Ilyce Glink's Blog

Welcome to Ilyce Glink's blog! Here you'll find Ilyce's latest insights on personal finance advice, real estate advice and consumer issues. Come back often for timely and interesting posts on a wide variety of topics.

The Birth of a Real Estate Company

Labels: Better Homes and Gardens, Home Selling, Real Estate

posted by Ilyce Glink at 4:30 PM 0 comments

Your Credit Card Terms May Change At Any Moment

While it may not feel good to carry a credit card balance, what's worse is when credit card companies change the terms of the card you carry in their favor and without warning. This can even happen to you, the one with the high credit score and pristine payment record.

While I don't know for sure, I speculate that card companies do this because they've maxed out other forms of making money. So by raising your interest rate or shortening the time you have to pay back your balance, they can collect more interest. It almost seems like a game. Team A is the consumer and Team B is the credit card company. Only Team B keeps changing the rules along the way.

Consumer Action just announced the results of its 2008 Credit Card Survey. Among the results:

-Four of the top 10 credit card issuers said they would raise the interest rate on a credit card for reasons beyond a consumer's control. These include "the economy," "market conditions," and "business strategy."

-77 percent of issuers surveyed (17 of 22) said they could change a cardholder's annual percentage rate or terms "any time for any reason."

-Five financial institutions said they would lower a credit limit because of perceived customer risk. That is a decline in credit scores, late payments and balances that go too close to the credit limit.

While I'm a firm believer in a free market, which we no longer have in the U.S. anyway (because we have so many government regulations), some of these business practices are unfair to consumers. I mean specifically those which are out of consumers' control. At some point consumers may give up, wondering "what's the use in having good habits if the credit card company will change my terms anyway?"

On some level I can understand the poor financial risk idea - companies have to protect their business. And consumers have to learn there are consequences to their actions.

Here are some recent business practices that consumers reported to Consumer Action:

- Following you down. As consumers pay off large balances, the credit limit is reduced so that the balance is always close to the credit limit.

-Sorry, you're over limit. Credit limits are reduced to levels lower than the current balance, triggering over limit fees and requiring a large "balloon" payment of the over-due amount. This practice also puts the consumer at risk of being hit with a penalty interest rate.

-Where's my credit limit? Cards are declined at the point of purchase, and only then do cardholders find out that their limits have been reduced with no warning.

-Ganging up on consumers. One credit card lowers your credit limit, which lowers your credit score, which causes another of your cards to lower your credit limit.

While consumers are often advised to keep cards so as not to affect their credit limits, on some level credit card issuers are shooting themselves in the foot. If I as a consumer have a choice among credit cards - am I going to keep or pick the one who keeps changing terms on me? Unlikely.

As I went to pay off one of my student loans recently I considered putting part of the transaction on a credit card but the student loan lender would not agree to it. I looked into using convenience checks but in all cases the credit card companies did not give points or rewards for using them. So there was no benefit to me the consumer to involve them in my transaction. Finally I also thought about moving a student loan balance to a credit card to get a lower interest rate.

While the credit card company was offering me a 5.99 percent interest rate , which was better than the 8.25 percent rate I was paying on the loan, I did not feel comfortable that the 5.99 percent would last for the life of the loan. I tend to take calculated risks and this was one I felt I'd lose.

Your best bet is to pay off your card balance every month or don't use one at all.

Note about the survey: Consumer Action is a non-profit group based in San Francisco. They looked at 41 cards from 22 financial institutions.

Labels: consumer action, credit cards, creditors, Student Loans

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 8:54 AM 0 comments

Once Clark Is In The Mayor's Office...

One of Ilyce's fans sent this:

WE HAVE ADOPTED ELISE AS ONE OF OUR OWN AND WANT HER TO TAKE OVER FOR CLARK FULL TIME AS SOON AS WE CAN WHEEL HIM INTO THE MAYOR'S OFFICE. BY WHEELING HIM IN, I ENVISION HIM RIDING HIS SCOOTER WHILE DRESSED IN SHORTS AND A GOLF SHIRT. THE OUTFIT WILL NOT RETAIL FOR MORE THAN 12 DOLLARS, AND THEN WE WILL BOAST OF HAVING A MAYOR CLARK, THUS BECOMING THE CHEAPEST CITY IN THE COUNTRY.

Labels: Clark Howard, Ilyce Glink, Radio, WSB

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 3:05 PM 0 comments

Establishing Value After a Car Accident

If your car has been in an accident, you may find the following websites helpful:

Kelly Blue Book (http://www.kbb.com/)
National Automotive Dealers Association (http://www.nada.com/)
Edmunds (http://www.edmunds.com/)
Auto Trader (http://www.autotrader.com/)

If you are worried that the value of the car will be less than what you owe, you'll want to buy GAP insurance coverage when you buy your auto insurance. Gap coverage will insure you for the gap between what you owe and what the car is valued at after an accident.

For many people, Gap insurance isn't a good deal, since it's relatively expensive for a declining liability. But there is definitely a need for this kind of policy, so evaluate it carefully before you buy.

Labels: auto, Cars, Clark Howard

posted by Ilyce Glink at 12:47 PM 1 comments

Want to Know If Your Bank is FDIC or FSLIC Insured?

Brian called the show and wanted to know how to figure out if a bank really is FDIC insured. It's easy, go online to www.fdic.gov or call the FDIC toll-free 877-ASK-FDIC.

