Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Beginning of the Series...on Lady Intelligence Live

Missed the first broadcast of Lady Intelligence Live (Weekly)?

Here it is...(segment begins at 00:10)


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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

When Buying a Car, Avoid Creating Negative Equity

Negative Equity is when the loan balance is more than what something is worth.

Negative equity in a car happens when:

1.  A vehicle is financed with a high interest rate. The current auto loan rate for someone with excellent credit is anywhere from 0% to no higher than 4% with the average rate 2.78%.  

Anytime a car loan is upwards to 9%, 15%, and 25% is because of one or more of the following:
  • the applicant was not  a “well-qualified” buyer
  • the applicant didn’t read the paperwork before signing and just went with what the car salesperson and finance manager told them
  • the applicant didn’t know the current auto loan rate
  • the applicant was just glad that they were given the opportunity to buy a car and only paid attention to what the monthly payment would be and not the total cost when it’s all over including interest, taxes, and fees

2.  Trading in a car with a high balance to buy another car.  If a new car is desired every two or three years, it’s better to lease.  When a car with an auto loan is traded in, the balance owed on the old car goes on to the new car loan, which will make the car loan higher than what the new car is worth.

3.  The car was purchased for an amount higher than the value of the vehicle.  Know the value of a vehicle.  Purchase the vehicle at a price amount to compensate for depreciation.

Tips To Do Before Buying a Vehicle:
  • Know the current auto loan rates on cars.
  • Gather info about the value of a car from various sources especially if purchasing a used vehicle.
  • Go to different dealerships to get quotes on the cars in which you are interested.
  • Get the history on the vehicle BEFORE signing.

Additional info:





Monday, March 11, 2013

Top 10 Lessons Not to Learn the Hard Way About Sexual Health


The Top 10 Lessons Not to Learn the Hard Way About Sexual Health are:
  1. STDs are sexually transmitted diseases.
  2. STDs may be treatable ( i.e. herpes) but all STDs are not curable (HIV/AIDS).
  3. STDs can go undetected offering no symptoms.
  4. Some undetected STDs cause irreparable damage to the body. Depending on the STD, damage may take place to the reproduction system causing sterility, to the eyes causing blindness, etc.
  5. HPV is a genital human papillomavirus and is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are more than 40 HPV types that can infect the genital areas of males and females.
  6. Almost all cases of cervical dysplasia or cervical cancer* are caused by human papilloma virus (HPV).
  7. An unplanned pregnancy is a planned pregnancy resulting from using no birth control.
  8. Condoms are not 100% effective to prevent an STD or a pregnancy.
  9. Committed sexual relationships among single partners are a string of promiscuous sexual relationships over time..including that partner and all the partners that they have had and all the partners that the partners have had and so on.  Infidelity in a marriage contributes to this string.
  10. Abstinence is the most effective to prevent the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease or sexually transmitted infection.

HPV Source Information Source for this Post: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Cervical Dysplasia and Cervical Cancer Source Information for this Post: PubMed Health/National Center for Biotechnology Information
STD - General Information Source for this Post: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


*Additional Reading:  BlackDoctor.org - Six Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Cervical Cancer:  http://blackdoctor.org/14965/how-to-prevent-cervical-cancer/



Repost from April 2011 
www.ladyintelligence.com
Nicol


*Amendment


Friday, March 8, 2013

Human Error....Ouch

Imagine depositing a little over $1,500 in a checking account every month for two years.  That comes up to about $40,000.  Only thing is that it's not your checking account...but you intended it to be.

That's what happened to a woman transferring money to what she believed to her joint bank account according to a recent post from shine.yahoo.com.

When completing any type of form - whether online or the old fashioned way at the teller, be sure to have the account number right first before filling it out on a form.  Then check through each digit three times.  Backwards and forward.

Twenty times is worth $40,000.  Two hundred times.

That recipient must have been leaping for joy.


