Bonds aren’t all bad – they are liquid, may appreciate enough to cover inflation, and are not a very risky investment. However, since they aren’t very risky, they also don’t deliver as competitive returns as other investments. Don’t get me wrong, bonds may be good to stabilize some portfolios – but I believe they don’t …
I’ve often heard people talk about credit report and credit score interchangeably. But, based on what you’ve told me, I think they are different, aren’t they? That’s right, they are related, but quite different. Your credit report contains information about your financial history and behavior, whereas your credit score summarizes these details into a …
We’ve talked about the importance of periodically reviewing our credit report. But is there a way to get a copy of my credit report for free? Each credit bureau offers your credit report for a small fee, but yes, you can also get a copy of your credit report totally free through other avenues. …
As we’ve discussed earlier, both Conventional Mortgages and FHA Loans help us buy a home through a loan. We make a down payment, and repay the loan principal, interest, etc through monthly payments. But what are the differences between them? The main difference is in terms of credit score and minimum down payment requirements. …
What is a digital wallet? A digital wallet is an app that is an electronic version of your wallet – it stores information about your credit cards and bank accounts in electronic form on your phone. It can also store your driver’s license, health insurance card and other ID documents, as well as your …
When we talked about PE ratio, you told me that it can be used to judge whether a stock is over-priced or under-priced. So, does a low PE mean that a stock is under-priced, and a high PE mean that the stock is over-priced? Not really. Just knowing a stock’s PE ratio doesn’t help …
What is a Home Equity Loan? It is a loan where you borrow money using your home equity as collateral. It is also known as a second mortgage. How does a Home Equity Loan work? A home equity loan is like a regular loan, where you get all the loan money upfront. You repay …
What is Home Equity? Home equity is based on the fact that even if your home is in your name, you don’t really own 100% of it if you have borrowed money to buy it and are still repaying the mortgage. Home equity is the portion of your home that you truly own. Can …
We’ve talked about credit cards before, but recently I heard about a virtual credit card. What is that? A virtual credit card is a temporary or disposable card number associated with your existing credit card account, and does not come with a physical card. Virtual credit cards are also known as virtual account numbers, …
I’ve heard in some bank commercials that the account is FDIC insured. What does it mean? FDIC stands for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It is a federal agency that insures deposits in participating US banks, which protects the depositors if the bank goes bankrupt. It was formed as a result of the great depression, …
