Credit Card Theft

Restaurant Credit Card Theft
By Becky Billingsley

Chefs and restaurant owners want to know how to prevent customers' identity theft, so the speaker at the August 2007 meeting of the Myrtle Beach chapter of the American Culinary Federation was Jay Shavitz of Infinity Computer Systems. He explained how credit card information theft can occur at restaurants.

It’s called credit card skimming, he said, and some restaurant servers are recruited by crime rings. The bad guys give the servers pocket-size “skimmers.” When the server gets a credit card and takes it to swipe in the restaurant’s credit card terminal, he also gives the card a quick swipe through the skimmer. The skimmer gets the card’s information off its magnetic strip and stores it.

“The skimmers can hold information from 200 to 300 credit cards,” Jay said, “and then they download the info on their computers at home and send it out of the country.”

Restaurants account for about 90 percent of all credit card skimming, he said, because a restaurant is just about the only environment where upon payment the credit cards are removed from customers’ views.

Jay then explained how the hand-held system his company sells can be used to take orders tableside (servers can even write on the mini-computer’s screen), and it doubles as a portable credit card terminal. That way the credit card is never out of the customer’s view. The units’ batteries are good for about nine hours, so one unit can get through three shifts on two batteries. It’s also possible to have a belt-size printer so customer receipts can be printed on the spot.

Becky Billingsley is a professional writer who publishes daily news about Myrtle Beach area restaurants at http://www.myrtlebeachrestaurantnews.com

Find out more about the Restaurant Manager Write-On Handheld Point-of Sale system at http://touchscreenpos.com

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4 Ways to Avoid Foreclosure

4 Ways To Avoid Foreclosure
By David Faulkner

Any one of us can hit the financial wall at any time, and without warning. But even if the loss of a job or unforeseen medical bills or other emergency have exhausted your financial resources, those to whom you owe money, including your mortgage holder, still expect to receive their scheduled payments.

If you have failed to pay your monthly mortgage payment for long enough, your bank or lender may have presented you with a notice of foreclosure. But if you know you are going to have difficulty meeting your mortgage payments, there are some steps you can take to try and avoid foreclosure.

Special Forbearance

If you know your financial shortfall is only short-term, speak to your lender about having your monthly mortgage payments lowered until you are back on your feet. If you can provide sufficient evidence that in a reasonable amount of time you will be able to resume your regular schedule of payment, your lender may allow you to a void foreclosure by catching up on the amount you have missed. This process is called Special Forbearance.

Use Your Equity To Refinance

If you’ve lived in your home and made enough mortgage payments to have built up a sizable amount of equity, which is the amount of money for which your home has been appraised minus the balance you have remaining on your mortgage, you may be able to refinance your mortgage. You can get the cash equivalent of your home equity, use it to avoid foreclosure by paying off your existing mortgage, and perhaps even negotiate lower interest rates and lower monthly payments on your new loan.

Look For A Loan

If you haven’t lived in your home long enough to build any appreciable equity, and your credit rating has not been lowered because of missed home payments, you may be able to avoid foreclosure by borrowing the money to pay off your default. You can look for a conventional lender, or perhaps get help from family or friends. But if you are going to get help from a conventional lender to avoid foreclosure, you should do it at the first sign that you will have difficulty meeting your mortgage payments, so that your credit record remains intact.

Sell Your Home Yourself

If all else fails, you avoid foreclosure by beating your mortgage holder to the punch by selling your home before it goes into full foreclosure. While you will have to give up you home, and may not realize any cash from the sale, you will have managed to avoid foreclosure, saved your credit rating, and can look for a mortgage on a new home with a price within your budget. As long as you make your payments on your new home as scheduled, you need never fear the stigma of foreclosure and you should have a solid financial future.

You can also find more info on foreclosure properties and bank foreclosure. Foreclosureshomeguide.com is a comprehensive resource to get help about property Foreclosures.

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Your Credit Report Score and What You Can Do About It

Your Credit Report Score and What to Do About It
By Douglas Michaels

Paying on time

Late payments on regular monthly bills will quickly reduce your credit report score and should be avoided at all costs. Bank loans and credit card debt are probably the easiest to miss paying as they are not as life-threatening as forgetting to pay the electricity or gas bill. If you are internet savvy, one of the best ways of avoiding late payments is setting up automatic payments through your financial institution’s website. Credit unions are perhaps the most amenable to this form of bill payment as some banks may charge for the service.

