45 Ways to Prevent Identity Theft

by David@MoneyNing.com · 27 comments


Millions of people fall victim to identity theft each year. The number seems to be decreasing the past couple of years, but even one is too many in my opinion. To prevent the possible emotional and financial stress of having your identity stolen, just praying that the government and credit report agencies will further improve their system isn’t enough.

Below are 45 precautions you can take to prevent identity theft. Incorporate these into your way of life to greatly reduce the chances of fraud knocks on your door.

  1. >Never give out your social security number unless it’s absolutely necessary for what you need to do.
  2. Even if you have to give it out, make sure you know for sure who you are giving it to. Being comfortable with them is not enough. Know the other party and what they do, how they will use that number and where their privacy policy is located.
  3. Don’t carry your social security card anywhere.
  4. Get a paper shredder so no one can piece together important information (at the very least, rip up the documents yourself).
  5. Protect those PIN numbers – Cover the number pad when you are entering pins at the ATM machine and never tell anyone about them. Also, never use something like 1234 as your pin please.
  6. Pay a little more for an unlisted number – Again, fewer telemarketers mean fewer chances that you can become a target.
  7. Try to separate your personal information as much as possible – Don’t write your SSN on your checks or keeping your driver licenses with your SSN card.  If something is lost, at least the crooks only have one piece of information and not everything about you.
  8. Don’t Trust Anyone Over the Phone – Never give anything out over the phone. It’s just too dangerous.
  9. Do not keep any sensitive information in your car – Credit cards, statements, checks are a nono.
  10. Buy a safe – Better yet, get a safety deposit box at the bank where you can put important documents.
  11. Educate Others – If everyone teaches others about protections, there will be fewer identity thefts and fewer people who will try to do this because it’s not as lucrative.
  12. Be Alert – Think about how your identity can be stolen whenever you are dealing with your own sensitive information.
  13. Be Clam and Patient – Don’t do something with checks, credit cards, SSN numbers, etc when you are in a rush.
  14. Blank Spaces – Always draw a line on blank spaces: On credit card receipts, always write your amount with a $ symbol followed immediately with the numbers.  On checks, always draw a line after you write the amount in English (or in numbers).

[ continue reading… ]

Three Easy Steps to Determine Your Financial Priorities

by Miranda Marquit · 17 comments


It’s important to have an idea of your financial priorities when you are trying to make a financial plan or reach a certain financial goal. After all, it’s impossible to decide what you should do with your money without priorities, not to mention figure out what actions you need to take to reach your financial goals. Determining your financial priorities can take a little bit of time, and it requires some introspection. The good news is that once you figure out what your priorities are, it’s a little easier to get your finances on track.

First, Decide What’s Important to You

According to a survey from Bankrate.com, 38% of Americans list staying current on living expenses or getting caught up on the bills as their highest priority.

Following managing bills, the next biggest priority is paying down debt (21%). Finally, saving is a priority for about 18% of Americans, according to Bankrate.com’s survey.
[ continue reading… ]

I Saved Another $100 Per Month

by David@MoneyNing.com · 67 comments


I’m very proud of myself today because I just made decisions that will save me $100 per month. I called the cable and cell phone company and told them to:

  1. Discontinue my cable TV bill (learn how to negotiate here if you want to lower your bill instead)
  2. Reduce our family plan cell phone minutes

Before you leave this page thinking that this doesn’t apply to you because you make enough money to easily cover these expenses, let me tell you that my wife and I are not trying to save because we cannot afford the luxuries anymore. In fact, our living expenses are so low that we can live comfortably with just one income. We are cutting the fat out because we feel that it’s just not necessary to spend $100 on something we can do without.

Oh and by the way, doesn’t this contradict what I said a few days ago about how I spent my time? That’s because this post was originally from 12 years ago.

Time flies…

Time flies doesn’t it? While I’ve changed to Ting to pay even less for cellphone service since then, I’ve been cable TV free for 12 years now. That $100 a month sounded a lot then, but 12 years’ worth adds up to $14,400. If I invested the entire sum every month, that’d be worth double or even triple that amount. By eliminating $100 off my budget a month for 12 years, I have enough already to pay for it three times over.
[ continue reading… ]

11 Money Mindset Myths That Are Keeping You Poor

by David@MoneyNing.com · 52 comments

Spilled coins

I’ve been busy lately. Instead of sitting in front of my computer waiting for the same email (more likely spam) to come through, I’ve been calling, asking and searching. During the last couple of weeks, I:

  • Asked my car insurance agent to price match an insurance policy that I found online.
  • Call my Internet service provider to extend my new customer discount.
  • Went to get a free piece of chicken from KFC.

Frugal Living is Easy, Not

Most of these types of posts usually have people bragging about how much money they saved and how you can too if you follow the steps they outlined. They make it sound so simple but it’s almost always misleading. It took a while to search and compare all the insurance policies available, to wait on the phone to find a customer service rep for the Internet service provider, and to be in a room full of people at KFC (actually, it was quite fun seeing so many people but anyway…). Instead, I could be spending time golfing, being with my family, or reading a book.

Let’s be clear. Saving money, or more broadly, taking action, isn’t easy and takes quite a bit of work. If you feel like you can always save later when you need to because it’ll be a quick phone call away, then you are mistaken and will get discouraged when you actually need to do it.

I still remember talking to people a few months ago when they just lost their job and needed to reduce expenses in a hurry. A few of them could easily knock $50 a month off their Internet service costs, but the lines were so jammed they just couldn’t get through.

How you think of money can have a huge impact on your financial future. And there are many myths out there that don’t do us any favors. Here are 11 that could be keeping you from the promised land.
[ continue reading… ]

How to Make Money with Network Marketing

by Jessica Sommerfield · 4 comments

Network marketing, otherwise known as multi-level marketing (MLM), is a business structure in which “hiring” consists of recruiting others into the company, and “payroll” consists of personal sales and commission from downline sales.

At the end of the day, everybody becomes salespeople who sell products and get other recruits to sell products. You earn for each product you sell and for each product your recruits sell. It can be thought of as a networking matrix, where the more recruits you get on board, the more income you make.

Pros of the System

It is possible to make money in a MLM system. The key is to get in at the right time and do well selling the product. Studies show that the majority do not make enough money to live off in such an environment, but the average does make between $2,000 and $3,000 a year. Getting in at the right time is important. In the early stages, the system has more possible people to recruit, while in the later stages it can be difficult to recruit and sell products.

Cons of the System

The system is widely criticized for a number of reasons. It widely resembles a pyramid scheme where the bottom pays the top. It is only different in that there is a product involved. Once the system reaches a certain level, there will be a shortage of recruits in the market, which may lead to it failing. A 5×5 matrix (each recruit getting 5 more recruits) will fail around level 10. At this point, the recruits towards the bottom will begin dropping out because they are losing money, which leads to a domino effect all the way up to the top.

That’s why MLM companies are often stigmatized as get-rich-quick or pyramid schemes. Still, some network marketing companies are nonetheless establishing solid reputations and pulling more and more interest from people disillusioned with the job market, failing pensions, and their lack of financial independence.

While the myth that all network marketing companies are scams is steadily being dispelled, some still question whether these businesses are actually worth getting involved in — can ordinary people be successful at them?

My answer is yes, especially if you consider the following tips.
[ continue reading… ]

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →