GeekSugar

Helpful Banking Tips For 20-Somethings

Anna Monette Roberts — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:05:52 PDT

I remember receiving my first paycheck postcollege – along with my first checking account fee. While you're a student, many banks will prompt you to sign up with a free checking account, but things change when you graduate. I was startled and annoyed at this fee, but little did I know the few years preceding college, I would rack up several others. Here are five important things you should be aware of when banking in your 20s.

Know the fees associated with your account. Ask what types of fees to expect and how you can avoid them. They creep up, and your bank might not prepare you for new fees either. For instance, large banks like Bank of America are instating monthly fees for debit card usage. While charges are between $3-$5, it's still a pretty significant fee for debit card users.
Your purchasing habits are stored. In the ever-connected modern day world, purchases made by debit and credit cards are stored and analyzed. This might not mean a whole lot to you in terms of your debit card usage, but companies could use the data to determine your interest rates for credit cards. Keep that in mind if you tend to make not-so responsible choices like purchasing huge items spontaneously or blowing your paycheck in a 24-hour period. Otherwise, opt to make more cash purchases.

Free Websites to Track Your Finances

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:19:57 PDT

After a Summer of weekend getaways, alfresco dining, and buying a Kindle just because it can be read on the beach, it's time to get the finances in check. As the thrill of the season winds down, sign up for some money management with these free websites that offer daily budgeting, group payments, and credit-use tracking.

Mint - The leader of financial management sites, Mint charts every expense, transaction, and asset with easy-to-read charts, budget progress, and weekly financial summaries.
LearnVest - Similar to Mint, LearnVest presents financial planning from a woman's point of view. Beyond budget and finance tracking, the site provides editorial content such as money tips and the option to connect with in-house financial experts.
Creditable - Visualizing a goal can sometimes be all the push that's needed to make it to the finish line. Creditable creates a debt-payoff plan and tracks the progress with each log in. For those wary of Internet security: the site does not require users to provide any bank numbers.
WePay - Multipurpose WePay lets users collect payments for small businesses and donations for charitable organizations or fund-raisers. Its most convenient use may be to effortlessly combine funds from friends to pay for a group vacation, rent, or a bachelorette party.
SmartyPig - A savings account with a twist. Funds added to a SmartyPig account are actually deposited with its FDIC-insured banking partner BBVA Compass. With a minimum savings of $250, SmartyPig provides the platform to monitor a savings goal and to invite others to contribute to a final tally via Twitter and Facebook. Once a goal is reached, transfer the amount back to a checking account or redeem it with a partner store's gift card.

What other websites do you use to keep finances in order?

Fraud Awareness Week: How to Protect Yourself Online

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 07:12:18 PDT

This week may be National Fraud Awareness Week, but we think that protecting yourself online should be something you keep at the top of mind all year long. If you shop or browse online, you'll want to take heed to these tips that can keep you from being fooled by phishing scams and create airtight passwords. Read on!

Don't be fooled by fake log-in screens: If you're already signed into Twitter, Facebook, or your email, you won't be asked to sign in again unless you've logged out. Even if the screen looks like the normal log-in, it probably isn't.
Don't be fooled by emails: I've been asked to reply to my "banking institution" with my account log-in information before. The email is formatted to look legit, but if you check the sender's address, most likely it's from a third-party account like Gmail, Yahoo, or MSN. Be diligent. Never reply to emails with your bank log-ins or passwords, and always check where they are coming from first. When in doubt, call instead.
Reset your passwords often: Too often, people have some pretty lame passwords, which allow their accounts to get hacked even without a phishing scam. Make sure your passwords are tough to guess, and try to change them every few months.

See the rest of the tips after the break.

Geek Tip: Socialize Your Finances on Twitter With Blippy

GeekSugar — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:25:40 PST

I have to admit, some of my geeky friends just don't get Twitter. They either don't understand what it's good for or they think that it opens a window into their personal world that they'd rather keep closed. Me? Well obviously, I'm all over Twitter, so you can imagine that I'd hop on to Blippy, which publishes your credit card purchases to your Twitter account automatically while you're at the checkout counter.

