Personal Finance List

I came across this today and thought it would be helpful to those that have been victims of identity theft. Here’s a list of the steps, you’ll have to visit the site for full details:

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457-55-5462.

That’s LifeLock CEO and co-founder Todd Davis’ social security number. Do with it what you will. He’s so confident in LifeLock’s identity theft prevention service that he doesn’t care who has his personal information. “I have had many people say that I’m making the number up, but it’s the real deal,” Davis says. “We do this to prove the point that your personal information is everywhere right now, but if you make it useless, it doesn’t matter who has it because they can’t use it.” Read the rest of this entry »

The New York Times reports that identity fraud accounted for $49 billion in losses in 2006. Although rates of identity theft appear to be decreasing, it is still a crime that affects nearly 4 percent of Americans.

If you are a victim of identity theft, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers four steps you should take immediately after the identity theft has been detected:

1. Contact a consumer reporting company (such as Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) and request a fraud alert on your credit card.
2. Close all affected accounts and fraudulently created accounts.
3. File a complaint with the FTC (1-877-ID-THEFT).
4. File a complaint with the local police and/or with the police in the area where the identity theft took place.

For more details, visit the FTC’s identity theft website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

If you’re overwhelmed by the sheer number of stock research services available on the internet, give the New York Times’ online Basic Stock Screener a try. By plugging in your own parameters before beginning your search, you’ll be able to focus on those stocks best suited to your investment goals.

http://marketwatch.nytimes.com/custom/nyt-com/html-screener.asp

April 15th is just around the corner and you still have a slew of unanswered questions: Should I file my returns electronically? Is there any benefit to filing my return early? With tax preparation getting more complicated each year, wouldn’t it just be easier to not file for a few years and go to prison? Don’t get frustrated–get educated. Here’s a link to a radio report on e-filing and filing returns early from National Public Radio:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6956301

The only thing certain in life is death and taxes, and if you’re reading this you’re still alive, so you’d better start preparing to file your return this April. Don’t know where to start? TurboTax.com offers a plethora of products and services like a deduction maximizer, Personal Pro, and free helpful advice, like this list of common tax questions and mistakes:

http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax_help/checklist_of_common_tax_questions/article

Yahoo Finance also offers a comprehensive list of helpful articles & references:

http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/articleindex

According to the Commerce Department, Americans’ personal savings rates are minus 1%, the worst savings rate since the Great Depression. Read the Associated Press story here:

http://news.lycos.com/dynamic/stories/L/LOW_SAVINGS?SITE=LYCOS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

If you’re one of the many Americans with a shrinking (or non-existent) savings account, MSNBC offers some simple savings tips:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7711260/

And here’s five tips from Yahoo Finance for getting out of debt and saving at the same time:

http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/banking-budgeting/12830

The king of all web search engines may also be the internet’s most user-friendly way to search for stock information and updates. Don’t be scared by the “beta” tag–Google Finance is a quick and easy reference for up-to-date quotes, charts, news and other basic financial data for North American stocks, mutual funds and public and private companies. Searching for stocks is as simple as any other Google search: Just type in a company symbol or name, click the “Search Finance” button, and–presto!–you have all the market information you need to make wise investment decisions. Google Finance is also a great tool for tracking daily gainers, losers and popularity leaders.

http://finance.google.com/finance

Want to get control of your finances but don’t know where to begin? The free online calculator at CNNMoney.com can get you started on the path to a balanced budget.

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/budget101/budget_101.jsp

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