personal finance Archives - Runnymede Capital Management

Is your bank still paying you nothing on your savings?

The Fed has been raising interest rates off its emergency levels for the past year and that should be good news for savers who can finally earn a risk free return. However, if you aren't savvy, then your large bank may still be “stealing” your interest by not paying you market rates. Do you know what your financial institution is paying on your savings account? If the answer is no, then you should check their website or your latest bank statement. Here is the ugly truth, Chase and Wells Fargo still are paying just 0.01% on savings accounts. That is robbery as they are pocketing your interest and dropping it into their profits which are in the billions. With money movement a simple mouse click away, you shouldn't allow the big banks to steal your interest.

How to get your Amazon Prime membership for free

This month, Amazon raised prices on Prime subscriptions by $20 from $99 per year to $119. Some people aren't happy with a 20% increase which sounds like a lot but $20 isn't much in today's world — probably the equivalent of a weekend dinner out. Because of the change, a friend of mine of Facebook asked, “Is it even worth it?” My answer is a pretty emphatic yes, especially when the Prime membership can effectively become free.

5 ways to achieve your financial fitness goals #FinHealthMatters

This is my 3rd article for #FinancialLiteracyMonth (Using cash over credit is costing you tens of thousands of dollars and Tips and tricks to teach your children about money) and today I'm inspired by the financial bloggers writing about why financial health is important, especially for students. Virtually all students understand physical health as they want to look good so they can get a hot date. Unfortunately, financial education is almost entirely ignored in high school or college.

Using cash over credit is costing you tens of thousands of dollars

This is my second post during financial literacy month and I'm going to take on cash vs credit. One popular financial radio host, Dave Ramsey, has been a vocal critic of credit cards saying to never own one because you will spend more because it is plastic (strangely he advocates for debit cards instead). I don't believe this is the case but of course I strongly advise only using a credit card under two conditions. One: you are going to use it to replace your cash spending and no more. Two: you are going to pay the balance off in full every month and on time. If you are going to just pile up debts that incur huge interest payments every month, then this post is not meant for you.

3 year end tax tips spurred by tax reform

While most of us are busy with holiday parties, we don't want to be bogged down by more things to add to our to-do list. But today the GOP takes its next step in its rush to pass sweeping tax reform to give ‘great Christmas gifts' to the middle class (The bad news for us in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT), many of us are facing a potential tax increase thanks to the $10k cap on real estate or state and local tax deduction). It is therefore important for taxpayers, both personal and business, to be aware of the potential effect on their finances. Here are 3 actionable tips to take before year end to put you in a better position for the coming tax code changes.

EVERYONE should take action because of Equifax data breach

I apologize for using the all caps EVERYONE but it is imperative for every American to take steps to protect their identities because of the Equifax data breach. It was by far the worst data breach in history because social security numbers, birthdays and addresses were exposed. This makes it essential for you to be on the offensive in protecting yourself immediately. You may have visited the Equifax website to see if you were exposed but don't trust the results because the site is virtually useless and Equifax should be ashamed of it (and the breach of course). ZDNet first reported that the checker was giving random responses! I tested it myself three times with the surname “test” and the social security numbers 123456, 234567 and 345678. Two times it said my data may have been exposed and lucky for test 234567, their data wasn't exposed?!?! Because of this, you have to just assume that your data was exposed and take action ASAP. You are better off spending 10-15 minutes of your time locking down your credit reports rather than spending many hours and huge headaches if your identity is stolen.