Don’t stress! There are still deals to take advantage of, even after Black Friday!

Budgeting isn't easy, but it’s a GREAT feeling knowing you have a healthy bank account. Let us help make holiday budgeting and purchasing easier—attend December’s Credit Club! In the meantime, here are some suggestions from our budgeting professionals.

Have a plan

Avoid holiday headache overspending and make a detailed budget plan. Encompass all that is part of the holiday season into the budget, including travel, food, events and parties. There should be a long list of what your holiday expenses are. While planning and spending, think of ways where you can cut back on your budget or save on expenses.

Comparison shop all your planned purchases

Check ads in newspapers and visit retailers’ social media pages or websites. Saving just a few dollars on each expense adds up! If getting the better deal means driving to several different shops, save gas money by grabbing everything while you are already out or try carpooling with a friend.

In the true spirit of the season, the thought really is what counts

It’s tempting to use shopping as a way to get into the holiday spirit. Instead of making time for shopping, make time for friends and family, and creating gifts that are personal. If holiday expenses really have you worried, talk about it with friends and family; they might be just as eager to set limits on gift spending.

Food for thought for the New Year

Employ multiple saving strategies in addition to savings accounts, such as the whole family pooling and saving change over the year. Every little bit only serves to help, and you might be surprised just how much you can actually save in a year while still making ends meet.

If you do especially well this holiday season and spend under your budget, consider getting a head start on Christmas for the following year. After-Christmas sales are competitive with Black Friday deals; cards, decorations, and Christmas-themed gifts will be hugely discounted.

Don’t miss out on a workshop that is sure to help make your holiday full of cheer! This month’s Credit Club “Creating Memorable Christmas Traditions” on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. will help you create those wonderful Christmas memories for you and your family that will last a lifetime! Click here to learn more and register.


Written by: Sarah Cornwall, Marketing Resources, at Family Services, Inc.

SC Credit Monitoring Update

If you were affected by last year’s South Carolina Department of Revenue security breach (SCDOR), be sure to enroll in the free credit monitoring service that opened enrollment on October 24^th. The State of South Carolina has signed a year contract with CSID, a leading provider of comprehensive identity protection. 

All eligible SC Taxpayers may enroll at www.scidprotection.com or by calling 855-880-2743.

Once you enroll yourself, be sure to add your minor child or children. As a courtesy the state is offering Child Monitoring coverage through CSID for children under age 18, for up to 12 months. This coverage allows you to monitor any addresses and aliases associated with your child’s Social Security Number, and see if your child’s personal information is being bought or sold online.

 

Be sure to watch out though; last year’s provider of ID protection, Experian, is still sending offers to extend their identity protection services to SC Taxpayers for 99 cents a month, despite the free protection offered by the state through CSID. Experian would make about $18 million if all of the 1.5 million affected taxpayers who signed up last year with them took the offer.

Check with SCDOR at http://www.sctax.org/security.html for updates. The state is anticipating that it may have to pay for taxpayer protection for years.

Further Security Tips

As a preventative and an effective layer of security, our experts here at FSI advise not to pay out for protection, but rather freeze your own credit report and self-monitor. Credit freezes are one of the most effective tools against ID theft available to consumers.  And it is completely free!

Make sure any online websites where you input sensitive information is secure. A good indicator of a secure website is an https versus http web address. If you're just browsing the web and not entering any sensitive information, http is fine. However, on pages where you enter your password, credit card number, or other financial information, you should always look for the https prefix. Additionally, never store your information, specifically passwords or Social Security Numbers, on Internet browsers.

Identity manipulation and theft victimizes more than 15 million United States residents each year. That is SEVEN percent of all adults, with financial losses totaling near $50 billion. ID and credit protection is important. By taking the time to secure your credit, you will save yourself from the havoc, time, stress, and expense it takes to resolve ID theft.

Find more tips here: http://www.fsisc.org/topic.asp?pid=142. 

Written by: Sarah Cornwall, Marketing Resources, at Family Services, Inc.

Making Ends Meet: Budgeting made easy!

Forget penny-pinching, unless you enjoy that. We like to make budgeting fun. Making minor adjustments to your financial behavior can make a world of difference.

• Start with a WARM-UP. No one ever begins an exercise routine with a marathon. Pledge a few minutes a day for a week to get organized. Gather those bills and sort them into piles. Maybe even create a calendar with bill due dates. If you are “techy,” try a Google calendar with reminder emails.

• Time to ASSESS. The next week, use that same few minutes a day to check in on your financial health. Look up your credit score on annualcreditreport.com (nowhere else, please!), check your bank account balances, and review your retirement plan.

• Now... PLAN with a purpose! Choose a goal that would change your life in the short-term. Maybe you want to switch careers, go back to school, maybe BUY A HOUSE?!

• STRATEGIZE. Break that goal into smaller pieces. Once you accomplish it,
move on to the next goal!

And, if you decide that buying a home may be one of your upcoming life goals, be sure to contact us!We can assist you in credit improvement, budgeting, debt management, and homebuyer education.


Call to learn more or to schedule an appointment at 843.735.7862 or email info@fsisc.org.


Written by: Jenna Johnson, Marketing and Development Director at Family Services, Inc.

April's Credit Club!

Click here to register!!!

