Holiday shopping may have some of its biggest days on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but there are ways to save money all through winter season. Today, I’ll cover a few strategies for winter shoppers in several categories.

Image from socksoff

Seek Out Winter Travel Bargains

A lot of people spend extra to visit family and friends over the holidays, but if you’re looking for a less expensive getaway, winter might be a good time to escape. Even if you can’t take off for two weeks, you can still refresh yourself with a long weekend at a nearby destination. Call around to hotels or spas within a few hours’ drive and ask if discounted rates are available. A lot of places will welcome visitors during a season that’s less hectic than summer.

If you’re looking to warm up, then Fodor’s recommends cities like San Diego, Savannah, and Charleston, among others. You probably won’t run into the crowds that summer can attract, and hotel rooms and restaurant reservations might be easier to come by.

On the other hand, for those who enjoy wintry destinations, New York Magazine recommends various sites in Vermont, Colorado, and British Columbia as well as certain European locations. Keep an eye out for extras like discounts on equipment rentals for skiing or snowboarding, lift tickets, lessons, or other amenities.

Popular tourist destinations like Las Vegas or Hawaii tend to offer a lot to visitors all year long. Check out the official tourism site of your favorite destination to see if they have discounted packages or recommendations for attractions.

While you’re at your hotel, check your room or the lobby for magazines or brochures catering to visitors — they’re often full of discounted offers. Take an Entertainment book with you if you think it will pay for itself. For even more savings, check our article on when and where to go for the cheapest travel rates.

Find Savings For Your Home

Another area where you can save is by making sure you prepare your home for the winter. Winterizing your home by having the right inspections, repairs and cleanings done before winter sets in can save you a bundle and help you avoid mishaps caused by the cold weather and possible weather disturbances: for example, cleaning the gutters before storms head your way should be on top of your to-do list! This may be a time to whip out your Home Depot credit card.

Save On Clothes & Things to Buy in Winter

If I hunt around, I might be able to find bargains on out-of-season clothing. Who knows… maybe even items intended for the back-to-school season might still be lingering on the clearance racks during early winter.

When it comes to things to buy in winter, I always think of those white sales the department stores have on linens and bedding. Bankrate.com says that there are a lot of sales to be found at this time, including groceries (think turkey and items for baking after the holidays), outdoor gear from gas grills to bicycles and boats, air conditioners, hardware, carpet and flooring, and furniture. Also, take a look at electronics like DVD players and TVs.

Traditionally, the day after a holiday is a great time to pick up lots of seasonal stuff on sale, such as discounted decorations, gifts, themed decor, or partyware like paper plates and napkins. If you have the storage space, stock up for next year’s Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s, Valentine’s, or other celebration. Snap up the greeting cards and gift wrap if they’re available, too.

Have a Frugal Winter Wedding

If you’re a bride or groom willing to risk the weather, a winter wedding can be cheaper than one at the height of June. According to MSN Money, you can save on banquet facilities, flowers, photography, and limos if you plan for weddings in January, February, or March. That’s because demand is down among vendors during this time.

It’s hard to forecast the weather that far ahead, but you might want to come up with a contingency plan in case snow or storms make travel difficult for your guests or attendants. For winter weddings, The Knot suggests having the ceremony and reception at the same location or to have your phone ready to dial up a car service to escort guests home.

Keep Entertainment Costs Low

Once the holidays wrap up, you can keep family and friends in touch in several ways. Invite people over for a night of potluck dinner and movies, or fire up the video games or board games everyone got as gifts during the holidays.

If you and several friends are hosting different Super Bowl parties, split your costs by making a joint run to Costco or another place where you can buy in bulk together. Trade recipes for the best buffalo wings, pizza, flavored popcorn, or other treats.

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Winter Travel Bargains, Frugal Winter Weddings: Cold Season Savings

For many of the unemployed (actually, around 1 million people), there’s the worry that when January 2010 rolls along, they will be losing their unemployment benefits. This is because extended unemployment benefits are scheduled to expire by the end of the year unless the government does something about it. What to do then?

