How to Save Money, Reduce Debt and Manage Credit Cards | Personal Finance Expert Scott Gamm | HelpSaveMyDollars.com

Why I’m Not Buying Facebook Stock

Scott Gamm — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:00:44 +0000

There has been tons of hype about Facebook’s IPO as the company starts to officially sell stock to the public on May 18th. With an estimated valuation of just over $100 billion, it seems as if the emotion and love of Facebook has trumped what should be more important criterion for valuing a company: earnings/profits, room for growth and executive structure. But is buying Facebook stock a wise financial move and what are some of the potential pitfalls? Here are five reasons why I’m not buying Facebook stock when it debuts on the NASDAQ:

1. History Shows New Tech Stocks Are Risky: When we look at past tech IPOs from Groupon, which went public last November, the stock jumped $6 on its first day of trading, but to date is down double digits! Pandora, which went public last summer, is now down almost 40%.

2. The “Everyday Investors” Lose Out: With new stocks, the big institutional investors get to buy the stock before it hits the markets at a cheaper price – so by the time the stock is officially trading on the NYSE or the NASDAQ, these big investors are selling off their stock at a profit during the first few hours/days after the stock opens up.

3. Can Facebook Please its Shareholders?: Now a public company, Facebook must focus on earning profits every quarter to please its shareholders – that’s the goal of a public company. But it remains to be seen if Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shares that same goal. Zuckerberg wrote the following in a letter to potential shareholders: “Simply put: we don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services.” Huh?

4. Will Facebook Continue to Make Money?: General Motors just announced that it’s pulling all Facebook ads (worth some $10 million), claiming the ads are ineffective. Also, most users visit Facebook on their smartphones, rather than on PCs, according to comScore (441 minutes on Facebook’s mobile app vs. 391 on Facebook on the computer) – and the mobile version of Facebook does not have ads yet, which is another red flag. Additionally, an AP/CNBC poll showed that 83% of users don’t click on Facebook’s ads.

5. Investing With Emotion is Risky: While most of us love and use Facebook on a daily basis, this doesn’t mean the stock is a guaranteed winner. I caution consumers to do their homework and take a step back before immediately jumping into a stock simply because they love the company’s product.

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4 Money Laws for New College Grads

Scott Gamm — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:00:23 +0000

Graduating college this week? After you hang up your cap and gown, it’s time to take a five minute money break and get your finances into shape. After all, you’re no longer a student and are now in the “real world.” Here’s what you need to know!

1. Automate Your Savings: 10% of your monthly income should be automatically transferred from your checking account and into a savings account – every month. This can be setup online and saving automatically forces you to make do with less, while still building up your savings at the same time.

2. Use Credit Cards for Small Purchases: Under $300 per month, that is. If you charge up more than $300, you may not have enough cash on hand to pay off the balance in full each month. Leaving a balance on a credit card will cause interest to accrue (and that gets expensive) and it’ll hurt your credit score.

3. Track Your Expenses: To save money, you need to know how much you spend each month. Download the iXpenseIt iPhone app (it’s $4.99 but totally worth it) – the app lets you take a picture of the receipt after making a purchase in a store and the app stores that data, allowing you to easily track your spending. Also, use HelpSaveMyDollars.com’s free Expense Calculator.

4. Retirement: Why should you care about retirement, which is 30-45 years away? But even just investing $50-$100 per month in a Roth IRA can put you on track to becoming a millionaire by the time you retire, thanks to compounding interest.

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Scott Gamm in Family Circle

Scott Gamm — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:00:04 +0000

Check out the June issue of Family Circle magazine, which features tips from Scott Gamm, HelpSaveMyDollars.com Founder, on bargaining and how to get the best deal on everything you buy. From negotiating at flea markets to garage sales, the article covers everything you need to know about the art of bargaining. Here is the article below:

Does Checking Your Credit Score Damage It?

Scott Gamm — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:00:09 +0000

Among the many credit score myths, the notion that checking your credit score causes it to decrease, tops the list. To put your financial fears to rest, we decided to debunk this once in for all. Here’s what you need to know:

If you personally check your credit score/report online, your score will not decrease. It’s that simple – so don’t be afraid to check your score or report. If a lender, mortgage company, bank, car dealer or landlord checks your credit, this may have a negative impact – but a pretty minor one – we’re only talking about a five point decrease.

When it comes to checking your credit score, consider sites like CreditKarma.com and for your FICO score (which is what most of the banks take into account), visit MyFico.com. For your credit report (you are entitled to one free credit report per year), visit AnnualCreditReport.com.

