Making the Most of Your Credit Card Rewards

  5 Reasons to Paint Your Walls Gray When it comes to painting your space, there are myriad options: bright and sunny yellow, the classic eggshell white, a soothing blue or a fresh green. But one color you shouldn’t overlook when painting is gray. Below are five reasons why. It matches . Gray is a fluid, flexible color that pairs well with a large variety of accents. This means you can swap out your color scheme over the years and keep the same paint job. It’s elegant.  Gray is a classic choice for a wall. Whether it’s a light smoky gray, a deep ash or a lavender tinted hue, gray doesn’t seem to age out. It’s calming.  Along with green and some shades of blue, gray has been shown to soothe and relax. This makes it a great choice for your bedroom. It opens space . If you choose a light gray, the color can help create the illusion of a larger area. White is the typical choice for opening up a space, but if you’re looking for a bit more personality, gray is the way to go. Yo...

  The Best Breeds for First-Time Homeowners If you’re a first-time homeowner, the odds are good you will soon be ready for the fun and responsibility of owning your first dog. If you’re looking for a pet that suits you and your lifestyle, the pooch experts at Petbreeds.com suggest breeds that are low maintenance, shed minimally, are easily trainable, and get along well with kids and other dogs: Labrador retriever.  There’s a reason these dogs are among the most popular breeds in the country. Known to be loyal, intelligent, obedient, and easy to train, they are deservedly a top choice, especially if you have, or plan to have children. German short-haired pointer.  These favorites are also low maintenance dogs that are easy to train. However, they’re also very active and require a lot of exercise to stay healthy, so they’re a good choice for active owners. Intelligent and playful companions who like their exercise and don’t require a lot of grooming. If you enjoy long neigh...

  Hidden Bank Fees to Look Out For Fees can eat away at your money if you don’t keep on top of your banks enforced regulations. U.S. consumers paid $15 billion in overdraft fees in 2016, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Here are a few bank fees you can look out for: Overdraft Fees These are often charged in response to bounced checks or a debit charge when the customer doesn’t have enough money in their account to cover a transaction. The average amount consumers overdraft by is about $24, according to the CFPB. But most banks charge about $34 in fees for each overdraft. To avoid these fees, don’t sign an opt-in form from your bank, which allows it to cover a transaction that you don’t have enough money for in your account. The CFPB is trying to change the consent  forms  for overdraft service to make the fees more clear to customers. Overdraft fees on checks and online bill payments will remain on the updated form, but consumers can opt out of recei...

  Repaying a Student Loan? Be Aware of These Issues The average college graduate in 2016 had $37,172 in student loan debt, according to the website Student Loan Hero. That’s a lot of money to pay off after graduation. Paying it off should be as simple as writing a monthly check to the lender. Unfortunately, there are some potential student loan problems that borrowers should be aware of when repaying their student loans. Here are some of them: Track your loans Know how much you owe and to whom. This sounds straightforward, but it can be confusing. Why? Because the servicer of the loan that collects payments often isn’t the original lender. If you have federal loans, the National Student Loan Data System will help you track your loans after you set up an online account. Banks that have given you private loans should contact you. If you’re unsure, check your credit report to see if a lender has reported your loan. Tie loan payments to your income Federal loans have payment plans that...

  5 Easy Ways to Brighten a Room Do you have a room in your house that always seems dark no matter what? Perhaps it’s due to low ceilings or minimal windows. Maybe the walls are painted a darker color than you would like. Whatever the reason, don’t worry. Below are a few simple ways you can brighten the space. Remove or minimize window coverings . A dark room will only seem darker with heavy window hangings. Choose something light and gauzy, or remove window coverings altogether to welcome the sunlight. Paint it white.  From the ceilings to the floors, painting surfaces a white or off-white color will brighten your space and make it appear larger. Add mirrors.  We all know the old mirror trick can make a space seem larger, but did you know it can brighten it, too? Mirrors reflect light, so the more mirrors, the more light you will have reflected. Try a mirrored wall or a mirror-topped coffee table. Remove (some) furniture . The less crowded a room, the more space for ligh...

