Quick Summary of Articles Published in June 2008

Tips for Cleaning Up an Inaccurate Credit Report
Errors and inaccuracies can show up on your credit report for many different reasons. And these kind of mistakes can really end up costing you when it comes time to buy a home, purchase a car, rent an apartment or even land a new job. This is why it is extrememly important to erase any errors that you do find on you credit report as quickly as possibe.

Mortgage Industry: What Current Homeowners Should Know
Current market conditions may make it slightly more challenging to sell or refinance your home, but you can make your property more competitive with some extra research, due diligence and the right improvements. Find out which factors affect the mortgage industry the most for current homeowners.

Credit Cards And Foreign Transaction Fees
Some credit card companies charge foreign transaction fees on purchases made outside of the U.S., while others do not. Unfortunately, there are no standard foreign transaction fees, as credit card companies offer a wide range of terms. It’s important for first time travelers to understand three important expenses related to buying from a foreign company.

Five Things To Know About Student Loans
Although student loans can be tricky to wrap your head around, there are five major issues people should know about their student loans (this includes both private student loans and federal student loans) in order to get the most out of them while also minimizing total interest and overall debt.

How a Credit Score is Calculated
When applying for any kind of new credit, you may notice some fine print on the application calling for a credit check. Your credit score is a three-digit number ranging from 300 to over 800 that is calculated using many different factors. Although the exact methods of computing credit worthiness vary widely, there are a few basics to keep in mind when it comes to credit scores.

Posted in Site Updates, Personal Finance | Permalink

Business Insurance Advice Center

Our new business insurance tips and advice center serves to answer many frequently asked questions about the basics of business insurance. In addition, the center examines the subtleties of small business insurance, and digs into topics such as different types of insurance coverage and plans that are available to small businesses.

Topics include:
- Business Insurance Explained
- Choosing Business Insurance Coverage
- Business Insurance Terminology

Whether you are looking for a simple, basic business insurance policy or a more advanced, special-needs business insurance policy, this area, as a whole, can help you in the decision-making process.

This new area is one of more than 10 advice centers available on e-wisdom.com. Make your next insurance decision a knowledgeable one. Get answers to questions before choosing an insurance company and plan.

Posted in Site Updates, Insurance, Small Business | Permalink

Quick Summary of Articles Published in May 2008

Wise Credit Card Use Brings Fewer Fees
There is no doubt that credit cards are a huge convenience, and in today’s world they are virtually a necessity. But if you don’t use your credit cards wisely, the fees, interest charges and other various costs can add up quickly. Follow these simple tips to get the most out of your plastic.

Five Rules When Applying For Credit
The act of applying for credit sets a process in motion to determine your overall credit worthiness, and there are a number of things that you can do to improve your chances of getting approved. When you apply for credit of any kind, you should keep these five simple rules in mind.

Identity Theft Protection 101
Not many can argue the fact that protecting your identity is important. In order to protect your identity, you must do all you can to prevent identity theft from occuring. But exactly what type of identity theft protection is necessary for you specifically? And should you pay for identity protection?

Advantages and Disadvantages of Prepaid Credit Cards
Paying for things with cash or checks seems to be a thing of the past. Most consumers today prefer to use credit cards, but prepaid cards are also a viable option for many. Prepaid cards are ideal for consumers on a limited budget. They provide the convenience of easy spending, while limiting the possibility of overspending at the same time.

Guide to Budgeting for College Graduates
More college graduates than ever are entering the world of work loaded down with high loan payments. Learning how to create and stick to a good budget is perhaps the most important single piece of advice any newly minted college graduate can receive.

Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit – Which is the Best Option?
Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit are similar in many ways. Each offers homeowners a means to obtain cash for home improvements or other financial needs. But it is important to understand the differences between home equity loans and lines of credit as well before deciding which is the best option.

Posted in Site Updates, Personal Finance | Permalink

New Home Insurance Tips and Advice Center

Home insurance: If you own a home, then it is a good bet that you have some form of it. Even if you don’t own a home, you may already have another form of home insurance, such as renters insurance. As with most things insurance-related, there is a lot to know about home insurance and what to look for when choosing a policy.

Our brand new Home insurance tips and advice center can help to provide clear explanations about different types of home insurance coverage and can also help to give answers to common questions about the subtleties this type of insurance.

Get answers now: Home insurance tips and advice

Topic Include:
- Home Insurance Explained
- Choosing Home Insurance
- Home Insurance Terminology

This new home insurance tips and advice area is only one of more than ten tips and advice centers available on e-wisdom.com to help you get detailed explanations and real answers and, in the end, make more knowledgeable decisions.

Posted in Site Updates, Insurance | Permalink

Cell Phone Deals Now Easier to Find

We just recently completed an overhaul of our cell phones section to simplify the entire search process. When it comes to cell phones, wireless carriers and calling plans, the options seem almost limitless. Going into a search for a new cell phone and plan can be a daunting task.

With our recent updates, we hope to make the research process a little less confusing. Among other things, you can now easily sort cell phone deals by either type of phone or by carrier.