As for what it takes to improve your credit score, remember these two tips: pay your bills on time and stay out of credit card debt.

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Scott Gamm on the CW

Scott Gamm — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:00:16 +0000

With the hundreds of thousands of smartphone apps available, there are even some to help organize your finances. Scott Gamm, Founder of HelpSaveMyDollars.com, appeared on the PIX 11 Morning News to discuss the most helpful smartphone apps for tax season. Check out the interview below with WPIX anchor Craig Treadway:

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Best Apps for Tax Season

Scott Gamm — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:00:02 +0000

With only two weeks until Tax Day (April 17th), we put together some of the most helpful apps to make these next few weeks a bit easier. Whether it’s figuring out how much of a tax refund you should expect to receive or when it’ll arrive in your mailbox, the iPhone, iPad and Android will be especially useful.

1. TurboTax SnapTax: This free app lets you file taxes and send them to the IRS all on your iPhone or Android. Take a picture of your W-2 form, answer some questions and you’ve filed your taxes! The downside is that the app is only for simple tax returns and if you own a home, have children or make over $100,000 per year, the app isn’t for you! It is available on the iPhone/iPad and Android.

2. TaxCaster: The bright side of filing taxes is the tax refund that typically comes in the mail. This free app will let you know how much of a refund you should expect to receive! The app will ask you some questions (your age, number of dependents, yearly wages) and it does the calculations for you. It is available on the iPhone/iPad and Android.

[MORE: How to raise your credit score!]

3. Shoeboxed: If you own a small business or need to track each receipt before filing taxes, this app allows you to take a picture of the receipt and the app will store that data – this way you don’t need to deal with hundreds of crumpled up receipts. The caveat? While free to download, the app costs between $10 and $50 per month. Available on the iPhone/iPad and Android.

4. Dictionary of Tax Terms: While preparing your taxes, you’ll come across a ton of technical jargon you may not understand at first – but this app aims to turn you into a tax expert, since it has over 600 common tax terms and definitions. The app costs $2.99 and is available on the iPhone/iPad.

5. IRS2Go: Anxious to know when your tax refund will arrive in your mailbox? Enter in your social security number and the app tells you the expected arrival date of your tax refund check. This free app is directly from the IRS and is on the iPhone/iPad and Android.

6. iDonatedIt: In many cases, charitable donations are tax deductible – but you have to prove your donations to the IRS. So throughout the year, this app (which costs $2.99) lets you keep track of your donations. Use the app to create lists of what you donate, take pictures of your donations and most importantly, the app lets you export all of this data via email! Available on the iPhone/iPad and Android.

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Scott Gamm on The Better Show

Scott Gamm — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:00:26 +0000

This week, we’ve been talking about the importance of having a high credit score – and how a score above 700 can save you thousands of dollars, since it will result in lower interest rate on a mortgage, car loan or credit card. Scott Gamm, Founder of HelpSaveMyDollars.com, discusses what you need to know about the credit score on the nationally syndicated “The Better Show” with hosts Audra Lowe and JD Roberto:

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A High Credit Score Means More Savings

Scott Gamm — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:00:48 +0000

A higher credit score will result in lower interest rates on mortgages, car loans and even credit cards – this will save you thousands of dollars over the life of a loan. And attaining a high credit score is easier than you might expect. It mostly involves paying bills on time. Here’s what you need to know about getting your credit score into tip top shape:

1. Why is the Credit Score Important? The credit score is your financial GPA. It gauges how well you manage money. And if you’re about to apply for a mortgage or car loan, the higher your score, the lower your interest rate will be…and this will save you thousands of dollars. Also, landlords typically check the credit score of potential tenants.

2. Use Your Credit Card for Small Purchases: Think about the credit card as a way to build credit and not as a way to spend more money. Credit scores drop because of debt. If you use your credit card for small purchases under $100 per month, chances are you’ll be able to pay that off right away, since it’s a manageable and small balance.

3. Pay All Your Bills On Time: 35% of the credit score is whether or not you pay your bills on time…so the most important task to do is to pay off your credit card balance in full and on time.

4. Don’t Close Down Your Credit Cards: If you’ve had a card open for more than a year, don’t close it down…you’ll be erasing vital credit history from your credit report (the transactions/info on the credit report make up your credit score) and this will hurt your score. Instead, simply cut the card up if you don’t want to use it anymore.

5. Debit Cards Don’t Build Credit: Debit cards don’t report any info to the credit bureaus. Only credit cards build a credit score.

