Get smart with your money
I’m hosting NerdWallet’s first Facebook Live video, “Using Debt Strategically,” on Thursday starting at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific. I’ll be discussing ways to prioritize your debt and pay it off faster while building your overall wealth. Whether you’re struggling with debt or just trying to be smarter with it, I can help answer your questions. Like NerdWallet on Facebook for updates and alerts on this event: nerd.me/facebook.
I’m delighted to announce that I’ve accepted a job with Nerdwallet, the personal finance site, and to celebrate this leap I’m giving away a copy of Tess Vigeland’s wonderful memoir “Leap: Leaving a Job with No Plan B.”
To enter to win, please leave a comment here on my blog (not my Facebook page).
You can add a comment below. Make sure to include your email address, which won’t show up with your comment, but I’ll be able to see it.
All comments are moderated. So it may take a little while for your comment to show up. But rest assured, it will.
The winners will be chosen at random Friday night. Over the weekend, please check your email (including your spam filter). If I don’t hear from a winner by noon Pacific time on Monday, his or her prize will be forfeited and I’ll pick another winner.
Also, check back here often for other giveaways.
The deadline to enter is midnight Pacific time on Friday. So–comment away!
If you’re sick of rising bank fees, check out a new feature at NerdWallet that allows you to compare the costs of more than 120 different checking accounts across a spectrum of banks and credit unions.
You’ll answer a few questions about how you use your account, including the minimum balance you can maintain and how much you’ll deposit each month. The feature serves up the best matches based on your answers. If you have enough cash on hand to qualify for an interest-bearing checking account, the feature can help you find some good options.
You also might want to read a couple of my previous posts on this topic: “How to shop for a new bank” and “7 steps to say ‘buh-bye’ to your bank.”
Changing banks isn’t hassle-free, but you can save some decent money switching to an institution that actually wants your business, rather than punishing you for it.
Dear Liz: Should we get a rewards card? We have excellent credit scores. I’m a stay-at-home mom and my husband has a good, steady job. We spend about $6,000 a month with our debit card or automatic drafts from our checking account. I think our family should have a rewards card. My husband disagrees and says that for the amount we spend each month, we wouldn’t rack up any points. Is he right? If we should get a card, how do we pick the right one?
Answer: If you’re positive you’ll pay your credit card bill in full every month, you would be great candidates for a rewards card.
Right now, you’re passing up at least $720 in rewards annually. That assumes you’d be getting a card that rebates 1% of your purchases. With excellent credit scores, you could qualify for even richer rewards cards, since those are reserved for people with the best credit.
The simplest rewards cards are the cash-back cards, which rebate a portion of the purchases you make. Card comparison site NerdWallet recently named the Chase Freedom card as the best cash-back card with no annual fee. The card gives you a $200 sign-up bonus if you spend $500 in the first three months. All your purchases earn 1%, and you can earn a 5% rebate on certain categories of spending that change every three months.
NerdWallet also recommends American Express Blue Cash Preferred, which offers a $100 bonus if you spend $500 in the first two months. Supermarket purchases earn 6% cash back, and spending at gas stations and department stores earn 3%. Everything else earns 1%. “There is an annual fee of $75,” NerdWallet.com notes, “but your rewards easily offset the cost. In fact, $25 in groceries every week is enough to make up the difference.”
There are other types of rewards cards that earn points or miles for travel, or discounts on gas. You can learn more about these cards and shop for offers at NerdWallet or one of the other card comparison sites, including CardRatings.com, CreditCards.com and LowCards.com.
It’s important, once you get the card, to keep track of your spending so you never accumulate a balance you can’t pay in full. Always pay your account on time, since a single skipped payment can knock up to 110 points off those excellent scores.