One way that you can improve your chances of getting better pricing is to look at the secondary market. There are a number of people looking to get out of their current leases, and some of them have Tier-1 lease pricing. Here is something from a press release I received from LeaseTrader.com:

“Keeping good credit is the most important part of a family’s balance sheet during this period of economic recovery,” said Sergio Stiberman, CEO and founder of LeaseTrader.com. “We’re working with people every day who have the credit to get a car lease but can’t qualify for the best payment at a dealer. Through lease transfer, these people are getting approved to take over a lease that was initially tier-1 pricing with a great, low payment.”

This news is good news for those looking for alternative solutions. However, it is important to be careful and read the fine print before agreeing to any lease swap. You want to make sure you understand the terms, and that you are actually getting what you want.

Image source: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino via Flickr

Post from: EveryJoe

Tier-1 Lease Pricing with Lower Credit

Your CLUE report contains the following information about your insurance claims:

• Policy information (your name, birth date and policy number)
• Claim information (date of loss, type of loss, amounts paid)
• Description of the property covered
• Property address for homes covered in homeowner’s insurance
• Specific vehicle information for auto insurance

The CLUE database, however, does not offer information about your credit score or report, and does not include civil lawsuits, legal judgments or criminal records. A CLUE report is exclusively for insurers to check your claims on property. The information is up to five years old.

You want to be sure that the information in your CLUE report is accurate. If you are thinking about changing your insurance coverage, or if you are interested in buying a home, you might consider verifying that what is included in the report is accurate. If you want to make notations about a claim, that is also possible.

You can access your CLUE report by going to ChoiceTrust (which is run by consumer credit database ChoicePoint), by calling 1-688-527-2600 or by writing ChoicePoint Consumer Disclosure, P.O. Box 105108, Atlanta, GA 30348-5108.

Image source: curiouslypersistent via Flickr

Post from: EveryJoe

Do You Have a CLUE About Your Insurance?

At any rate, here are some great personal finance posts from other bloggers. Enjoy your weekend!

• Roth IRA Conversion from Consumerism Commentary
• Americans To Spend Less This Holiday Season from Free From Broke
• The Personal Finance Toolbox from The Simple Dollar
• Tax Efficiency of Index Funds and ETFs from The Oblivious Investor
• Fifteen 5-Minute Tasks to Improve Your Finances from Fiscal Fizzle
• 15 Reasons Why You Should Ignore Your FICO Score from Money Ning
• 5 Tips to Avoid Overdraft Fees from My Dollar Plan
• 10 Questions To Test Your Credit Savvy from Moolanomy
• Diversify DRIP Cash Flow By Withdrawing Shares from Money Energy
• How to Save Money on Travel from Million Dollar Journey
• What IS Frugality? from Funny about Money
• How To Survive a Stock Market Crash from Good Financial Cents
• Rent vs Mortgage: Calculating Tangible and Intangible Costs from Frugal Dad
• Daily money Saving Tips That Really Add Up from My Two Dollars
• Achieve More By Having Smart Goals from Green Panda Treehouse
• Five Things That Don’t Affect Your Credit Score from Bible Money Matters
• Unemployed? Any Job is Better Than No Job from Cash Money Life

Image source: dichohecho via Flickr

Post from: EveryJoe

Saturday Staples: Personal Finance Reading

Happy Friday!

Post from: EveryJoe

Friday Fun Video: FTC Credit Report Ad

Happy Friday!

Post from: EveryJoe

Friday Fun Video: Ben Stein Credit Score

1. I don’t actually recommend freecreditreport.com. Instead, I recommend that you use annualcreditreport.com. And then for the other times during the year that you check your credit report, consider buying a triple report. They are usually less than $40 (and around $50 if you want your FICO score thrown in).
2. I enjoy a good trip to the Renaissance Fair as much as the next person. You get to dress up and eat junk food. Plus, I like to look at (and possibly purchase) weaponry.

Happy Friday!

Post from: EveryJoe

Friday Fun Video: Renaissance Fair

Pulliam starts out by explaining why your credit score matters, and continues with a history lesson, describing how credit scoring came to be, and why it is so prevalent now in every aspect of our financial lives — from jobs to securing insurance to getting a home loan. She also takes some time to describe how the credit scoring system works, as well as addressing VantageScore, a new competitor to FICO.

The bulk of the book, however, is concerned with the practical application of techniques, financial habits and practices that can help you improve your credit score. Your Credit Score even devotes a section to building a credit score when you don’t have credit. Pulliam offers step-by-step information that can help you resolve a number of credit issues, from mistakes on your credit report to reporting identity theft. She also tackles common credit myth that are continually perpetuated. This is, without a doubt, one of the most useful personal finance handbooks I have read recently.

I like Pulliam’s levelheaded approach to credit. She points this out: “You don’t have to live in debt to get a decent score, but you do need to use credit.” I enjoy her middle of the road view of credit. Pulliam doesn’t represent extremes. She simply offers you solid information and the knowledge you require to make a plan to improve your credit score and then keep it healthy.

Have you read Your Credit Score? Did you like it?

