Equifax Breach

[CHenry]

Not really, but I observed someone being a bit snarky and commented on it. Not throwing stones as my own house is certainly made of glass too, just a general comment!

I was being snarky but directed towards Howard, not KOPBET. He came at me first BTW.
I have no respect for Clark Howard. I literally heard him say it was best to keep a mortgage so you can save some taxes at years end. What a nut job.

 

[deerwhacker444]

Equifax was taking some heat, so they dropped the $10 freeze fee for the next 30 days, how nice of them..

 

[NightShade]

It may be time to start bankrupting Equifax. From what I am gathering they can be sued for negligence over this ESPECIALLY since they played tiddlywinks for over a month after learning about it.

The funny thing is that if they fail to respond to a filing within a timely matter a default judgement will be rendered. I don't know how much other stuff they have to deal with but my guess is that there will be quite a few suits filed soon enough and the lawyer's fees will probably drive them out of business alone. There is actually someone who is setting up something for all 50 states where a program will ask a few questions and then help by filling in the paperwork.

I know we have a few members of the BAR on the forums as well so if they want to try and cash in I am SURE it would be easy to setup a form that can have some info filled in and make a quick buck while taking it the extra mile.

The form for all 50 states is not setup yet but will be within a couple days:

https://donotpay-search-master.herokuapp.com/

 

[SlugSlinger]

I have no respect for Clark Howard. I literally heard him say it was best to keep a mortgage so you can save some taxes at years end. What a nut job.

It's funny that people only hear what they want to hear. I've decided to invest instead of paying off my mortgage. I refinanced my mortgage @ 1.99%. My year to date return on my investments is 19.75%. You can probably figure out what builds more wealth.

I think you're leaving out 99% of the conversation you heard:

Just and example from Clark's site:

Should you pay down your mortgage or invest extra cash instead?
Got a mortgage? Got savings? Got zero other debts?

Then you’re facing a vexing age-old dilemma: Should you invest any additional savings, or should you use this money to repay your mortgage?

Let’s assume that you’re debt-free except for your mortgage. You have an emergency fund that’s tucked away safely. You’re making retirement contributions and, if applicable, also saving money in your children’s college savings accounts.

Read more: Best 529 plans to help pay for college

On top of this, you’re able to save a little extra money, as well – even if it’s as small as $50 or $100 per month. And you’re not sure how you should handle these funds.

Should you invest this money? Or should you use this to accelerate the repayment on your mortgage?

Let’s explore the arguments for repaying your mortgage vs. investing.

Read more: Want to buy a rental property? Read this first

The case for repaying your mortgage
#1: Less money consumed by interest
Making extra payments on your mortgage holds a guaranteed payoff: You’re certain to save money on interest payments. Depending on how aggressively you repay your mortgage, your savings could total thousands, if not tens of thousands.

Let’s assume you borrow $200,000 on your home at a 5% interest rate with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Your principal and interest payments come to $1,073.64 per month (excluding escrow).

Now let’s assume that you add an extra $100 to the monthly payment, applied to principal, starting from the first payment. This simple measure, by itself, results in the mortgage getting repaid more than five years early (in 24.8 years rather than 30 years) and saves $37,069 of interest payments over the life of the loan. (*Source: Financial Mentor Calculators)

That’s a pretty compelling case for using your money to accelerate your mortgage payments.

#2: Increased cash flow
The faster you finish repaying your mortgage, the sooner you’ll have access to additional money that you can use for future investments.

In the example above, you’d finish making mortgage payments more than five years ahead of time. During those final five years, you can ‘make a payment to yourself’ every month — and invest this money instead. You’ll be able to gain exposure to the market without the additional risk that comes from having a large debt on your personal balance sheet.

#3: Forced savings
People aren’t perfect. It’s easy to debate the relative merits of investing vs. repaying the mortgage, but what’s the likelihood that you’d actually invest that money?

If you might spend those funds on a vacation in Hawaii instead, then it might be worthwhile to set up monthly automatic additional payments on your mortgage.

#4: Would you borrow to invest?
Here’s a mental exercise that might prove enlightening: Let’s imagine that you have significant equity in your home. Would you borrow against that equity, and use that money to invest?


If the answer is ‘no,’ then rationally, you also shouldn’t prioritize investing over repaying the mortgage. After all, each dollar you put into the market is a dollar that you’re ‘borrowing,’ via your mortgage. Every investment carries an opportunity cost.

