Twila Van Leer

The Credit Elite Have Savvy Habits

June 23, 2016 By Twila Van Leer

Payment history most important factor used to determine overall score.

Ever yearned to be part of the “Credit Elite,” those whose credit ratings are up the 800-850 range as determined by the rating agencies? That kind of credit almost assures that you will be approved for loans and likely enjoy lower interest rates.

Those in the 800-plus range know that it doesn’t happen by chance. They make particular credit habits part of their regular personal finance strategies. Here are some of their suggestions:

Pay On Time

Without exception, pay on time. The payment history is the single most important factor that the agencies use to determine your overall score, being some 35 percent of the total. If you miss a payment or make one late, it has a negative effect.

Keep Balances Low Or Paid Off

Keep a rein on credit card balances. The size of the balance relative to the card limit is a factor. The best credit is generated by using less than 10 percent of the allowable limit.

Low Number of Credit Cards

Limit your credit accounts. Applying often for new credit can affect your bottom line. That activity represents 10 percent of the credit agency’s total. If you make frequent inquiries about new cards, for instance, trying to find the best mix of perks, it could have a negative effect. Try to get the right mix into place, then stand pat. A mix of debt, including credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, student loans, etc., all deftly managed, will impress the rating companies.

Don’t Spend More Than You Make

Live within your means. Overextending yourself financially will come home to roost. Don’t use credit to overspend. A solid, long-term credit history will keep your score in the range you want. The older your accounts become without serious lapses, the more they count. Stability is a factor when you’re looking at the 800 rankings.

Staying on course is important. Consistency is key to a good credit score. A small lapse can have a reverse effect. Make good credit a habit and stay on course. Check your credit score periodically and monitor your progress toward the elite standing.

Retirement Plans Are Not Always Available

June 22, 2016 By Twila Van Leer

Many employees don't have access to a company retirement plan. — Many employees don’t have access to a company retirement plan.

Retirement systems in America are not always available to people. The The Pew Charitable Trusts is an organization that helps states and cities to design
retirement systems that are affordable. They have conducted a study that identified areas of the country that have the most access to retirement plans. The results revealed that access varies more among the nation’s metropolitan areas than across states as a whole.

For instance, workers in Grand Rapids, Mich. had the greatest rates of access, at 71 percent and those in McAllen, Tex., the lowest at 23 percent, the Pew study showed in a comparison of 104 metropolitan areas. Overall, the nationwide percentage of workers who had access to a plan was 58.

Fewer Employers Offer Retirement Pensions

With fewer companies offering standard retirement pensions, the importance of a workplace retirement plan is increasingly important to those looking at retirement. Workers are looking more to a 401(k) or other option to help them supplement their anticipated Social Security.

Retirement savings plans offered by employees give people the ability to save for retirement.

Even so, 40 percent of full-time private sector employees say they don’t have access to an employer-supported plan. Local governments look at the reality and are concerned that helping retirees to survive financially may come home to roost with them. Policy questions are on local agendas and state agendas as officials look at the possibility of stresses on such programs as Medicaid, food assistance and other support systems.

State-run Savings Plan

Illinois has enacted a state-run retirement savings plan for some workers who have no workplace access. The plan will go into operation in 2017.

Federal Government Concerns

The federal government has concerns as well, particularly as the long-range health of Social Security is in question. Several policies to encourage savings have been instituted, including the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which enabled prospective retirees to make automatic contributions to a 401(k) plan.

myRA

President Obama created myRA, to assist people who don’t have access to a company retirement plan so they can save individually. myRAs will be invested solely in government bonds and will be backed by the U.S. government.

Pew found that the Northeast, Upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest regions of the country have the highest rates of worker access to retirement savings plans, while the areas with the lowest rates are in the South and parts of the West.

Budgets Should Include Savings

June 21, 2016 By Twila Van Leer

Recording every penny you spend lets you know how much goes to non-essentials. — Recording every penny you spend lets you know how much goes towards non-essentials.

Personal financial security almost always is built upon a foundation of creating and sticking to a budget. And a budget line dedicated to savings is extra insurance that you are on solid ground, no matter how much you make.

Tracking your spending is a necessary preliminary to creating that budget. Start by recording every penny you spend. And be prepared to be surprised at how much of your money is going into such things as movies, potato chips and other non-essentials.

Sticking To Your True Needs Leaves More For Savings

Once you have a true picture of how you are spending what you earn, the next step is to set a realistic budget that covers all your needs. That is needs, not wants. Needs vary from family to family, but for almost everyone, they include housing, food, water, shelter, clothing and education. The list of “wants” is long and variable, but often includes fast foods, meals out, expensive clothing, over-expensive cars, fancy cell phones and electronic gadgetry.

Engage Your Family In Setting The Budget

Let them help make up the shopping lists and then go through them to see what you can realistically do without. An occasional “fling” can be accommodated, but be sure they stay occasional and don’t become embedded in the budget by default.

Start A Savings Plan

Through your employment you may have access to a 401(k) account. Or set up an IRA (Individual Retirement Account), which is another way to enjoy tax benefits while you save. Keep retirement in mind. It comes sooner than you’d think. Save as much as you can and increase the amount as children grow up and leave home or as your earnings increase.