Labels: Clark Howard, FDIC

posted by Ilyce Glink at 12:21 PM 0 comments

Today on the Clark Howard Show July 22, 2008

Today on the Clark Howard Show, we're going to tackle the following topics:

1pm: Wachovia takes a big hit 8.9 billion loss, and slashed its dividend 90 percent, to 5 cents a share. We'll talk about what this means for you and remind you about FDIC coverage limits.

1:30: New 401(k) proposal clarifies fees. We'll tell you how you might save money under this proposal.

2pm: We'll explain what we know about the new housing bill under discussion in DC and a bill that sets new national predatory lending limits. Will it work?

2:30pm: 10 most/least costly cars to insure.

3pm: New Social Security Retirement Calculator

Hope you can join us. Listen live online at www.wsbradio.com.

Labels: Clark Howard, WSB

posted by Ilyce Glink at 12:03 PM 1 comments

Free EBook Offer Extended Through July 22, 2008

If you're a WSB listener, and you sign up for my free weekly newsletter at www.thinkglink.com (look for the red NEWSLETTER sign and enter your email address and fill out the form -- check the WSB box), we will send you a free copy of my ebook "How to Save $50 Per Month."

Please note: This is an ebook, not a printed book. It will take us a few days to email the ebook to everyone who requested it. Please don't send us any emails asking us where it is. If you don't get the ebook in your email inbox within a week, then you can send us a note and we'll see what happened.

Many thanks, and welcome to all of our new subscribers. The ThinkGlink newsletter is your key to the Think Glink community.

Labels: Clark Howard, Newsletter, WSB

posted by Ilyce Glink at 11:59 AM 0 comments

The Emotional Spender and Extreme Savers

It's not enough to just write down what you spend -- if you're the kind of person who spends to alter your mood. If that's the case, you need to write down how you're feeling about the money you spend, right when you spend it.

You should also write down how you're feeling when you save money. The idea is to get your emotions in balance when it comes to spending and saving. Your wallet shouldn't be ruled by your emotions -- that's just a fast way to bankruptcy, especially when times are tough.

So, write down how much you're spending and saving -- and how you're feeling when you take both of those actions. Then, work to see if you can't do a better job of controling the SPEND button in your head.

Are you an extreme saver? Let's help everyone figure out how to save more and spend less. Please contribute your best extreme savings tip here and we'll share it on air. Or, call us at 404-872-0750 1p to 4p EST Monday or Tuesday and tell us live on the Clark Howard Show

Labels: Clark Howard, Extreme Savers, Spending

posted by Ilyce Glink at 1:47 PM 1 comments

Compressed Air Cars

Labels: auto, Cars, Compressed Air car, environment, Tata

posted by Ilyce Glink at 12:53 PM 0 comments

Today on the Clark Howard Show July 21, 2008

We're live on the air with the Clark Howard Show. I just advised Amanda, who is opening up her own business, to think about how she is going to organize the business before shopping around for an HSA plan. For example, her payroll company (I use SurePayroll) might offer health insurance and a 401(k) plan that would tie indirectly to her payroll, which is very easy.

We're on the air from 1p to 4p EST today. Listen live on line at www.wsbradio.com, or call us at 800-WSB-TALK.

By the way, if you sign up for the ThinkGlink free weekly newsletter, and you're a WSB listener, you'll get a free copy of my new ebook, "How to Save $50 per Month." It may take up to a week to email you the ebook, but if you sign up today or tomorrow (July 22, 2008), you'll get it.

Thanks for listening.

Labels: Clark Howard, WSB

posted by Ilyce Glink at 12:49 PM 2 comments

Title Insurance Videos

If you're in the market to buy a home, it's good to know all the different parts of the closing. One part is title insurance. Learn what title insurance is and what it includes in a series of new videos at Ilyce's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ExpertRealEstateTips



For more information on title insurance search ThinkGlink.com.

And for more videos visit the TV/video tab here: http://www.thinkglink.com/TV.asp

Labels: closing, title insurance, Video, YouTube

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 11:03 AM 0 comments

Georgia 529 College Savings Plan Tax question

This morning on the show, John asked whether a married couple could open up multiple 529 college savings plans for a single child and take several $2,000 deductions on their Georgia state taxes.

The answer is no. Married couples are limited to one $2,000 deduction per beneficiary. But John's parents could open up a 529 plan for their child and take their own $2,000 deduction. And, if John has six kids, he could open up six 529 accounts (one for each child) and get six $2,000 deductions.

For more details, check out www.savingforcollege.com.

Labels: 529 plans, tax deduction

posted by Ilyce Glink at 10:20 AM 1 comments

Today on the Ilyce Glink Show July 20, 2008

Good morning. Today on the show we'll recap the big news of the week, including the stock market movements, Fannie, Freddie and Indymac, and some of the new debt numbers.

Are you more likely or less likely to make an online payment? A new study shows that age has a lot to do with this, but not the way you might think.

And finally, I had a request to talk about credit freezes and any new updates.

I'll expand on this as the show goes on. Hope you can join us.

Labels: credit freeze, Fannie Mae, Ilyce Glink

posted by Ilyce Glink at 9:42 AM 0 comments

UPS Warns of Virus E-mail

The United Parcel Service, or UPS, warns that there's a fraudulent e-mail being sent out that tells customers a package could not be delivered. The e-mail has an attachment that's a virus.

UPS states they rarely send out e-mails with attachments and that if you receive such an email you should delete it and not open the attachment.

If you have a question about whether to trust the e-mail, contact customerservice@ups.com.

Labels: consumers, e-mail, e-mail virus, UPS

posted by Melanie G. Rogers at 12:55 PM 0 comments

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