Read more: New website tells you if someone died in your house!

The case for investing
That said, there are several strong arguments for investing this money, as well.

#1: Investment returns could be higher than interest rate
Many discount brokerages, including Vanguard and Charles Schwab, offer low-fee index funds that allow you to invest in the overall U.S. market. Rather than investing in specific companies (like Google or Nike), which can be riskier, you can invest in the overall market as a whole.

The U.S. broad market (the total stock market) historically returns 7% to 9% over a long-term annualized average.

If your mortgage carries a low fixed interest rate, such as 4%, you could theoretically get better results by investing your money and pocketing the ‘spread.’ For example, you might borrow money (via your mortgage) at 4% APY, hypothetically earn investment gains at 8%, and keep the 4% difference. Over the span of 30 years, this could total a significant amount of money.

There are two disclaimers here. One is that past performance is not an indicator of future performance; we don’t know what type of returns the market will produce moving forward. The second is that most investors are their own worst enemy; people have a tendency to panic-sell during downturns, turning paper losses into real losses. Long-term gains are contingent on sticking to a buy-and-hold strategy.

#2: Inflation is a mortgage holder’s friend
If you have a fixed-rate mortgage, and the country proceeds with normal rates of inflation, you’ll increasingly make payments in cheaper dollars over time.

Let’s say, for example, that your monthly principal and interest payments are fixed at $1,200 per month (excluding escrow for taxes and insurance). Today, that $1,200 can buy round-trip airfare from New York to London, a fancy purse, an Apple laptop, or a dozen nice restaurant dinners. However, 30 years from now, that same $1,200 will have substantially less purchasing power. It may only buy domestic airfare, for example, or two or three restaurant dinners.

By holding onto your fixed-rate mortgage during an inflationary period, you can repay the debt in cheaper dollars over time. And by investing, you can take advantage of inflation-driven gains.

What’s the best choice?
What’s the better option – investing or repaying your mortgage? There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer.

Personal finance is personal, so you’ll need to take a careful look at the arguments on both sides and make the decision that’s most comfortable for you.

 

[dennishoddy]

My credit is now good but I could care less. If I don't pay cash for it, I don't buy it. My mortgage is all I owe and when it's gone, there ain't gonna be anymore notes with my name on them. I may get a CC just for the layer of protection it provides, but it'll be paid in full each month.

Thats our modus operandi basically. If they won't let us use our AA miles credit card to get free flights, we pay cash. Kinda freaks out the car and RV sales folks when you throw the cash out on the table and tell them to give up the title.

 

[dennishoddy]

Guess that is why it didn't cost us anything, thought it was because we lived in OK.

One more month.....

 

[dennishoddy]

Well working for a FI you should know better because thats just not correct.
Maybe your the window cleaner.
LMAO, my debit card has the exact same protection as a CC...issued by VISA

Kinda.
If you typically use a debit card for online purchases, you may want to reconsider. If your card information is hacked and purchases are made without your permission, you’ll quickly find out that debit and credit cards are treated quite differently.

The key difference: With a credit card, the card issuer must fight to get its money back. With a debit card, you must fight to get your money back.

How fraud is handled
If card information has been stolen and potentially fraudulent transactions have been made, two laws protect your rights. For credit cards, the primary law is the Fair Credit Billing Act, or FCBA. For debit card transactions, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) applies. While these laws offer some similar protections, knowing the differences is key to understanding why it’s safer to use one type of plastic than the other.

DEBIT CARD FRAUD
According to the EFTA, your potential liability for fraudulent debit card transactions is virtually unlimited. You have up to 60 days to report a lost or stolen card under the EFTA. After that, you simply lose whatever money was taken, even funds siphoned from linked accounts. The exact liability limits under the EFTA are:

• Lost or stolen card reported before unauthorized transactions: zero liability.
• Lost or stolen card reported within two days: $50 liability limit.
• Lost or stolen card reported within 60 days: $500 liability limit.
• After 60 days: no protection.

It’s important to note that if your card is not physically lost or stolen, you have 60 days to report fraudulent transactions with zero liability. If only your card number is stolen, the 60 days start from the date of the statement on which a fraudulent transaction appears.

CREDIT CARD FRAUD
Under the FCBA, your maximum liability for fraudulent credit card transactions is $50. If you report your card lost or stolen before any fraudulent transactions occur, your liability is zero. Many credit cards promise zero liability for all fraudulent transactions.