Consider What Is Practical In The Way Of Education

Too many Americans face retirement with student loans still weighing them down. It may be that you can achieve career goals without a four-year university degree. If you have to borrow to pay for higher education, keep these figures in mind: The typical monthly payment for loans escalates with the type of training you desire, from $54 for vocational school; $60 for an associate degree; $184 for a bachelor’s degree; $220 for a master’s degree; $280 for a college professor; $530 for a professional degree; and $840 for a physician.

Certainly don’t settle for less than you desire, but approach higher education with your eyes open. Start planning early, warn children they may have to work while they go to school, do your best to encourage them to perform well in high school as a springboard to scholarships and other support.

Finances Change With Divorce

June 17, 2016 By Twila Van Leer

Knowing how to manage money after divorce is essential.

Unfortunately, in a society where divorce is common, no one expects women to be expert in personal finances. They tend to know more about weight loss, cooking and other traditionally feminine matters.

But, according to DivorcedMoms.com, knowing about money and how to manage it (especially when a divorce may have drastically cut your resources) can become absolutely essentially in your new reality. Here are some tips to help in the process.

Hope For The Best, But Be Prepared For The Worst

Though your ex may be as generous as he promised he would be, it often happens that support money begins to lag. Insist on discussing money issues as the split occurs. You’re better off, if possible, to plan on taking care of yourself financially. If you get all the help you are promised, you’ll be pleasantly surprised, and if not, you won’t be devastated.

Educate Yourself

Financial training for women should begin in high school, but it seldom does. If possible, plan to do your own taxes and hone your budgeting and investing skills. Find a consultant, research online or get advice from someone you trust.

Regular Savings Plan

If work is part of the equation for you, be certain that some set percentage of your income goes into savings. Take advantage of employer participation in a retirement savings, if that is feasible. If you still have dependent children, buying a home may be very desirable. But be sure that it’s affordable and leaves you enough for other necessities, including education for the kids. If you need to upgrade employment skills, there are agencies that offer free services or can steer you to affordable options. Don’t be reluctant to explore any options, including government support, if it is necessary to provide for your family.

Have A Strategy

Create long-term goals, including concrete plans on how you are going to achieve them. Get rid of what you don’t need in favor of the things that will help you reach your goals. Be sure your goals are realistic, seeking counseling if necessary to stay within reason. Most women have some assets, such as jewelry or over-expensive cars, that they can convert to cash if necessary. Incurring more debt trying to become financially self-reliant is not a wise way to go.

Live Within Your Budget

It may even do your children good to be forced to expect less. Teach them to live realistically within the new budget now in place. They could thank you for it later. Keep in mind that the old saying is true: You can’t buy happiness. Look for free entertainment, such as board games at the kitchen table, home movie nights, visits to the library, nature walks, local parks, etc.
Love and attention don’t cost anything and they’re the greatest gifts you can give your child. Don’t let your emotional fallout become their problem.

Seek Mediation If Necessary

Resist going to court with your ex-spouse for every dissatisfaction. Lawyers are expensive and courts not cheap. . With divorce child support orders can be changed if your circumstances change, but don’t make money a constantly divisive issue that too often puts children in the middle.

Look around you at all the women who have divorced and succeeded. One needn’t automatically exclude the other. Divorce creates challenges, but it isn’t the end. Learn from it, plan for success and stick with the plan.

Wells Fargo Launches Payment App For Android Phones

June 17, 2016 By Twila Van Leer

This summer Wells Fargo comes out with mobile payment app for Android OS 4.4 or newer phones. — This summer Wells Fargo comes out with a mobile payment app for Android OS 4.4 or newer phones.

Wells Fargo, the second largest debit card issuer and fifth largest credit card issuer, comes out with a mobile payment app for Android OS 4.4 or newer phones. The app will enable Near Field Communications (NFC) transactions for the millions of smartphones and tablets that use the app.

Wells Fargo Wallet will be added to the company’s existing mobile banking applications. Automatic refresh opportunities incorporating the WFW feature will be sent to Android users. Visa consumers and small business card customers also will be able to register.

Wells Fargo Payment App For Android Phones

Wells Fargo customers will be able to make purchases by tapping their Android phones at NFC-enabled payment terminals worldwide, including more than 1.4 million U.S. merchant locations. All transactions will be host card emulation-type, using the Visa Token Service.

Easy Sign Up Process

Wells Fargo supports Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay, apps that require a download and enrollment process for cards. WF believes some of its customers may prefer the new Wallet because of the easy sign-up process and other services offered with the mobile banking option.

Chase and Capitol One preceded WF in offering proprietary mobile payment apps. Chase Pay is QR-code-based and Capital One Wallet, like WFW, is NFC-based. WF chose NFC to allow all of its card users to have the same experience, according to Steve Ellis, head of Innovation Group at WF in Fan Francisco.

Access Debit Card Balances

Cardholders will have access to their debit card account balance or credit card line of credit within the WFW app before and immediately after a purchase. Customers will be able to use the app for ATM transactions as well, without using a physical debit or ATM card. WF ATMs will be NFC-enabled by the end of this year, Ellis said. Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay customers also will have the ATM service.