Closing Accounts

Credit scoring companies put a lot of weight on the length of your credit history. Closing newer credit accounts may well improve your score by reducing the amount of credit you have available and the chance that you may go out on a shopping spree. But closing your oldest accounts reduces your credit report score because it removes you longest history of payments from consideration when your score is compiled.

If you have moved recently, or are planning a relocation, make sure your utility or cell phone provider has a forwarding address. I closed an account in December with my natural gas provider, only to be surprised by a residual bill the following March.

Credit card imbalances

Let’s says you have three credit cards with limits of $10,000, $5,000 and $4,000 each and you are carrying balances on all of them or are about to make a large purchase using one of the cards. You would assume it may be best to use the card with the lowest interest rate and this may be the one with the $4,000 limit. But your credit report score could take a hit while you are trying to minimize interest charges. That’s because your score can be adversely affected by having a high debt to credit ratio on one of your credit cards. If your big purchase cannot be avoid, use the card with the higher available total credit to lower the impact on your credit report score.

Paying down your debt

If you are running on fumes from month to month, as I have done at some point in my life, you know it will take serious discipline to chip away at your debt. One of the most obvious ways to reduce your monthly outlay of cash and thus provide more funds for your debt-reduction plan is to avoid recurring expenses like the plague. And the ugliest of recurring expenses can be that old staple, the car loan. I have avoided paying a car note since 1982 by buying a succession of modest used cars that I have rigorously maintained. You could save yourself one or two hundred dollars each month by switching to a used car and purchasing an extended warranty.

Goosing your credit report score

What if you are fresh out of college or just stepped off a plane and have no credit? If you have made it though college while avoiding the credit card trap to which many college kids succumb, one of the easiest ways to jump start your credit report score is by applying for a secured credit card. You can do this by depositing some cash in a restricted account.

Most banks will issue you a credit card with a limit set by the amount of cash you have deposited. If you use the card regularly and pay on time, they may then lift the restriction on your deposit and change your account to a non-secured designation. After you have developed a feel for paying your credit card on time, it may be a good idea to call your credit card issuer and ask them to raise the limit.

Avoid card collecting sprees

I have seen many instances of consumers carrying credit cards from several well known department stores and electronics and computer manufacturers and retailers. You should avoid a proliferation of credit cards with small limits like the proverbial plague. And be very careful what you sign up for, whether on the internet or at in-store promotion booths.

Paying off old debt

I am reluctant to advise you to avoid paying off old debt as I am a stickler for living up to my personal obligations. This may become a matter of personal choice for you but you should know that paying an old debt that has languished on your credit report for years, revives the account as a current collection activity, a certain means of lowering your credit report score. Better to boost your score, sign your loan, then pay off the old debt.

All this sounds simple enough but can be difficult to put into practice. Remember that there is no quick fix for boosting your credit report score. It will take discipline and patience and will create some annoyances in your life, but in the long run it can save you bucketsful of cash.

For more tips on credit matters visit my website at www.my-credit-report-score.com

For more tips on credit matters visit www.my-credit-report-score.com

Douglas Michaels is an editor, publisher and columnist. He started out publishing a free construction industry magazine geared to introducing builders to new, environmentally-conscious technologies in the 1980s. He works in the financial industry and now dedicates his time to helping others educate themselves on improving their credit scores.

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5 Reasons Why You Struggle Financially

Five Reasons Why You Struggle Financially
By Nadege Lewis

Many of us struggle to put our financial lives in order. Our money situation only seems to get worse with each passing day. The financial strain is unbearable and you finally decide that you are no longer desire to accept your circumstance as reality. Understanding the root causes of the problem is the first step towards improving. Here are the main reasons why your financial situation is not where it should be.

You have no idea where your money is going

The main reason why your paycheck has a lifespan of a fruit fly is not because of the amount of money you earn. A person can earn $10,000 a month but if they spend $10,100 a month, that person will be broke. This is the why we often hear the accounts of lottery winners losing all of their money in a relatively short amount of time. If you can not account for every dollar spent from your last paycheck, you are at risk of losing your hard earned cash on frivolous spending without even knowing what happened.

