Finances/Fico & First Mention of Venmo

Monday, July 13, 2015

Mom: I didn't know that I had a separate FICO score from Dad's since I don't work and we share our financial accounts. We had Dad's from our online Discover statement. We just found out mine when we opened an account at Granite Credit Union in May and the lady had to check mine also and told me what it was. Dad's was 821 and mine was 798 or something like that. Do you all know yours? I don't know how you can easily find out the wife's score, do you?

I think Family Home Evening is a great time to also present "Life Lessons" to your children (to prepare them for adulthood and being on their own), such as FICO scores and how people actually get different interest rates when buying a car or something, depending on their credit score. Suze Orman says rates could vary from 4% up to 9% interest on loans, depending on your score.

 

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Derek: Thanks Mom!  I've joked with my work friends that even with my MBA and my interest in personal finance, my mother (who I never saw do anything with money my whole life) has turned into somewhat of a finance expert and has been coaching me on financial matters. :)

I really do appreciate all the information you send over, and so appreciate the financial example that you and Dad have been throughout our lives. I remember Dad teaching me about needs vs. wants when I was in the 8th grade and that sticking with me. Makes me think of this funny sketch from Saturday Night Live: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/dont-buy-stuff/n12020

It's good to keep up on your credit score and your FICO score. You can check it here: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

I haven't checked in a couple years, but I have heard horror stories of people who check their score only to find that it's dropped like crazy due to identity theft that they wouldn't have discovered without checking.

We are big Dave Ramsey fans and thus try to live completely debt free (except the house). However, we have been thinking that we ought to get a credit card for emergency preparedness purposes (since unsecured debt is safer in those situations than secured debt). And there are benefits to using credit cards for your every day purchases (points, credit history, etc.). Does anyone have a card that they really prefer? We were thinking of American Express through Costco, but I heard that it's not accepted everywhere and that Costco is switching to VISA.

Anyway - recommendations appreciated.

Derek

Scott: I think the Marriott black card offers the greatest value in terms of points and cost. It is issued by Chase. Everyone should get set up on Venmo, get the app.

Mom: Scott, I'll have to investigate them. I guess we will need to get an American Express card just to go to Costco until they switch to VISA next April 1. Are some American Express better than others and are they all accepted at Costco?

Jen: I knew that I had my own credit score ... I do try to pull the credit reports and check them every few years. We have the Costco AmEx, but I don't think we'll continue it, as we are only using it for Costco. Sam'sClub has a MasterCard that gives 5% back on gas purchases. Our Visa also gives 3% back on "business" type expenses (eating out, gas, etc.) We have a Discover too.

December 12, 2016

Mom to Jen:  Sign up for Venmo--once you get used to it, it is really easy to pay people that way. I use it with Chris all the time and Wendy occasionally. Scott suggested it and I got Chris and Wendy to sign up. They really like it too. I use it almost daily to pay Chris for his work on my website.