by Tim Stark |
www.AcccountNow.com is a popular website that allows you to build your credit history and borrow money at the same time. You pretty much get 100% approval and no credit check or late fees. It almost sounds too good to be true. In addition, you can get get $40 whenever you refer friends to Account Now.
In essence, Account Now is basically a prepaid Visa card or MasterCard. By prepaying, you are essentially spending your own money except that since it is used in the form of a credit card, you are essentially using your own money to build your credit history.
www.AccountNow.com login allows you to check your balance, make a direct deposit and there are no set up fees. Other prepaid cards include Netspend and Walmart Money Card.
by Tim Stark |
The official website where you need to get free credit report is at www.annualcreditreport.com and not at www.annualfreecreditreport.com. www.annualfreecreditreport.com is set up as a site with sponsored advertising to direct you to the different websites but is not the official site mandated by FTC for consumers to get their annual free credit report once per year from the major credit reporting agencies.
To vertify the official site, you can head to
www.ftc.gov/freereports. There, you can see that the FTC website has the link to www.AnnualCreditReport.com as the ONLY authorized website for free credit report that a consumer can get by law. The annual free credit report can be obtained for free once per year from the major credit report agencies including: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.
www.MyLowesLife.com is the website for Lowes employees to login to access resources provides by Lowes for employee benefits. Lowe's employee portal login or MyLowesLife requires your sales id number and password to login successfully. Former Lowes employees will not be able to access the website but are given links that points to Lowes benefits handbooks.
Lowes offers comprehensive medical insurance that varies depending on location. Generally, they are divided by Co-Pay 500 and Co-Pay 750 optinos. Lowe's retirement benefits includes a common stock available for ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) and 401K retirement benefits.
Website:
www.MyLowesLife.com
MaryLand Department ofLabor Licensing and Regulation official website is www.mdunemployment.com. Maryland's unemployment has been increasingly steadily in the last few years as with the national trend. In 2007, there were 141,982 unemployment claims rising to 171,630 new claimsin 2008 and then to 272,234 new claims in 2009. This has cause an impact to the Maryland's unemployment insurance trust fund. As such there is an adjustment in the rates for the cost per employee in unemployment insurance. The previous range is 0.6% to 9% which amounts to about $51 to $765 per employee. With the new rate adjustment, the cost per employee has gone to a higher range of 2.2% to 13.5% which is equals to $187 to $1147 per employee. Like all insurance, unemployment insurance will go up when significant events occur such as the dramatic rise in unemployment rate.
If you are applying for MaryLand unemployment benefit at www.mdunemployment.com, go to
File Claims on InternetInternet filing only applies to individuals who have worked in the Maryland in the last 18 months, have not worked for the Federal government in the last 18 months and not filed for unemployment insurance in other states for last 18 months.
To file a claim, you need to have your social security number, reachable telephone number, information for dependents, proof of alien status if not a US citizen, employers information for last 18 months.
If you are filing a continued claim, you can use a WebCert number and follow the link for File a WebCert at https://secure-2.dllr.state.md.us/webcert/UserSSN.aspx
Georgia Department of Labor official website is www.dol.state.ga.us. Like all state labor department website, you can find posted jobs and apply for unemployment benefits. In order to apply for unemployment benefits through www.dol.state.ga.us, you need to be:
1) Out of a job through no fault of your own
2) Looking for a job or be able to be reinstated to your job within 6 weeks
3) Or in approved training.
You have to file your claim at the career center at the Georgia Department of Labor. For Georgia state extended benefits SEB, you can get up to 20 weeks of additional benefits after exhausting all first, second and third tier Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC).
Here is where
to file a EUC ApplicationHere is where to find
www.dol.state.ga.us SEB application info
jobs.utah.gov is for job seekers and people living in the state of Utah who need to file for unemployment insurance. For jobs seekers, jobs.utah.gov provides an electronic job where you can search for job.
Employers can also list the jobs on the website of jobs.utah.gov. You will need to register on the website in order to get started. However to search for jobs to see what is available, you can just go to
https://jobs.utah.gov/jsp/utahjobs/seeker/search/search.do
Despite the bad economy, there are quite a number of jobs listed here though they may not meet your salary requirements or other needs. But, it is worthwhile to browse through the job listings and see if any jobs meet your needs.
If you are out of a job, you can file for unemployment benefits where you can get paid a weekly benefit. Utah's Deparment of Workforce services administer the Unemployment Insurance service. Unemployment benefits have been extended for up to 14 weeks for the Emergency Unemployment Benefits.
