Posts from — November 2006

Over at Free Money Finance, FMF has posted a great article called More Education Equals More Pay. This echoes what your mom told you about getting a good education so that you could get a good job.

He shows what people at certain education levels can expect to earn throughout their lives

The results:

• Some high school, no diploma – $1,000,000
• High school diploma or equivalent – $1,200,000
• Some college, no degree – $1,500,000
• Associate degree – $1,600,000
• Bachelor’s degree – $2,100,000
• Master’s degree – $2,500,000
• Doctoral degree – $3,400,000
• Professional degree – $4,400,000

What I’m curious about is how they figured the numbers. Do the numbers account for the fact that someone with a professional degree doesn’t usually finish with all of their schooling until they’re in their 30s? It would be interesting to look at. In fact, I may do some digging and post what I find tomorrow.

What do you think?

So what’s the deal with a [tag]credit score[/tag]? What does it mean? How is it determined? How does it affect you? Everywhere I go there are commercials talking about [tag]credit[/tag] scores. Most people know that the higher your credit score the better interest rates you can get on credit cards, car loans, and mortgages. If you want a general overview of credit score check out [tag]myFICO[/tag].

What most people don’t know is how their score is determined and how to raise their score.

The credit score, also known as a [tag]FICO[/tag] score, is a three digit number used by all 3 credit reporting bureaus – [tag]Experian[/tag], [tag]Trans Union[/tag] and [tag]Equifax[/tag]. Credit scores generally range from 300 to around 900 (although I don’t think there are official limits.)

This number is determined from a number of factors which are a closely guarded secret held by Fair Issac and Co. Since I’m no expert in credit scores I’ll rely on HowStuffWorks explanation:

• 35% of the score is based on your payment history. This makes sense since one of the primary reasons a lender wants to see the score is to find out if (and how timely) you pay your bills. The score is affected by how many bills have been paid late, how many were sent out for collection, any bankruptcies, etc. When these things happened also comes into play. The more recent, the worse it will be for your overall score.
• 30% of the score is based on outstanding debt. How much do you owe on car or home loans? How many credit cards do you have that are at their credit limits? The more cards you have at their limits, the lower your score will be. The rule of thumb is to keep your card balances at 25% or less of their limits. [Read more →]

Thanksgiving is over and so is the day after Thanksgiving, the biggest [tag]shopping[/tag] day of the year. I’m sure that many of you were up and waiting in line at 4am at the stores with the best deals. Personally, I was lined up at 11:45 the night before…yea maybe I’m crazy. If you’re a big [tag]electronics[/tag] shopper like me, you probably ended up with more [tag]mail-in rebates[/tag] than you can shake a stick at. I’m sure that you have every intention of sending those [tag]rebates[/tag] in, but the manufactures are hoping that you won’t. In fact, the Wall Street Journal says that up to 95% of shoppers forget to claim their [tag]rebate[/tag].

Eric Bernatchez at About.com has a great article on mail-in rebates. While this article is focused on cell phone rebates, it applies to just about any product.

According to Eric, manufacturers have good reasons to offer rebates:

• They expect you to forget about the rebate
• They make the process very complex in order to discourage you from applying for the rebate
• They actually make more money since most people will not ever get their rebate

But he offers some great tips on how to beat the system:

• At the store, ask for an extra copy of the rebate form
• Make sure there is a 1-800 number to call if you need assistance
• Make copies of everything before and after you fill it out
• Use a service such as memotome.com to remind you when you should receive the rebate

As a big rebate shopper I can attest to all of those points. I love the [tag]deals[/tag] you get with rebates, but I hate using them. If you are in the same boat I am, then make it as easy as possible on yourself this year – stay organized and make copies of everything!

Are you a big rebate shopper? Do you have any rebate horror stories?