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100 Best Money Moves You Can Make Now

This article was written by in Personal Finance. 34 comments.


The latest issue of Money Magazine shares a list of one hundred tips for dealing with your money, from investing in stocks and locating a deal on a house to maintaining sanity on flights and feeling superior to Nicholas Cage. Ignoring the investment-related ideas for the moment, there are a number of good suggestions.

Here are some of the more interesting bits I am taking away from the feature.

The editors of Money Magazine chose Ally Bank as the best savings account. Here are my choices, always updated. Ally offers competitive interest rates. I have an account and have not yet had any problems, but it’s worthwhile to read customer reviews of Ally Bank submitted in the comments.

I buy generic and store brands for certain products. Like me, Money Magazine suggests saving a significant percentage by buying store brand versions of over-the-counter pain relievers, clothes, and batteries. Money Magazine also suggests buying store brand televisions, but I’ve seen major quality differences. Perhaps I’m too picky in this one area.

Based on the price-to-rent ratio, Honolulu is the best place to rent right now. Other cities round out the top five: San Francisco; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle.

Also in real estate, the magazine offers three tips for negotiating lower Realtor commissions while selling your house. Don’t blindly accept six percent. Ask for five percent, offer to work with the agent in the future if he or she offers you a break now, or imply you’re ready to sell your house on your own.

In Money Magazine’s suggestions for teaching children how to manage credit>, they did not mention the best lesson possible: avoid credit whenever possible. But the “abstinence-only” is hardly a full education; we must recognize that kids will eventually “do it” with credit cards and should know how to use them safely and avoid bringing interest fees into this world.

Eliminate cable television and replace it with PlayOn for $40 (plus the cost of a device you may or may not already own). Replace your landline telephone service with Vonage. I’m doing fine without a landline or voice over IP. My cell phone handles all my calls, but as a single guy, I have no need for a “family” contact number.

Several of the 100 tips are reserved for the list of the best locations for retirement for those who don’t like paying taxes. Here are the cities at the top of the list: Lewes, Delaware; Fairhope, Alaska; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Austin, Texas; and Henderson, Nevada. I’m surprised that the editors did not consider retiring abroad.

Three tips are dedicated to helping you negotiate a raise. Unfortunately, these tactics won’t be applicable to everyone. If you are able to quantify cost savings, if you are carrying the work load of two people, or you are getting offers from other companies, you have some leverage.

The editors of Money Magazine want you to buy a Chevrolet Camaro SS V8 if you want to have fun while driving. My Honda Civic is approaching 120,000 miles and I’m starting to plan for having a more exciting ride a few years down the road.

Want to get customer satisfaction? Threaten to create a song about your bad experience and upload it to Youtube. A bad reputation can grow like a virus.

Read Money Magazine’s 100 tips for the best money moves here.

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8 Things Banks Can Do to Make Online Banking Safer

This article was written by in Banking. 37 comments.

Banking online by visiting a bank’s website directly to perform typical transactions like checking your balance, reviewing and reconciling your recent transactions, paying bills, or transferring money, is generally safer than doing the same in person, whether at an ATM or a teller. Your information is encrypted and you can take care of your business in the privacy of your own home. There are some dangers, however.

Most commonly, the danger lies in your own computer. If your computer is infected by a virus or a Trojan horse, your account information, like identification name, password, PIN, and secret word, could be recorded by this program and secretly transmitted to someone who will use the information to drain your account. Less frequently, the bank’s database containing customer information can be compromised.

I’ve seen many lists with tips for customers who want to ensure that their online banking experience is safe. For example, customers should always look for the padlock icon in the browser when visiting a banking website, always verify the URL in the address bar has https (note the “s”) before entering a password, and never click on links in emails that claim to come from a bank (phishing). Other general security tips include keeping your passwords private and maintaining up-to-date virus and spyware scanners on your computers.

But there are certain things banks can and should do to keep up their end of the bargain. Many banks already follow some or all of these suggestions, but smaller banks may not always have the money to implement these features. If safety is your concern, look for banks that have put effort into these ideas.