A while ago, I wrote a post that discusses what to do if your unemployment check runs out. Here are some general ideas:

(1) Turn to your community, local shelters and churches for possible resources.
(2) Try to conserve your funds as best as you can by limiting your expenses to only necessary expenditures. Perhaps you need a budget!
(3) Keep your eyes out for any job opportunity that opens up; even if a job is not in your line of work, you never know if it can eventually lead to something else that works out for you later.
(4) Explore various ways to generate income and be resourceful (for example, why not consider a pink slip party?).

Right now, people are making do with any kind of work that earns them an income. It’s hard to be picky right now — and you shouldn’t be, especially if you’ve been hitting the pavement (for a job) for a while now. But keep the faith as this economy *should* turn around….eventually.

Let’s keep up with our financial education with these great reads for the week:

Personal Finance Articles

• The New Parents’ Guide: To get our finances in order, it’s important to develop a financial plan and set financial goals as a starting point.
• Wise Bread: What if you can’t get a bank loan? Well here are 8 other ways and schemes you can try, to help finance your fledgling business.
• Weakonomics: Here’s a comprehensive piece about money, gold and the FED, and why we should be concerned about the US dollar. Very compelling!
• Len Penzo: Is LifeLock’s $1 million guarantee a sham? Len explores what Lifelock offers and also shares some do-it-yourself identity theft prevention tips.

Recent Carnivals

• Festival of Frugality
• Carnival of Debt Reduction
• Festival of Stocks

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Unemployment Benefits Set To Expire Soon. What Next?

I’ve been taking a closer look at online banks and here’s one that I’d like to highlight: EverBank. If you’re looking for a place to park your short term savings — say for emergencies, for short term funds that you’ll need within the next 3 to 5 years or for savings that you’re accumulating for a bigger investment — then EverBank can provide you with a few good options.

Before we get into some of their flagship products and high yield savings accounts, let’s review what EverBank has accomplished over the last few years. They’ve actually snared several awards that attest to their top billing as an online bank. They’ve received the following awards:

• BauerFinancial Star Rating “4 Stars” in 2008
• Freddie Mac Tier 1 “Superior” Rating in 2008
• Money Magazine “Best of the Breed” in 2007
• Kiplinger’s “Best Checking Account” in 2006
• Forbes Best of the Web in the years 2000 – 2005

And this is just a sampling.

EverBank Savings Products

As for their savings products, EverBank offers several options. Their products are geared towards those who can maintain larger balances and who may have bigger bank accounts in general. They have both U.S. and foreign savings accounts that work together well if you’re seeking a diversified portfolio. Their foreign currency CDs are good options if you’re wanting exposure to international investments with possibly less risk and volatility. Here are some of their products:

1. EverBank FreeNet Checking Account: This high yield checking account offers a 3 month bonus rate of 2.51% for all new accounts. After 3 months, you’ll receive a new rate, resulting in a first year APY that varies based on your account balance. The first year APY ranges from 1.20% (for an account balance of $9,999 or less) to 1.72% (for a balance of $50,000 – $99,999). The minimum opening balance is $1,500 for the account, which has no monthly fees. You’ll also receive free online and mobile banking capabilities, a free Visa Check Card, unlimited check writing and optional online bill pay.

2. EverBank Yield Pledge Money Market Account: This money market account has a bonus rate of 2.51% which you’ll get for the first 3 months of owning the account. The first year APY (incorporating the bonus rate) is 1.77% for an account balance amounting to $50,000 or less. The minimum opening balance is $1,500. There is no monthly fee if you maintain a balance of at least $5,000; lower balances are charged $8.95 a month.

3. EverBank Yield Pledge CD: This certificate of deposit is available with terms ranging from 3 months to 5 years. The 3 month CD has a yield of 1.05%, the 1 year CD has a yield of 1.70% while the 5 year CD returns 3.00%. The minimum opening balance is $1,500.

4. EverBank WorldCurrency Access Deposit Account: This is a money market account that allows you to earn interest in a foreign currency. Money in this account can benefit from the appreciation of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar, so this would be a diversification play (e.g. a way to hedge against the U.S. dollar). This account is liquid, with an initial deposit requirement of $2,500.

5. EverBank WorldCurrency Single CD: Ordinarily, we try to achieve investment portfolio diversification through foreign equities. But with foreign currency certificates of deposit, you can also get that kind of exposure. These foreign CDs are available in 3, 6, 9 and 12 month terms and carry no monthly fees. The minimum deposit is $10,000. You’ll make money by earning interest and by hedging against the U.S. dollar.

