Having real-time access to your personal credit information is the first step in managing your credit. New generation consumer credit management websites offer unprecedented value to consumers, who just 15 years ago were at the mercy of confusing, hard-to-read credit reports. It’s a whole new world of rapid access, easy-to-use navigation, and real-world advice.

Online credit management websites offer real-time access to your credit report and credit score, dynamic tools to help you understand how your credit score is determined, comprehensive credit education, fraud protection, “lost wallet” credit card cancellation services, online disputing of credit report errors (a much faster process than mailing hard copy disputes) and other convenient services.

If a low credit score is keeping you from getting financing when you need it and at the best possible rates, then managing your credit online is a wise move. You’ll be able to see the progress of your credit score as you work to improve it, and online disputing helps fix errors quickly. Do you have a high credit score and want to protect it? Online credit management allows for frequent monitoring, email pings when inquiries are made on your credit, fraud and identity theft protection, and other services that can save you time and money.

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional and property manager, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.com http://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  To checkout some of  my property manager services goto http://chancegates.com/property-management-services/

If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable

If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

By: Gwen Moran

Published: October 22, 2010

If you’re trying to raise your credit score to get a good rate for a refinance or HELOC, you might be surprised by what affects—or doesn’t affect—your score.

More money improves your credit score

False. Your level or sources of income don’t affect your credit score, although lenders may look at it when making loan decisions, according to the Fair Isaac Corp., the company that issues the commonly used FICO credit scores.

Ownership of several credit cards can hurt your credit score

Mostly false. Having many credit lines isn’t necessarily a bad thing, says credit expert Liz Weston, author of Your Credit Score. Multiple lines give you a favorable debt-to-available-credit ratio. But use them correctly: It’s best to keep any balances below 10% or 20% of the total credit line, she says. Anything more will affect the ratio of debt-to-available-credit, which can decrease your credit score.

Opening and closing credit lines can hurt your credit score

True. New credit applications can decrease your credit score, so be careful about applying for new credit cards or personal loans before applying for a HELOC, second mortgage, automobile loan, or other large line of credit.

Surprise: Closing existing credit lines may also hurt your credit score, since it’ll damage your debt-to-available-credit ratio. A good rule is not to make any credit changes in the months leading up to a major credit request, such as for a HELOC.

Consolidating credit lines will help your credit score

Mostly false. Although it may seem like a good idea to move all your balances to one card, that can actually hurt your credit score, since your debt-to-available-credit ratio will spike on that card, says Weston.

However, credit expert Harrine Freeman says such a slight decline isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker for a loan, especially if the card has a lower interest rate and will allow you to pay off the balance sooner. Your score will increase as soon as that ratio goes down.

Changing jobs can hurt your credit score

Partly true. Taking a new job or losing your job doesn’t affect your credit score. However, if you have a spotty employment history, lenders may hold that against you in making a loan. Dips in income may signal that it could be difficult to pay bills in a timely manner.

Co-signing for others can hurt your credit score

Partly true. Simply co-signing on a loan for someone else may not affect your score, but if that person is late on paying the loan, it’s likely to show up on your report, says Freeman. And that’s a nasty surprise if you didn’t know the person was late.

Judgments and liens aren’t considered in your credit score

False. If you’ve had a judgment or lien filed against you, it’s considered in your payment history, which represents 35% of your score.

Similarly, while most utility companies don’t report payment history to credit bureaus, your account will likely be reported if it is seriously delinquent and referred to a collection agency.

Additional details on how to manage your FICO score are available on the FICO site.

Gwen Moran is a freelance business and finance writer from the Jersey shore. She’s the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Business Plans and writes frequently about real estate.

Mark your favorite properties and get instant updates price changes,  new pictures and status changes.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney

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Forget those phishing emails that attempt to get your credit card or bank sign-in information. When crooks want to know how to get into your bank account, they post a message on Facebook. These messages appear so innocuous and so appropriate in the Facebook setting that you are likely to not only get conned, but pass on the scam

Facebook is the new frontier for fraud, says Tom Clare, head of product marketing at Blue Coat, an Internet security company that does annual reports on web threats. In just this past year social networks have soared to 4th from 17th most treacherous web terrain — behind porn and software-sharing sites, which you probably know to avoid.

What makes Facebook so treacherous? Us.

It starts with the fact that we are inundated with requests to set up passwords to get into our work computers, our online bank accounts, Facebook and every other web-based subscription. So what do we do? We use the same password.

