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tumblr hype man posted:It's free now but the process still sucks. Not sure if it’s live yet, but Equifax is going away from Pin and going to what trans union does (login and password). Experien still requires having a pin setup because they suck (well, all 3 suck).
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Oct 19, 2018 20:40
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Duckman2008 posted:Not sure if it’s live yet, but Equifax is going away from Pin and going to what trans union does (login and password). Experien still requires having a pin setup because they suck (well, all 3 suck). Don't forget about Innovis, the Boost Mobile of credit bureaus.
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Oct 19, 2018 21:06
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You can also get your ChexSystems info frozen if you're paranoid like me.
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Oct 20, 2018 02:37
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velocirapstar posted:Yeah, that's what I did as well and now trying to decipher. To this and point #1 above, my first step this week is to go into the Trends section and start updating the "Uncategorized" and "Other" categories for the past 3-6 months to hopefully give me a clearer picture. I am not necessarily trying to cut spending, but I at least want to know what I'm spending money on.
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Oct 20, 2018 19:44
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gvibes posted:Is this the consensus on what to do if you have large amounts spending but no idea what you are spending it on? Is there some easier way to get a better handle on this? App or whatever? There are several different credit cards, bank bill payments, etc., that I would like a single view of. There seem to be limits to that, I guess. Can't really easily break out amazon credit card spending, for instance. Yeah I use mint for this, dunno if the app is any good but the website is fine for me.
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Oct 21, 2018 02:31
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moana posted:Yeah I use mint for this, dunno if the app is any good but the website is fine for me. App is... ok. I don't use the website but the app keeps changing around while they find the balance between shoving 3rd party credit card, investment, and finance ads in your face and useful information. It's still good for taking a glance at occasionally and getting a feeling for where your accounts are at.
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Oct 21, 2018 15:18
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That's why I prefer Personal Capital for account snapshotting, but it's admittedly lacking in the budgeting realm.
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Oct 21, 2018 15:49
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My father has been talking about Dave Ramsey for a while, but I randomly got a few of his videos suggested on Youtube. It wasn't as bad as I feared; it seemed like broad pablum of human suffering, finding the people who have done hosed up bad and need to hear it. (For whatever reason, it reminds me of Dr. Phil, even though I know nothing about him except what I learned through cultural osmosis.) I imagine that the goon hivemind on this guy is fairly low, but do I need to worry about this Ramsey guy suggesting my father do anything stupid? Like, I don't think he's going to suggest weirdo MLMs or bitcoins. Is it a harmless indulgence?
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Oct 21, 2018 16:26
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His investment advice is pretty bad, but he focuses more on the income/expenses part and investments are an afterthought to most of his followers.
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Oct 21, 2018 16:36
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Ramsey is extreme and is for people in relatively extreme circumstances. His advice is generally sound. He's a fundamentalist Christian and as such some people have issues with his politics, which on occasion come through in his financial advice. He is, for instance, a strong advocate of prioritizing tithing and other charitable giving as part of your budget even at the cost of taking longer to pay down debts. edit: oh yeah, forgot about the investments. He gets some kickbacks from various investments he recommends, so don't get too far in to those. But the balance sheet advice is generally good.
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Oct 21, 2018 16:37
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Also makes sweeping assumptions that you can get 12% in the market. But don't focus on that so much, by the time your pops gets to the baby steps where investments are significant have him seek out a few only planner from NAPFA or something. Ramsey is arguably the best at getting out of debt and budgeting. Be a heathen like me and skip the tithing and charitable giving until you're on more on solid ground.
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Oct 22, 2018 01:04
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someone here described Ramsey as methadone for indebted people which seems fairly accurate he'll save your life if you've got a real bad problem but if you're still going along with him after he gets you out of a crisis, that's not great either
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Oct 22, 2018 01:47
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:someone here described Ramsey as methadone for indebted people which seems fairly accurate This is exactly how I would explain my Ramsey experience. I absolutely loved the financial peace university and still use my membership fairly regularly, but once I got on solid ground I started to wean myself off. I can see how the Christian stuff would turn people off, but I thought it was kinda fascinating to learn how the Bible concerns money.