6. EverBank WorldCurrency Index CD: This type of foreign currency certificate of deposit is comprised of multiple foreign currencies from countries with specific economic characteristics. This would also make a great diversification play. The CDs are available in 3 and 6 month terms and have no monthly fees. The return you’ll receive is based on a fixed interest rate that tracks the index. The minimum deposit is $20,000, which is on the high side.

Why EverBank?

I like EverBank for several reasons: they’ve got a diversified set of financial products for savers and investors (they’re the only U.S. bank I know that offers foreign currency certificates of deposit, for example) and they offer highly competitive rates for their online savings accounts such as the Money Market Account and the FreeNet Checking Account.

EverBank is a well managed bank that found itself in an excellent position by sidestepping the subprime market crisis. This bank has emphasized quality investments, customers and products, and has avoided participation in the subprime market. Their strategies have paid off very well, as evidenced by their strong earnings gains:

EverBank recently reported positive earnings gains with a third quarter net income increase of 197% over last year’s third quarter numbers. Also, the growth this past quarter is around 37% compared to the previous quarter of this year. EverBank’s done particularly well in their mortgage banking business, showing strong mortgage asset portfolio returns.

EverBank continues to prove its financial strength by pursuing an acquisition program that involves acquiring smaller financial institutions and companies to help diversify its holdings. It has recently acquired a financial company called Tygris Commercial Finance Group Inc. as part of a diversification plan. As a retail bank, EverBank has sought exposure to commercial assets, which it has achieved through the Tygris deal.

So if you’re considering a bank that has an array of diverse, high quality products, a strong financial foundation and a solid reputation, EverBank is an outstanding choice.

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

EverBank Review: Top Savings Bank Rates

How to get more out of high yield savings accounts and internet banking.

So how is your savings plan going? In the past, we’ve shared many banking resources that can help you get started with your savings program. For example, if you’re looking for better savings account rates, perhaps this list of online accounts can provide you with some ideas on where to put your liquid, short-term funds today:

Recently, however, I’ve been hearing a lot of commercials for automatic bank savings plans. The plans sounded pretty good, so I thought I would check them out.

Start Saving Money! How Banks Pay You To Save

I looked online and found several banks offering such programs for their customers. These banks pay you to save money. Seems only fitting that they would pay their customers something after receiving all that stimulus money!

Here is a rundown of the plans:

1. Bank of America has taken the proverbial change jar to the next level. Rather than putting your spare change into a jar every night, you can use BOA’s Keep the Change program to round up every purchase made with your debit card to the nearest dollar amount and the difference is automatically put into your online savings account. For the first three months, BOA matches your contributions 100 percent. After that, they match it 5 percent up to a total of $250.00 annually.

2. US Bank’s program is called START (Savings Today and Rewards Tomorrow). With their program, you can set up one of the following:

• Automatic transfers of at least $25.00 from your checking to savings account, or
• $1 transfers from checking to savings every time you use your US Bank check card or credit card ($25.00 limit per month).

You can also have the bank’s FlexPerks cash rewards automatically transferred to your savings every month. Customers receive a $50 US Bank Visa Rewards Card when you maintain a savings balance of at least $1,000 in your account for one year.

3. Wachovia’s Way2Save program pays you not only interest but also a bonus to save money. With this savings program, Wachovia will transfer $1 from your checking account into your Way2Save account when you make check card purchases, pay bills online, and set up automatic debits from your checking account. The first year, you will receive 5 percent APR on your savings as well as a 5 percent bonus of up to $300 per year. In the second and third years, you’ll receive 2 percent APR and a 2 percent bonus of up to $300 per year.

4. Suntrust’s Get Started Savings program offers a one-time bonus of up to $50 after the one-year anniversary of account opening.

I bank at Regions, and they do not seem to have a similar program. Maybe one day they will. I could benefit from it!

As you can see, banks are highly encouraging us to start depositing our money with them — either by offering competitive rates or by coming up with interesting programs, gimmicks and rewards to get us to save more.

What’s important is that we get started with saving and investing as soon as we are able. The earlier we start, the bigger a nest egg we can accumulate over our lifetime.