“Crooks understand that most users use the same password for everything,” says Clare. “If they can get your user credentials for your Facebook account, there’s a good chance that they have the password for your bank account.”

If you are smart enough to have separate passwords for Facebook and your financial accounts, crooks get at you through a variety phishing attempts that you might think are Facebook games and widgets. But look closely and you’ll realize that they deliver answers to all of your bank’s security questions — and possibly clues to your passwords — right into the hands of the crooks.

Think it couldn’t happen to you? Let’s see if you recognize any of these recent Facebook messages that jeopardize your security. All of these came from my Facebook friends in just the past few weeks:

1. Who knows you best?

The message reads:

Can you do this? My middle name __________, my age ___, my favorite soda _______, my birthday ___/___/___, whose the love of my life ______, my best friend _____, my favorite color ______, my eye color _______, my hair color ______ my favorite food ________ and my mom’s name __________. Put this as your status and see who knows you best.

How many of these are the same facts your bank asks to verify your identity? Put this as your status and everybody — including all the people who want to hijack your bank account and credit cards — will know you well enough to make a viable attempt.

2. Your friend [Name here] just answered a question about you!

Was it possible that an old friend answered a question about me that I needed to “unlock?” Absolutely. But when you click on the link, the next screen should give you pause: 21 Questions is requesting permission to … (a) access your name, profile picture, gender, networks, user ID, friends and any other information shared with everyone … (b) send you email … (c) post to your wall … and … (d) access your data any time … regardless of whether or not you’re using their application.

Can you take that access back — ever? It sure doesn’t look like it. There’s no reference to how you can stop them from future access to your data in their “terms and conditions.” Worse, it appears that to “unlock” the answer in your friend’s post, you need to answer a bunch of questions about your other friends and violate their privacy too. I didn’t give 21 Questions access to my information, but the roughly 850 people who joined “People Who Hate 21 Questions on Facebook” apparently have and can give you insight into just how pernicious this program can be.

[7 Products That Are Getting Cheaper]

3. LOL. Look at the video I found of you!

This is the most dangerous of all the spam messages and it comes in a variety of forms, says Clare. It’s actually a bid to surreptitiously install malware on your computer. This malware can track your computer keystrokes and record your sign-in and password information with all of your online accounts.

How does it work? When you click on the link, it says that you need to upgrade your video player to see the clip. If you hit the “upgrade” button, it opens your computer to the crooks, who ship in their software. You may be completely unaware of it until you start seeing strange charges hit your credit cards or bank account. Up-to-date security software should stop the download. If you don’t have that, watch out.

Better yet, if you really think some friend is sending you a video clip, double-check with the friend to be sure before you click on the link. When I messaged my high-school classmate to ask if she’d really sent this, she was horrified. Her Facebook account had been hijacked and anyone who clicked through was likely to have their account hijacked too. That’s how this virus spreads virally.

[5 Common Money Tips You Should Ignore]

4. We’re stuck!

It started out as an email scam, but now the “We’re stuck in [Europe/Asia/Canada] and need money” scam has moved to instant messages on Facebook, where it can be more effective. Most people have learned not to react to the email, but instant messages help crooks by forcing you to react emotionally — They’re right there. They need help, now. A friend got one of these messages last week from the parents of a close friend. Her reaction was the perfect way to deal with it: She immediately called her friend and said “Have you talked to your parents lately?” The response: “Yeah. They’re right here.”

Facebook has launched a security system to combat account hijacking that allows crooks to send messages and posts through your account. You can get updates on what they’re doing at Facebook’s security page, where they’ve also got a nice little security quiz that’s definitely worth taking.

Logging in allows you to save your favorite properties and get instant updates (price changes,  new pictures and open houses on the property.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney.

RISMEDIA, September 3, 2010– With the U.S. economy facing the lowest home sale statistics in fifteen years and home values continuing to slide in many regions, it’s not surprising to hear that housing trends point towards a large percentage of American homeowners looking to improve and maximize their existing property investment versus buying a new home. When deciding to undertake a remodeling project however, there are several invaluable tips to keep in mind as you discuss your home make-over with potential contractors.

Through advice and stories shared by both contractors and consumers, StageofLife.com, a blogging resource for homeowners, discovered 10 important tips on how to find a trustworthy home remodeling contractor to help ensure the right person or company is hired for your next home improvement project.

Tip #1: Does Your Contractor Have Proof of Insurance?
Ask the contractor to have his insurance company mail or fax a copy of his current contractor insurance card to you. If the contractor can’t do this – stay away. Why? If there is an accident at your home, you are then liable. This also applies to any sub-contractor or employee that the contractor may use – those individuals should have active insurance cards faxed or mailed to you as well.