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Oct 22, 2018 04:16
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/want-a-higher-credit-score-soon-your-cash-could-help-1540123200quote:Credit scores for decades have been based mostly on borrowers’ payment histories. That is about to change. Oh man - if you don't have enough cash in your bank accounts to cover your credit limit, no card for you! Here comes the needle for that credit bubble 
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Oct 22, 2018 05:14
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EugeneJ posted:https://www.wsj.com/articles/want-a-higher-credit-score-soon-your-cash-could-help-1540123200 quote:The UltraFICO Score, as it is called, isn’t meant to weed out applicants. Rather, it is designed to boost the number of approvals for credit cards, personal loans and other debt by taking into account a borrower’s history of cash transactions, which could indicate how likely they are to repay. This is about making marginal borrowers look more attractive when it's time to securitize their debt and unload it on some It's not a needle, it's a pump.
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Oct 22, 2018 05:20
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On the other hand it's a fair argument that the current credit scoring system is very circular and the best way to get credit is to have credit, and if there is actual predictive data about credit risk hidden in accounts in transactions other than revolving consumer credit and installment loan payment history that would probably be welcome to the ecosystem. They may also be interested in weeding out credit card superusers and churning types with a broader view of people's finances relative to their credit card account profile.
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Oct 22, 2018 06:50
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It also gives a free pass to rich people to get whatever card they want without displaying any semblance of financial responsibility "Little Timmy has $200,000 in his trust fund - give him a card right away!"
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Oct 22, 2018 10:49
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EugeneJ posted:It also gives a free pass to rich people to get whatever card they want without displaying any semblance of financial responsibility this is fine, though
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Oct 22, 2018 11:06
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I'm torn between this takeSpace Gopher posted:This is about making marginal borrowers look more attractive when it's time to securitize their debt and unload it on some BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:On the other hand it's a fair argument that the current credit scoring system is very circular and the best way to get credit is to have credit, and if there is actual predictive data about credit risk hidden in accounts in transactions other than revolving consumer credit and installment loan payment history that would probably be welcome to the ecosystem. They may also be interested in weeding out credit card superusers and churning types with a broader view of people's finances relative to their credit card account profile. And this one. As someone who is fairly debt averse, I've always found it hosed up that "make sure you use credit so that you build a credit history" is not only common advice, but probably even good advice if done lightly. For years my dad went so far as to pester me to buy a car just to build credit lol (bad advice that I didn't follow).
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Oct 22, 2018 11:18
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This doesn’t mean every lender will use it. There are several different FICO models used by lenders, they aren’t required to use any particular one and often chose one based on what kind of lending they do. They’re also typically resistant to changing models because there is a lot of work to do to validate the model and figure out how the scores map. That having been said this is clearly about providing lift, ie increasing approval rates. For CCs this makes some sense, particularly when an applicant is applying for a card from the main bank. Good banks take into account average balances, length of time as a customer when making these decisions. Less well run banks don’t, and as a result can lose deposit customers and obviously interest income. Prediction: this won’t change much.
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Oct 22, 2018 13:39
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Edit: dammit awful app
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Oct 22, 2018 13:39
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tumblr hype man posted:This doesn’t mean every lender will use it. There are several different FICO models used by lenders, they aren’t required to use any particular one and often chose one based on what kind of lending they do. They’re also typically resistant to changing models because there is a lot of work to do to validate the model and figure out how the scores map. That having been said this is clearly about providing lift, ie increasing approval rates. For CCs this makes some sense, particularly when an applicant is applying for a card from the main bank. Good banks take into account average balances, length of time as a customer when making these decisions. Less well run banks don’t, and as a result can lose deposit customers and obviously interest income. But instead of a credit card company begging you to give them your current salary like they do now, the credit card company will look at your bank account and say "hmmmm - must have been laid off recently with the way he's burning cash - APPROVAL DENIED"
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Oct 23, 2018 00:15
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EugeneJ posted:But instead of a credit card company begging you to give them your current salary like they do now, the credit card company will look at your bank account and say "hmmmm - must have been laid off recently with the way he's burning cash - APPROVAL DENIED" Unless it's a true mom-and-pop operation, I don't think that's how most company algorithms work. It's more about "Score above threshold with '+' on [characteristic x] and '-' on [characteristic y]"
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Oct 23, 2018 00:22
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It looks like just a way for banks to justify opening a card to someone with no credit but $10,000 in a bank account.