 
Contributing Writer: BEM

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Start Saving Money! How Banks Pay You To Save

Today, we’re presenting a technical discussion on an interesting investment concept, care of Manshu Verma from One Mint, an investment blog that covers topics ranging from Indian IPOs to U.S. ETFs, and everything in between.

Cyclically Adjusted P/E Ratio (CAPE) is an enhanced way of calculating the P/E ratio which considers the average inflation adjusted earnings of a company over the last 10 years. This smoothens out the fluctuations in earnings that occur from one year to the next, while still giving a sense of how high or low the price of a particular stock is.

To understand how CAPE is calculated, we need to take a look at how P/E Ratio is calculated first.

Price to Earnings Ratio considers two things:

• Market price of the stock.
• Earnings Per Share or EPS of the company.

P/E Ratio is calculated by dividing the market price by the earnings per share of the company.

P/E = Market Price / Earnings Per Share

EPS can be last year’s earnings or even the projected earnings for the next year. CAPE takes the average earnings of the last ten years and adjusts it for inflation: this smoothens out the fluctuations in earnings due to booms and busts, which occur from one year to another.

CAPE was originally developed by Benjamin Graham, and has been used by various analysts since then; the most notable proponent has been Professor Robert Shiller of Yale University. You can find data on CAPE on Professor Shiller’s website.

In this interview, Prof. Shiller states that the highest CAPE ratio in the US market has been 46 during the boom of 2000, and the average CAPE has been 15. Also in the interview, Prof. Shiller makes two very interesting points.

1. Mean Reversion: The first is about mean reversion: if CAPE is higher than the average of 15, and certainly, when it is as high as 46, it is quite likely to revert to the mean — and come back to 15. The same is true in reverse also; when the market is trading below the average CAPE, it is likely to move higher. So, that means it is a fairly good indicator to know which direction the market is headed.

2. No one knows when it will turn around: If you want to time the market or predict market direction, knowing that the CAPE is below or above the mean is not good enough. You really need to know when it will turn. If it is at 10, mean reversion indicates that it should go back to 15 — but that doesn’t mean that it can’t go to 6 first. So, there is no way to know the exact bottom of the market, and trying to predict that is like catching a falling knife.

I personally think that this measure is pretty useful for helping us gauge extremes. While there is no way to predict the top or the bottom of a stock’s (or market’s) price — you certainly don’t want to be buying a stock when its CAPE is at 46, and you don’t want to be selling a stock when the P/E ratio is at 6!

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Price Earnings Ratio: The Cyclically Adjusted P/E Ratio

Time for my weekly roundup! Here are some of the personal finance articles I enjoyed reading and reviewing this week:

Econobusters: I encountered this frugal blog with a lot of great articles on crafts, frugal tips and tricks, and home management. The site is run by Molly Green, who also has a free newsletter to offer. You’ll receive a free menu-planning e-book if you subscribe to her newsletter. Check out her recipe of hot bacon cheese dip (yum!) and some frugal family gift ideas from her online community.

One Mint: Nice justifications here for why the iPhone Kindle app won’t likely cannibalize the Kindle’s sales. So do you have either of these ebook readers? Check out our Amazon Kindle review if you’d like more details about this gadget.

WiseBread: So who cares about where the stock market is headed? I wrote this guest post for WiseBread to remind ourselves that regardless of where the stock market decides to go, we can still do well by investing prudently and by applying certain investment strategies like asset allocation and dollar cost averaging.

Len Penzo: Here’s a discussion of the 10 most underpaid jobs available today, presented in a breezy style. I agree with a lot of Len’s assessments here — including the fact that military service people should be paid huge gobs of money for their incredible sacrifices.

Mrs. Bankrupt: Leanne waxes poetic about the joys of freelancing in her piece about the new way to work. Aside from running a few blogs, I also freelance as a writer for other sites. I can certainly vouch for the fact that freelancing is definitely an awesome way to make a living!

Lazy Man and Money: Here’s a wonderful personal story by Lazy Man about his grandfather-in-law, who’s a true war veteran. His grandpa (in law) is slated to receive a Purple Heart for his valor during the Korean War.

The Financial Blogger: I like this idea of saving roughly $10 a day for the next 45 days before Christmas so that you can have around $465 to spend for Christmas gifts! So what costs can you cut out each day for the next several weeks to reach your target savings amount?