Tip #2: Did You Check References and See Photos?
Ask for at least three references – with two of them being for the same type of project you are planning – and then call the references. Additionally, ask the contractor to provide photos of previous work, especially for the same type of project. If he produces lawn and garden photos and you’re planning a bathroom remodel, you may want to check out another contractor.

Tip #3: Does Your Contractor Take Debit or Credit Cards?
Besides your ability to earn a few points, bonus miles, or cash back on your project, a good sign that a contractor is financially savvy and has a bank behind his business is his ability to take debit and credit cards. This doesn’t just apply to big contracting companies. Many small, one-man shops will take cards if they have a good relationship with their business bank or credit union.

Tip #4: Manners and Appearance?
If the contractor drove his vehicle to your home to give you an estimate, take a look at the way he keeps the equipment and vehicle. Are things clean? Neatly arranged? If not – that’s a big warning. The way a contractor treats his tools is a direct connection to how he’ll treat your home. During the initial meeting, does the contractor present himself in a professional way? Do you feel comfortable around him or his employees? They will be working in your home after all.

Tip #5: Clean Up Policy?
Ask about the clean-up policy. For example, if your home improvement is a multi-day project, will the contractor be cleaning up at the end of every day or will he leave the dust, wood chips, and other mess laying there for day #2? The more mess in your home – the more it gets tracked around. Many homeowners find themselves with mouths gaping wide after the contractor has left for the day and their floors and home are dirty and messy around the project area.

Tip #6: Will the Contractor Put It In Writing?
Is your contractor willing to put both his bid and the scope of work in writing? If not – walk away immediately. You’ll be surprised how many homeowners have been duped by contractors who verbally tell you what’s included in their scope of work, but will then, in the middle of everything, require extra money to finish the remodel, thus holding you hostage with an uncompleted home project.

Tip #7: Availability?
Can the contractor get the job done in your timeline rather than his timeline? There’s nothing more frustrating than if a contractor tells you that a job will be done by a certain date and then it isn’t . On the flip side, if you can’t find a good contractor that’s willing to commit to your timeline, your expectations may be too high and you may need to adjust your timeline.

Tip #8: Does Your Contractor Use “Subs?”
Does your contractor plan on doing everything himself? Or will he “sub out” work to the “trades?” For example, if you are remodeling a bathroom, you may need a plumber, electrician, and carpenter. It’s okay if the contractor subs work out to these specific trades – it shows he wants the work done right.

Also, it’s fair to say that you can expect your contractor to make money off the trades, or other sub-contractors, by marking up those quotes for the project. That is a standard practice to help the general contractor recover costs in the time it takes to manage the schedule. If you don’t want to spend the extra money on your contractor marking up the trade quotes, then you should prepare to project manage the remodel yourself, but know this may limit your options on contractors willing to work with you.

Tip #9: Quoting & Billing Procedure?
Ask the contractor about his quoting procedure. Will it contain general information, or will it be specific? For example – most contractors will charge you for a fuel surcharge, material up-charges, waste removal, labor, etc. Some will show you these exact costs in a line item invoice, but others roll it up into one big bill. How much detail do you want? You should clarify that with your contractor upfront.

Also – what is the payment or billing policy? Is money required upfront? If so, go back to #1 and #2 above to make sure you have the contractor’s references checked and have a copy of his contractor’s insurance.

Tip #10: Did Your Contractor Get the Permits?
Ask your contractor to take care of the permits. Although permits cost you money, the inspection process is meant to protect you from poor workmanship and to make sure that everything is being built to code.

By following these 10 tips for hiring a home contractor, you’ll feel more confident that you’ve found the right contractor for your remodeling job.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search house available in the Reno/Sparks and all Northwest Nevada neighborhoods.  I can be reached by email @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

RISMEDIA, August 25, 2010–Consumers with strong financial knowledge begin saving earlier and are more confident in their everyday financial tasks, according to the TD Bank Financial Literacy Poll released by TD Bank.

Education at an early age is key to achieving financial confidence. Many consumers doubt their financial skills and believe they were not taught enough at a young age and feel saving money is difficult. TD Bank surveyed 2,160 consumers to better understand the financial literacy and attitudes of consumers in the Northeast, Florida and Mid-Atlantic.

