Category Archives: Take Action Tuesday

Take Action Tuesday: Check Your Car Insurance

Posted by in Take Action Tuesday • 8 Comments

Ok guys, last Tuesday of 2010, and while this one involves a little bit more work, it’s an action that will show some real results. You have the opportunity to possibly save hundreds of dollars, and all you have to do is take advantage of that opportunity.

All you have to do is check what the competitors are offering, and if it’s cheaper (at the same coverage) switch!

But my insurance policy isn’t eligible for renewal for a few months!

At any time, you can cancel your current car insurance policy and get a pro-rated amount back. So you don’t have to wait until renewal to switch. For example if your policy costs $1,000 for 6 months and it’s only been 3, you’d get $500 back. So there’s really no excuse for not checking out what is available.

Here are links to websites to some popular as well as an aggregate site (US Insurance Online) that may save you some time. Check out what your rates would be and let me know the results!

GEICO

Allstate

Progressive

State Farm

21st Century

USInsuranceOnline.com

Take Action Tuesday: Automatic Investments

Posted by in Take Action Tuesday • 4 Comments

We all know we should pay ourselves first, but we don’t always do it. Well, now is the time to take 5 minutes and set up automatic investments and cross it off the list of things to do during the month. We always try to shrink that list, and this is something than can be done very easily.

This was the simplest financial process I’ve ever been through. There were very few options (which is a great thing), the directions were very clear, and a 10 year old could do it for you.

I use Vanguard, so I’m using that as an example, but I assume that most companies have similar settings.

First, I signed in, went to the automatic investments menu, and selected the investment I wanted.

Since I am contributing to a Roth IRA, it shows me the maximum contribution I can make for 2010 and how much I can still invest without going over the limit.

I selected the funding source, the frequency, and the start date, and that’s it!

It brought me to a review page, where I checked to see if the schedule was right, and that was it.

So now, instead of looking at my bank account grow slowly for a month or two and then withdrawing the excess all at once, I have my accounts doing all the work for me.

Invest.

Take Action Tuesday: Pull Your Credit Report!

Posted by in Take Action Tuesday • 14 Comments

When was the last time you checked your credit report?

Did you know that the by law, you are entitled to three free credit reports every twelve months?

You’ve seen the commercials for “free credit reports,” but if you pay attention, they usually require you to sign up for some other service just to get it. Not exactly what we’re looking for.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows you access to your credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion) once every twelve months.

All you have to do is head over to AnnualCreditReport.com, submit your information (Name, Date of Birth, Social Security Number, and your Address), and select the credit reporting company you’d like.

Remember, you are allowed to request a free credit report once every twelve months from EACH of the credit reporting companies. That means that you can pull them all at once and wait 12 months until you’ll be eligible next or you can pull them at different times.

My suggestion is spreading them out across the year and pulling one credit report every four months for maximum exposure. That way you’ll always be on top of your credit report and be alerted sooner of any suspicious behavior.

So, what are you waiting for? Take action today! Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and get started today! Don’t put it off or you’ll forget about it!