Certainly, some of these posts bring up some thought-provoking points. I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

iPhone Kindle App Sales, Freelancing Fun, A Veteran’s Purple Heart

Want to know how to eat out for less?

If you can’t afford to go out, you’re not alone. Families are spending more time at home instead of going out in order to save money. Big business has taken notice of this trend, and some major retailers and restaurant chains feeling the pinch have responded by offering free deals to bring families out more often. It worked for us! Last weekend we enjoyed dinner for a family of four for under $15. For me, that’s the cost of making a decadent dinner and dessert at home except that I didn’t have to do all the work. You no longer need to cook at home to avail of cheap meals. Check out these latest deals and savings for families:

“Kids Eat Free” Restaurants Offer Great Family Deals

Boston Market: Kids Eat Free On Saturday and Sunday

We did our first round of holiday shopping last weekend because I needed Thanksgiving cards for family who live far away. I was too tired to cook so we stopped at Boston Market on the way home. We were delighted to discover that two kids can eat free with an adult at Boston Market on both Saturdays and Sundays. Kids are entitled to a children’s meal of turkey, chicken, meatloaf or mac and cheese with a side and beverage. Boston Market will offer this delicious deal until January 31, 2010. Our family knows where we will be dining every weekend for the next couple of months!

Denny’s: Kids Eat Free On Tuesday Nights

Denny’s offers free meals for kids on Tuesday nights from 4 pm to 10 pm at participating restaurants. If you’re running from soccer practice to ballet lessons with no time to cook, stop at Denny’s where kids eat free on Tuesdays. Some locations also offer free meals for kids on Saturday nights from 4 pm to 10 pm. With plenty of tasty selections, the entire family can eat for under $20 when you take advantage of this great dinner deal at Denny’s.

Ground Round: Pay A Penny Per Pound Or Eat Free

Each Ground Round location has its own family promotions. Some offer a deal to pay a penny per pound for a kid’s meal between 10 am and 2 pm everyday. Other locations let you “buy an adult meal to get a free kid’s meal daily”. At our local Ground Round, kids eat free on Tuesday nights. They also have a “buy one burger, get one free” deal on Sunday nights which means that four people can eat for the price of two. Call the Ground Round in your neighborhood to find out when your family can get free food.

Best Friends of Friendly’s

Do your kids love ice cream? Join the new club online called Best Friends of Friendly’s, and get a free three scoop sundae for enrolling. The sundae is free with the purchase of any adult entree. You also get birthday offers for your family, information on special money-saving events, newsletters and announcements. I signed up because ice cream is a sweet deal around here!

Kids Eat Free Everyday At Piccadilly’s

At Piccadilly’s, kids 6 and under eat free everyday with selections such as chicken tenders, shrimp, fried fish and chicken legs. Get a kids meal, two sides, beverage and dessert for free at Piccadilly’s as long as your child is 6 or younger. This program is for customers who dine-in only.

Hurry! Veterans Eat Free At Applebee’s On Veteran’s Day

BONUS DEAL: Veterans eat free at Applebee’s on Veteran’s Day with proof of current or past military service. Choose from one of six mouthwatering meals for free and just pay for taxes, gratuity and a beverage. My husband is a disabled veteran so you know we’ll take advantage of this great deal!

These meal deals are sure to come in handy during the hectic holiday season when you don’t have the time or energy to shop, cook and clean. For around the price of cooking at home, you can dine out with your family and have a good time together!

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Kids Eat Free Restaurants Offer Great Family Deals

It’s always cheaper to consolidate debt on your own. It’s also a good idea to turn to government or community assistance if you are in need of credit or debt counseling. But there’s also another way to get help — and that is to pay for it. Before signing up with any professional in this field, I would urge you to do your due diligence and be aware that these financial services cost money and may simply be doing the tasks you could do on your own.

The following is a review of Debt Consolidation Care, a site that helps match debtors with debt consolidation companies and counseling services.

For some people, struggling with debt can feel like a ten-round solo fight, but Debt Consolidation Care is a community that offers a place to discuss money problems. The site claims to be “the Internet’s first get-out-of-debt community”, with 193,000 members who can seek advice on topics like debt consolidation, debt settlement, bill consolidation, debt consolidation loans, payday loans and collection agencies. According to the site, it’s possible for consumers to learn more about lowering monthly payments, reducing interest rates, avoiding bankruptcy, and other topics.