“The poll reveals that it is imperative for parents to act as the primary role model to their children if they want financially successful children,” says Suzanne Poole, executive vice president, retail sales strategy and distribution, TD Bank. “Starting financial literacy lessons early results in adults who are more confident in their money decisions, are more financially literate and are more skilled at saving money.”

Who is Your Financial Role Model?
Although this is not an easy question to answer, more than one-quarter of consumers struggled to identify any financial role models. The poll also revealed the primary sources for financial information and help in managing finances. Forty percent of consumers in the Northeast and 38% in the Washington, D.C. region turn to family members for financial advice; while Warren Buffet and famous financiers often edge ahead of financial advisors. In fact, only about one-quarter of the consumers surveyed have a financial advisor or financial planner.

Consumers with “good” financial literacy started learning about money slightly earlier than the average consumer, but only one-half of consumers started learning or having conversations about money under the age of 18. From those who did start learning about savings at a young age, 77% of New Englanders, 80% of Mid-Atlantic residents and 78% of Floridians say they learned from their parents.

Financial firsts are important to financial literacy confidence and education. Although most polled, about 70%, can remember opening their first bank account, only half can remember their first deposit or investment. However, those with “good” financial literacy, about 57%, could recall their first deposit amount.

“TD Bank believes it is important to not only start having financial conversations at a young age, but to also make those first financial experiences memorable,” said Poole. “More than 22 years ago, we created the WOW!Zone, a free, financial literacy program to help children ages 5-18 develop strong financial skills, in school and online. It is a great tool for parents to use to make learning about money fun!”

Responsibility and budgeting are taking a more prominent place at the dinner table today than when parents were younger. Sixty-two percent of parents versus 77% of children today learned about the importance of money. About 75% of parents are teaching their children about financial responsibility as well as saving, budgeting, the value of money, credit cards, etc., while only about 15% of parents were taught about investments and only about 20% learned how to use a credit card.

Poole added, “Today’s children are not learning about money that differently than their parents did. Parents today are taking primary responsibility in financial education. Parents should ask themselves if they are the financial role model they need to be. Starting young is not the only key to success. We found that the topics parents talk about and creating memorable financial moments matter, too.”

Other key findings from the survey include:

• About 94% of those polled with “poor” financial literacy skills wished saving money wasn’t so hard versus 65% with “good” skills.
• About 40% of consumers in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Florida with “poor” financial literacy skills are confident in making financial decisions versus 93% with “good” skills.
• About 81% of those surveyed wished they would have started saving earlier, and about 55% of them were definitely not taught when young.
• 71% of consumers in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Florida regions are confident in their understanding of everyday financial tasks such as paying bills on time, followed by balancing their checkbook.

The majority of consumers in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Florida regions are either extremely confident or very confident in financially preparing their children; consumers responded that responsibility, saving money and budgeting money are the most important topics to teach children today.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. I have free access to the MLS and you can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

By Debra Karplus
8 July 2010

Imagine that you’re a loan officer at the local bank. Two customers, Mr. Rich and Mr. Buck, come in to borrow money. You check Mr. Rich’s history; he has an excellent credit score, 800. Mr. Buck’s score is an embarrassingly low 300. To whom should you lend money? Mr. Buck’s low credit score indicates that he might not be able to repay the loan. Buck doesn’t stop here; goodbye, Mr. Buck.

What is a credit score?

When you were in school, your grade point average (GPA) indicated how well you performed in your classes. Your SAT and ACT scores measured overall achievement in language and math. Colleges used these indicators to decide if they wanted to admit you to their freshman class.

Your credit score works in a similar way as school tests, except that it’s a measure of your credit risk. Like college entrance exams, a credit score is derived from a standardized formula. Late payments on bills, having no credit references, and unfavorable credit card use will mar your credit history and lower your credit score.

Your credit report indicates how likely you are to pay your bills. It’s used anytime you’re seeking a mortgage, car loan, or credit card and also, for determining credit limit, which is the maximum amount of money you can borrow. Your credit score can even determine the premium you’ll pay for car insurance. Your credit report determines not only whether you will be given credit, but also, what interest rate you will be eligible for. A higher credit score gives you a lower interest rate when you’re borrowing money.

Who determines your credit score?

Credit scores range from 300 to 850. Most people’s score is 600 to 800. A credit score of over 720 is considered to be a good score and will generally get you the best interest rate.

There are three companies that provide credit scores, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. They are corporations that make their money, not directly from you, but from companies such as banks, that loan money to people. Each of the three allows you, the consumer, to receive a free credit report annually. But, it’s not done automatically; if you want to know your credit score, you’ll need to get on the website of one of these three companies and specifically request your score. Each calculates your score a bit differently. You can learn about these companies on their websites.

Equifax has been around for about one hundred years and is located in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 company publicly traded corporation; symbol EFX, on the New York Stock Exchange. Equifax serves fifteen countries in North America, Latin America and Europe.

TransUnion, a global company, located in Chicago, serves twenty-five countries on five continents, for the past thirty years. They provide credit services and information management. They are a limited liability corporation (LLC); therefore they are not a publicly traded company.

Experian serves sixty-five countries and has 15,500 employees. Their stock trades on the London Stock Exchange, but formerly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol EXPN.

How can you improve your credit score?

It’s prudent to check your credit score yearly with one of the three credit reporting companies. When you receive your report you want to first, review it carefully and see if there are any errors or flaws. For example, if the report shows an old unpaid balance on your Target credit card, you’ll want to contact Target, and get that corrected. The other way to raise your credit score is to make sure you pay down any credit card debt that you have.

You should not close any unused accounts. This may go against your better judgment. But, closing credit card accounts, especially more than one at the same time, could be a red flag that you might be a credit risk.

Why does your credit score matter?

Your credit history is your credit reputation. It is maintained by a credit bureau. So how can you have a credit history if you’ve never had a credit card or borrowed any money? And, how do you establish a good credit history? The main way is to open a checking or savings account and to manage it well, such as avoid overdrawing the account. Second, pay your bills on time, and third, use your credit card carefully. These may seem obvious, but many people must be clueless, because they have a low credit score.

Borrowing money is a smart way to establish a credit history and have a favorable credit score, as long as you are responsible about using credit, whether from a lending institution or a credit card. When you are ready to finance your first car or get a mortgage for a house, you will be very pleased with yourself if you have a high credit score.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

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By Nirvi Shah

RISMEDIA, June 28, 2010–(MCT)–Jenny Camacho moved to South Florida in December, hoping the weather would be easier on her health than the frigid, snowy winters of New York and looking forward to living closer to two of her children.

She had spent four years working as a cook at a senior center in Brooklyn, fine-tuning her skills at preparing meals for people with special dietary needs. Despite the recession, she thought she would find a job in a region known as a snowbird and senior roost.

Jobless six months later, she had run up debt on her credit cards, trying to preserve some of her savings and still make ends meet. Camacho rents an apartment in Sunrise, Fla., with her youngest daughter, Priscilla.

But Camacho, 51, recently met with counselors from Sunrise-based American Debt Counseling after hearing them speak at Workforce One, a Broward County employment office. Ever since, she has stretched her budget enough that she hasn’t used her credit cards since April.

“Right now there is no income. They teach you how to control your spending,” Camacho said.

In this economy, it’s difficult to think about boosting credit scores, building savings or erasing debt. But it’s not impossible — and the recession may be just the right boost someone at any income level needs to brighten their financial picture, said Barbara Stark, director of community development and education for American Debt Counseling.

Her nonprofit company and several others in South Florida offer free advice and help to people in need of credit counseling and money management.

“There’s always hope,” Stark said. “It’s not a question of how much money you have. It’s how you manage it.”

For example, she said, the true cost of using a credit card can be really scary — if you know what that true cost is. A $50 dinner charged on a card with an interest rate of 22 percent can cost $2,500 paid over 20 years, she said.

“Once they begin to see they’re not earning any more money, yet they’re living a better life, it makes sense,” she said. “You should get help before you really need it, so you don’t get into a dire situation.”

In Camacho’s case, things were pretty dire by the time she requested help, said Andrea Mitchell, a certified credit counselor.

Mitchell talked to Camacho’s creditors, who agreed to lower the interest rates on her debt — a service that Camacho is paying for. Mitchell has helped Camacho find occasional work, including baby-sitting. And she counseled Camacho to rely on her family.

“She helped them and now they’re reciprocating,” Mitchell said. Camacho’s son also lives in Broward. “Jenny is very much a survivor. She came to me wanting to survive. There’s no other word to describe her.”

In addition, Mitchell came up with a spending plan for Camacho — who was already spending little more than for basic necessities.

MAKE A SPENDING PLAN: Knowing what your monthly expenses are is key, said Ellen Siegel, a certified financial planner in Miami.

Figure out how much money is coming in from every source: a paycheck, child support, alimony, social service agencies.

