Money Talk Daily

Archive for December, 2009

While you are spending your time searching for jobs online, there are also some hiring managers that are surfing the net looking for prospects to fill open positions. One of the ways that you can help them find you is by setting up your own domain name. It is a great place to display your resume as well as any other information you would like hiring managers to see about you. It also gives a professional appearance to your online job search.

While there is a small cost, typically $10-$30 per year, to setting up a personal domain name it makes it much easier for people to find your resume. Also, once they do find you, having a personal domain name makes it easier for hiring managers to remember where they found you.

If you display your resume on one of the websites on which you can do so at no cost, the URL for the page containing your resume is usually going to be very long and impossible to remember. With your personal domain name, however, it will be something like “JohnSandler.com” or “KathyGibbs.net”.

It is a good idea to snag your personal domain name sooner rather than later. Unless you have a very unusual name, there is a good chance that someone else may already have reserved it. If your name is already taken (be sure to check both .com and .net for availability) then you may have to be creative when selecting a domain name. Remember to keep it simple, for example “JohnSmithResume.com”, so that it will be easy for hiring managers to both find you and remember you.

A simple, easy to remember personal domain name is just one more weapon in your arsenal aimed to help you find the job of your dreams. But remember, it is just ONE of the tools. It is still a good idea to also post your resume and information on other well-known sites and then link back to your personal domain name. This will cover all bases when it comes to making it as easy as possible for potential employers to find your resume online.

The pension planning age change – Ignore it and you could lose out!

What’s changing?
From 6 April 2010 the minimum age that pension benefits can be taken rises from 50 to 55.

For many of people this change could well have a significant impact on their retirement plans as they may not be able to accesstheir pension benefits when they want. And many of these don’t even realise this fact. Plus, there is no changeover period, so this seemingly small change could have important consequences for your retirement plans.

What does this mean for you and your family

For clients between the ages of 49 and 54 this could make a huge difference. You need to act before this date otherwise access to your pension benefits will be restricted. 49-54 year olds need to act very soon.

People younger than 49 years old need to consider reviewing their circumstances as they could still be affected.

Bet you didnt know you can switch your pensions much like you can switch your car insurance?

Now you’ve got your pension in place, you keep the same one until you want to retire. Right?

Perhaps. But have you ever thought about switching your pension planning?

Sticking with the same pension product or pension planning until you retire might not be the best option for everyone. If you have an outdated pension plan, you may benefit from moving to a modern flexible pension, with lower charges, more choice in how you invest your savings and which can be monitored online.

More and more people are happy to look around for the best deals and switch their credit cards and mortgages to save money, but when it comes to switching their pension to get the best, very few people though have done so. Are you one of those people?

Now you’ve got your pension in place, you keep the same one until you want to retire. Right?Okay, you may think it’s a bit of a hassle changing financial products, and sometimes it seems easier to leave things as they are. But you could be missing out if you choose to stay in your pension plan.

If you have a number of different pensions, perhaps relating to preivious employment with different companies, it can often be beneficial to consolidate these in a single pension plan. This makes it easier for you to put a value on your total pension savings and may also allow you to gain from lower charges and an overall investment strategy tailored to your needs.

Of course the decision to switch pensions requires consideration and it may not be in your interest to switch, therefore it is important that you receive advice from a professional adviser before deciding to move your pension.

Andrew Histon write lots of articles for the web on many subjects Pension Planning UK and other subjects. When not on the web here is in the garage playing with his classic mini or lambretta.

Easy Ways To Raise Your Credit Rating

If you’re interested in buying  your own home, there’s a very crucial point that loan officers look at when deciding the terms of your mortgage. Your credit score. A credit score is a numerical rating of your financial trustworthiness and usually range from 300 to 850. A high number indicates to potential loan officers that your credit habits are good. It shows you pay your debts as agreed and are responsible with financial matters. You carry debt that’s much lower than your credit limit. And there’s few or no blemishes on your credit report online. If you have a high rating, loan officers are more inclined to approve your loan. It also means getting lower interest rates.

Ways to receive your credit score

Legally you’re able to access your credit reports absolutely free once a year. But usually your credit score isn’t included with these free annual reports. It needs to be ordered separately through the 3 credit agencies. But there are free methods to receive a credit score for free from the 3 reporting agencies. But it usually requires joining a free trial membership to their credit monitoring service.

Which credit score to get

Each credit bureau comes up with their own score numbers, but you want to view is your FICO score. This is the score that most lenders use in making important loan decisions.  Curently Equifax offers a FICO score. You can also order it directly from FICO. FICO is a separate service from the 3 agencies. 

The 30 percent formula

First steps to take is to lower the debt on your revolving accounts like your credit cards. The idea behind this is that loan officers desire a large difference between your credit limit and your  credit debt. Now it’s not bad to charging large amounts and paying it off each month. But it won’t increase your rating. If your goal is to boost your score, then you should go with the thirty percent rule and charge less than thirty percent of the limit.

First get rid of the big mistakes

Significant mistakes include any errors that isn’t yours. Other mistakes are accounts mentioned as unpaid or were in collections more than seven years ago. Derogatory information prior to seven years have to be erased from your  reports. In the case of bankruptcies, it’s on your files for ten. But continue using your oldest cards that are clean. These help out in the rating calculations. Simply make a small purchase every month and pay it off each month.

Check the credit limits also

Once in awhile creditors report a smaller amount to the credit reporting agencies than the correct one. Ask the lender to correct this information. Also if there’s late payments indicated on your files, ask the vendor to erase them. The latter sometimes works for people with decent payment habits. The creditor may not agree to this request, but it’s worth giving it a shot.

Last but not least

Challenge the accuracy of anything on your credit files not mentioned as “current” or “paid as agreed”. Anything the credit agencies can’t verify after a certain period has to be deleted from your file. ‘nudge nudge’ ‘wink wink’. But don’t overdo this. Otherwise your dispute will be seen as frivolous. First try disputing a few of the older accounts with bad marks. Then after a few months challenge a few more. 

By following these easy tips to clean up your three credit report, you should  considerably improve your credit score ratings.