To file for unemployment insurance, please go to:
https://jobs.utah.gov/ui/WebInitialCubs/welcome.aspx
Please be aware that if you are on the page for more than 20 minutes you will be timed out and you will need to restart the application process. So, please take note of the time taken and have all the information ready before starting the application process. These information includes: SSN, employers names worked for since Oct 1 2008, name and number of union hall, Utah Driver's License or ID number, alien registration (if not US citizen) and mailing address and phone number for non-Utah employers.
by Tim Stark |
The Employment Security Commission of North Carolina's website can be cound at www.ncesc.com. The website of www.ncesc.com for individuals allows you to file an unemployment claim
If you lost your job through no fault of your own, you can file a claim and apply for unemployment insurance benefits. However, you will need to register for work at www.ncesc.com and be actively seeking work during the UI benefit week. You will also need to file a claim for every calender week of benefits for claims requested.
Be warned that filing for the claim initially can be a long process and can be as long as 30 minutes. Make sure you have ready access to information that is needed and also your information will be provided and registered for any potential job openings as one of the requirements it that you are actively looking for a job. You can
file your initial claim here.
The Emergency Unemployment compensation allows an individual to receive up to 53 weeks of Emergency Unemployment Compensation and this benefit will extend till Sat, Jul 31 2010. For more information on www.ncesc.com Emergency Unemployment Compensation, go to
http://www.ncesc1.com/individual/euc08.aspHere are tips for filing the claim successfully:
1) Be prepared with information such as your pay stub which should have your pay rate in your last employment.
2) Be prepared to spend as much as 30 minutes.
3) You might want to Save Work & Exit periodically since if there are any problems, you will not lose all the application work that you put in.
4) Giving your email address is optional but allows you confirm your successful application.
5) www.nesc.com does provide a online job search database that you should try.
www.in.gov/dwd is the website belonging to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD). Indiana DWD is in charge of managing Indiana's unemployment insurance systems, employment and economic growth in Indiana.
www.in.gov/dwd caters to the Indiana's job seekers, employers and partners of Indiana. The website has a job matching service and for unemployment, you can file an appeal and claim unemployment insurance benefits. The unemployment benefits is made through Visa debit cards in replacement of paper checks. You can also use the phone to transfers funds from the benefits in the Visa debit card to your personal accounts via phones for free. Be really careful with email phishing scams however that claims various things about about Eppicard, but mainly ask you to reveal log in information about your card to steal information. So, be on the look out. EppiCard is the safe and secure way to access your payments in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and many other states.
For employers, www.in.gov/dwd allows employers to register, mantain unemployment insurance account information, view account status, submit insurance reports and make payments by credit card or e-check. For employers, you can view the registration process via the
ESS Video Tutorial here.
At www.in.gov/dwd, you can also download various forms such as termination of coverage application, wage report upload instructions, request for prevailing wage. Uplink CSS is the unemployment benefits self service for claimant. To get your unemployment voucher, you can
view this video here.
A great tutorial for the www.in.gov/dwd unemployment voucher
can be viewed here.
Website:
www.in.gov/dwd
OptOnline.net is the website of Optimum.net which is Cablevision Optimum Online Service. Optimum Online is a fast Internet cable service that also provides digital TV, phone and Internet. OptOnline.net will redirect you to Optimum Online and you can get it for $29.95 and 5X faster than the phone.
If you sign up for Optimum Online at OptOnline.net, you can get up to 5 email addresses. A unique service is Optimum Online Express Link Technology which takes some of the popular sites on the Internet like Google, YouTube and AOL and delivers it faster. OptOnline.net also delivers speeds of up to 15Mbps downstream to 2Mbps upstream.
If you get Optimum Online Boost for an extra $9.95 per month, you can even get Web hosting for your site, domain name registration, 250 personalized email address and $50 Google Adwords credit. You can even send bigger attachments of up to 100MB. For Triple Play, you can get phone, internet and digital TV at $29.95 per service and also you can get the Optimum Rewards. Optimum Rewards allows you to have advance ticket sales at Madison Square Garden, free movies at Clearview Cinemas and discounts on consumer electronics.
OptOnline.net or Optimum is found in the tri-state region of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.