Getting Started With Debt Consolidation Care

To get you started with counseling, there’s a brief counseling and analysis form to fill out. It asks for contact information such as your name, email address, phone number, zip code, and the range of your debt (under $10k to over $50k). Later, a consultant can call you for a free debt assistance counseling session.

If you’re amenable to the consultant’s recommendations for managing your debt, then the consultant will refer you to service providers, who will then contact your creditors to negotiate for lower interest rates and the possible waiver of applicable late fees. It’s important to note that you’re still responsible for your debts — no consultant can make them disappear.

Also, your consultant will discuss budgeting your expenses and improving your credit score. This is beneficial, because without a clear financial plan, it can be easy for consumers to lapse into the habits that allowed their debt to grow to hard-to-manage proportions.

When I checked the Terms of Usage and Conditions of Service page, I learned that the counseling signup refers you to a company advertised on the Debt Consolidation Care website; therefore, the debt consolidation isn’t done in-house as I’d first assumed. I think consumers should be made explicitly aware on the main page that Debt Consolidation Care is referring them to a third party. That party might charge fees or have terms of service that aren’t disclosed on Debt Consolidation Care’s site.

If you don’t want the debt counseling or if you’re already on another debt consolidation plan, you can try the community signup instead.

Debt Consolidation Care Community: Shared Knowledge & Experience

It can be tough to stay in the trenches of debt without some inspiration. With the DCC community, you can access online debt consolidation counseling, earn community rewards for posting in the forums and for blogging, and you can read how other members are handling their debts.

Another helpful set of tools are the 31 sample letters you can use as templates. The sample letters cover topics that include debt settlement, debt consolidation, validation of debts, dispute letters to credit bureaus, and various letters to creditors.

If you need to learn more about different debt-related topics, a number of articles are available, too. You can read about topics like debt relief, bankruptcy, working towards a debt-free lifestyle, and more. Their blog also covers ideas like how to budget your money, how to check your credit score, and other personal finance topics. You can also get to know the members of the community through the Hall of Fame, testimonials, and photos. Hearing about how others have successfully tackled their debt situation can certainly be inspirational.

Debt Management Resources to Check Out

There are also ebooks that you can read for free or which you can arrange to have mailed to you (for a fee). There are calculators for figuring out how much you’ll save through debt consolidation and for figuring out interest rates. There’s also a do-it-yourself section full of resources and educational material that cover debt consolidation, debt management, and debt settlement.

Under Debt Consolidation Care’s Companies section, you can look at charts that rank various debt consolidation and debt settlement companies in different states. You can read advice tailored to different states or cities, and direct questions to the community. Any questions that are specific to a particular state are addressed by resident members.

What Needs To Improve

When you feel like your debt is burying you, a community like Debt Consolidation Care might benefit you. However, I’ve got a small beef with their security processing: when I tried the community signup, the password the site emailed me contained a single digit. This default password lacks any kind of security, so I hurried to change it.

Although sites like Mint.com or Wesabe.com have a different focus than debt consolidation, you might prefer them for better security if you want a social networking aspect to managing your money. As far as finding help for debt consolidation issues, you may want to take a first stop at the FTC’s Knee Deep in Debt page. It has an overview of credit counseling, debt consolidation, debt negotiation programs, bankruptcy, and more.

In Conclusion

So is Debt Consolidation Care worth checking out? I would say “it depends”. You’ll have to gauge whether you’d rather outsource debt management tasks to someone else. I believe greatly in do-it-yourself financial management, but on the other hand, I have also turned to professional help for certain financial matters, even if I can do the work myself. Again, it’s a matter of determining whether the money you spend on having a third party service do the job for you is worth the convenience and the time you ultimately save during this process.

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Do Debt Consolidation Programs Work? Reviewing Debt Consolidation Care

You may be currently satisfied with your mortgage and lack of car payments, but somewhere down the road, you’ll probably end up needing a loan of some sort. But before you go to a lender, you should check out your credit report first — a bad report might translate to higher interest rates if you don’t clean it up.

