MoneyMerc

Last week I went to a talk hosted by the Cornell Young Alumni Network about budgeting.  Avi and Matt, the Co-founder and Lead Scientist (respectively) of JustThrive.com spoke about money, budgeting and the psychology of financial choices.  They also took us through their online tool at JustThrive.  I’ve mentioned Mint a number of times, but am now evaluating JustThrive as an alternative.  Next week I’ll be interviewing them at their headquarters downtown, so look for a future post on that.  For now, I wanted to pass on their list of 10 ways to improve your finances right away (along with my comments).  Why not check off a few this weekend?  These things take very little effort, so listen to your sneakers and just do it!

1. Open an online savings account.  If you don’t have one already, you are missing out on interest (aka LOST MUH-NEE, which we don’t like)  Yes, rates are falling, but they are still higher than the 0.25% you get in say, your Chase checking account.  I use ING Direct, which isn’t the highest anymore but since I have checking there as well it’s easier for me.  Here’s a review of the best online savings accounts at Consumerism Commentary.
2. Use a rewards card and get cash back. Of course this only applies if you’ve paid off your credit card debt, as rewards cards usually don’t have the best interest rates.  But if you always pay off your bill, you should at least get some perks.  If you fly a lot, concentrate purchase on a single airline’s card – we love the Amex JetBlue card – for us, the $40 annual fee is well worth it because we use JetBlue’s routes a ton.  I’ve also used the Amex BlueCash card, and also like that one.  Here’s a really useful site to help pick one.
3. Use 0% interest. If you MUST carry a balance (but are working it down, of course), pick a card that gives you 0% interest (again, see site above).  Watch the fine print – often times these deals expire.  You’ll still want to pay off your debt as fast as you can, since jumping cards too often lowers your credit score, and improves the chances you’ll mess up the balancing act and get hit with tons of fees.
4. Pay down debt with your tax refund. It might feel like you could be impulse shopping if you get a windfall refund in 6 weeks, but resist the urge if you have credit card debt.  Use your refund to pay it off as soon as possible.
5. Don’t pay ATM fees. Pick a bank that has lots of ATMs, and only use them.  In NYC, Chase is really the best, they have the most ATMs of any bank (see how my automated finances allow me to use online checking to improve interest rates, but still use Chase).  Or, choose an online checking account that credits you the ATM fees.
6. Go to the gym and get paid. Many health insurance plans will credit you cash if you go to the gym a certain number of times per year.  How’s that for motivation??  Call up your health insurance provider and see if they offer this (I heard Oxford does).
7. Order your credit report, and check for errors. Did you know 76% of Americans have an error on their credit report?  The accuracy of your credit report is important, because anything that tarnishes it can affect your ability to get loans (credit card, auto, home) and also affects the rates you are offered.  By law you are entitled to 1 free credit report each year from EACH of the 3 reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and Transunion).  I order one from each agency every 4 months on a rolling basis, so I can see my report more often than annually.  Make sure you use annualcreditreport.com and NOT (stupid)freecreditreport .com (the commercials may be funny, but they are a for-profit company offering a service you probably don’t need).  If you find any errors, make sure you call all 3 agencies to have it fixed right away.
8. Roll over past employer 401(k)s and 403(b)s into IRAs. You can’t roll over your current account (if you still work there) but if you left a job a while ago, chances are you are paying too much in fees in that old account, and the choices might be limited.  An IRA has the same tax status and can be invested in almost anything, so you can roll over the old account and then buy low-cost index funds, your best bet for investing, says the New York Times this week (thanks Adam!).
9. Use Online Statments. This is a quick and easy way to save the environment, save time and save space.
10. Setup automatic investments. Even if the markets have you in a tizzy and you are still deciding how to invest new money, setup an automatic amount to transfer into your brokerage account each month.  Most brokerages offer this (it takes 2 seconds to setup on Fidelity), and you can just sideline the money in a money market until you decide what to do.  The point is it gets they money out of spending territory, one step closer to making you rich. (OK you got me, I added this one – their last point was a non-starter)

Do you have other tips that are dead easy and we can do this weekend?  Tell us about ‘em in the comments!