Blippy makes it easy to share your likes and dislikes with your friends and followers. Buy a hot new album off of iTunes? Your followers may find it worthy to add to their own collections, since purchases from iTunes and Amazon are outlined in the tweet. Snatch up a great deal on a GPS via Amazon? Well, you get the picture. To hear more about Blippy, just

read more. At first, yes, I was a little worried that posting so much info on Twitter would lead to trouble. As if people would be able to track me down at Best Buy as I loaded up my new surround sound system in my car or, in the most extreme case, maybe even steal my identity. But rest assured, these worries aren't really warranted, especially if you keep your passwords hacker-proof. Blippy allows you to designate one credit (or debit) card as your "Blippy card," so if you have some, ahem, personal purchases you need to make, it won't be made public to your massive Twitter following. Plus, you can still give some guidelines on what is shown. If nothing else, using Blippy will really keep you on your financial toes. Much like how Tweet What You Eat makes you reconsider putting that cookie in your mouth, Blippy keeps you accountable for your money, since you can't really lie and say you didn't buy something if it's posted in your stream, now can you? Blippy is currently in private beta, but I got my hands on a few beta codes just for GeekSugar readers! If you'd like to check it out, the first 100 readers to enter the code GeekSugar2010 can sign up and start swiping that credit card.

Would Text Message Reminders Help You Save Money?

GeekSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:33:36 PST

In tough economic times, saving money is on everyone's mind, and maybe soon. . . on our phones? A group of economists recently conducted a study in Peru, Bolivia, and the Philippines that involved sending text messages to people encouraging them to save money in a savings account. Occasionally, participants would get a text message reminding them to save toward a specific goal.

Researchers sent a variety of messages over the course of the study, both positive and negative:

"'If you don't frequently deposit into the Gihandom Savings account, your dream will not come true,' warned one message in the Philippines."

Well, when you put it like that - who can resist saving?

Researchers claim that although the study was conducted in third world countries, they would expect the results to translate similarly to the US. I think this sounds like a great idea and could be the perfect small reminder to keep my mind on my savings account. What do you think?

Do You Pay All Your Bills Online?

GeekSugar — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:15:42 PDT

It must be tax season, because I'm in a money mood; combine that with the recession, and it's one of the main things on my mind lately.

One thing I've tried to do is streamline the way I manage my money, and I accomplish that with technology; in addition to some great websites and services for managing money, I've tried to move all of my bill-paying online. If the place I need to pay has an online service to pay my bill, I use that, and if they don't, I simply set it up with my bank. In addition to being green, I have an electronic record of things I did pay or didn't.

Of course, I still have a bill I have to pay the old-fashioned way: my rent. Other than that, I have almost no use for my checkbook anymore.

What about you? Have you moved toward paying all your bills online?

Source

Website of the Day: Buxfer

GeekSugar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:42:01 PDT

I am a huge fan of Mint to help me keep track of my money, but another awesome option may be Buxfer, which allows you to see your financial situation (whether good or bad) at a glance. Like Mint, Buxfer shows you your recent purchases, gives you a pie chart so you can visually see where your money goes, view budgets, and gives you mobile access to your account.

But something unique to Buxfer will come in handy for those of you with roommates: you can set up group access to shared expenses and keep track of who owes what to whom. For example, if I buy groceries for the house, I can split the bill and list what my roommates would owe me so I (and they) don't forget later. Cause these days, who can afford not to get back what they are owed? Not me, that's for sure.

Got a cool website you want to share with everyone? To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group,

read more.
I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and "Regular Post."
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click "Next."
Choose the audience for your story to "Website of the Day" in the dropdown menu.
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to "Technology and Gadgets."
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click "I’m done" to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Geek Tip: Save Money by Contributing to Google's Tip Jar

GeekSugar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 09:04:37 PDT

I've professed my love for Google time and time again, and now with their new venture Tip Jar, they're helping me save some money.

Tip Jar allows you to post your most tried and true tips about saving money while traveling, babysitting, or commuting, and share them with the world. Have a tip about how to get the best rates when traveling abroad? Or perhaps how to entertain your kids on a dime? Leave it in the Tip Jar, and get plenty of free tips in return. Personally, the one about never grocery shopping on an empty stomach really hits home with me. I always put junk in my cart I don't need just because I'm feeling ravenous, and end up spending more than I should. See? Already helpful.

Jon Stewart Thinks Rick Santelli and CNBC Are Losers

CitizenSugar — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:00:11 PST

Last night Jon Stewart treated CNBC host Rick Santelli to an eight-minute-plus verbal/video smack down. A while back Santelli stood up for Wall Street when he said Americans don't want to bail out loser homeowners. Upset that Santelli canceled on the Daily Show, Jon gave CNBC the hypocrisy montage treatment, showing how the network's advice proved to be wrong over and over again. Jon said, "If I'd only followed CNBC's advice, I'd have a million dollars today - provided that I started with a hundred million dollars."

6 Websites to Help You Get Through the Recession

GeekSugar — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:03:59 PST

The recession is in session and everyone needs all the help they can get. Thanks to the Internet, there are so many free resources that can be of great assistance - I've compiled my six favorite websites for trying financial times, whether you need to save money, manage your money, or find a new job to make money.

Source