Greatvest Tools

When you're first moving out on your own, living with roommates might sound like a dream come true. But people you love to spend a few hours with on weekends might not be people you enjoy seeing 24/7. The Upside Of Roommates For many people, living alone in a desirable neighborhood just isn't financially possible. More than half (54%) of Americans aged 23 to 29 live with roommates or family members, according to a study by the housing site Zillow. The obvious reason to get a roommate is to save money. But why else would someone choose to live with other people? Upgraded standard of living. If you want to be in a hip neighborhood, your money will go a lot further if you hare rent. Safety and comfort. Just knowing someone else is there can offer huge peace of mind. Animal and plant care. If you need to go out of town for a few days, it's much more convenient to ask a roommate to water plants and feed the cat. Fun and companionship. Whether you're living with ...

Identity theft is on the rise. Nearly 7 percent of all U.S. consumers - 16.7 million people - were victims in 2017. Thieves stole $16.8 billion, which was an 8 percent increase over the year before. Due to improved security like embedded chip credit cards, thieves are 81 percent more likely to commit "card not present" fraud where they don't have your actual card, according to a Javelin Research study. The most common way thieves access your personal information is through malicious links in an email, data breaches at places where you have accounts or unprotected computer hardware. Your Social Security number, bank accounts and credit card numbers can be used to set up phony accounts or to hack your existing accounts. Account takeovers cost U.S. consumers $5.1 billion in 2017, which is a 120 percent increase over 2016. On average, each consumer lost $290 and 16 hours of time to resolve issues. 1. Guard Your Email Thieves are most likely to hit through email atta...

Individuals who check their credit score know much more about how scoring works, according to a new survey released by Consumer Federation of America and VantageScore. The numbers of Americans who have been checking their score regularly has steadily risen thanks to more companies sharing that information with customers on their statement, and services that provide access to this important for free. But many are still in the dark about some important credit basics, and what you don't know could cost you. Here are three credit score basic survey takers were less likely to know: 1. Your age and marital status don't affect your score Most know that key factors that impact credit scores are missed payments, high credit card balances, and personal bankruptcy. But fewer are in the know about what does not impact credit scores, with over 60 percent incorrect believing that tax liens, medical collection accounts less than six months old, and civil judgments can play a role. ...

Full detox can be a big shock to the system. To break old money habits that are hurting your budget, make small changes gradually - that way, your improvements are more likely to stick. 1. Sunday: Ditch unwanted subscriptions and other recurring costs. It's one thing to identify and eliminate the expenses you know about, but what about the ones you don't even notice? With automatic recurring costs, like subscriptions, it's often a case of out of sight, out of mind - but the charges do add up, especially over time. Do a spending audit. This will probably involve examining past bank or credit card statements with a sharp eye - not unlike the way you would read food labels closely to zero in on hidden sugar and fat in your diet. You can catalog unwanted subscriptions manually and then personally contact each company, one by one, to cancel the subscriptions you no longer want, but there are also free services that will take care of it for you, such as Trim and Truebill. ...