“I’ve had my credit card information stolen and used fraudulently a number of times,” says Tucker Spillane, a 24-year-old credit analyst from New York. “Fortunately, my issuer almost always picks up on it right away … usually because the activity is considered abnormal from my typical spending habits. And they provide their own fraud coverage anyway. I’ve never had to pay a dime.”

The real difference between a debit card and a credit card when it comes to fraud is in how you get your money back. When a fraudulent transaction occurs on your credit card, you have lost no money. You can report the fraud, get a credit on your statement, and the issue will never affect your bank account.

With a debit card, your bank account balance is affected from the moment the fraudulent transaction takes place. If the transactions are significant, you could experience a domino effect of financial headaches. Fraudulent charges can tie up funds so that legitimate charges are declined or cause overdrafts.

» MORE: How to dispute fraudulent credit card charges

If you don’t have a credit card…
Although credit cards are a safer bet for spending online, it’s possible that you do not have access to one. In this case, there are still ways to protect yourself from fraud.

Maintaining a low balance in the account linked to the debit card you use for online purchases can help limit the size of fraudulent withdrawals should they occur. This won’t necessarily prevent someone from accessing your account, but it may limit the damage done.

You may also want to disable any form of overdraft protection (should you have it) on the account used for purchases. Many banks offer this service (usually on a checking account), which automatically withdraws from a savings account should the checking account be overdrawn. In the case of fraud, this essentially means the crook has access to two accounts instead of one. If you do have overdraft protection in place, be sure to consult your bank on how and when it applies.

Another way to limit your liability is to use a prepaid debit card. If someone does gain access to the account, they’ll have access only to what you have loaded onto the card.

The bottom line
From a legal perspective, credit cards generally provide more protection against fraudulent activity. But, there are ways to mimic some of these protections with a debit or prepaid card. Deciding which is best for you will help protect your money whether you’re spending online or swiping in store.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/credit-card-vs-debit-card-safer-online-purchases/

 

[Shadowrider]

Thats our modus operandi basically. If they won't let us use our AA miles credit card to get free flights, we pay cash. Kinda freaks out the car and RV sales folks when you throw the cash out on the table and tell them to give up the title.

Ha. Yep.

I got one for you. My SIL's mother is loaded. She went to buy a brand spanking new Range Rover and was paying cash. They wouldn't accept it. You'd be amazed at how hormonal she had to get with them! She threatened to drive to Dallas to buy it and never set foot in their place again. They eventually relented by making her sign an affidavit that she wouldn't resell it in a certain amount of time. They were worried about her turning it for a profit since that model is very sought after. That whole deal doesn't make a lot of sense to me, what do they care? They have their money as soon as they close the deal.

 

[dennishoddy]

Ha. Yep.

I got one for you. My SIL's mother is loaded. She went to buy a brand spanking new Range Rover and was paying cash. They wouldn't accept it. You'd be amazed at how hormonal she had to get with them! She threatened to drive to Dallas to buy it and never set foot in their place again. They eventually relented by making her sign an affidavit that she wouldn't resell it in a certain amount of time. They were worried about her turning it for a profit since that model is very sought after. That whole deal doesn't make a lot of sense to me, what do they care? They have their money as soon as they close the deal.

Here is another one for you. When we bought our 36' RV at Camper World in OKC, all they could talk about was financing.
Sorry bro, its cash on the table. (they make money off financing.)
Then they offered us zero interest if they could just finance it with zero fees. Fill out their forms and so on.
No way I was going to sit down with them and do a disclosure of my personal finances which you have to do with a loan of any kind.
When you pay cash, you pay and GTFO with your stuff.
Bob Howard was the same when we bought our Nissan there.

 

[Shadowrider]

Here is another one for you. When we bought our 36' RV at Camper World in OKC, all they could talk about was financing.
Sorry bro, its cash on the table. (they make money off financing.)
Then they offered us zero interest if they could just finance it with zero fees. Fill out their forms and so on.
No way I was going to sit down with them and do a disclosure of my personal finances which you have to do with a loan of any kind.
When you pay cash, you pay and GTFO with your stuff.
Bob Howard was the same when we bought our Nissan there.

I know. They don't even want to discuss the actual price, just the monthly payment amount. Just one of the reasons I'll likely never buy anything new again.