You do not put your money to work

Your money can work harder for you than you can work for your money. Unless you understand the way money works, you will continue to wonder why you can not accumulate wealth. Saving is a good thing, but investing your money is better. The absolute best thing you can do for your financial health is think your money as employees and make them work as hard as possible to bring more income for you.

You buy things you can not afford

When you make purchases with your credit card and fail to pay off the balance when it becomes due, you bought beyond what you could afford. The math is simple. One minus two equals to negative one. Financially sound people seek to obtain a positive net worth. As long as you continue to spend in a way that maintains your negative worth, you will struggle in your finances.

You do not plan for the future

Part of the reason we use credit cards is because we did not save for a rainy day or expected emergencies. Looking ahead is an important aspect of your financial health. A portion of the income you receive today should be allocated towards your future. Planning for your future will ensure that you do not have to struggle during your retirement. Planning for your future will ensure that you will even be able to retire.

You do have not financial goals

Without financial goals many of us remain in a cycle of struggling. Months, even years pass and we wonder why our money situation has not magically improved on its own. Goals are a key aspect of evolving financially. Your first goal should be write out measurable short and long-term objectives which will bring your finances to the next level. Goals keep us motivated. Without them, we wander aimlessly paycheck after paycheck without putting a purpose to our money. If our money does not have a purpose, we suffer the fate of having an ailing financial life.

These are five simple things that you should avoid doing when it comes to your money. If you are diligent to making sure that you abstain from committing these financial faux pas, you will begin to create new money habits. These habits are the foundation of wealth building that will positively impact your financial resources.

Nadege Lewis is dedicated to helping people learn fundamental principles that bring about financial freedom. Decide today to create Wealthy Habits that lead to financial freedom. Visit http://www.wealthyhabitsnow.com for free information that will change your financial life.

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Personal Finances - K.I.S.S.ing Your Checking And Credit Card Accounts
By George Gilbert

My Dad and father-in-law were at both ends of the spectrum when it came to managing their checking accounts. Dad would spend hours, sometimes days, tracking down a two cent error in his checkbook register. It drove him bonkers when his checkbook didn't balance to the penny with the account statement.

My father-in-law, on the other hand, didn't even keep a checkbook register. He couldn't be bothered with balancing his account. His philosophy was, "If I run out of money the bank will let me know." That is a hands off approach that few of us can get away with, but, it worked for a person that was born and lived in a town of less than 800 people. The bank did, indeed, let my father-in-law know when he was overdrawn. They never, to my knowledge, charged him overdraft fees.

That approach can work in a small town in Northern Idaho. Most of us, however, do not have that kind of a relationship with our bank. In order for our personal finances to run smoothly, it is our responsibility to make the lifestyle choices, and do the work associated with managing our day-to-day finances. How we handle our checking account and credit card transactions is fundamental to keeping things running well.

My Approach Is Somewhere In The Middle

My approach to managing our family checkbook register is somewhere between the two parental extremes cited above. My wife, Lois, and I record all transactions in our register and, like clockwork, I balance our account every month. What I don't do is spend an unnecessary amount of time trying to find errors when our account doesn't balance with the statement. If the error is within comfortable limits, I adjust the account balance and then get on with my life.

What's a "comfortable limit?" That depends on the account balance. My error tolerance is directly proportional to how much money we have on hand when the error occurs. Balancing errors don't happen very often. More often than not our checkbook balances to the penny. The accuracy can be attributed in some measure to the fact that I use personal finance management software.

The point is that personal finances do require some work, but, perfection may not be desirable. There are a lot of people involved in the processing of the various transactions each of us generates as part of our monetary lives. Those millions upon millions of transactions, large and small, are all subject to our own human error as well as the human errors that can be committed by all of those people behind the scenes who we rarely think about.

It behooves us, therefore, to keep tabs on the pulse of our personal finances as recorded in our checkbook and credit card accounts. This ongoing monitoring can be psychotic or a normal, healthy part of our lives. It's up to each one of us to decide where we stand on this issue. Will we adopt a fringe behavior like one of my parents? Or will we keep it sane and simple (K.I.S.S.)?