You can get the first month free if you sign up and is available but not limited to the following areas such as:
Bridgeport
Fairfield, Milford, Southport, Stratford
Litchfield
New Haven
Milford, Orange, Woodbridge
Norwalk
Most of Fairfield County
New Jersey
Bayonne
Bergen/Cresskill
Bergenfield, Dumont, Fair Lawn, New Milford
Elizabeth
Hamilton
Hamilton, Robbinsville, Trenton, Yardville
Hudson County
Hoboken, North Bergen, Union City, Weehawken, West New York
Matamoras (NY & PA areas)
Branchville, Layton, Milford, Mill Rift, Montague
Monmouth (Optimum)
Cream Ridge, Freehold, Howell, Jackson, Lakewood, Manalapan, Millstone, Perrineville, Upper Freehold
Monmouth/Seaside
Chadwick Beach, Lavallette, Ocean Beach, Ortley Beach, Seaside
Monmouth/Wall (iO TV lineup)
Monmouth/Wall (non-iO lineup)
Asbury Park, Farmingdale, Neptune, Ocean Twp., Wall
Morris County
Newark
South Orange and parts of Newark
Oakland
Paterson
Ramapo
Raritan Valley
Bridgewater, Edison, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, Piscataway
New York
Long Island
Brookhaven
East End
Townships of Riverhead, Southampton, Southold, East Hampton and Shelter Island
Great Neck
Hauppauge
Smithtown township, parts of Brookhaven, parts of Islip Township
Lynbrook
Woodbury/Islip (iO TV lineup)
Woodbury/Islip (non-iO lineup)
Babylon, Hempstead, Huntington, Oyster Bay, North Hempstead
New York City
The Bronx
Brooklyn
Westchester and points north
Dutchess
Dover Plains, Millbrook/Washington, Unionvale, Verbank, Wingdale
Matamoras (NY area)
Middletown, Port Jervis, Scotchtown, Unionville, Westtown
Ossining Westchester Rockland
Ossining Westchester North
Ossining Westchester South
Port Chester/Harrison
Rockland
Airmont, Chestnut Ridge, Montvale, Nanuet, New Hempstead
Wappingers Falls
Includes Dutchess, Ulster, Putnam and Orange counties
Warwick
Chester Village, Florida, Stockholm, Sugar Loaf, West Milford
Southern Westchester (Eastchester, Bronxville, Tuckahoe)
Southern Westchester (except Eastchester, Bronxville, Tuckahoe)
Yonkers
Yorktown/Cross River
Website:
www.optonline.net
by Tim Stark |
Orchard Bank offers both the secured and unsecured credit card.
The Orchard Bank secured credit card is a way for you to get a credit card if you do not have a great credit history or if you are rebuilding your credit. It has all the benefits of a unsecured credit card except that you will need a minimum of $200 deposit to get started and your available balance will determine your creidt on the card. There is a $35 annual fee for the card though it is waived for the first year. The Orchard Bank Secured Credit Card is managed by HSBC and you can
apply online here. You will then fill in various information and you can be prequalified for the credit card for as little as 60 seconds. Once you are presented with the offer, be sure to make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully and you also have a chance to reject the card by clicking on the "No Thanks" button.
As with any credit card, you may want to make sure you make your payments on time, otherwise the variable default APR or penalty APR may be raised to as high as 29.49%.
Compared to the
First Premier Credit Card, we think that it has lower account opening fees as the annual fee is only $35 and there are no other associated account fees that we can find so far. Also, the Orchard Bank online bill payment is free to use compared to charges for using Internet access for the First Premier Credit Card.
First Premier Bank offers a secured credit card that allows you to put in a security deposit to back or secure the credit card. However, when it comes to using a secured credit card, beware of the fine print and payment terms as you can end up or otherwise you may be paying more than you bargain for. If you apply for a First Premier Credit Card, you should read the fees, rates, costs and limitations associated with getting the card.
As of writing, you should note that there is a fee for the issuance of the card where there is a one time account set up fee is $29.00 and a one time program fee of $95.00. Then there is a monthly service fee at about $84.00 annually ($7.00 per month bill monthly) and an annual fee of $48.00. All in, by the time you finish your first year with the credit card, you would have paid almost $256.
This is not all, the First Premier Credit Bank Credit Card also has other fees like a $3.95 internet access fee for the account. If you increase your credit limit, there is a $25 fee each time. If you close you account and there is outstanding balance of $20.00 or greater, there is a monthly $3 fee.