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Oct 23, 2018 02:45
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Got another question: I would like to buy a laptop, and I don't have credit. The poor credit is due to old medical bills, that I'm actually working on getting rid of in about two months (paying per check). Anyways I'm a programmer so I want a good laptop, and I thought about Lenovo. They have two options for financing: Klarna which I think is like a loan and Zibby which is rent to own My housemate suggested getting a card with BestBuy and paying off the laptop while interest is 0. Which of these options makes the most sense for me? I'm leaning towards Zibby, but there is little info on the internet. Typically with large purchases I save for the total and buy stuff when I have the money, but I would like a laptop sooner than later and I'm hoping to capture a good deal on black friday. Additionally, and this might be better for a tech subforum, but at what point does more cost NOT mean a better computer?
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Oct 23, 2018 16:36
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Edgar Allan Pwned posted:Got another question: That said, getting a store card with 0% for 6-12 months or whatever and paying it off that way would easily be the best choice if you can actually pay it off in time. If you have enough money in a savings account somewhere that if you absolutely had to pay it off immediately then you could do it without hesitation, then this path becomes even more ideal. I've never heard of a rent to own situation that is beneficial to the purchaser. Alternatively, taking out a loan for a laptop which is a "I just want to have this" kind of purchase is dumb. Don't pay interest because of the need for instant gratification. The best choice is still to save up until you can buy it outright. For the quality of computer, the only things you really need are a middling processor, enough RAM, and a good video card. That'll play most games with ease. An SSD is more valuable than a good processor in my experience because write speed is the bottleneck for doing things quickly.
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Oct 23, 2018 16:45
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Edgar Allan Pwned posted:Typically with large purchases I save for the total and buy stuff when I have the money, but I would like a laptop sooner than later and I'm hoping to capture a good deal on black friday. Additionally, and this might be better for a tech subforum, but at what point does more cost NOT mean a better computer? for laptops, about $600-650 -- there's a thread on this here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3552651 (i know it's impossible to navigate the forums this month) Going into (more) debt to get a computer strikes me as a poor idea. It sounds like you haven't really thought this out (which is fine! you're getting more information to (ostensibly) inform your purchase). I would definitely not open a new credit card or get a weird internet loan if at all possible. I'd say figure out exactly what you *need* from the computer, and if you actually need it right now. If it's just writing code, can you do that in a chromebook or something? Having a new laptop is definitely sweet, but you don't want to ruin the next two years+ of your financial life for it
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Oct 23, 2018 19:37
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Ask me about being freaked out by what is probably just run-of-the-mill email spam that slipped through Gmail's spam filter. Today I received two emails in a row from two "businesses" that look reasonably legit (i.e.: they have actual websites, the email addresses look relatively legitimate-ish if somewhat scummy, and they have actual physical addresses/phone numbers that I confirmed exist via Google Street View... additionally there are businesses registered for both with the BBB and on TrustedReviews with the same names/logos) for payday loan poo poo. Now, both of the emails said they were sent to an email address that is extremely similar to mine (my actual email is firstname.lastname, and these were sent to firstnamelastname apparently???), but I got them anyway. Both emails are basically signups to their websites. One of these businesses sent two mails -- one of them was automatically flagged by Google as spam and was redirected to the spam folder, the other one was not. What should I do? I'm afraid of taking action on anything like this that may be spam because, welp, that's probably how you fall victim to a scam in the first place. Assuming the emails are legit: my name is uncommon, but there are several others in the US that have it. So it's entirely possible that one of them owns firstnamelastname@gmail and this is just a case of mistaken delivery. Nevertheless I'm worried about it. Assuming the emails are not legit: I will just ignore them. And now for the potential overreaction: I don't live in the United States anymore and haven't for six years. I don't really intend on returning in the near-term. Will calling all three credit agencies and having them just freeze my credit have any negative impacts on me, and is this an overreaction? I don't currently have an American credit card (I live in Germany, and I do have a Visa via my German bank) and my only open American credit right now are student loans that I'm still paying down. I would rather just make a clean cut and be done with it if at all possible, so I don't have to worry about poo poo like this happening while I'm not even in the country. Edit: oh hey a similar case was posted here last week: alnilam posted:This morning I got a flurry of emails in the space of an hour from a number of savory-sounding characters: The ones mine claim to be are from (as of now):
BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:It is probably some idiot using the wrong email address. Just keep an eye on your credit and dispute the reports if anything untoward shows up, not that it could if your credit is frozen. I speak from personal experience as I have a Gmail account address of lastname@gmail.com that I registered in beta never really stopping to think that hundreds of millions of people would be using Gmail 12 years later. It's certainly not a common name but none the less I very routinely get mistaken correspondence for other people including all sorts of financial information which I generally ignore unless it seems unusually sensitive or pressing. This is generally what I do and I'm glad I'm not alone. I get emails for some guy's bowling league all the time. Drone fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Oct 24, 2018 |
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Oct 24, 2018 14:54
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Drone posted:Ask me about being freaked out by what is probably just run-of-the-mill email spam that slipped through Gmail's spam filter. Gmail ignores periods, so Medullah.SomethingAwful@gmail.com is the same as MedullahSomethingAwful@gmail.com is the same as Med.ullah.Something.Awful@gmail.com. So I wouldn't worry about that part. I'd freeze your credit (fairly easy nowadays) and get a credit report pulled, or at least use Credit Karma.
