Want to work on your money management skills AND improve your credit score? Check out today’s blog post to find out how PowerWallet can help you achieve both!
http://powerwallet.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/3-ways-powerwallet-can-help-you-boost-your-credit-score/
Do you want more bank from your bucks? Hate budgeting but know you need a way to better plan and manage your finances? Visit www.powerwallet.com and sign up for FREE!
Check out today’s #PowerBlogPost to see how PowerWallet can help you cut down your living costs. Visit www.powerwallet.wordpress.com!
Continuing with day 2 of our Retirement Roundup for Financial Literacy Month, we’re taking a look at the most common retirement accounts and the benefits each one offers. Although most benefit salaried employees have a 401(k) or at least an option to use one, unfortunately not everyone knows what it is, how it works, and how to best use it to prepare for retirement.
If you’re already familiar with your 401(k), the next thing you need to know is the contribution and catch-up limits for 2012:
According to recent reports, if you’re a late baby boomer or Gen X worker right now, you’re simply not as prepared for retirement as you should be. What’s worse, these generations in their 30’s to 50’s are much less likely to have pensions and face a scenario where they may get a monthly Social Security check that only covers 30% of their monthly living expenses. Many Gen X members have not saved nearly as much as they should because they are counting on social security as a huge contributor to their retirement. Unfortunately, the general census about social security seems to be if the U.S. government doesn’t fix the social security system along with the huge debt and deficit, social security may be the next thing in the U.S. economy to collapse leaving many without the proper funds needed to retire.
Read More: http://powerwallet.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/financial-literacy-month-retirement-roundup-2012/
With the start of April, the end of the 2011 income tax filing season is fast coming to a close. If you’re like some Americans—over 14% of Americans say they file their taxes in April—then it’s time to stop procrastinating and start getting ready to get your taxes in by the filing deadline on April 17, 2012.
To help make sure you have everything you need to file correctly and maximize your tax refund, the PowerWallet team has put together a series of blog posts this week about your 2011 federal income tax returns. Find everything you need here to get your taxes right and get them to the IRS on time.
Continue reading more here: http://powerwallet.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/taxes-standard-deductions-for-2011-income-taxes/
rch 6, 2012
Continuing our posts for National Consumer Protection Week, we’re giving you 5 ways to teach your kids how to protect themselves from fraud, scams, and identity theft. Teaching your kids early how to keep their personal information safe is essential given today’s market. Armed with the right information from you, your kids can avoid the hassle and distress caused by consumer fraud and identity theft once they start to get out in the world on their own.
#1 Online account protection
Most conversations you have with your kids about getting online are about things like cyber-bullying, but talking to your kids about protecting their online accounts is just as important. Kids are notorious for hacking each others’ accounts, so it’s important your kids understand why login information and passwords are so important, because they ensure no one else can access their accounts. Make sure to teach them how to create a strong password using the following tips…
Continue Reading: http://powerwallet.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/3-ways-to-teach-your-kids-to-be-safe-online-with-national-consumer-protection-week/
arch 5, 2012
In honor of the fourteenth annual National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW), the experts at PowerWallet are dedicating this week’s blog posts to helping you become more informed about how to protect yourself from scams. Every year, millions of Americans fall prey to false advertising, unethical debt relief scams, identity theft and more – that is why it is so important to be informed about not only types of deceptive and fraudulent practices that could happen to you but what resources you can turn to to fight back.
As the start of NCPW, learn and bookmark these 8 online resources that every consumer should know to protect themselves and fight back deceptive practices:
1. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — The FTC is a national government agency that is dedicated to fighting for and protection Americans. If you are scammed whether it be a mortgage refinance scam or untrue advertising practices, utilize the FTC and file a complaint. The FTC will conduct an investigation and get justice for you.
Continue reading: http://powerwallet.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/8-online-resources-to-fight-back-and-protect-yourself-from-scams/
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 11 percent of American consumers are victims of fraud and scams each year. With over 350 million people residing in the United States, that’s almost 4 million people each year that lose time, money and trust because of unethical practices. There are so many different types of scams and fraudulent activities that could happen to you dealing with health care to paying off debt to even buying a product online. As the fourth day of National Consumer Protection Week 2012, we have conducted some research to find out the most common types of scams and how you can avoid them.
Remember to share this information with friends and family members. Educating one another is the first step to fighting back!
Continue reading: http://powerwallet.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/top-3-most-common-scams-how-to-avoid-them/
As National Consumer Protection Week continues, we take a closer look at a crime that can potentially have a drastically negative impact on your finances—identity theft. The Department of Justice reports over 8.6 million households in the U.S. have at least one person who has been the victim of identity theft. More than 64% of those cases involved the misuse or attempted misuse of a credit card.
According to CreditCards.com, the current time to resolve a credit card fraud issue is 21 hours. So even if you reach a full resolution with all the fraudulent charges made on your credit card, you still lose valuable time and have to put up with the stress of filing a report, disputing the charges, and working with your creditors to restore your credit line to proper working order. Happily credit card fraudsters and identity thieves are getting caught more often—with twice the arrests and convictions in 2009—but you still have to deal with the stress and the hassle.
Continue reading: http://powerwallet.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/identity-theft-in-todays-marketplace/