Then figure out what’s going out — fixed expenses, such as rent and a car payment; variable expenses, necessary items that aren’t a set amount each month, such as food and medical bills; and discretionary spending, things you don’t need, but want, such as a vacation, movie tickets, birthday presents.

“Too many people have no idea whatsoever where their money is going every month,” Stark said.

Siegel, a member of the Financial Planning Association of Miami-Dade, is a volunteer with the group’s new Money 101 program, which offers services at the United Way of Miami-Dade’s new Center for Financial Stability in Hialeah.

She takes the idea of building a spending plan one step further.

“How do we get into trouble? Money’s not real,” Siegel said. It’s in the form of a credit card, debit card, check or bank balance.

Once a month, she cashes a check and puts the cash into different envelopes for the month’s expenses — gas, groceries, clothing, rent or mortgage payment, utilities and an emergency fund, a must for everyone, no matter their net worth.

“That’s a very, very powerful strategy,” Siegel said. It shows how far your money goes — or doesn’t.

KEEP YOUR CREDIT CARDS: When someone is in debt, it may be tempting to cut up credit cards so they can’t be used to accumulate more debt, Siegel said.

While that sounds like a good idea, those credit cards may be needed at some point.

Her suggestion: Put them in a plastic bag and put the bag in a cup of water. Put the whole thing in the freezer.

“If the car blows up and you have to use your credit card, you can,” she said. Any time the cards are needed, it will take patience to use them. They’ll have to be thawed — and slowly, since microwaving the frozen cards would melt them.

“You can’t just be hungry, angry, lonely or tired and go shopping.”

Building a good credit history and improving a credit score actually requires having some debt, or a history of paying off debt regularly, Stark said. And credit cards held for a long time are good for a credit score.

Although Camacho isn’t using her credit cards anymore, she’s still making payments each month.

“We got them to lower the interest rate so much so that she was able to make a minimum payment,” Mitchell said. It’s low, but not so low that Camacho will be paying off her debt forever. She should be able to pay off the debt she has now in five years or less.

One financial guru’s philosophy is to line up every bill in size order. Pay the minimum on every bill. Whatever money is left over should be used to pay off the smallest bill.

The advice isn’t typical — many financial planners would suggest putting more toward the bill with the highest interest rate, Siegel said, but faith-based financial expert Dave Ramsey’s method offers a sense of accomplishment.

LOOK AT CREDIT REPORT: Credit reports are free. But that doesn’t mean people are looking at them, said Angelo Gonzalez of Miami Saves, who is director of the Economic Independence Program at the nonprofit Cuban American National Council.

“We encourage people to look twice a year,” he said. “We’re lucky if they pull it once every five years.”

The only truly free reports — that don’t require signing up for any additional services — are at annualcreditreport.com. Beware of impostor sites that prey on people who misspell the website.

The reports don’t include scores, however. Those must be purchased.

The reason to look at the reports: Find errors, forgotten debts and fraud — and start fixing the problems, Gonzalez said.

That is, if you can tell what they are. “The other challenge is, have you ever looked at your credit report? It’s like reading Greek. A credit report is useless unless you know how to read it,” he said. “We’ll hold a workshop and go item by item.”

While all of his organization’s services are free, they can also pull credit reports — one from each bureau — for about $13.

SEARCH FOR SAVINGS: They also teach a variety of courses and offer suggestions on how to stretch a limited budget.

Some ideas are more obvious than others, he said, such as buying more fruits and vegetables and less meat and seafood to lower food bills.

Partnering with another family while shopping may also cut costs: Buy in volume at a wholesale store and divvy up the items.

“You end up saving a lot of money. People get that. That resonates more than putting $10 in a savings account,” he said.

Negotiate with everyone, Siegel said, even if you think someone won’t budge on the price.

“If there’s a doctor bill, if there’s a car bill, just ask. Say, ‘I need some consideration. What can you do for me?’ ” Siegel said. “The world is sympathetic now. Everybody is feeling it.”

FIND MORE INCOME: Consider renting out a room in your home — to someone you trust — to bring in more income, Gonzalez said, and be sure to have the renter sign a lease agreement.

And don’t think collecting unemployment means you can’t work, he said. The income must be declared, but if you can find suitable part-time work, take it. Camacho’s youngest daughter, Priscilla, 19, is working part-time and Camacho is willing to take any job, even if it doesn’t involve working in a kitchen.

Whatever someone’s situation, there’s a way out.