Post from: EveryJoe

Book Review: Your Credit Score

One company, Pertuity Direct, offers a rather interesting version of social lending. Recently, I spoke with Pertuity’s CEO Kim Muhota, as well as Charlie Schliebs, who is on the board for the associated National Retail Fund.The explained that Pertuity’s model is one of underwriting loans, and then packaging them into funds that investors can then earn a return with.

“With other person-to-person social lending, it can be tiring to go through all the profiles and decide who you should lend to,” Muhota says. “It puts the consumer in the place of a creditor. We actually take care of the lending part of things and the investor can choose to invest in a pool of loans.” He also touts the more secure nature of Pertuity’s system: “Your personal information is not made available to the investor. It is all taken care of with our backend loan writing and pricing structure.”

For those who are concerned about investing in funds comprised of pooled personal loans, Schliebs has this assurance: “Our loans are aimed at prime borrowers. There are two retail funds, one that has only borrowers with a credit score of above 720, and the other for a credit score of between 660 and 720. Additionally, these are regulated funds that work simply and transparently.”

Muhota says that the company is looking to expand its loan offerings — especially with regard to loan term length. For now, all loans to consumers are three year loans. “We also offer them at a fixed rate. For budget planning, especially from a debt management standpoint, this is very useful. You know that in three years you will be done, and you can budget the same amount for the entire term.” He also says that there are no prepayment penalties, so if you can pay off your loan sooner, you are not penalized.

Schliebs shares some of the fee structure for the retail funds — something that investors worry about. “Right now, total fees end up being a little under 2%. The funds are professionally managed by Gemini. However, as the funds grow, we expect the fees to decrease. There is also a loan servicing fee of about 1%.”

Finally, Muhota offers some insight into one of the more intersting aspects of this social lending structure. “You don’t have to look at profiles,” he says, “but you can if you want. We allow investors Pertuity bucks that they can “award” to borrowers whose stories they find compelling. These bucks translate into real money that the borrowers can use to lower the principal of their loans.”

At first glance, Pertuity Direct looks like it might be promising. I like the idea of being able to invest in funds with quality borrowers — as well as the fact that I don’t have to try and figure out who to give a loan to.

Also, this process takes away some of the guesswork from borrowers, who may be concerned that they don’t end up with full funding. With Pertuity, you are either approved for the loan, or you aren’t. Of course, the downside to that is that you won’t get even partial funding. And, of course, you have to have at least a FICO score of 660 to qualify.

With any investment — including (and maybe especially) social lending — it is important to recognize the risks. No matter how solid something may seem, you always run the risk of loss.

What do you think of the idea behind Pertuity Direct? Have you tried other social lending sites?

Post from: EveryJoe

Interview: Pertuity Direct Social Lending

Happily, there are a number of online financial planning tools that can help you figure out what you need to do to move forward on the path to financial freedom. Here are some of my favorite places to go when I need help making a personal finance plan:

• Bankrate.com calculators: If you are looking for calculators, this is the place to go. You can find out whether it is worth it to refinance, how long it will take to pay down debt and figure out how you can save more money.
• DebtGoal personalized debt reduction: I really like how this site helps you figure out a way to pay down debt. Create a personalized debt reduction plan, and see how quickly you can pay off debt in different scenarios.
• Instant Budget Make at CNN Money: This is a great way to figure out how you stack up with others in similar categories, and help you analyze your spending. I also really like the budget planning tools available at Mint.com.
• Vanguard financial planning tools: If you want help with creating an investing plan, or if you are trying to create a retirement plan or prepare for college, there are some great tools at Vanguard. I also really like this handy investment risk tolerance quiz that you can take at Rutgers. A must if you are planning to put together an investment portfolio that works for you.
• Life Happens insurance calculator: Figure out how much life insurance you are likely to need with this handy calculator. It comes from a non-profit together by a number of life insurance organizations.
• CreditKarma.com: Keep track of your credit score for free with help from Credit Karma. Also includes a neat Credit Card Simulator that can help you determine how certain financial decisions can affect your credit score.

Do you have any favorite online financial planning tools?

Post from: EveryJoe

Online Financial Planning Tools

Biggest FICO credit score change: Fine shadings

The change that will have the biggest effect on your credit score is likely to be the fact that the FICO score formula will now take into account degrees of your habits and credit history. One missed or late payment will be graded differently than if you have three missed payments. This change will likely boost many FICO scores.

However, there is an issue with what FICO will be considering. Will the company — with the availability of technology to better track habits — begin to include the types of purchases you make in your overall credit score? That remains to be seen.

Keep an eye on your credit score, though. There are estimates by FICO that between 40% and 50% of consumers could see their credit scores change by 20 points, in either direction.

Improving a credit score through piggybacking

Piggybacking (the practice of being an “authorized user” on someone else’s account) is also being affected by the new FICO score formula. It will look at who is piggybacking (children, spouses), and also make it harder to improve one’s credit score through piggybacking. This, according to Credit.com, is most likely to affect a large amount of women, whose credit scores are partially dependent on their husbands’ scores.

What do you think of the changes to the FICO score?

Post from: EveryJoe

FICO Prepares to Change Its Credit Score Formula