6. Stay Away From Prepaid Debit Cards: Especially those endorsed by celebrities. With a prepaid debit card, you fill the card up with money and spend it later. The common fees of prepaid debit cards include: activation fees ($10), fees to load the card with money ($2+), monthly maintenance fees ($5-$10), dormancy fees (up to $5).Other celebrity-endorsed prepaid debit cards from Russell Simmons and Alex Rodriguez have even higher fees.

7. How Can I Check My Credit Score?: You can check it for free at sites like CreditKarma.com and everyone is entitled to one free credit report each year at AnnualCreditReport.com.

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4 Ways to Beat High Gas Prices

Kyle James — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:00:17 +0000

Gasoline is hovering around $4 per gallon and it’s time we all start changing our driving habits – even a small increase in gas mileage could equate to huge savings. The following four tips will help make your car more fuel efficient:

Kick Your Tires

By keeping your tires inflated to the proper level, you will increase your gas mileage. Also, properly inflated tires are safer and less likely to fail when cruising down the freeway at 75 mph.

Maintain Your Vehicle

By following your owners manual suggested maintenance schedule you will greatly prolong the live of your car plus it will operate much more efficiently and increase your average gas mileage. The same goes for oil changes. My truck recommends every 3,000 miles and high quality motor oil, I have no problem spending the money to insure my vehicle stays in good running condition.

Drive Efficiently

Follow posted speed limits and avoid quick stops and accelerations whenever possible as it will help you get better gas mileage. Always try to coast into stop signs and stop lights. Make it a game and try to keep your foot off the gas pedal as much as possible when approaching stops.

Get Rid Of The Gas Guzzler

Of course this only works if you can get a good price for it. Not sure who would want my truck right now unless it was a contractor or someone whose job required the storage and hauling capabilities that my truck provides.

In keeping with tradition, here is a sampling of some of the better online coupons from Rather-Be-Shopping.com:

1-800-Flowers.com
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Expiration: 3/31/12
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All Posters.com
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Celebrate Express
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Expiration: 3/31/12
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Cooking.com
Save 20% Off your entire online purchase
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Movies Unlimited.com
Free Shipping on your $50+ online order
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Expiration: 3/31/12
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Petsmart.com
Save 10% Off your $60+ online purchase
Coupon Code: SALETEN60
Expiration: 3/31/12
See all: Petsmart Coupon Codes

Kyle James owns and manages a website called Rather-Be-Shopping.com which lists and organizes online coupon codes for over 750 stores.

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Get Into Financial Shape This Spring

Scott Gamm — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:00:45 +0000

With winter ending, this is the perfect time of year to do a financial tune-up. The economy is still struggling to recover – the unemployment rate is around 8%, but there’s always a silver-lining: the recent stock market rallies and most of the major banks passed the Federal Reserve’s stress tests, a sign that these banks will lend more money in the coming months. But for your own finances, here are five steps to take for the spring money tune-up:

1. Debt: If you have credit card debt, now is the time to pay it off. Place all of your credit cards on your desk. Take a piece of paper and write down the following information for each card: interest rate, credit limit, what you owe, monthly payment and due date for the monthly bill. For the credit card with the highest interest rate, you must pay double the minimum payment each month. Where will you get the money from? Cut your expenses! It’s time to get out of credit card debt. Once that card is paid off, pay twice the minimum payment for the next card – continue this process until all your cards are paid off.

2. Savings: It’s very easy to save more money. Ask your bank to automatically transfer a certain amount of money from your checking account to your savings account each month. This will force you to make do with less. It’s a no-brainer!

3. Expenses: There’s no magic when it comes to expenses – make them as low as possible. Doesn’t mean you have to completely stop buying coffee everyday – maybe make it at home twice a week – and you’ll start to like the coffee you make at home better and after a few months you won’t want to go to the coffee shop anymore! Use HelpSaveMyDollars.com’s free Expense Calculator for help.

4. Retirement: In addition to the 401(k) plan you may have from your employer, make sure you also open up a Roth IRA at a discount brokerage firm. You can contribute up to $5,000 in a Roth IRA if you are under age 50 ($6,000 if you’re over 50). Start building up your retirement savings…now!

5. Goals: Hopefully you set financial goals for the New Year…but that was almost three months ago. So now is the time to check-in on your financial goals. Are you on a path to achieving them? If you’re having trouble sticking to your financial resolutions, let us know via twitter @SaveMyDollars and Facebook.

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