Linda Eads, founding principal of MAST Academy, recently created the Youth and Family Financial Literacy Institute in Miami-Dade. The nonprofit’s aim is to teach financial literacy in schools and families — and, she hopes, prevent some of the situations people have found themselves in during this recession.

“As I matured, I realized, ‘Wow, I can do so much more with this if I would budget even better,’ ” Eads said. “No matter how old you are, you can change your ways.”

Jenny Camacho agrees — although she said she doesn’t have the money to pay her bills beyond the end of June.

“Everything is going to come out OK. We’re going to survive with whatever we have,” she said. “Sometimes you struggle but something better comes out on the other side.”

(c) 2010, The Miami Herald.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  You can email me @  chance at ballard-company.com or http://www.myspace.com/chancegates

RISMEDIA, May 17, 2010–(MCT)–If you’re in debt as we head into summer, it’s time to start thinking about snowflakes.

The idea of “snowflaking” is to make small debt payments, often on a credit card balance, more than once a month.

These snowflakes become part of your debt snowball, a technique by which you pay the minimum monthly payments on all debts except one that you focus on. As you pay off that debt, apply all the money you were paying on it to your next debt, which pays off that one faster, and so on. It creates a snowball effect, as if a snowball was gaining speed and rolling downhill.

The benefit of using snowflakes and a snowball is becoming debt-free quicker and paying far less interest. You’ll even be motivated and help your credit score. This is one time when “throwing money at the problem” works.

Here’s how to use snowflakes, also called micropayments, and why those in debt should consider it:

—Call your card company: Most allow you to make many payments in a month for free. Call the phone number on the back of the card and ask about your issuer’s policy. “The majority of the major issuers will allow you to do this,” said Bill Hardekopf, founder of credit card comparison site LowCards.com.

—Use regular snowflakes: Set up additional automatic payments to your credit card company. For example, if you get paychecks weekly or biweekly, make payment on the payday. One painless strategy is to pay half your usual amount biweekly. This amounts to 13 monthly payments in a year, instead of 12. “And all of that extra payment goes to pay off the balance. It doesn’t go to interest,” Hardekopf said. “So, your balance will come down faster.”

—Use irregular snowflakes: Hardcore snowflakers make many small payments in a month. If you skip a $9.46 lunch out at work, ship that amount to your credit card company. Work two hours of overtime or get a tax refund? Slap it against the debt. The point is to immediately make a payment with extra money or cash you saved.

Besides erasing debt quicker, snowflaking makes sense for other reasons.

—You’ll save on interest: Most credit card companies assess interest daily on unpaid balances. So paying early saves weeks of interest charges. Month after month, savings add up. And the quicker you get rid of the debt, the less interest you pay.

—You’ll gain motivation: Making more payments forces you to think about your debts more often and gives you a more frequent thrill from seeing balances dwindle. If you want more motivation, focus the extra payments on debts smallest to largest. That allows you to pay off a few quickly, which can be a big emotional boost, like losing a few pounds in the first week of a diet. If you’re more the mathematical type, pay off debts from highest interest rate to lowest.

“If you feel, ‘Hey, I’m cutting into this,’ you can gain momentum psychologically,” Hardekopf said. “You might think, ‘I’ll skip going to dinner this week and take that 20 bucks and tack it onto my credit card payment.’ ”

—You’ll improve your credit score: For those who carry balances, paying off debt quicker improves their credit score quicker. You might avoid late payments because you’re more focused on the debt. Multiple payments can also help those who don’t carry balances. Your credit scores are partly calculated on how much of your available credit you’re using at any time. If you use $4,500 of a $5,000 available limit, you’re penalized by credit-scoring models regardless of whether you pay the balance at month’s end. By making multiple payments, you reduce your credit-usage ratio, which accounts for 30 percent of your FICO score.

As a Reno/Sparks Nevada real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.  I can be reached by email chance@ballard-company.com

RISMEDIA, April 14, 2010—Some 89% of Americans said they were at least fairly well organized or better when it comes to their important financial documents, but nearly one-quarter had either lost or forgotten about critical paperwork, according to a nationally representative poll by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Worse, 16% had lost money or incurred a charge because of the poor organization of their paperwork. The survey also revealed that 40% of Americans think they can find a document at a moment’s notice, and 49% can do so with little looking.

Married and domestic couples agree as to which sex is more organized: 58% of the women surveyed said they had a better idea of where their most important documents were than their spouses did; only 30% of the married men thought they had a better idea.

But some of the respondents may not know as much about their partner as they think – 5% admitted they had hidden accounts from a spouse or significant other.

