Getting Your FICO Score

You are entitled to one free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies annually at www.annualcreditreport.com.

Unfortunately, there is no ''free'' way to obtain your FICO score. When you obtain your free credit report you are offered the opportunity to purchase your score (usually for under $10).

There are also several credit monitoring websites, such as http://www.truecredit.com/ and http://www.freecreditreport.com/

which allow regular access to your credit reports and FICO score on a monthly subscription basis.

If you really just want to get a free peek at your score, you can visit http://www.freecreditreport.com/. This site offers a 30 day free trial of their service. You can sign up for the service, view your report and score as often as you like and cancel before the trial is up.

However I recommend keeping the credit monitoring service because your score changes on a month to month basis and it is a good way to track your progress if you are working to boost your score. An additional benefit is that you can view your score on a month to month basis which allows you to catch any errors or suspicious and fraudulent activity in a timely fashion. This is important because many victims of credit fraud don't realize what has happened until they're knee deep in a mess.

Although your credit score is easy to obtain, it isn't free. Paying a small monthly fee is a good investment in monitoring and managing your credit as well as protecting yourself from fraud.

Yours Truly,
Finance Girl

Seven Ways to Spend Less and Save More

Everyone should be saving at LEAST 10% of their income, however many people spend every last dime and then some.

Having a cushion of savings equaling 3-6 months of living expenses is extremely important for everyone. Unforeseen events such as job loss, illness and injury can be disastrous and can leave you in financial ruin that can take years to climb out of...if you're unprepared. If you're thinking to yourself that you can't afford to save 10%, then you need to be saving it more than anyone! Saving money takes time, effort and discipline but you can do it and the following steps can help.

1. Make saving automatic. You can start an automatic savings plan with your bank where they transfer a specified amount from your checking to your savings on dates of your choosing. You can also make the same arrangement with an online bank which tends to offer higher interest rates than traditional banks. Some good options are http://www.emmigrantdirect.com/ and HSBC's online banking service.

2. Set yourself a limit for how many ATM withdrawals you will make and for how much, then stick to it!

If you know that the cash you have on you has to last till your next planned ATM visit you will find yourself spending your money smarter and making less frivolous purchases.

3. Subtract credit card purchases from checking account immediately so you're prepared for the bill.

Credit cards are a form of financing. Whenever you use a credit card and carry a balance, you are taking out a high interest loan. Why would you finance groceries and gasoline outside of times of desperate financial hardship. Charging day to day purchases is fast, convenient and allows you to go about your day without walking around with wads of cash but pay the balance in full at the end of the month and only resort to financing charges in emergencies and irregular large expenses such as car repairs and the like.

4. Avoid impulse buying! Give yourself a cooling off period before making purchases, the larger the purchase the longer the cooling off period should be!

If you give it some time and still can't live without it, then by all means treat yourself.

5. Spare change adds up! Put all your spare change in a jar at home or at work and then deposit it in your savings account when it gets full.

Loose change is something that many of us don't even make note of and you're not going to amass a fortune saving it. However it is painless and effortless to save and when your container is full, the cash will feel like found money.

6. If you're a nonstop shopper, it's time to stop! Reward yourself every time you pass up a purchase no matter how small the purchase is (hey, lattes add up!), put the money you would have spent in a clear jar somewhere where you can see it on a regular basis. You will impress yourself as you watch it grow.

7. Once you have finished paying off a credit card or loan keep making payments into your savings, investment or retirement account. People always claim to be low on funds available for saving and investing so take the opportunity to put some freshly freed up cash to work.

These steps are simple, practical, ans they work! Hopefully you will incorporate them into your daily life and it won't take long before you see the benefits of saving money and spending smart.

Yours Truly,
Finance Girl

Building Wealth With Sharebuilder

If you want to invest money but can't meet the large account minimums that many brokers and mutual funds require you can open an account with www.sharebuilder.com and put your money to work for you.

The beauty of Sharebuilder is that there are no minimums. No minimum balances, no minimum investment amounts and no minimum amount of transactions. You don't even have to buy a whole stock! If you have your eyes on a stock that's $100, you can buy 1/5 of a share for $20! For this reason Sharebuilder is perfect for beginner investors and those with modest resources.

Another plus is that, if you buy a security but find yourself too strapped for cash to invest any further for, say, the next 5 years you can rest assured that your money will grow untouched because Sharebuilder does not charge inactivity fees!

Now is a wonderful time to open an account because they are offering a 30 free trial on their standard membership. Before the close of the trial period you can switch to the basic membership which has no monthy fee. Opening an account with Sharebuilder is easy, you don't even need to make a transaction on the same day you open the account. Once you have filled out the simple application form you have a few choices. You can set up automatic monthy transactions or you can make one-time transactions with no obligation to make further ones within any timeframe or ever for that matter.

Sharebuilder also has several account type choices. One being the basic plan where you do not pay any monthy amount but you are charges $4 a transaction, ideal for the infrequent investor.
There are also other account types that charge a monthy fee but include several transactions (equaling a lower rate per transaction than the basic plan, you can also made additional transactions for $2 or less). These plans are great if you want to purchase several securities within a month.

The way it works is, Sharebuilder takes the funds out of your linked bank account the Monday immediately following your order, your order is then executed the next day, Tuesday. You can make any changes you want up until 5:00pm Monday. Though the service offers real-time trades, the kind of trades you will be doing (wisely chosen securities to be held long term) do not require them.

Diversification is a crucial aspect of any successful portfolio. This is why I urge you to select the free trial account type that includes 6 transactions and $2 thereafter. Transaction fees are based on each security purchased so when you take advantage of your free trial you can start with a diversified portfolio free!

Congratulations on making the first step to putting your money to work for you and building wealth! Check back for more investment and financial advice and thank you for reading!

Yours Truly,
Finance Girl

A Borrower and a Lender BE!

The famous Shakespearean quote ''Neither a borrower or a lender be...'' goes out the window with Prosper. Prosper is a new and promising site for both those looking for low interest loans for up to $25,000 and for investors looking to make a high interest on their money with as little as $50.

So how does it work?

Prosper connects people in seek of funds with those willing to lend funds with interest.Technically you're buying the loan from prosper. Borrowers have their credit checked and are then rated from AA (high credit scores) to HR (high risk). Their rating in addition to their Debt to Income ratio is displayed in order for investors to gauge the risk of the borrow.

You can lend as little as $50 and loans are ammortized on a 3 year schedule. There's the potential for high interest revenue and you are urged to spead your risk by lending small amounts to various borrowers as opposed to putting all of your capital into one or two borrowers. This works like any other bank loan and you get to be the banker! Late payments are charged a late fee, defaulted loans go into collections and have negative impacts on the debtors credit report and score.

Now let's talk fees. On the borrower's side there is a $25 fee to Prosper and of course the actual interest on the loan. On the lender's side there are no fees however Prosper does keep half of one percent of the interest on the loans. Good deal for such high returns.



Have a brother, sister, cousin hitting you up for a personal loan? You can agree to fund them through your Prosper accounts. This is a wonderful way to help out a friend or relative in need without getting burned because this loan is for real. Interest is charged, late fees are assessed and non-payment is reflected on credit reports so they have much more at stake than a personal falling out and don't worry, although loans are on a 3 year schedule, they can be paid off at any time.