CashWise Blog

Facebook is not only a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, it’s also a great way to stay updated on Cash Central news, tips and discounts/promotions. It’s also a great way to communicate with us ( in addition to our Live Chat and Customer Service Lines) personally.

Still, like any online interaction you should always ensure your privacy is tightly controlled. Facebook has developed a host of tools allowing you to do this and keep your information and personal images “close to the vest” so people you don’t know can’t get access to them.

US News & World Report recently posted a great 7-point checklist on how to keep your photos and information safe from prying eyes of people you haven’t friended and even some of those you have. As Cash Central’s highest priority is your security and privacy, we’d recommend reading and following through on the suggestions, which include:

• Checking Your Facebook Privacy Settings
• Accepting Friend Requests From Only People You Know “in real life”
• Carefully Choosing The Photos You Post Online

For a full rundown of the article, click here.

Everyone has their circle of friends whether it’s co-workers, neighbors, family or all of the above. So what to do when the holidays roll around and everyone starts handing out gifts? Easy. Don’t buy any– go the thrifty route and give time, skill or service. And with only 10 days until Christmas, you can save time, stress and travel in your search– instead giving the gift of, well, you.

Moneywatch.com has a humorous (but practical) list on how to get started. Some of the ideas may not be for everyone, but they may help spark some money-saving ideas, including:

Swap services. If you have smart but broke friends, this tip is for you. Have a friend who provides a valuable service such as personal training, financial planning, or computer consulting give you several one hour vouchers you can give to your friends. In return, you give your friend the same number of one hour vouchers for whatever service you provide.

You can read the full 10 (and a bonus five!) suggestions right here. Good luck!

While nobody likes a call from a debt collector, receiving a call from a fake is even worse. In an emerging trend, scammers are posing as payday loan debt collectors and frightening individuals into paying “debts” they never owed.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has offered some great advice on how to ensure you don’t get caught in the same trap, while putting those scammers back on their heels:

Some red flags in identifying this scam include:

• Refusal to provide the consumer with supporting documentation of debt allegedly owed.
• Callers claim to be representatives from “U.S. Cash.”
• Repayment required through wiring or wire transfer of payments.
• Threats of retaliation if the debt is not immediately repaid.

Cordray advises [individuals] to know their rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which requires debt collectors to send consumers a written “validation notice” listing the amount of debt a consumer owes within five days of first contact. In turn, consumers have the right to request validation of a debt by sending the collector a letter.

The FDCPA can be reviewed in full here.

We recently included a link to an article that posed a tough question: Namely, “Are you living within your means?” Hopefully, you were able to answer “Yes!” If not, that’s ok. There are plenty of ways to get there—including reigning spending to add a little more cash to our wallets. The following article comes from The Miami Herald and outlines 5 action steps you can take now.

Among the best? Check your wants vs. needs: i.e.– Stop spending. Read the full article here

While economic woes headlining the news day after day can be worrisome, they also serve as a “friendly” reminder  to take a close look at our own finances, where they’re at and where they can be.

While more and more Americans continue to live beyond their means, in most circumstances there are areas we can conduct a financial sanity check to get back to where can have some measure of financial peace. Yahoo Finance is featuring a great article that may help you identify some benchmarks on whether you’re living beyond your means or not.

“As a nation, we are digging ourselves ever deeper into debt. To avoid becoming part of the gloomy bankruptcy and foreclosure statistics, it’s important to measure your financial health regularly. The five signs presented here are not a death sentence; instead, they should be seen as symptoms that allow you to diagnose a problem before it gets worse.”

To read the full article, click here, then tune in as we offer another article with some great “How To” tips .