You could get a free credit report by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com, but most lenders also take a look at your credit score, which, depending on the kind of credit score you’re looking for, may need to be purchased. FICO credit scores are the most popular credit scores used in financial transactions, and they’re available through myFICO.

As alternatives, you can also check out the three major credit bureaus to determine if they offer products that are suitable for your needs. So what do these agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — offer to consumers?

Check Your Credit Score From Credit Reporting Agencies

Here’s a summary table of what you can order from myFICO, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. I also provide some details of what you’ll receive from these bureaus in the rest of this article:

Equifax Products

I’ve actually reviewed Equifax in an earlier article discussing where you can pick up your Equifax credit report and score. You can get your Equifax credit report by itself for $11.00 but if you want to add in your Equifax FICO score, it’s $15.95 for Score Power. This matches the regular price for a FICO standard score and report bundle that is offered through myFICO.

The sample credit report from Equifax shows accounts, charts of debts by account type and a debt to credit ratio, a section for account age, inquiries, and an area reserved for potentially negative information. In the accounts section, you’ll see your mortgage, revolving credit accounts like car loans and credit cards, and an Other section for items like an American Express card or 30-day accounts.

If you don’t want to read your credit report online, you can order it by phone or by mail. Now if you find an error on your report or want to correct an item, you can start the dispute process online.

Experian

Experian is another one of the major credit bureaus. It offers a credit report for $15, including a PLUS credit score. However, take note that what you’ll get from them is NOT a FICO credit score but rather any one of their own proprietary scores (e.g. Experian Plus or Vantage Score). Unfortunately, Experian made the decision some time ago to no longer offer FICO scores to consumers, although they continue to supply such scores to lenders.

The sample report from Experian shares basic information about you, and includes info about your employer; a credit summary that lists types of credit including real estate, revolving, installment, and collections; public records like liens and bankruptcies; credit inquiries, account histories, and an explanation of the PLUS score. Though there are plenty of details, I still found the format easy to follow.

TransUnion

The third credit bureau you may want to check in with is TransUnion. If you want to see your credit score and report, you’ll need to sign up for their 3-in-1 Credit Report for $29.95, which comes with a credit score. According to the fine print, this isn’t a FICO score, so I’m not sure if this is the best option for most consumers, plus it’s also quite pricey.

A TransUnion credit report will show your personal details along with your account information, balances, and payments; the status of your accounts (if they are open or closed, the dates the accounts were opened, if the accounts are current and in good standing); who’s accessed your credit report (potential creditors or employers); and addresses and phone numbers for your creditors.

In addition, there’s the TransUnion Credit Monitoring service that’s offered through TrueCredit.com. It’s free for 30 days, then it’s $11.95 a month. With this service, you can access your credit score and report as many times as you wish; look at a customized analysis of your credit history, scores, and reports, and benefit from identity protection measures. For more details, please visit this link.

Comparing Your Credit Reports Plus The Free Yearly Alternative

As mentioned, you can always go to AnnualCreditReport.com for your free yearly reports. This site was set up by the three credit bureaus to allow consumers to obtain their reports at no cost. Be wary of similar sites, which may charge you for an annual or monthly subscription to another service in order to access your “free” reports. I actually cover credit monitoring services and programs that offer free trials in more detail, in my FreeCreditReport.com review.

On the whole, the credit bureaus are likely to provide you with similar-looking reports, so why would you need all three? Suppose you had a bill that ended up in collection sometime ago, but has since been resolved. Now if this incident does not get updated or reported to all three bureaus, then your credit reports from various agencies will have differences, and a lender using the information from any one of your reports may formulate a different (or potentially incomplete or inaccurate) assessment based on the data they receive. It’s also useful to monitor all three credit reports for signs of identity theft. If you’ve moved as much as I have, there’s the risk of a new tenant residing at one of your previous addresses potentially applying for credit cards through mail offers that are intended for you.

One final tip: it’s also a great idea to space your credit report orders around three or four months apart. If you’ve decided to pay for your credit information, then staggering it this way will be less costly. Or you can also compare prices to see if one credit reporting agency offers a comprehensive 3-bureau report for a discounted price. Just be careful that you don’t sign up for a pricey monthly subscription that you don’t want to keep.

