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Business
How do | build a good credit history?
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Business Writer
Q. I am a recent col
lege graduate and have
no credit history. How
do I build good credit?
A. Having no credit
history at all can be just
as bad as having bad
credit. The good news is
that at least you're not
thousands of dollars in
debt. Sdill, your credit
worthiness influences a
lot of decisions, from the
premiums you pay for
auto. insurance to
whether you get that first
job or apartment you
want.
“Fhetc are So many
decisions based on your
standing,” beyond lend
ing, saicfl,ucy Duni, direc
Book Review: Guide
to Understanding
Personal Finance
By DEBORAH MOODY
Augusta Focus Seaff Writer
Dont ever think that Black
folks dont have money.
According to the Selig Center's
study onEMul(iuxlmml Econo
my, Blacks have almost nine
hundred million dollars nation
wide and Georgias African
American population has just
shy of sixty-two million du{lars
at its %xm] for the year of
2007. We just need to learn
how to leverage the income we
have and leam how money
works. The Wall Street Journal
Guide o Understanding Per
sonal Finance provides clear
and simple explanations of
financial concepts. This book
covers six key arcas that are a
rt of the average U.S. adules
Hl‘lancial portffgl‘in: banking,
credit, investing, taxes, home
financing and financial plan
ning, This book is a good refer
ence point for umfi'rsnmding
basic E::ancial terms and con
cepts.
T:‘:ltsthough, not an in depth
exploradon into the United
States financial system, authors
Kenneth M. Morris and Vir
ginia B. Morris offer just
enough detail to get indivi(iual
Secret i Living is difficult. ... People want ... a solution
Continued from page 6A
spread the word about what
sfic felt she had learned
about the “law of attracton.”
The DVD, also available as
a Web-based, pay-per-view
video, was released in March
2006. It resembles a video
taped seminar, featuring
commentators with titles
such as “quantum physicist,”
“philoso[()lhcr" anj “vision
ary’ - many of whom had
already written their own
books.
The book followed last
November. It’s currently the
No. 1 nonfiction book on
lists of best sellers, includin
Publishers Weekly, 7he Wag
Street Journal and USA
Today, and is No. 1 on The
New York Times' hardcover
advice list.
Dr. Maria Padro, a psychi
atrist at St. Vincent's fiyospi
tal Manhattan in New York
City, believes that Americans
Ll::lal to self-help books
use contemporary socie
ty is stressful mfo there is still
sometimes a stigma connect
ed to visiting a therapist.
She rudmsh&nn 1o see
tor of consumer education
for Trans Union’s TrueCred
it.com, a credit monitor
ing service.
The first step recent
college graduates should
take is to get a full pic
ture of their credit histo
ry. Contact the three
nationwide credit report
ing agencies — Equifax
Inc., Experian Informa
tion Solutions Inc. and
Trans Union LLC. - just
to see if anything has
been reported. For a
good credit standing,
you should have a FICO
score of 680 or highcr,
according to Duni.
(FICO scores are named
for the Minncapolis
based Fair Isaac Corp.
that developed them and
range from 300 to 850.)
T
IGUIDE TO
UNDERSTANDING
PERSONAL
FINANCE
‘ i \#}3 o’ _.~_f-'- )
started on a lwriEht financial
future. This book best serves
recent high school and college
graduates as it provides a great
foundation for financial
responsibility. The section on
financial planning and invest
ing | thin?« are most beneficial
because the authors are able 1o
breakdown seemingly complex
subjects. These two chaprers
cover net worth, retirement
planning, wills, estate planning,
trusts, investment bonds, and
more; offering a high-level
introduction into each.
Owerall, this book is an casy
read that would make a good
gift 1o individuals who either
know little about wealth build
ing or people just getting finan
ci;filv established.
what the “jibber jabber” was
about. She jokes that she
keeps the book in her bed
room, out of the view of visi
tors. Sull, she sees value in its
positive outlook.
“I think the secret is that
everyone has their own secret,
and everyone has their own
dream,” she said. “And the
book is one of the wols we can
use to get it, but I don't think
that ir’s a licde magic wand.”
Psychotherapist and lifestyle
coach Stacy Kaiser also praised
the positive thinking espoused
in “The Secret,” but questioned
its failure to discuss action.
“People start to think that
Lhai?' don't have to use their free
will, that they dont have w
have power anymore, that they
don't have to make choices,”
Kaiser said. “Thzcdon't realize
they have to do the work. And
that’s the conversation | keep
having to have with people.”
Dr. Gail Saltz, an author and
iatrist at New York-Pres
ggn Hospital/Weill Cor
e e o
out that cognitive i
seeks to modify harm
ful ts as a way (o
ts' feelings.
g: sudm among people
AUGUSTA FOCUS
Young graduates might
be surprised that they
may have some credit
standing because of a
utility bill in cheir
names, Duni said.
Once you confirm
what’'s on your credit
report, here are some
steps to build credit wor
thiness:
- Open a bank account,
but f(m‘t overdraw your
account. Bank accounts
don't appear on credit
reports, but how you
manage your savings or
checking accounts gives
you more credibility to
lenders.
- Apply for department
store or gas credit cards.
These credit lines are
casier to qualify for than
a major credit card,
Wal-Mart expands financial services with prepaid card
By MARCUS KABEL
Ai; Business Writer
Wal-Mart will start selling
prepaid Visa debit cards that
dont require a credit check or
bank account, the company
said Wednesday.
The world’s largest retailer
has sought to expand into
financial services at its U.S.
stores to serve the millions of
people who dont have bank
accounts or credit cards.
Wal-Mart will also add hun
dreds of in-store centers
bundling the financial services
it already offers, such as payroll
check cashing and money
transfers. The number of so
called Money Centers will rise
from about 225 now to 1,000
by the end of 2008.