“Good record keeping is essential and makes regular events like tax time or unexpected emergencies like the passing of a loved one go smoother. If you’re disorganized about your paperwork, you can lose a significant amount of money on late fees and interest charges,” said Mandy Walker, sr. project editor, Consumer Reports Money Advisor (CRMA).

Consumer Reports Money Adviser’s experts say that to help avoid identity theft, people should shred anything they plan to throw away that contains personal data. More than 50% of the people surveyed said they put documents through a shredder, 26% tear them up, 15% claim to burn them, and 5% admit to doing nothing before they trash them. Consumer Reports recommends consumers look for a crosscut shredder rather than a strip one, which leaves long paper bands that can be reassembled.

Tax season is the perfect time to start tackling the paper piles. The act of filing (or gathering your information for a tax preparer) forces you to become reacquainted with your finances. You can divide nearly all of your financial records into four categories: papers that you need to keep for the calendar year or less; ones that can be destroyed when you no longer own the items they cover; tax records, which you should save for seven years; and papers to keep indefinitely.

What to keep for 1 year or less:

CRMA’s experts advise people to set up a place to keep bills until they’re paid. As soon as a bill comes in, put it in a folder labeled “bills to pay.” Then set an electronic calendar reminder when you’re going to pay them. Documents that you have no long-term need to keep include:

Bank records. Keep deposit and ATM receipts until you reconcile them with your monthly statements.

Credit card bills. You don’t need to keep them after you’ve paid them unless they support a deduction you’ll be taking on your taxes, such as for a charitable donation (in which case you should file the bill with your current-year tax records). If an item you’ve charged is under warranty, keep the bill until the warranty expires.

Investment statements. You can shred your monthly and quarterly statements from brokerage, 401k, IRA, Keogh, and other investment accounts as new ones arrive. But hold on to annual statements until you sell the investments.

What to keep for a longer period:

Documents relating to investment purchases, loans, and other items that expire can be stored in an out-of the way file cabinet. But try to go through them once a year and toss out papers below including:

Household furnishings paperwork. Keep receipts, warranties, and instruction booklets for major appliances and electronics.

Loan documents. Keep closing documents for mortgage, vehicle, student, and other loans in a safe-deposit box. You can get rid of them after the loan is paid off.

Savings bonds. Hold these in a secure place until you cash them in. Or you can convert them to electronic form using the Treasury’s SmartExchange program.

What to never toss:

Hold on to essential records such as birth or death certificates, marriage licenses, and divorce decrees. Social Security cards and military discharge papers should be kept in a safe-deposit box. Other documents to hold on to forever:

Defined-benefit pension documents. Keep pension-plan documents from your current and former employers. Store them in your file cabinet.

Estate planning documents. Keep copies of wills, trusts, and powers of attorney in your safe-deposit box. You should also make sure your attorney and your executor have copies.

Life insurance policies. For permanent life insurance- policies that have a cash value or investment component- keep documents and a list of the companies that issued them and their phone numbers in your safe-deposit box.

For more information, visit www.consumerreports.org.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional I encourage any questions or comments or the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted.

Contact me at chance@ballard-company.com  www.myspace/chancegates

The question that keeps arising when a client approaches me about buying a home is “what information should I have ready for when I apply for a loan?”.

So to help people out who are getting ready to enter the Reno/Sparks real estate market here is a checklist for you.

Your Residence History:

_____  Your previous addressed for the past two years

_____  The length of time you’ve lived in each place

_____  If you currently rent, your landlord’s name and address (12months)

Your Employment History:

_____  The names and addresses of all your employers for the last two years

_____  The dates you worked at each place of employment

_____  If there have been any gaps in your employment and why

All Outstanding Loans and Credit Cards:

_____  The creditor’s name and address

_____  Your account number

_____  The current total balance you owe and months left to pay

_____  The amount of the monthly payment

Savings, Checking or Investments Accounts

_____  The name and address of each financial institution

_____ Your account number

_____  The current balance or value

Real Estate You Currently Own ( For Each Property)

_____The property address

_____  The estimated market value

_____  The outstanding loan balance(s), the name and address of  the                     mortgage company(s) and your account number(s)

_____ The amount of the monthly payment ( including taxes, insurance and                    HOA dues)

_____  The amount of your monthly rental income (if applicable)

Personal Propert You Own:

_____  The net cash value of your life insurance

_____  The make, year, and value of your automobiles

_____ The value of your furniture, jewelry, or other personal property

Read more at http://chancegates.com/tag/mortgage/