Finance Globe

When you hear the term “CD” you might immediately think of the round, flat disc that you stick into a player to hear music. There’s another kind of CD you should know about, one that can help you earn a little bit of money. CD is an acronym for certificate of deposit. This is type of low-risk investment you can open at a bank or credit union. You agree to leave your money in the CD...

Whether you get a tax refund or you owe taxes after completing your tax return depends largely on how much you paid in taxes throughout the year. If you receive a refund, then you overpaid. On the other hand, owing taxes indicates that you underpaid taxes throughout the year. You probably know, from your paystub, that you have a certain amount of money deducted from your pay for Federal and state taxes. Your employer’s payroll department...

A recent survey from the NFCC reveals the top financial concerns of consumers: saving money, not having or affording health insurance, making debt obligations, credit score concerns, fear of job loss. There are definitely a lot of pieces that fit in the personal finance puzzle and fitting them together is key to completing your financial picture. It can be tough, but take it one step at a time, doing the best you can. How to Save...

The National Foundation of Credit Counseling and the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association surveyed American consumers about their financial concerns and 57% answered that they’re worried about their savings. Slightly more of respondents were worried about having an emergency fund than a retirement. Both are important, but the consequences of not having an adequate emergency fund are more imminent for many people than not having retirement savings. The survey results are on par with other studies...

Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began publishing summary data about consumer complaints in an online database. At first, the database only included details about credit card complaints. But, a few days ago, the bureau updated the database to include complaints on all categories taking the number of complaints from 19,000 to over 90,000. Consumers can view the complaints, create filters and reports on the data by going to ConsumerFinance.gov/ComplaintDatabase. Financial Products With the Most...

The Federal Trade Commission has long been warning consumers against advance fee loan scams where scammers trick consumers into wiring a fee to receive a loan. There are all kinds of variations of this scam, but you could generally spot the scams by the fact that you were being asked to wire money. Scammers have a new twist: they’re asking unsuspecting consumers to send money via Green Dot MoneyPaks. You can fund a Green Dot prepaid...

If you’re looking for an additional deduction to help lower this year’s tax bill, consider the home office deduction. Your home office doesn’t necessarily have to be an entirely separate room. Even a section of a room can often qualify for the deduction, but the space has to be your principal place of business. What Qualifies as a Home Office? The IRS has a fairly straightforward test to help you figure out whether your office qualifies...

Before you get your hopes up about a great pre-approved credit card offer you received in the mail, you should know those terms aren’t guaranteed. Once you apply for the credit card, you could receive a credit card with terms higher than what you applied for. For example, you could be pre-approved for a credit card with a 0% introductory rate on balances or purchases for a certain period of time. Once you apply, the credit...

U.S. banks earned $32 billion in revenue from overdraft fees in 2012, according to Moebs Services, an economic research firm. That’s $32 billion in fees that consumers paid to banks because they, the account holders, didn’t have enough money in their accounts to cover charges. Two Democratic representatives have introduced a bill that, if passed, would limit the amount of and instances when overdraft fees can be charged. The Overdraft Protection Act would prevent banks from...

With most of our paychecks being directly deposited into our bank accounts, a trip to the ATM is almost always necessary if you want to have cash on hand. That can often mean taking a trip to an ATM. A visit to a bank other than your own typically means you’ll have to pay a fee to the ATM owner and sometimes even to your bank, too. Many ATMs have disclosed their fee on a sticker...