Read the entire story:
http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/a-typo-cost-this-woman-a-fortune-211812415.html?.tsrc=opera


Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Consumer Consciouness About Private Information


There is no 100% surefire way to avoid private information from getting into the wrong hands in today's ever evolving technological world…just ways to minimize the exposure such as:



Using a PO Box

Use a PO Box address for mail instead of the residential mailbox.  The mail will be delivered inside the post office and accessible by only the US Postal personnel and the PO Box owner.  Using a PO Box helps to keep a residential address private.  Although if there is any kind of public record involving the resident i.e. mortgage, property tax records, any type of court case - the residential address becomes public as well unless the PO Box is the only address provided for contact.  Even if that is the case, the court transcripts may still reveal the residential address.



Using a Shredder

The only thing about a shredder though is that if somebody really wants to get a hold of something, they can reconstruct the document if they have time on their hands.    There was a time once where I shredded a document.  If I didn't find that document later in little strips neatly put back together, with my SSN on it, on somebody else’s desk.  (Yep) This goes to show that if there isn't much in the shredder or if the shredded document is of a distinct color, the document might as well had been crumpled up and thrown in an open trash can. Discard personal or private information inside the home and/or outside of the workplace.  Never throw away personal or private information including mail in any public trash receptacle – even when picking up junk mail from the PO Box at the post office.  Tear up in small pieces of paper with attention to areas that include personal information such as the address, phone number, date of birth, name, SSN, account information and Driver’s License number.



Social Media

In "Big Girl Little Girl Everything I CanThink Of Right Now To Tell You About Life, Money, Credit, Boys, Men andSex," there is a chapter specific about Social Media as well as other online activities such as Internet Dating.  A few tips:

  • Never post online where you are at the time that you are there.  This let's people know that you are not home.  Everybody added as a "friend" is not really a friend and those "friends" have friends that you haven't paid any attention to - yet one or two may pay a great deal of attention to you.  Recap on your events of the day ONCE you have returned home. With that being said, be mindful of what you say about being home alone and enjoying the house to yourself.
  • Never post something that will give an indication of your work, school, or recreation schedule.  Again another way someone can keep track of your comings and goings.
  • Limit photo posting.  Post pictures of places you've visited after you come back.  If photos are posted of you or family, limit the views to those who are closest like best friends, close family, and the like.  Once a photo is posted, it can easily be downloaded to and shared with anyone's computer by the simple right-click, copy/save-as, attach, then e-mail.
  • Social Media is geared for everyone to be social about what they like and what they do.  It's really nobody's business where you currently work.  When current workplace info is posted online, people you know nothing about know a little something more about you.
  • Never post anything about children’s activities unless the settings are just for very close friends and family members – not that that means anything either.  Couldn’t quickly put hands on stats but it's probably safe to assume that over 50% of crimes committed against children are from close friends and family members.




Regular U.S. Mail Drop Off

Never leave mail in the open mailbox for the US Postal Carrier to pick-up.  Take any articles that need mailing directly to a US Postal Mailbox or call the US Postal Service about services that provide pick up of U.S. Mail that need to be sent.



Paying By Check

Routing and checking account numbers are just as good as cash in hand - especially with online payment centers that use this information.  With today's technology a check can be printed and presented for payment at any time and there are still some institutions that cheerfully cash third party checks with no questions asked.   To be better safe than sorry, do not use public WiFi to make any payments online no matter what security settings are placed on your computer or whatever security statement is noted or available on the public WiFi.  When throwing away deposit slips after using up all of the checks in a pad, tear up the routing and account information on the deposit slips before placing in the home garbage.



Paying by Debit/Credit Card

Just like checks, debit cards, even used as credit cards, are gateways to the vault of somebody’s money.  Online debit/credit card use is most likely better used for just utility, mortgage, and car note payments.  If purchasing something online, be sure the site and/or the information that is being sent and received is encrypted.  Again, do not use public WiFi to make any payments online no matter what security settings are placed on your computer or whatever security statement is noted or available on the public WiFi.



Note:  It is very important to review your accounts no less than every other day.  If theft has occurred, some lending institutions give a small window to bring it to their attention that your account has been compromised.  If the bank is not contacted within that time parameter, there may be little recourse to get the bank account reimbursed for the loss that was stolen minus the fee or money hold that banks will impose in case of theft.  Terms and agreements are not written and distributed just to kill trees.  It's important to read every document received from the beginning to end with all terms and agreements for all financial accounts to know the proper procedures in case of theft as well as fee amounts for certain situations.







For more information visit:  



Additional consumer related information, visit:  http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/



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