“The rapid expansion of its
low-cost money services and in
store locations will help meet
the needs of the millions of
unbanked and underserved
customers who visit Wal-Mart
each week for their basic
money service needs,” Wal-
Mart Stores Inc. said in a state
ment.
The announcement comes
three months after Wal-Mart
withdrew a bank license appli
cation that had been strongly
opposed by banks, unions and
who are ill, those who remain
hopeful and have a positive atti
tude tend to do better. But she
was especially upset about a
woman in The Secret who
claims her breast cancer was
cured without radiation or
chemotherapy; the woman
watched funny movies and had
faith that she had already been
healed.
Salz received hundreds of
angry e-mails after she talked
about her concerns on the
“Today” show.
“Living is difficult. ... People
want .. a solution and an
answer. If it were an easy one,
like ‘think it — that would be
even better, right’” she said. “I
understand. Its a wish fulfill
m:nt. I really do understand
t.
Regarding the woman with
cancer, Byrne said 7he Secret
fully supports all forms of heal
ing, and feels “enormous grati
™
icine
She counters that the type of
action her critics discuss isnt
required by the “law of attrac
tion.”
“Become that which you
want on the inside, and you
shall receive it in the ouside
according to Susan Keat
ing, president and CEO
of the National Founda
tion for Credit Counsel
ing, a nonprofit credit
counseling organization.
But make sure they
report to a national cred
it bureau. “There’s no
powit in securing a card
if it isn't reflected in a
credit report,” Keating
said.
At the same time,
experts also warn not to
apply to too many cards
ah at once. Duni esti
mated that every inquiry
drops your credit score
by about 5 points, as
lenders think you're des
perately secking financ
ing. And stay away from
any cards with exorbitant
fees or interest rates.
other critics, who argued before
federal regulators that a Wal-
Mart bank would have too
much economic power.
The reloadable prepaid Visa
card, dubbed the Wal-Mart
Money Card, will be rolled out
nationally in partnership with
General Electric Corp. sub
sidiary GE Money and with
prepaid card company Green
Dot. It can be used anywhere
that accepts Visa debit cards
and can be reloaded at Wal-
Mart stores or Green Dot loca
tions, Wal-Mart said.
Prepaid debit cards have been
catching on among some other
retailers. They are also used by
some state governments as a
way to provide benefits to
clients with no checking or sav
ings accounts.
Wal-Mart said at the tme 1t
dropped the bank bid that it
would focus instecad on
expanding a slate of individual
financial services for people
who live outside of mainstream
banking,
The Federal Deposit Insur
ance Corp. estimates that 10
million American households
are “unbanked” or “under
banked”, meaning they do not
have accounts at hinancial inst
wutions and often pay excessive
fees for basic financial services.
world,” she said in her e-mail.
“The most important action to
take is the work within you.
When that is done, you will
be moved in the outside
world to receive what you
asked for.”
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Only apply for credit
cards you really need.
‘Once you have the
credit cards, make sure
you use them responsi
bly. Keating encourages
recent graduates to stay
within 30 percent of a
credit card limit. And
pay on time ~ late pay
ments hurt your credit
report and result in high
finance charges.
- If you get turned
down for a credit card,
experts reccommend
applying for a secured
credit card which
requires you to put down
4 deposit. usually
between S2OO and $250
with your application,
according to
Bankrate.com, an online
publisher of bank and
Low income families are sig
nificandy less likely to have a
checking or savings accounts,
the Federal Reserve has said.
Wal-Mart already offers a
range of financial services
payroll check cashing, bill pay
ment, money orders, money
transters and Wal-Mart brand
ed credit cards.
Customers for those services
now have to stand in the gener
al customer service line with
people seeking retunds or mak
ing returns. The Money Ce
nters will be stand-alone coun-
Serving the
investment needs of
the community.
il e ‘Financial Planning
e ] ‘Money Management
e § -- i ‘Estate Planning
i fi 4 : ‘ia’ ‘IRAs and Pension Plans
yA R B
§ k 4 e ‘Government Securities
‘Tax-Free Bonds
‘ ‘Corporate Bonds
Constance L. Woods . *Stocks and Bonds
Financial Planning Specialist
Financial Consultant ‘Mutual Funds
vest t Many t Specialist .
::.mml Plan.g:n':;!‘hn?.c . ‘Annuities
One Tenth Street. Suite 600
Augusta Ga 30901
(706) 823-8144
www fc smithbarney com/woods
THIS IS WHO WE ARE. THIS IS HOW WE EARN IT.”
SMITH BARNEY
citigroup]
C 2004 Ciigroup Global Marken ing AR nghis reserved Membar BIPC Smith Barmey is 8 Svision and service mark of Citigroup
Ghobat Markets Wnc 3nd s sffiliates and i used and regintersd Broughout the workd CITIGROUP and the Umbreis Device are
MI“MMIICDt”u-MI“.oMNWfiwNm
June 28, 2007
credit card information.
The big disadvantage is
that many of these
secured cards have high
interest rates and annual
fees, according to
Bankrate.com.
Overall, experts urge
young college graduates
to use their newfound
credit wisely and create a
budger, listing how
much income they are
bringing in monthly so
that they can plan their
expenses accordingly.
“It's easy to get over
one’s head,” said Keat
ing. “It’s really important
to be disciplined to man
age the debt load. You
really need to make a
budget.”
ters at the front of the store that
will deal exclusively with finan
cial services and make it casier
for those customers to get what
they want.
Wal-Mart says that it saved
customers about $250 million
last year by charging fees that
are lower than those at other
outlets. Payroll check cashing,
for example, costs a fee of 1
percent or a maximum of
$3.00. '
Shares of Wal-Mart rose
12 cents to $48.93 Wednes
day.
7A