The fees are a little on the high side as there are numerous fee associated with account opening for First Premier Credit Card. So, before you decide on opening the First Premier credit card, you may want to read through all the disclosure carefully and make sure that you are not taken aback by it. You might also want to check out
Orchard Bank Secured Credit Card
A secured credit card is for someone with very little or poor credit history yet need a credit card on. To alleviate the risk of lending credit, a secured credit card involves the consumer laying down a deposit which is usually equals to the credit line. This is a low risk way for the banks to issue credit card to the consumer as it is insured or backed by this deposit and almost close to a debit card. The deposit is also usually large enough for a lender to recoup losses in the event of a default. when the consumer makes timely payment, they can eventually graduate to a non secure or traditional credit card that does not require a deposit.
Chase inherited Wamu Secured Credit Card program, but had decided to discontinue the secured credit card program since secured portfolio generates very little profit relative to the issuance of other Chase credit cards and Chase was not really in the secured credit card business anyway. So, we cannot find any chase Secured Credit Card that is currently issued by Chase.
There are other secured credit cards issued by other banks. For example, there are secured credit cards is issued by FirstPremier Bank though you have to be really careful about its payment policy.
by Tim Stark |
www.vaemploy.com is for resident of the State of Virginia to file for unemployment benefits and belongs to the Virginia Employment Commission. At www.vaemploy.com, you can find resources online including access to job listings in Virginia if you are an individual. If you lost your job, VEC may also be able to provide temporary income for you.
As an unemployed, you can go to vaemploy.com and file your initial claim. Virginia residents who are unemployed are encouraged to file online to alleviate the phone system. However, if you plan to call to file your unemployment claim, it is advised to call on Mon, Wed and Fri if your social security numbers ends with an odd number. If it ends with an even number, then you might want to call on Tuesday, Thursday or Friday. Please note that the new claim number filing number and the weekly claim filing number are different. For new claims, call 1-866-832-2363 and for weekly claim, call 1-800-897-5630.
Here is a video of the unemployment benefits frequently asked question for www.vaemploy.comhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzVzC_n6be4In order to file an unemployment claim, you can file it in
English here or
Spanish hereHowever, if you live in Virginia, but had worked in another state, you may then have to file an interstate unemployment claim instead.
by Tim Stark |
AccountCentralOnline.com is an online service provided by HSBC for you to pay your bills, sign up for email alerts, monitor purchases online, find account balance, available credit and so on. The great thing at AccountCentralOnline.com HSBC is that you can also view your spending, the expense categories and AccountCentralOnline.com also allows you to monitor your spending online quite effectively. You can also find transactions by amount, type, date and expense categoty.
Payment Center at AccountCentralOnline.comThe payment center at AccountCentralOnline also makes it easy for you to make payment esaily. You can enter the payment information, payment date and paymnet alerts. You can also edit your bank account information where the payment is going to be made from. You can also view a summary of recent payments and also the details.
Account Services at AccountCentralOnline.comAccount services allows you to update your personal information, order convenience check, order a replacement card, dispute a transaction, activate your card and request for a pin information.
Answer CenterAnswer Center is a place where you can find FAQ and also more importantly ask any question. When you cannot find the answer from its database, you can also send a message and an answer will be provided within 24 hours.
Website:
www.AccountCentralOnline.com
www.dli.state.pa.us is the website for filing biweekly claims in the state of Pennsylvania. The website belongs to the Department of Labor & Industry whose mission is to give Pennsylvania workers and businesses a quality of life and economic security. For individuals you can file for unemployment compensation here.
How to file an initial claimGo to
https://www.paclaims.state.pa.us/UCEN/Welcome.asp and select the languge of choice whether it is in English or Spanish. A social security number is needed to file for unemployment compensation and to identify the claim. Not giving your social security number will deny you for the claim.
How to file a biweekly claim?To file a biweekly claim at www.dli.state.pa.us, you can file online from 6 a.m. to 11p.m. on Sunday and then from 6a.m. to 9p.m. from Monday to Friday. You can also file by automated toll free phone at 1-888-255-4728. You may want to avoid calling on Monday and Tuesday as call volumes are the heaviest. Wednesday through Friday are the best time to call and the key is that initlal claims that are filed on different days of week are handled the same way.
How to check a claim status?In order to check a claim status, you can go to
https://www.paclaims.state.pa.us/ucen/LoginClaimStatus.asp However, the state has been experiencing some problems lately and the website may be slow or down at certain point. So, you may have to be patient with it.