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Oct 24, 2018 15:02
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Medullah posted:Gmail ignores periods, so Medullah.SomethingAwful@gmail.com is the same as MedullahSomethingAwful@gmail.com is the same as Med.ullah.Something.Awful@gmail.com. So I wouldn't worry about that part. I'd freeze your credit (fairly easy nowadays) and get a credit report pulled, or at least use Credit Karma. Great, I just set up a freeze online for TransUnion and Equifax (both were very easy). Experian apparently had issues doing it online, so I have to snail mail them. Argh. Drone fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Oct 24, 2018 |
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Oct 24, 2018 15:11
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Edgar Allan Pwned posted:Got another question: If you want a laptop, and don't have a lot of money, buy a used Thinkpad or other business-ish system (Dell Latitude, HP Elitebook). You can usually pick up one that's a few years old but still perfectly serviceable for $200-300 on eBay. A lot of businesses lease IT equipment, so there's a pipeline of off-lease hardware at about the 3-4 year old mark. Get one with your first "payment," then drop in a $100-150 SSD and refresh the battery if you want. If you still want to buy new - never, ever do rent-to-own anything, and stay away from the "buy now pay later" offers you get on checkout. With poor credit, you're not likely to qualify for 0 APR offers, and point of sale financing will either reject you or hit you with a terrible rate. Decent work laptops (not every-corner-cut budget models or gamer trash with the same build quality but lights and a bad video card) start around $700 new. Don't buy performance you don't need - most software dev isn't that intensive relative to what you can get in even a cheap laptop these days, and if you need power, you're better off spinning up a rent-by-the-minute VM in AWS/Azure/GCP anyway.
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Oct 24, 2018 16:01
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moana posted:Yeah I use mint for this, dunno if the app is any good but the website is fine for me.
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Oct 26, 2018 22:09
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gvibes posted:After plugging everything in, Mint thinks I have a $4k/month clothing budget. I am curious as to how this works. Will have to do some digging.
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Oct 26, 2018 22:28
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Hoodwinker posted:It'll miscategorize things like Amazon purchases as all under a certain heading. It's up to you to ensure generic purchases are categorized properly. It's not smart enough to figure it out.
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Oct 26, 2018 23:14
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gvibes posted:Yeah, looks like we are going to have a massive undifferentiated amazon/target bucket. Welp. I had the same thing when I started using Mint and I found it actually helped me realize how much I was blowing on Amazon stuff I ended up not needing. I actually went through every order for the last 2 years and decided if it was a smart purchase. It didn't curb ALL of my impulse buying, but it did help.
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Oct 26, 2018 23:49
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I know everyone here lives on dried beans and rice, but what would be a realistic monthly food budget for my wife and I? We live near San Francisco, and are already setting aside $200 a month for eating out (which means 3 times a month). I eat a lot of avocado toast by the way.
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Oct 28, 2018 18:58
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SA Forums Poster posted:I know everyone here lives on dried beans and rice, but what would be a realistic monthly food budget for my wife and I? We live near San Francisco, and are already setting aside $200 a month for eating out (which means 3 times a month).
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Oct 28, 2018 23:01
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Silver Nitrate fucked around with this message at 04:41 on May 11, 2019 |
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Oct 29, 2018 06:18
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My boyfriend and I are in the east bay and do $200 eating out together, $100 for work lunches/coffee breaks, and $400 groceries. Highly recommend Food Maxx and Grocery Outlet.
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Oct 29, 2018 06:25
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Thanks, we are about $400-$500, which includes toiletries, and I thought we were bleeding money.
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Oct 29, 2018 07:30
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