The Social Security Administration recently announced that starting on June 25, they will begin to distribute new social security numbers that have been “randomized” in order to protect the integrity of the numbers. This means that the first three numbers will no longer reflect the geographical area that someone was born.
The good news? Safer social security numbers for the next generation. The bad news? They had to add in previously unused three-digit combinations, including 666. Yikes!
When I’ve told people to visit us on Yelp, do you know what many of them say?
“What is YELP?”
Funny name, very useful website. Yelp.com lets anyone and everyone review businesses. The business sets up a page, and customers or members can visit the site and leave honest feedback about their experienc
es. It helps consumers make a fair evaluation of a business before deciding whether to use its services. People leave positive comments, negative comments, or just plain factual comments. Yelp has been popular in bigger cities for some time now, and when we noticed that people in Rome were starting to use it, we jumped online, fancied up a page, and voila!
We’d love for members to leave reviews about us. Be honest about your experiences, and share your knowledge with others who are looking for a place to bank (or un-bank).
I ran across an article yesterday that nearly knocked me out of my chair. Pallavi Gogoi of the Associated Press wrote an article for USA Today about banks and how free checking has gone away for some institutions and others are soon to follow.
The article mentions that some in the banking industry have made customers jump through hoops to keep their checking accounts free, but it seems that even those hoops can’t stop them from charging a monthly fee anymore.
Up to this point the article hadn’t grabbed my attention – free checking hoops have been happening for years. Here is the sentence that really got me:
“One new account at Bank of America charges $8.95 per month if you want to bank with a teller or get a paper statement.”
If you want to see a teller to do a financial transaction or get a statement in the mail, you have to pay $8.95 every month! In other words, if you would like to use your bank you’ll have to pay a monthly fee. Nice.
I guess our Unbelievable Checking account just became even more unbelievable.
For the record, this article states that free checking is either gone or going quickly and that may be completely true for banks, but not for credit unions. Northwest Georgia Credit Union has no intentions of charging you to use your checking account or making you jump through hoops to keep it a free account.
The article is an interesting read and gives insight into how the future looks for big banks. Just know that your credit union is not following suit.
I’m back with another installment of my fraudulent activity report. Last time we had a little chat about ATMs. This time I thought it would be important to mention some fraud happening in the mail - especially in the recently released U.S. Census.
I have been searching the census.gov website for some insight into this new type of scam and came up with some very helpful information. First of all, you should be aware of what the Census Bureau is doing to reach people and what they are not doing:
Your Census survey will come in the mail and ask a few very simple questions. Beware! If you get something in the mail that looks similar to the Census, but it asks for your social security number – throw it away!
This type of fraudulent activity is called ‘phishing’ and is the criminal process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, social security numbers, bank account or credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
If you ever question whether or not to give out personal account numbers, PINs, or social security numbers – don’t do it. You are welcome to give us a call and we can help you decide if the request for that type of personal information is valid. We love to help members protect their information from the bad guys!
Fraud is a growing trend in our society and I think it’s about time we sat down and chatted about some ways to protect yourself. Today’s topic – ATM fraud. So, pull up a seat and let’s get started.
Skimming is the most prevalent form of fraud these days as far as ATMs go – it’s been named one of the top ten fraud threats for 2010.
What is it?
Skimming is a method of stealing account information during an ATM transaction. Most of the time a fraudulent card reader is placed on top of the ATM card reader and the thief gets your account number when you slide your card.
Here are a few tips to keep your account safe:
In the world of personal finance a great way to step up your game and take even more control of your money is to know what is going on with your taxes.
And if you are a member of Northwest Georgia Credit Union, you can file your simple return for FREE with TurboTax or get $30.00 off when you let Jackson Hewitt handle your return. Save a little money and start the year off in the right financial direction!
Here’s to a financially smart new year!
*The above information is in no way intended to be used as tax advice, since I am clearly not a tax professional.
Have you see the new website? It’s beautiful – I know.