Sort Cell Phone Deals by Type of Phone:
- Camera Phones
- Flip Phones
- PDA Phones
- Phone Finder Tool

Sort Cell Phone Deals by Carrier:
- Alltel Wireless
- AT&T Wireless
- Nextel
- Sprint PCS
- T-Mobile
- Verizon Wireless
- More Carriers

You can also search wireless deals by zip code, compare available wireless plans, or use our cell phone finder to locate a specific phone.

If any questions arise in the process, be sure to visit our cell phone tips and advice center or our cell phone buying guide for help answering those questions.

Make your next cell phone purchase a knowledgeable one. A little research can go a long way to helping you find the right cell phone, carrier and plan for your needs.

Posted in Site Updates, Cell Phones | Permalink

Home Budget Analysis Calculator

Managing your monthly budget can be a frustrating experience. And if you don’t currently have a monthly budget, creating one can be difficult and time consuming. Yes, these tasks can be difficult and frustrating, but they don’t have to be. Our home budget calculator can make budgeting a much easier process.

One of the most important aspects of controlling your home budget is to determine exactly where your money is being spent each and every month. The budget calculator can help you do just that and more.

By entering your income details and typical monthly expenditures, you can easily see where your money is being spent and you can also calculate how much money you may have left to save, on average, at the end of each month.

In addition, you can alter the net monthly pay amounts and other miscellaneous income that you currently receive or may receive in the future. Once this information is entered, you are able to view your income breakdown alongside your monthly expenditures breakdown.

This calculator is one of more than 25 financial calculators available on e-wisdom.com to help you save time and money. Make your next financial decision a knowledgeable one, visit our knowledge center for tips, advice, tools, resources and more.

Posted in Site Updates, Credit Cards, Loans, Miscellaneous, Insurance, Personal Finance | Permalink

New Life Insurance Tips and Advice Center

Our new life insurance tips and advice center is the latest addition to our ever-expanding knowledge base.

Whether you a novice, an expert or somewhere in the middle when it comes to understanding life insurance, this new area should be able to help you make the right decision for you and your family.

Topics Include:
- Life Insurance Explained
- Life Insurance Terminology
- How to Choose Life Insurance

In addition to finding answers in this new informational area, you can also estimate how much life insurance coverage you may need with our life insurance calculator and then compare life insurance quotes from multiple insurance companies to complete the research process.

Make your next life insurance decision a knowledgeable one. Choosing an appropriate life insurance policy is a difficult and important decision that can be made much easier when the right information is at your disposal.

Posted in Site Updates, Insurance, Personal Finance | Permalink

Compare the latest cell phone specials available right now

The most recent additon to our cell phone section is our cell phone specials section. In this frequently updated section, you will find specials that include a free cell phone with a new service contract, as well as “better than free” specials.

“Better than free” cell phone specials are those that include rebate deals in which you can not only recieve a free cell phone (with new service), but you can also receive addtional cash back as well (after rebate).

The new cell phone specials page contains up to ten of the latest and greatest wireless deals available online. But if you don’t find a good match for your needs on that list, you can also search wireless deals by zip code, browse cell phone deals by carrier, compare available wireless plans, or use our cell phone finder to locate a specific phone.

If any questions arise in the research process, be sure to visit our cell phone tips and advice center and/or our cell phone buying guide for help answering those questions. Make your next wireless purchase a knowledgeable one. Be aware of all of the options available to you before agreeing to your next wireless contract.

Posted in Site Updates, Cell Phones | Permalink

How much life insurance do you need?

One of the latest additions to our growing financial calculators collection is our fully customizable life insurance calculator. With this calculator, you can simply enter your current assets, expenses, income to get an estimate. You can also adjust the inflation rate and your expected rate of return to personalize the results even more.

Try it now: Life Insurance Calculator

Once you have a reliable estimate of the amount of life insurance that you many need, you can compare life insurance quotes from multiple insurance providers. Consider as many options as possible before making a final decision.

We now offer more than 25 financial calculators to help make financial decisions easier. At the very least, these adaptable calculators can help you to paint a clear picture of your current financial situation, which can ease the decision-making process.

Posted in Site Updates, Insurance, Personal Finance | Permalink

Protect Your Identity with an ID Theft Prevention Service

We’ve all heard the reports about the growing threat of identity theft and fraud. If your personal information is compromised, any fraudulent financial activity that happens as a result can negatively affect your credit score and ability to borrow for years. Not many can deny that the threat of ID theft should be taken seriously. But when is it time to consider signing up for an identity theft protection or prevention service?

The answer to that question varies from person to person. If you feel that your personal information either is or was vulnerable in the recent past, the answer should be easy. On the other hand, if you don’t have reason to believe that your personal information has been compromised, the answer depends more on your overall comfort level and how closely you wish to monitor your personal financial situation.

One thing that is certain, however, is the fact that identity protection and prevention services are beginning to offer more and more useful products to help individuals actively monitor their credit and also protect themselves from potential fraud.

We recently compiled a list of ID theft protection services for comparison purposes. You can easily compare the various products and services offered by each company to find a good fit for your specific situation, whatever it may be at this point in time.

Compare identity theft protection and prevention services now

For more information about credit monitoring and identity theft protection, see about credit monitoring, which is a subtopic within our credit tips and advice area. And be sure to visit our knowledge center for more information about any topic found on e-wisdom.com.

Posted in Site Updates, Credit Cards, Loans, Miscellaneous, Personal Finance | Permalink