#234: Who Are You? (Friday, June 24)

Are you someone who is able to take very little money and turn it into something magnificent? Or do you find yourself constantly wondering where your money went? Although nurture has a lot to do with it, some people are just destined to be better at money management than others because of their financial personality. 

Your financial personality can have a major impact on achieving your goals (saving for retirement, saving for a major purchase, maintaining good credit, etc.) so it makes sense to know what type of person you are when it comes to money management. I found three online "personality" tests that may help you figure it out. And although they were very different questions, my result was essentially the same:

1. The Love & Money Personality Scale (LAMPS) is especially good for couples, but can be used by single folks as well. It tells you how you score against other people of your gender. I'm a very stronger Pioneer (8)/Spartan (8)/Banker (37), which means I like to maintain control over my own finances, I don't like to take risks with my money and I prefer to live modestly than to have a luxurious lifestyle.
2. The Quibblo Personality Quiz is a little more fun. It uses scenarios from real life, so it may be more difficult to find the choice that best suits your personality. But it's still a fun quiz to do. I was Plansy McPlansalot. 
3. The Visa Personality Quiz was also very specific in the choices, but again was spot on in the results, especially the part where they say "Money is for security, which is fine when you have enough of it to feel safe. When you’re short, though, you can feel panic-stricken." That describes me almost perfectly. LOL. 

While these quizzes aren't an exact science, I'm sure you can probably find a pattern in your spending/saving habits. And as they say, knowing is half the battle. :)

#233: It's All In The Details (Friday, June 17)

This week, a couple of my experiences made me realize that sometimes it's all about paying attention to the details. My regular lunch spot, a buffet place across the street from the office, usually charges $6.99/lb. That was last week. On Monday I went in, and the price had been subtly raised to $7.59/lb, 60 cents more per pound. No big sign, just an imperceptible change on one sign hanging from the ceiling.

To add insult to injury, this place requires a $5 minimum to use a credit card, so even if you wanted to control your portions and only get a salad (which generally weighs less), if you don't have cash you have to purchase $5 worth of food to charge it.

What's wrong with this picture?

1. It's illegal for merchants to require a minimum purchase for you to use your card, but alas, many of them do because they have to pay fees to the credit card companies. So the $5 minimum should not even be in place. I've threatened to report them to the attorney general a couple times when my lunch has been under $5, and they've let me pay with a credit card, but it's still unacceptable.
2. Even if the minimum payment requirement was taken away, the increase in price is still excessive. If you purchase a pound of lunch each day, that's an extra $3 more each week or $156/year, which is about half the cost of a plane ticket to the Caribbean.

My second experience happened when I was booking my hotel room for an upcoming trip. One hotel was $99, the other was $111. Going for the cheaper one is a no-brainer, right? But it turns out that the more expensive hotel was a 4-star, 4-diamond hotel located more centrally, while the other was a hotel chain that would require more cabs to get around. 

Sometimes it's all in the details, which is why it's so important to read the fine print.

#232: Knowing Is Half the Battle (Friday, June 10)

The other day, someone mentioned the practice of redlining. I'd heard the term before and had a general sense of what it meant, but wanted to do some more research. The context of the discussion was that it was an old practice that happened in the pre-Civil Rights era, but as I read more, I realized that it's still happening today.

It seems crazy to me that I can be denied services or credit, or charged a higher interest rate just based upon my zip code, but that's pretty much what redlining is. And since I live in a predominantly black neighborhood, it means that a whole race of people are automatically lumped into the same category,  regardless of their individual credit  worthiness. Unfortunately, redlining is not just about financial services; it's also about food. I've often complained about the caliber of fruit in my neighborhood which is way different than say, the fruit in 10024. And it's probably no coincidence that there are more liquor stores, check cashing places and rent-to-own stores per square mile in my neighborhood than there are in 10019. All this because of zoning.


But what really blew me away, was reading a story about Kevin Johnson, whose Amex credit card limit was reduced by $7,000 because of where he shopped. Yes, where he shopped. The reason? "Other customers who have used their card at establishments where you recently shopped have a poor repayment history with American Express." Financially profiling aside, do you know the damage a $7k reduction in your limit can wreak on your credit score? And all because of where he shopped. The story is a couple years old, but the lesson is still important: knowing about the practices that could affect your finances is very important.

Kevin started a website based on his experience with is a WEALTH of information about credit developments. Check it out: www.newcreditrules.com

#231: Dealing With Your Issues (Friday, June 3)

After last week's Good Friday entry, I got an email from a woman I didn't know. Her friend had forwarded it to her as a "mini-intervention." The woman writes:

I was offended when my friend sent this to me. I thought she was being condescending. But when I read it, I understood and I was even a little scared. I didn't realize that my bad could hurt my kids' chances of getting loans for school (and they will need them)...I'm signing up to speak to a non-profit debt counselor to help me get my finances under control.

The good news is that she's realized that she has some things to work out. I think that's half the battle. It's much easier to resolve your finances when you know what you need to work on.

Here's to financial empowerment!