Back Up Plan For Those Dependent On the Internet For Financial Organization When The Internet Or Electricity Goes Out

By MoneyBlueBook

I am part of a new generation of technology dependent people. Since the explosion and mainstream adaptation of wireless internet, cellular phones, iPods, and the growth of social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, and even real time chat, I've become very dependent on technology and the digital medium. I've already transitioned the bulk of my important documents into digital format and thrown away all of my old audio compact discs in favor of mp3's. I've discarded the practice of receiving paper bills through snail mail and have already converted all of my bank and credit card statements into e-billing exclusively. I've substantially cut down on paper transactions in favor of direct deposits, ACH electronic transfers, and online payments through PayPal. With a few keystrokes and taps at my computer keyboard, I can shift my bank funds around from savings to broker to checking. My legion of credit cards are all enrolled in automatic debit payment, which automatically withdraws money from my attached bank account to pay off each month's credit card statement balances.

Everything has become electronic and my life has grown significantly more organized, paperless, and automated. I've aggregated my bank accounts, credit cards statements, investment brokerages, frequent flyer plans, hotel plans, and other reward point plans into my Yodlee powered Fidelity Full View account aggregation program where I can monitor everything from a single online access point.

However, this dependency has one obvious downside and weakness - I am heavily dependent on the reliability of computers and the internet.

By MoneyBlueBook

If you're like most consumers, you will probably need to apply for jobs or take out loans to buy a car or a house sometime in your life. What do these things have in common? They all may require that you have a decent credit score to reasonably qualify.

Currently, the most uniformly and commonly used credit scoring system is the FICO score, developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation. The competing credit bureaus have come up with their own scoring systems with various names including VantageScore and Plus score. However, they are all imitators at best and not universally used or recognized by lenders and creditors. There's a reason why many refer to these other scores as "FAKO" scores. The FICO score is still the most widely used method. If you want to compare apples with apples, then it's best to keep your historical credit scores consistent and stick with the FICO. That's the only credit score I really care about.

Many employers today use credit scores to initially gauge prospective job applicants. Even rental apartments frequently run credit checks to make sure future tenants have a history of making good on credit payments. Credit lenders use people's FICO scores to determine whether the person gets approved for credit, how quickly they get approved for credit, the extent of the credit limit, and what kind of terms they get. Those with lower credit scores tend to get stuck with terms that demand higher interest payments and stricter down payment requirements. These days, your FICO score is

By MoneyBlueBook

I went to gradate school in the run down city of Baltimore, Maryland. I used to joke with my friends that more people in Baltimore City owned and carried around designer Louis Vuitton handbags than in any other city in the world. When I went to school there it seemed like every corner near the city courthouse had a vendor hawking fake designer brand products like Prada, Coach, and even Polo Ralph Lauren. Most of the merchandise were no doubt fakes - cheaply made knock offs made in countries like China, a country known for its lax efforts in stopping piracy in the marketplace.

I want to focus my analysis on the Lacoste designer clothing brand line. Companies like Lacoste spend a great deal of investment on brand building and quality control. However, with the prevalence of overseas sweatshops and people buying Lacoste clothing online, fake knockoffs have been spreading through the internet marketplace like wildfire and many buyers are unwittingly ending up with fakes. While a genuine Lacoste polo shirt can cost an average of $60-75 per shirt, buyers of fakes are frequently getting ripped off for shoddy products worth substantially less. Whether it makes any sense to pay so much for a mere polo shirt is another matter. The fact is, buyers have to be able to ensure they are getting the high end quality product they are paying top dollar for.

Unlike authentic Lacoste clothing, fakes and knock offs simply don't wear and feel like the real thing. Sometimes it's easy to spot the

By MoneyBlueBook

Updated List Of The Best Cash Back Credit Card Offers Below!

As I indicated in the past, I'm a big fan of integrated credit card reward programs like Citi Card's Thank You Rewards Network. I like how all of their reward credit cards generate Thank You rewards that can be pooled into one source and later redeemed for rewards like cash back, statement credit, airline tickets, and popular merchandise. Years ago, you could get a higher cash back percentage with your credit cards, but times have changed as companies have cut and reduced their cash back benefits in favor of encouraging reward point usage. But many people still prefer to stick with cash back cards. Cash back rebates are easier than reward points to understand and despite the slightly lower percentage back offered by the former, many people still favor the convenience and simplicity that cash back reward credit cards provide.

People Like Cash Back Cards Because They Are Much Easier To Use and Redeem Than Reward Cards

I personally don't mind using credit cards that offer reward points, but I'll admit that it does involve more micromanaging. I've been accumulating Citi Thank You rewards for more than a year now and have accumulated a substantial stockpile of points, enough for an international airplane ticket to Asia and more. But the process requires me to monitor my point progression to ensure my points are not near expiration since accrued reward points do expire after some time if not timely redeemed.

Upon close inspection of all credit card reward and

By MoneyBlueBook

Although I work a regular full time job, I also run a few fledgling side ventures on the side. As I mentioned about a month ago, I am currently attempting to establish a trade name and open a business bank account in the business' name to better keep track of venture earnings and assets.

However, I'm currently unable to establish a business bank account because the state agency hasn't processed and sent me my approved trade name certificate yet. I did not file for expedited service (*snapping fingers in a darnnit motion* ) so it's taking much longer than expected. Banks will not usually allow an individual to establish a business bank account that doesn't contain the applicant's name in the account title without a valid trade name or fictitious business certificate. So for now, I'm stuck without the services of a proper business bank account. However, meanwhile my side businesses have continued to generate income and now I have several business checks made out to my fictitious business name that I am unable to deposit immediately. It has been weeks and the business checks continue to sit on my desk gathering dust and looking quite lonely.

Ideally, business funds should not be co-mingled with personal funds since the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will require the tax filer to account for his/her business income and expenses on a separate form, although both business and personal income will ultimately be treated as the tax filer's ordinary income. However, my checks have been sitting around un-deposited for some

By MoneyBlueBook

I'm a lazy guy. I'm also not a very big shopper. This combination tends to work against me when I have to buy presents for others during the Christmas holiday shopping season. Some people are easy to shop for but for others, it's an ordeal trying to figure out what to give them.

Sometimes I just want to take the easy, effortless route by dolling out cash to the masses. But I think most people are still very traditional and find the idea of giving out plain old cash very distasteful. This is how the marketing braniacs came up with gift cards. The way these businesses promote gift cards is quite brilliant since they've managed to convince many that giving a gift card means something more than just giving out cash, and that somehow the gift cards can convey the message of "I love you" better than cash ever could. But essentially, they are the same as cash except they don't carry the same gifting stigma. I know some people find gift cards and gift certificates to be tacky and unoriginal, but the cards do serve a useful purpose and in fact, I myself sometimes prefer gift cards over receiving an actual present.

Cash Is Best, But Gift Cards and Gift Certificates Are The Next Best Thing

Who doesn't like cash? It's the most versatile gift since you can do whatever you want with it - use it, spend it, save it, hide it, earn interest on it. One of the problems with receiving regular conventional gifts