1. Require multi-factor authentication.

A user name or number and a password or PIN are no longer enough. Most banks still operate their websites by asking the customer for only a user name and a password to log in. This method is highly vulnerable to phishing and Trojan horse programs. Some banks have implemented additions to this process to enhance security.

ING Direct, in addition to a customer number or PIN, requires you to enter the answer to one of several questions, such as, “What was your high school mascot?,” selected when the account was created. In this case, the question is only asked the first time you are log into the bank from any particular computer, though you may be asked to reconfirm every month.

2. Avoid using input fields in web forms.

The most common way to allow a customer to enter information, like a user name and password, into a website is to use a “web form.” Web forms can be encrypted, but their existence is a signal to malicious people who want to steal users’ information.

HSBC Direct requires two passwords, though the second is called a “security key.” Rather than typing the security key using the letter and number keys on the keyboard, the bank’s website presents the customer with a graphic. He or she must use the mouse or other pointing device to click the letters and numbers within the graphic in order to gain access.

3. Require strong passwords.

I am lazy. I have hundreds of passwords I must remember for various websites and applications. There is a tendency for people to deal with password overload by using the same password for multiple systems or choose words that are easily memorable. Banks can’t do anything about customers who use the same password across several institutions, but they can enforce “rules” for determining passwords. Strongest passwords should be a mix of letters, numbers, and punctuation. No combination of letters found in the dictionary should be allowed. For example, meaty613 is weak password while yk1lt3m^ is much stronger.

A minimum of eight letters, numbers, or punctuation marks would help to strengthen passwords as well. Long passwords with a combination of characters not found in the dictionary will help to reduce the chances of someone — a friend who knows what you might choose or a computer program that has the ability to use “brute force” techniques to keep trying different passwords until it finds one that works — guessing the right combination. Banks can enforce these rules.

4. Use a dynamic key.

To access my work’s network from home or any other remote location, I have a SecurID token. Every sixty seconds, a new six-digit number appears on the token. This number, in combination with a PIN, is required in order for me to log into work from home. Obviously, sending SecurID tokens to every bank customer would be a large expense for any reasonably-sized bank. There are other ways to use dynamic keys, or passwords that change over time.

I am unaware of any bank that currently offers this, but one way to implement a dynamic key would work like this: You enter your user name, strong password, and second authentication key through the bank’s website. The bank retrieves your user account information, including your cell phone number or mobile email account and sends you a text or e-mail message with a dynamic key. You are then required to enter this key into the website.

5. Require password changes every thirty days.

In a world where we have hundreds of passwords to memorize, being required to change passwords every thirty days is a huge annoyance. It also invites laziness. I know many people who simply change the number at the end of their password each month, cycling through passwords like flexo1, flexo2, flexo3, and flexo4 each month. Many banks will choose not to implement this rule simply because it is seen as not user friendly. And yes, I would be annoyed if every bank required me to change my password every month. It’s a trade-off between security and convenience.

6. Lock accounts after detecting three failed log-in attempts.

If a bank detects a series of incorrect passwords for any one account, it should disable the account from being accessed through the web. Most people do not guess their passwords. By requiring a telephone call, during which the customer service representative asks more authentication questions, banks can ensure the rightful account owners can quickly regain access to their accounts while protecting accounts experiencing someone trying to “hack” their way in. Note that the bank should not send an email with a link to unlock the account because the email account may have been compromised, as well.

7. Contact the customer after every transaction.

Banks could increase security by informing their customers of each transaction that takes place in the account. When I initiate a transfer at ING Direct, the bank sends me an email to let me know that it has been initiated. If someone else had accessed my account and transferred money out, I would know within minutes and could contact the bank immediately.

ING Direct has also begun to contact me when other companies pull an ACH debit. My electric and gas bill is configured to be paid in full every month from my ING Direct account, and each month, I receive a notice from ING Direct when the ACH is accepted. Rather than email, a quick text message might be considered unobtrusive enough for activity confirmations.