Use Leap Year to Get Your Financial House in Order

NFCC Offers Financial To-Do List for February 29

Washington, DC – If there’s one thing everyone wants, it’s more time, and that’s exactly what we have this year. A once every four-year phenomena of the calendar known as Leap Year is providing us with 24 extra hours this February 29.

For some, the day will come and go with little to show for it. However, with a little forethought, people can use the extra hours to make a difference in their financial lives. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) suggests that consumers dedicate this gift of time to tackling the financial tasks they may have been putting off.

Prepare federal income taxes. Gather all 1099s, W-2s, and receipts related to eligible deductions. Whether filing on your own or through a professional, these items will be needed to prepare an accurate return.

Create or organize a home financial center. Since the financial documents are out, create files for each category. This step will help you stay organized all year long, and will make preparing next year’s tax return much simpler.

Review all insurance policies. The time to become familiar with insurance policies is not when you make a claim. Insurance is not something to buy and forget, as life changes often dictate adjustments to the policy. Make an appointment with your insurance provider to confirm that your current needs match your coverage.

Review retirement contributions. Due to the payroll tax cut, working Americans now have extra money in their paychecks. The best use of this money could be increasing the retirement contribution at work. Make sure to maximize the benefits of an employer match and age-related allowable contribution increases.

Order your credit report and score – With good reason, people are very interested in their credit score. However, many do not realize that the score is based on the information in the credit report. In spite of it being free through www.annualcreditreport.com, the NFCC Financial Literacy revealed that 65 percent of Americans had not ordered their credit report in the last 12 months. The credit score didn’t fare any better, with 63 percent of respondents indicating they’d not ordered their score. Even though there will be a small fee charged to obtain the credit score, it will be money well-spent, as these three numbers dictate much of your financial future.

“Those who use the extra time afforded by Leap Year to accomplish these five financial moves will wake up March 1^st with a well-earned sense of accomplishment,” said Gail Cunningham, spokesperson for the NFCC. “The efforts they put forth on this bonus day will yield rewards throughout the year.”

If you need free or low-cost professional help putting your financial house in order, reach out to an NFCC Member Agency today. To schedule an appointment with a Certified Credit Counselor at the agency closest to you, dial (800) 388-2227, or go online to www.DebtAdvice.org. For assistance in Spanish, call (800) 682-9832.

The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), founded in 1951, is the nation’s largest and longest serving national nonprofit credit counseling organization. The NFCC’s mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior, and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services. NFCC Members annually help more than three million consumers through close to 800 community-based offices nationwide. For free and affordable confidential advice through a reputable NFCC Member, call (800) 388-2227, (en Español (800) 682-9832) or visit www.nfcc.org. Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NFCCDebtAdvice, on Twitter: twitter.com/NFCCDebtAdvice, on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/NFCC09 and our blog: http://financialeducation.nfcc.org/.

Consumers Remain Committed to Using Credit Cards

National Foundation for Credit Counseling Poll Reveals Top Financial Resolutions

Washington, DC – According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) December online poll, consumers remain very connected to their credit cards. When asked to rank their 2012 financial resolutions, only six percent of more than 2,300 respondents indicated that decreasing dependence on credit cards was their number one goal.

“At first glance, that statistic could appear to be a warning sign of future trouble. However, credit is not the problem. Instead, it is the misuse of credit that leads people into financial distress,” said Gail Cunningham, spokesperson for the NFCC.

Balancing the continuing reliance upon credit, an encouraging statistic from the poll is that the overwhelming majority, 62 percent, selected decreasing debt as their focus for 2012. “If consumers are able to decrease their debt load, continuing to use credit responsibly will help them meet the goal selected by 24 percent of respondents, that of increasing their credit score,” continued Cunningham.

While decreasing debt is always a positive, consumers should not neglect savings, yet that is exactly what respondents appear to be doing. Only eight percent of those weighing in ranked saving as their most important resolution. Without the security of a well-funded emergency savings account, consumers are living without a financial safety net, as unplanned expenses will occur, usually at the worst possible time.

The poll also revealed some interesting trending from 2010 when the identical question was posed. Showing the largest percentage difference between the years, the 2010 poll noted 69 percent of respondents were most interested in decreasing debt, compared to 62 percent in 2011.

The second largest year-over-year difference involved improving the credit score, with that category posting a six percent increase. In 2010, 18 percent of consumers chose increasing their credit score as their main goal, while in 2011, 24 percent selected that category as most important in the New Year. This increase indicates that consumers understand the relationship between the credit score and obtaining credit, confirming their interest in continuing to have access to credit.

“The poll suggests that consumers have recognized the importance of achieving financial stability, and intend to action. Nonetheless, even though paying down debt and improving the credit score are positive steps, the low priority placed on savings is disturbing,” said Cunningham.

The actual poll question and answers are as follows:

My #1 financial New Year’s resolution for 2012 is to:

A. Decrease debt 62% (December 2010 poll = 69%)

B. Increase savings 8% (December 2010 poll = 7%)

C. Improve my credit score 24% (December 2010 poll = 18%)

D. Decrease my dependence on credit cards 6% (December 2010 poll = 7%)

Note: The NFCC’s December Financial Literacy Opinion Index was conducted via the homepage of the NFCC Web site (www.DebtAdvice.org) from December 1 - 31, 2011 and was answered by 2,319 individuals.