Using Tools Imposes Lifestyle Choices

Using a cash flow management tool forces you to make choices by imposing lifestyle traits that are required if the tool is going to work as intended. That may sound intimidating, but, for a well written, user friendly program, the required lifestyle traits are not an undue burden. For those of us who are sincerely interested in having "more money than month" instead of "more month than money," developing a few, possibly new habits need not be a harsh adjustment. The payback in financial peace of mind is very well worth it.

Choices We Make Regardless

First, let's take a look at those habits that will make your financial life easier regardless of whether or not you use personal finance software.

* Keep your checkbook register accurate. Your checking account is probably your primary money management tool. It just makes common sense, in my opinion, to keep your checkbook register up-to-date and accurate. If you are not used to writing every transaction (e.g. checks, ATM transactions, deposits) in your checkbook register, or balancing your checkbook every month, these are habits you may want to look at developing immediately. Should you decide to use a money management program, an accurate checkbook is imperative.

* Keep an accurate record of charge transactions. If you use charge cards, keeping an accurate record of your charges and returns is also vital to the success of your cash flow management efforts. In my opinion, not keeping track of charges is a main contributor to why many people get into trouble with charge card debt.

I think it is vitally important that, starting today, you keep the receipts from all of your charge transactions for no other reason than for reconciling your monthly credit card statement. If you are using appropriate personal finance software, charge transactions are entered into the program as soon as convenient. The program will, with accurate charging information, keep you informed of where you stand on your charge card debt.

Choices Imposed By Software

The following issues are specific to the successful use of many personal finance programs.

* One checking account. How people manage their personal funds is very, well, personal. For a single person, the choices are simplified. Once a person takes on a partner, however, personal finances can become complicated depending on how much financial autonomy each partner requires.

Regardless of how many savings and checking accounts each single or partnered person may have, at least one checking account is normally required for use with the software. This one checking account, coupled with the program, is used to plan for and pay bills; plan and pay for planned purchases; and to smooth out weekly living expenses. The intent is for the program and it's associated checking account to encapsulate a person's entire month-to-month financial records.

* Pay bills on a schedule. Instead of paying bills when you receive them or when you get paid, pay your bills on the same days each month. An appropriate schedule for most people would be on the 1st and 15th of each month. The mechanics of bill payment (e.g. check, cash, online, automatic withdrawal) are entirely up to you, but, sitting down twice a month and arranging for your bills to be paid on or before the date they are due will simplify and smooth the paying of your bills.

* Pay yourself on a schedule. "Paying" yourself a fixed amount of spending money the same day each week regardless of when you receive your income will smooth out your day-to-day expenses. How much weekly spending money you give yourself is entirely up to you as is the weekday on which you "pay" yourself.

The trick is to find that amount of weekly spending money that is enough for day-to-day expenses, but not so much that you don't leave yourself enough to pay bills. An appropriately written personal finance program will automatically include your personal "payday" in your month-to-month financial projection so you can easily see whether you have correctly set your weekly spending money amount.

* Keep accurate records. An appropriately written personal finance program gives you a "forward looking" projection of your month-to-month cash flow. When using such a tool, keeping your cash flow projection current is the key to giving you a continual picture of where you are and where you're headed. You will, therefore, have to be consistent with keeping your month-to-month financial records current.

With the right personal finance software, this does not have to be a big chore like keeping track of every penny you spend, or entering and categorizing every check you write. In an appropriately written personal finance program, most of your record keeping will consist of entering bills when you receive them, entering charges as you incur them, paying yourself once a week, reconciling bank and charge account statements, and paying bills. Typically, all of this financial activity will take two to four hours per month.

Paperwork Flow

There are a couple of habits that Lois and I have developed that simplify tasks like the keeping of accurate records. When any piece of paper is received on which is recorded a financial transaction, that piece of paper is placed in our "In" basket.

While most of our financial transactions are handled electronically, there are still items like charge slips, magazine subscriptions and account statements that are printed. By placing all such printed items in one place, they get recorded in our computer records accurately and in a timely manner. It is unusual for one of our paper transactions to be forgotten.

Those pieces of paper that are needed for account reconciliation, like credit card receipts, are put into a "Hold" folder after having been recorded in our personal finance software. Those pieces of paper that are not needed after being recorded are shredded or burned. After reconciling credit card statements, all of the pieces of paper for transactions that have cleared are removed from the "Hold" folder and also destroyed.