8. Require up-to-date antivirus and spyware detection software.

In order to log into my network at work from a remote location, I am required to be running the latest version of an antivirus application. The brand doesn’t matter; I could be running McAfee or AVG Free. AVG Free is one of my favorite security suites. It provides state-of-the-art protection from malicious software (malware), and it’s free.

Banks can install a small application through their website that detects the presence of protective software like AVG Free, McAfee, or Norton, and determines whether the software is up-to-date. If no antivirus software is installed and running in the background, then the customer is presented with options for installing protection. Preventing unprotected computers from accessing the website will help reduce the frequency of stolen account information through phishing.

Some of the above suggestions may be considered annoying or excessive for customers. Banking over the internet is generally safe, but malicious individuals increase their knowledge and ability all the time. They adapt faster to security implementations than banks adapt to new methods of breaching. In the worst case, hackers — or people who pay hackers — can steal not only your money but your identity. I understand that cleaning up the mess left behind when your identity is stolen can be one of the most grueling processes one might ever experience. It may be worth some inconvenience to add more layers of protection between the world and your bank accounts.

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Do You Get Vaccinated Against Influenza?

This article was written by in Health. 21 comments.

My company was offering vaccinations today for any employees wanting to gain protection from the flu this season. By the early afternoon, they ran out of vaccine and added another date a week from now to the schedule for those who did not get a chance.

I’ve never opted for the flu vaccine. It has always been my method of operation to take my chances and deal with the flu (without prescription medication) if the virus finds its way into my system. Last year, however, I had a tough time, and was out of commission more often than I would have liked. I suppose this comes with the territory of having a girlfriend whose job is to spend 8 hours a day with twenty-five ten-year-old germ balls.

Flu (influenza) virusI’ve always held the opinion that I shouldn’t need to introduce any more medication into my body than absolutely necessary. Not only that, but the vaccine works only against specific strains of influenza but is not very effective overall. As a relatively healthy individual, I do not have a high risk of complications from the flu, so other than missing a few days of work feeling sick, I don’t think it will hurt to skip the vaccine. Doing so might even mean that there is one more shot available for a young child or elderly individual with high risk for complications.

How about you? Will you be receiving the vaccination?

For some interesting reading, take a look and compare the information presented in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Seasonal Flu information page (strongly pro-vaccination), Wikipedia’s entry on the flu vaccine (somewhat neutral and scientific), and the British Medical Journal’s Influenza Vaccination: Policy Versus Evidence (strongly conclusive against vaccination).

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My eBay Account Was Hacked!

by Flexo

Yesterday I received an email apparently from eBay, informing that my account was used for malicious purposes, and I should change my password post-haste. I’m very skeptical of emails apparently from eBay. Normally I delete them without thinking. But this email managed to catch my attention. Here’s a portion of the text: It appears your ... Continue reading this article…

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My DreamHost Account Was Hacked

by Flexo

I received an email from the DreamHost abuse team — DreamHost is the company that provides the web services for this website, pfblogs.org to an extent, the MoneyBlogNetwork and its forums, and a number of others. They made me aware that my web space was being accessed by a computer user in Romania. The user ... Continue reading this article…

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Free Software to Make Your Computer Run Better, Stronger, Faster

by Flexo

These tools are indispensible. When I coach people through buying and setting up computers, I always suggest they forego the software pack that comes with computers purchased at Circuit City, Best Buy, and any number of manufacturer-direct shops, and install the following free software instead. AVG Free Anti-Virus. This anti-virus scanner is as good as ... Continue reading this article…

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You Will Go To The Moon

by Flexo

Stephen Hawking, author of A Brief History of Time, says that humans should consider colonizing the moon, Mars, and eventually another star system, in order to ensure our species’ survival. Here on earth, our risk of being wiped out by a natural or man-made disaster is increasing. The scientist cites “sudden global warming, nuclear war, ... Continue reading this article…

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