But, I’m not here to talk about how it looks. Here’s what I want you to do:
Over at www.nwgacu.org, move your mouse right across the red menu bar until you see the button titled ‘Rates’. The last drop-down menu item is ‘Financial Calculators’. Click this: it’s gold.
The first calculator is for those of us with a lazy/forgetful pen. Our pens seem to drop the ball when it comes to writing down when we write checks or make deposits. So, maybe this Checkbook Balancer will do the job. Just enter checks you write and deposits you make and watch the balancing begin. It even has a graph for the visual peeps.
The next calculator is Dealer Financing vs. Credit Union Financing. When you are looking into buying a car, check here first. You’ll see how just a few interest rate points can make a HUGE difference in your monthly payment!
Don’t Delay Your Savings is the calculator for those thinking about retirement. I know, your first thought is people 50 and over, but if you have a job, you should be thinking about retirement! Play with this calculator and don’t delay your savings!
Moving right along to the best calculator on the website – Home Budget Analysis. The pie chart is so organized and colorful and even more importantly – it’s so helpful!
Last but not least, the Loan & Line Calculator will help you see what your payment would be on a new loan or line of credit. Always good to be prepared – just like the boy scouts.
Also very cool: Below each calculator you’ll find some helpful definitions.
Enjoy!
It may be a rough time financially for some, but others are back to their usual buying, spending, and charging. Mint.com shows the surprising 2009 increase in spending from 2008.
Before you venture out into the crazy world of holiday shopping, take a look at these tips to protect your wallet and help prevent fraud:
5. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Be cautious.
4. Shop online with trustworthy merchants who require security information like address verification and security codes located on your card.
3. Review account activity online daily to be sure transactions are accurate.
2. Be sure that receipts reflect the correct transaction amount before signing.
1. When using a debit card, you may select ‘credit’ on the card machine, which requires a signature and extends the VISA zero liability to that transaction.
Enjoy your holiday shopping and don’t forget to stick to your budget!
Can you believe that Christmas is only SIX weeks away?? With temperatures in the 70s, it is easy to forget that it’s mid-November!
Gift giving is just around the corner and with a tightened belt around the wallet, we could all use some cheap gift ideas. Wisebread.com is a personal finance blog with tips for anything and everything financial, and they posted an article today with some great gift ideas that involve very little cash.
Making your own Fudge or Russian Tea are just two ideas for gifts that will be easy on the wallet, but will still be fun for the receiver – everyone loves homemade goodies!
Click here to see gift ideas from wisebread.com.
Happy thrifty spending!
I have a confession. A big one. You people are about to get to know the real me. I’m about to tell you my biggest weakness. The one thing that I cannot say ‘no’ to if given the opportunity. Here it is. Ready?
My weakness in life has always been…
Coca-Cola Classic.
The good stuff. The classic, old school, right-out-of-the-fountain-into-an-ice-filled-glass stuff.
So far, this habit hasn’t caused too many negative health effects as far as I can tell since I don’t drink Coke all the time, usually just when I go out to eat. But I ran across this article on savingadvice.com and it got me thinking about what negative financial effects this Coca-Cola habit could be causing.
Let’s do some math, shall we?
I go out to eat for lunch or dinner two or three times a week. If they have fountain Coke, that’s what I’m having. The average fountain Coke at a restaurant is $3.00. Sometimes it is cheaper, but we’ll use $3.00 for our calculations.
Let’s say that I am eating out three times per week and drinking Coke that will cost me $3.00 each time.
That is $9.00 per week. $36 per month. $432 per year.
Wow! $432 per year could pay for a fun weekend away with the husband. Or I could use that $36 per month to add to our savings every month. If I saved that $36 every month, I would have $2,160 in 5 years!
In the article that I read, the author stopped his soda habit all together. He started drinking water and unsweet tea (what’s that?). I don’t know if I’m ready to quit cold turkey, but when I look at the money I could be saving, I’m ready to start saying ‘no’ more often.
What do you want to start saying ‘no’ to in order to spend less and save more?
