70% Discount at Restaurant.com

Well, the guys over at Restaurant.com continue to provide a steady stream of discount dining certificates, this time for an additional 70% off, meaning you can get a $25 value for just $3. The code at checkout is: FEAST which is valid until 04/20. Happy Eating!!

Disclosure: At the time of writing the author still loves to eat!

Are We Headed For A Credit Card Meltdown?

Everybody likes to point their fingers at the government, or blame the banks for the economic mess that we currently find ourselves in, but maybe we as consumers have helped facilitate things more than most of us like to admit. Everybody likes to accuse the banks of being greedy, but ultimately they are in the business to make money for themselves and their shareholders, not to be charitable to the general public. We are all grown adults, and those of us that have made poor financial choices should take responsibility for them, learn from them, and move on.

The current financial crisis stems in part from people over extending themselves in the real estate market, obtaining mortgages that they couldn't really afford to pay, for assets that were declining in value. Not to mention the individuals using their property as an ATM to fund their indulgent lifestyles. The rapidly depreciating real estate market led to many individuals being in way over their heads, leading to foreclosures, short sales and the like. Many of us want to blame the banks, but they didn't force anyone to buy a house they couldn't really afford, they didn't force anyone to borrow beyond what they could feasibly pay back based on their incomes, they didn't force anyone to take equity out of the homes to spend on luxuries they didn't need, they simply helped facilitate what the consumer demanded.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not supporting some of the banks actions - they were irresponsible and reckless at times. I believe that if we knew more of what goes on behind the scenes and off the balance sheets at many banks, then the markets would fall much more than we have already witnessed, but I do think we need to take part of the responsibility.

Now we are left with a situation where those of us that were responsible with our finances, and made "smart" choices, are the people having to bail out the irresponsible and greedy! The scariest part of the situation is where we are headed from here.

The government and the media seem to be painting an overly optimistic picture of the current economic environment, saying that the worst is over and that the Federal Reserve has everything under control. I don't think we could be further from the truth, as two further bubbles are readying themselves to pop. I have already touched on the treasury bubble in a previous post, so I will not discuss it here, but the other bubble that is looming large is the credit card bubble.

Credit card companies have been seen to be raising interest rates, cutting credit lines, and closing inactive accounts. This serves to reduce consumer spending and confidence, and is a self-feeding cycle as it leads to reduced FICO scores, leading to reduced access to credit which in turn causes a further reduction in spending, hurting the economy further in the process.

The worrying thing is that with the level of unemployment still rising, we are seeing more and more people using credit just to survive and make essential purchases. People have already cut back significantly on large purchases such as houses, cars and vacations, they have also cut back on luxuries, electronics and the like. People are now relying on credit for essential, day to day purchases such as food, clothing and energy. Now, I don't know about you but I find this scary! Credit card companies have been reporting increasing numbers of delinquencies, and I fear the worst is still to come.

The Federal Reserve already has it's hands full with the banks, auto makers, insurance companies and the like, it cannot start bailing out individuals too! With rising unemployment, and reduced access to credit, the economy is close to a tipping point where the whole house of cards could come down at any minute.

Disclosure - At the time of writing the author held shares in ProShares Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury ETF (TBT) and Direxion Financial Bear 3X ETF (FAZ).

Experian FICO Scores

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Rather than sending flowers or chocolate, Experian has decided to send Joe Public as nice big slap in the face! In its infinite wisdom, Experian has decided to pull out of its agreement with Fair Isaac and will no long allow them to sell FICO scores to consumers. Lenders will still be able to get FICO scores based on Experian data, but consumers will not, putting us at a big disadvantage.

So, if you want to check your FICO score based on Experian data, I'm afraid that your chance has gone. If you want to apply for credit from a lender that uses Experian’s data to determine credit worthiness you will not be able to check your score before you apply. This decision came into effect today, sorry.

Learn How To Become Poor!

Well, a number of you may read the title of this post and think to yourselves "Why on Earth would I want to learn how to become poor?" or "Why don't you just tell me how to be rich?" or "I'm struggling with money enough already without your help, thanks very much!" And my answer would be along the lines of "You want to learn how to become poor in order to avoid it!" There are many things that a lot of us do each day without really thinking much about which actually cause us a lot of financial harm. This post is aimed at highlighting a few of them.

1) Spend more than you earn.
Well, this first one is something of a no-brainer really, but you'd be surprised how many people fall into this trap. In fact, looking at the state of the economy right now, many businesses seem to fall into this trap too! It doesn't matter if you earn minimum wage flipping burgers, or you are the CEO of a multinational conglomerate, if you follow this rule, sooner or later you're going to end up poor.

2) Buy what you can't afford.
Another somewhat obvious statement, but once again a trap that many people fall into. It's not a bad thing to want to have nice stuff, but it is important to have the discipline to wait until you have the means to pay for it. I could write a whole series of posts about the dangers of debt, but just look at the state of the economy right now! Think of all those people that bought property valued way higher their earning capacity. All the cars, big screen TVs, extended vacations. It's all nice stuff, but if you don't keep debt under control, sooner or later you'll be a slave to it.

3) Invest in things you don't understand.
A good way to become poor is to invest your hard-earned cash in things that quite frankly, you just don't understand. If you don't understand options trading, you'll probably lose your shirt. If you don't understand how a business operates, how can you truly know if they are any good at it? There are many excellent, easy to understand opportunities out there, why take the risk on something else? You'll be better off with a lottery ticket in most cases!

4) Sit back and dream.
Sit back and dream. Watch life pass you by without a care in the world. Don't put in any hard work or effort of any kind. Be lazy and carefree without any form of discipline. This is a good way to end up poor. There is no such thing as a free lunch, if you want something you need to be a doer, not a dreamer. Otherwise, you'll end up falling into a cycle of debt that will stop you from ever building wealth.

5) Don't plan for the future.
After all, Uncle Sam will take care of you, right? Er... maybe! Well, the pessimist in me says that Social Security and Medicare will probably not even be around by the time I make it to retirement, but even if they are that may not be enough. Another really good way to end up poor is through a lack of planning. Why think about retirement planning now? You're still young, right? Well, that's a good recipe for poverty! Living below your means now gives you the prospect of a much better future. It also gives compound interest a chance to work its magic. But hey, live for the moment, you want to be poor right?

6) Don't don't where your money goes.
Another good way to be poor is to have no idea where your money goes. Just spend it. Don't get receipts, don't budget, don't worry about it! After all, there's another paycheck coming next month... right? But what if there isn't...