http://www.articlealley.com en-us editorial@articlealley.com By: James Dimmitt What do a shoe retailer, an online discount broker, and a popular clothing retailer all have in common? All three - DSW Shoe Warehouse, Ameritrade, and Polo Ralph Lauren - sustained breaches to their customers' accounts. Unfortunat... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/why-consumers-need-a-nationwide-credit-freeze-now-4768.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt If you are looking for a safe investment and you have between $100 -$1,000 to invest, you should consider a certificate of deposit or CD. When purchased through a bank, CD's are federally insured up to $100,000. When you inves... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/looking-for-a-safe-investment-try-a-certificate-of-deposit-4767.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt Congratulations college freshman! You're about to embark on one of the most exciting times of your life. By now your parents, siblings, and friends have offered you all kinds of advice on how to make your transition to college sm... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/avoiding-college-credit-card-traps-4766.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt Mention the "b" word, as in BUDGET, to a friend and they'll look at you like you have a third eye growing from the middle of your forehead. For most people the word budget too often carries negative meanings such as limits, restrict... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/a-budget-doesnt-limit-you-it-gives-you-freedom-4765.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt In the wake of 40 million MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express accounts recently being breached, consumers and legislators are scrambling for ways to protect their personal and financial information from being hijacked ... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/consumer-action-putting-the-freeze-on-credit-files-4764.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the nation's #2 bank and leading issuer of credit cards, has announced it will issue new "contactless credit cards" to its account holders beginning June 1. The new cards can be "waved" in front of a spe... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/consumers-beware-the-new-wave-of-credit-cards-4763.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt Thanks to the FACT(Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions) Act, all U.S. residents will be allowed one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting agencies - Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. This legisl... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/monitoring-your-credit-is-easy-as-123-4762.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt As a consumer you've learned the importance of establishing a good credit rating with your lenders. Whether you are shopping for a new home or auto, or searching for the best deals on insurance, your credit worthiness will be judg... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/4-steps-to-creating-good-credit-4761.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt Ask a friend what money resolutions they made at the beginning of the year and your bound to hear them reply "Pay off my credit cards." Ask them how they planned on reaching that goal and most of them won't have an answer. Th... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/the-simple-10-debt-elimination-solution-4760.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt The American Dream of home ownership is on the rise across the United States. According to the latest figures available, the US homeownership rate reached a record 69.2 percent in the second quarter of 2004, up from 68.3 percent ... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/programs-to-help-you-fund-your-american-dream-4758.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt In this day and age, ATM's have become a fast and efficient way of getting our hands on our money. But if you're not cautious, the automatic teller machine can also be a quick way for others to get their hands on it too. Not ... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/protect-yourself-from-atm-scams-4757.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt The next time you open your credit card statement, take a closer look at the small insert titled "changes to your credit card agreement". You know the one I'm speaking about. It's that small, folded paper written in legalese ... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/avoiding-credit-card-traps-4756.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt You've just opened your credit card bill and attached to your statement you find a "convenience check" included. It may already be filled out with a dollar amount such as $300, $500, or even $1,000. Your mind fills with ideas of w... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/convenience-can-be-costly--understanding-cash-advances-4755.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt [See Author's Biography] Rewards cards have become the latest rage in the credit card industry. In the past, consumers shopped for credit cards that offered the lowest interest rate. Next came cards with low interest rates and no... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/credit-rewards-cards-are-they-right-for-you-4754.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt [See Author's Biography] A few years ago a friend asked me to co-sign on an apartment lease for him. This friend didn't have perfect credit and couldn't get the apartment without a co-signer on the lease. He assured me that he wa... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/think-twice-before-cosigning-for-anything-4753.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt "Erase Bad Debt !" "Remove Negative Items From Your Credit Report" You've probably seen these headlines and others just like it promising to clean up or "fix" bad credit. For someone who suffers from a bad or poor credit ratin... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/credit-repair-scams-4752.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt Ah, the "good old days". If you are a baby boomer, like me, then you probably remember how important it was to rush to the bank on payday. You had to get there before the teller lanes closed so that you could have your "cash allow... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/debit-card-vs-credit-card-what-are-the-differences-4751.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt If you opened a credit card statement recently and were pleasantly surprised to find that your minimum payment due was lowered, don't be so quick to "jump for joy". What may appear as a small boost to your monthly budget is actually... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/beware-of-falling-minimum-payments-4750.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt Mark and Beth, a young married couple in their twenties, established a goal to buy a home within the first three years of their marriage before starting a family. They budgeted and used their money wisely in order to save for the do... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/new-credit-scoring-model-could-help-millions-4749.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt There's only one way to discover the "health"of your credit. You need to examine your credit report. Your credit report is your "consumer identity" that potential lenders will use to judge your credit worthiness. Use these t... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/how-healthy-is-your-credit--4747.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt About five years ago I moved from the ranks of being a renter to that of being a homeowner. Now, not a week goes by that I don't receive some type of offer through the mail encouraging me to refinance my mortgage, open a home equity ... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/be-cautious-when-using-your-nest-egg-as-an-atm-4746.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt Identity Theft scams continue to flourish on the web. One that you need to be aware of and beware of is any site that seems to be selling high-demand items (digital cameras for instance) at a much lower (almost unbelievable) pric... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/identity-theft-scams-4745.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt LexisNexis, a provider of personal and financial data, recently reported that the personal information of as many as 310,000 people nationwide may have been stolen. This figure is nearly 10 times higher than the original figure disc... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/identity-theft--the-internet-4744.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt I have three major credit card accounts that I've had for many years. The other night I was reconciling my monthly statements and noticed a large discrepancy in the APR's (annual percentage rate) I was paying on these three accounts... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/negotiate-your-way-to-lower-credit-card-aprs-4743.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt Sue is a homeowner and pays her mortgage and other bills on time like a good credit consumer. Sue's on-time mortgage payments are reflected in her credit score profiled by the three major credit bureaus; Equifax, Experian and Trans ... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/credit-help-for-renters-and-others-4742.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt Were you lucky enough to get a pay raise recently? If so, what are you planning to do with it? Here are 4 tips on how to make your raise pay real dividends for you now and into the future: 1) Open a savings account Baby b... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/how-to-make-your-raise-really-pay-4741.html 13th August 2005 By: James Dimmitt With some analysts predicting gas prices to peak at as much as $2.50 per gallon or more, those of us on a budget will have to find ways to meet the higher cost of fuel or cut back on our gas consumption. Five weeks ago I was ... http://jamesdimmitt.articlealley.com/how-to-save-at-the-gaspump-4740.html 13th August 2005