It's a simple system, but, it works for us. As long as everyone in a household knows the "paperwork flow," and habitually uses that flow, the chances that transactions will be lost, resulting in potential financial errors, are greatly reduced.

Being Big Brother To Your Checking Account

Another habit that I have adopted is the close, online supervision of our checking account. I'm a big fan of online banking which gives me almost up to the minute information about the status of our checking account. As part of my computer startup procedure, I take a look at the activity in our checking account. This may sound a bit paranoid, but, I've been able to spot unexpected activity on several occasions.

There has been nothing traumatic like identity theft, but, by keeping a close eye on checking account activity I've caught unexpected withdrawals shortly after they happened instead of being surprised on the next account statement. The most recent example involved automatic credit card payments that I thought I had cancelled.

It took two months working with the credit card company's customer service staff to straighten that one out. Had I not spotted the first unexpected payment when it happened, our checking account could have been short by $75.00 each of those two months. That may not be a large amount, but, it could have been enough to cause a potential, inconvenient problem if left undetected.

Financial Peace Of Mind

All of the discussed lifestyle habits are so firmly embedded in Lois and my everyday lives that we no longer even think about them. Consequently, our month-to-month finances are smooth with few interruptions. When we do have to discuss financial issues, it's a discussion over known choices instead of fights over who is doing, or not doing what.

Money is not a source of discord in our lives like it can be for couples. Lois and I have been enjoying financial peace of mind for most of the 40+ years of our marriage. This financial bliss can be attributed directly to the unique cash flow techniques upon which our personal finance management software is based.

George Gilbert writes software for personal computers. One of his popular titles is myOwnPayday, an innovative approach to personal finance that was created out of practical necessity. Find out more about this innovative program at 2goodsoftware.com.

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How To Build Your Credit Score

How to Build Your Credit Score

A solid credit score can lead to lower interest rates, loan approvals, and even job opportunities. If your score is currently less than what you would like it to be, you can take measures to improve it. By understanding the basics of the system, you can start building your credit score today.

What Credit Score Is

The term "credit score" refers to the overall health of your finances. The Fair Isaac Corporation usually calculates this three-digit figure. Fair Isaac takes information from your credit report and punches the numbers through a series of calculations. Your payment history and the amount of outstanding debt you have are taken into consideration. The length of credit, new credit, and type of credit you have are also reviewed.
Before issuing credit, many lenders check your credit score. You may be accepted or denied based on your credit score. For this reason, it is important to maintain a good score. And doing so can be easy. Following are a number of steps you can take to help you build your credit score.

Make Payments on Time

By far the easiest and best way to build your credit score is to avoid late payments. By paying bills on time, you show lenders that you are reliable and consistent. If you have a hard time remembering when payments need to be made, try streamlining the due dates. Call your lenders and ask to have the due date changed to a certain day of the month. Set up all your bills to be due on the same date. You can also line up automatic payments. That way, the money is withdrawn from your checking account at the same time each month. Have reminders sent to your email or mailbox. Find a method that helps you pay on time, every time.

Pay Down your Debt

Paying off debts that you have is another way to build your credit score. Strive to use only 35% or less of your credit limit. So if you have two credit cards that each have a $5,000 limit, you have a total credit limit of $10,000. Aim to keep your total outstanding balances under $3,500. This will lower your credit risk, thereby raising your credit score.

Keep Accounts Open

If you have had a credit card for a long time and rarely use it, think twice before closing the account. If you have a solid history of on-time payments, it may be in your best interest to keep the account open. It will show lenders that you have a longer credit history.

Use your Credit Card Wisely

Building your credit score does not mean getting rid of your credit cards or not using them. But before you make a purchase, consider how you will pay it back. Look into what you can and cannot afford before swiping the plastic.

If you decide to open a new account, keep your shopping time limited to 14 days. Once you have the credit card, pay off your balances on a timely basis. This will improve your credit score over time.

These are just a few ways to build your credit score. Staying on top of your finances and managing them routinely will help your FICO numbers increase. Before you know it, you will have a high credit score.

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To Apply For A Credit Card Today click the following link: http://www.credit-card-surplus.com . Ed Vegliante runs http://www.credit-card-surplus.com , a directory helping consumers to compare and apply for credit cards.