By Luke | August 27, 2010
Don’t Let Your Lack Of Knowledge Cost You A $100 Bill.
One stereotype that young people have is that they are naïve, and sometimes this stereotype is right on point. I know I’ve been taken advantage of many times. Sometimes someone very smart meant to do it to me and other times I was just so uneducated that I let it happen to myself. This article is meant to try and give you a leg up when it comes to being a victim of counterfeiting.
The Government is introducing a new $100 bill in February of 2011 and it’s never too soon to educate yourself about it. The beauty of this new bill is that some of the safety features are amazingly easy to spot, and this should make it much simpler for an average Joe to spot a fake.
The two major features that will allow you to spot a fake are the 3-D strip that is just to the right of the presidential portrait and a bell in an ink well that changes color as you move the bill. The color-changing ink is a feature that has already been used on other bills, but this time it’s much easier to spot. Before this, the color-changing ink was used to make the number 100 in the bottom right hand corner change colors, but now the color-changing ink makes the bell look like it vanishes and then returns. There are other new safety features as well, but these two are the ones that the general public will use the most to spot counterfeit bills.
Below are a couple of links to a government website that is meant to help educate the public on this new bill and how it’s safety features work. The first link is episode one of a podcast that is dedicated to the safety features I discussed in this article. The second link will take you to the homepage dedicated to the new bill, and will allow you to watch more podcasts dedicated to helping you learn about its security features. I hope this will help you avoid being taken advantage of in the future.
Click the bill to go to the podcast!
Click the bill to see the government's homepage for new money!
Posted in Education, Financial Tips, Money Saving Tips, Vibe-ism | Tell us what you think »
By Kelel | August 20, 2010
I am currently a loan processor, and in my position I get many questions from people I know asking what to do when they are in too deep. They want to file bankruptcy, but then what will they do? They think they will not be able to get any loans and they worry they will need the credit.
This is only half true. Banks tend to turn people away based on their credit score alone so, if you claim bankruptcy, many banks will not want to help you. Many Credit Unions will still lend to those that have claimed bankruptcy. So first lets start with a little background information on credit unions:
Credit Unions are non profit. This means that they do not make any profit for themselves, and instead give all profits back to the members in the form of lower interest rates on loans and higher interest rates on accounts. Credit unions care about their members, and do not base whether or not to help the member on the credit score alone. They realize that bad things happen to good people and want to fully understand the situation in order to make a more informed decision.
Though bankruptcy is never a good option, sometimes it is the only option. If you have filed BK like so many others right now start by off obtaining a pledged visa or share secured loan. The pledged visa is where you give the credit union the dollar amount of the limit you want, plus one hundred dollars, and put it on hold in a savings in your own name. For instance, if Kelly is coming in to get a pledge visa with a 300 dollar limit she would put 400 dollars into a savings account and the credit union would give her a visa. This lowers the risk for the credit union but allows her to increase her credit!!
The share secured loan works the same way only minus the extra 100 dollars. In this instance if Kelly wanted a 300 dollar share secured loan she would put 300 in an account for her while she paid down the loan.
Both of these options will help you to bring up your credit score to prove to your credit union that you want to pay them. By doing loans and visas like these you are building a great relationship with your credit union and will be able to obtain more loans and a visa without the money pledged in the future.
So the moral of the story: Go to credit unions first because they care. They care about your situation, and they care about what happens to you.
Posted in Budgeting, Credit | Tell us what you think »
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