Picture this: Your plane has just touched down on the tarmac in Oslo, Norway, the frigid air nipping at your nose as you disembark. Your Scandinavian odyssey, the trip you’ve dreamed of for a lifetime, awaits. You hurry toward the baggage claim, dreams of fjords and Vikings swirling through your head, when you realize your …
Identity Theft and Insurance
Identity theft victims often spend months or years recovering from the frauds perpetrated on their bank accounts and getting their credit rating corrected. Protect yourself against identity theft with this advice. What is identity theft? Identity theft is the act of taking personal information — like Social Security or bank account numbers— and using it …
Reward Cards: 6 Questions to Ask
Credit cards come with some flashy rewards these days – everything from airline miles and hotel stays to cash-back awards. Yet, one-size rewards programs do not fit all. To really benefit from a reward card, you’ll first need to ask yourself some questions: Does it fit my spending patterns? A cash-back credit card that offers …
Planning for Car Repair Costs
According to a AAA survey, 64 million American drivers — one in three — can’t pay for unexpected car repair costs. Maintenance costs on most modern cars are relatively low, but common repair costs average about $500. Try setting aside at least $50 a month to cover routine maintenance, deal with unexpected car trouble and …
Smart Retirement Planning for Women
Retirement planning for women is becoming a bigger topic each year. In the past 60-odd years, the number of women in the workforce has grown to unprecedented levels: from 32 percent in 1948 to 57 percent in 2016, according to the Department of Labor. And nearly half of those women are the primary breadwinners in …
3 Reasons to Use a Reloadable Prepaid Card
Everyone deserves financial protection and convenience from the payment cards they carry. One of the most popular payment methods among today’s consumers is reloadable prepaid. Prepaid’s popularity continues to grow because consumers have experienced the benefits of security, convenience, and satisfaction of adding this spending tool as a complement to their other payment methods. These …
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6 Ways You Can Save Big on Back-to-School Shopping
Late August and early September mean county fairs, cooler nights and back-to-school shopping. Whether you’re buying crayons for your kindergartener or are sending your student to college, it can pay to shop smart this season and save on back-to-school essentials. Try our tips for smart spending as you prepare for the coming school year. Don’t …
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How to Start Saving More for Retirement
Everyone knows it’s important to plan for retirement, but taking the first step can seem daunting. Fortunately, knowing a few ground rules can help you start off on the right foot – and ensure you’re more prepared for the future. Financial literacy Learning about investing, retirement topics and the markets is step one. Appreciating and …
Smart Savings Tips for Young People
As a young person, you have an opportunity to make some major financial strides. You truly have time on your side when it comes to investing, saving and harnessing the power of compounding. Now’s the time to pay yourself first and do things that could make you wealthy in the future. These savings tips will …
College Savings Strategies from AAA
There’s no doubt about it: College savings is a tricky suject. The average per-year total of tuition, fees, and room and board for public colleges and universities is about $20,000. That number jumps to roughly $40,000 for private schools. When you plan ahead you can make the most of the time value of money in your …