of its content. It has five times more cards than its competitors, and it is adding new cards to its database almost every day. This means that NerdWallet lists all cards, not just those that pay the site a commission, giving users the entire range to choose from in order to make an informed decision.

Its blog is another aspect worth highlighting- the founders regularly publish interesting articles that are pertinent to card users, such as which cards offer the lowest balance transfer charges, updates with new cards from different banks, and so on. It can be viewed at http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/.

Thank you for taking the time to read this- please do not hesitate to reach me with any comments or questions.

Helen C. Key
Marketing Director, NerdWallet.com

Comment on Separate Accounts for Business and Personal Expenses by Cindy Morus

Cindy Morus — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:13:49 +0000

Thanks to Saving To Pay Down My Home for hosting the June 8th Carnival of Wealth, Money and Life and featuring this article!
http://savingforhome.blogspot.com/2009/06/carnival-of-wealth-money-and-life.html

Comment on Are Credit Cardholders Finally Getting A Break? by Carolina D.

Carolina D. — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:41:21 +0000

Thank you for the info Cindy,

For as long as I now, so far they go crazy with their rates for no reason, you right!

I’ll try to get advantage of the points now – sure enough they will be taking that away as well WITHOUT notice!

Make it the best day!
Carolina D.

Comment on Are Credit Cardholders Finally Getting A Break? by Cindy Morus

Cindy Morus — Sun, 31 May 2009 00:46:57 +0000

Thanks to Robert D. Flach at The Wandering Tax Pro (http://wanderingtaxpro.blogspot.com/) for sharing this with his readers along with a lot of other great tax information.