  Protecting Yourself from Alarm System Scammers If you have a sign in your front yard warning burglars that you have a home alarm system in place, you could be attracting a new breed of scammer. That’s the warning from the consumer watchdogs at Consumer Reports, who say scammers look for signs of existing installations, especially older-looking signs, then strike with one of two approaches: Fraudsters claiming to be remote access technicians  from your security company tell you, they noticed glitches in your system and they want to repair it. You let them in and they tamper with your system so they can return and burglarize your house. Scammers claim your company has gone out of business  and they’ve taken over their accounts. They “examine” your system and convince you to buy new equipment. They take your money and are never heard from again. The fact is that legitimate home security system companies never simply send a repairman unannounced to your door. Even if they t...

  5 Bank Accounts Every Family Should Have Having all of your family’s money in one bank account can make keeping track of your money easier, but it might not help your family meet its financial goals. Instead of one big fund for everything — such as a checking account — you might be better equipped to meet several small financial goals with multiple bank accounts. If you’re smart about them, you might also save on fees and make more money off of your money. Here are five bank accounts every family should have: 1. Regular savings.  This is an account to hold money in and only use when needed. You can attach a goal to it, such as saving for a down payment on a house or a family vacation, or it can just sit around for life’s unexpected expenses. Try to save up to three months of living expenses in this fund in case of a short-term emergency. 2. Emergency savings.  This account should be used as a last resort and is for big emergencies, such as losing a job and having enough...

  How to Avoid Credit Card Interest The typical credit card charges about 16 percent interest per year on balances, effectively adding $16 to each $100 in expenses that are left on a credit card. Some charge as much as 29 percent if you’re late on a payment and have to pay penalty interest. Avoiding a credit card balance by paying the bill before the due date each month is the best way to avoid such extra charges—but that’s rare. For every five credit card accounts, more than three carry a balance from one month to the next, according to a Federal Reserve payments study. Here are some ways to avoid paying credit card interest: Know the Grace Period Most people think they only have a month to pay off a credit card bill. By knowing their card’s grace period, they can see how much more time they have. A grace period is the time allotted to pay off your credit card bill without incurring any interest. It starts on the last day of your billing cycle and runs through the due date for tha...

  How to Ask for a Higher Credit Card Limit A higher credit limit can help in an emergency, allow you to make any necessary large purchases and even, in some instances, improve you credit score. Asking for a higher credit limit, however, can seem awkward. Higher credit limits are typically offered to people with the highest credit scores for a simple reason—they’re considered the most likely to pay their bill on time and not default. Someone with a low credit score will have a harder time convincing their credit card company to give them a higher limit, though it’s not impossible. The average credit limit as of December 2016 was $8,071, according to data from Experian, a credit bureau. Improving Your Credit Score With a Higher Limit Looking to finance a large purchase such as a home renovation? Or maybe you just need to cover some monthly expenses. These are a few reasons why you might want a higher credit limit. But there’s another advantage to seeking a credit limit increase—it c...

  Contribute to a 529 College Savings Plan With Gift Cards Parents contributing to a 529 college savings plan may find it difficult, if not a little time-consuming, to transfer cash and checks that their children receive on their birthdays, Christmas and other celebrations into the popular college savings fund. Instead of not knowing if their cash gift is going to pay for college or for a night out on the town, grandparents and others can buy gift cards and have the money deposited in the student’s college savings plan. The 529 gift cards are used at GiftofCollege.com, a registry for online gifts to 529 accounts. Electronic gift cards for 529s are available at the Gift College website. The 529 gift cards come in fixed amounts of $25 or $50, and in variable amounts up to $500. Some of the gift cards promote a specific state plan, but all of them can be redeemed as a deposit into any state’s 529 plan. A 529 plan is a state-run program for families to invest in for college expens...