For what it’s worth, I found the Equifax site the easiest to navigate. Their Compare Products page lays out their different offerings in a comprehensive manner.

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Check Your Credit Score From Credit Reporting Agencies

To prepare for the retail sales season, it’s good to have some idea of what’s hot and still affordable this year. Finding the perfect holiday gifts for your friends and loved ones doesn’t have to be a hassle: to help out, I’ve rounded up some popular gift ideas for the holiday season.

Popular Toys

If you’ve spent any time in a toy aisle or store lately, you probably noticed Bakugan toys and games, based on a popular Japanese anime. Kids aged four and up might enjoy playing with the Bakugan Starter Pack. Players can battle their warriors for less than $16; additional battle packs and toys are also available.

Kids who are 3 to 5 years old can try out their writing skills with the LeapFrog Scribble and Write, which has a suggested price of around $22. Another holiday favorite returns this season with the Fisher Price Elmo Live Encore. The suggested price is $69.99, but you should be able to find this toy at a discount.

Board games are another favorite holiday gift idea because the whole family can spend time together. A classic game like Sorry can let your family’s competitive streak shine. Another choice can be a DVD game like Scene It? Deluxe Disney, which retails for less than $40.

Video Games

Video game consoles are still popular choices for the holidays, and the price cuts some manufacturers have made can help our holiday budgets. The new version of the PlayStation 3 features a 250 GB hard drive, and you can play Blu-ray DVDs as well as games on it. It’s available for $299.99. Games that have earned great reviews include Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Or you may be more interested in the Blu-Ray DVD player.

If you’re shopping for Xbox 360 fans, there’s a new 250 GB Elite Modern Warfare 2 console for $399.99. Pick up an Xbox Live Subscription Gold Card and you’ll be able to have fun long after the holidays.

For the Nintendo Wii, you can get ready to run with New Super Mario Brothers Wii, coming out soon. There’s also Wii Fit Plus, in case you need to burn off any holiday dinners.

There are also new versions of favorite handhelds out. The PSPgo ($249.99 list price) is lighter than its predecessors, has 16GB of flash memory, and lets you buy downloadable games from the PlayStation Network store.

The Nintendo DSi (suggested price $169.99) features two cameras and downloads via the DSi shop. Popular DS games include Mario & Luigi Bowser’s Inside Story ($34.99 list price) and Scribblenauts ($29.99 list price).

Cool Gadgets

You can buy electronics on discount at places like Buy.com or Newegg.com. Here are a few items you can pick up at electronics stores:

A gadget that plays games and has plenty of apps is the always popular iPhone. Other cell phone favorites include the Palm Pre and BlackBerry Curve.

If you prefer a camera, Canon’s PowerShot A1100IS ($249.99 list) has 12.1 megapixels and an optical image stabilizer to assist you with terrific shots. For camcorder fans, there’s the Flip MinoHD ($229.99 list), which captures up to 120 minutes in HD and makes it easy to upload videos to popular sites.

Those who want to hand out ebook readers this year have a few choices, such as the Kindle DX ($489) or the Sony E-Reader ($199.99 at some retailers). Expected for the end of November is the Barnes & Noble nook, which has already earned rave reviews. It’s offered for $259.

Now that Windows 7 is out, look for it on netbooks like the Asus Eee PC that lists for $399. Your favorite gift recipient will be able to read your emails, admire your pictures, and shop for the best deals all the time on his or her netbook.

Consumer Items

If you have anybody on your list who’s hard to shop for, find out where they like to buy ice cream or dinner and load them up with a gift card. Other gift card ideas include book stores, clothing stores, or iTunes for music, videos, and more.

A lot of us have cut back on trips to the coffee shop, but there’s no need to feel deprived if you give an AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker. Listed at just $30, it’s a good value compared to a month of Starbucks visits.

For me, the holidays tend to find me stocking up on different things at the local drugstore or wholesale shopping club. If it’s the last minute and I need a gift ASAP, I can pick up a nice box of candy, a set of candles, or even something more extravagant like a leopard-print Snuggie.

Before you start your holiday shopping, make a list of recipients and gift ideas, set a budget, and check prices online. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy the holiday season with time left over for yourself!

This is a post from The Smarter Wallet.

Hot Holiday Gift Ideas For The Shopping Season