As always, when it comes to application for claims, be sure that you provide accurate and honest information as giving false information to get unemployment benefits are usually punishable by law.
by Tim Stark |
NetBenefits.com is Fidelity's Net Benefits website for managing retirement accounts. Fidelity is a large fund that started off as a mutual fund company. Today, Fidelity provides many different services including discount brokerage services, estate planning, retirement services, wealth management and many more. Fidelity has hundreds of portfolio managers, traders and analysts and is headquartered in Boston with offices worldwide. Individual investors can also login through Fidelity's website to manage their stocks, bonds, money markets, bond and other classes of assets.
Fidelity NetBenefits® is a website that helps you to plan for your retirement whether you are 6 months or 6 years away from retirement. By logging in to NetBenefits.com, you can access your Fidelity account, manage your portfolio and manage your retirement accounts.
To login to Fidelity NetBenefits, you need your customer ID or your social security number. You will also need your PIN. There are 2 different sites- one for worldwide and one for US though you can access both through www.NetBenefits.com
If you go to www.NetBenefits.com, it will redirect you to netbenefits.fidelity.com/
On www.NetBenefits.com you can:
• Log on and explore, starting with the
Home page.
• View your portfolio, accounts and take action
• View your accounts, then take action.
• Use planning tools to assess your retirement readiness.
by Tim Stark |
www.zillow.com allows you to search for real estate homes that are on sale. Like most other real estate websites such as Trulia and Redfin, you can check out the price of the home for sales, the estimate monthly payment, the number of beds and baths, the square footage, lot size if applicable and the number of days it is on the site.
However, what is more useful at www.zillow.com that is different from other websites is that it provides a Zestimate which is the estimated value of your home. Zestimate is Zillow's proprietary algorithm which takes a number of data to compute an esimtated value for the home. This estimated value is also an estimate and by no means a substitute for the actual appraisal of the home and the real marketing conditions. Sometimes, I find that the Zestimate is quite far from what the current homes are selling for and this is more so whenthe market is extremely volatile during the housing financial crisis.
Zillow.com is a great site nevertheless to search for home as it also shows you a bird eyes view and a map view of the homes with the lot all carved out appropriately and also the Zestimate home values which give you a really good bird eye view of the home value in the area.
by Tim Stark |
www.go2ui.com is the official website for the Employment Security Department that helps Washington's workers and employers succeeds. When you go to www.go2ui.com, it will redirect you to www.esd.wa.gov/uibenefits/index.php. You can also get to this site from wa.gov.
For job seekers, www.go2ui.com allows you to apply for unemployment benefits. In order to qualify for unemployment benefit, you must first fulfill 680 hours of covered employment in the base year. Most important, it depends on how you become unemployed. You are eligible if unemployment is due to a lay off situation. However, if it is a voluntary leave of absense or if you quit voluntarily or was fired or suspended, then a decision need to be made. The department will obtain information about this separation from the employer.
File a weekly claim at www.go2ui.comOnce you file for unemployment benefits, you also need to make sure you file your weekly claim. You must also file every week even while waiting for a pending decision. Sunday is also the first day in which the weekly claim can be filed. Here is an example from the website for the filing:
Reopen you claim at www.go2ui.comIf for whatever reason that you stop filing your claims, then you need to reopen the claim on the website if you want to start receiving your claims again.
At www.go2ui.com, you can also apply for the benefits to be direct deposit into the bank. However, it is important that you have already applied for unemployment and have a claim already before setting this up.
Click on
www.go2ui.com Weekly Claims to go there to file your weekly claims.
by Tim Stark |
The official Apple iTunes page is at www.apple.com/itunes/download. In order to start downloading iTunes for free, you have to download iTunes for either the Mac and PC. iTunes allows you to synchronize your audio and video files with iPod, iPhone and Apple TV. At www.iTunes.com/download, you can also search, select and download any media from the sore.
Although iTunes can be downloaded from the iTunes store , other programs such as Safari, QuickTime and iWork can be downloaded at the iTunes store. Other 3rd party downloads are also available there. At iTunes.com, you can check for top Apple downloads and top overall downloads as well.
To download specifically for iPod and iPhone, you should select iPod+iTunes tabs at the Apple iTunes store. The nice thing about the latest version of iTunes is that it allows you to share your media with up to five authorized computers and you are able to add any new purchases from any of the authorized computers to each other.
To download iTunes to an iPod
1) Using the iTunes program that you should have downloaded already, you can purchase tracks or CDs on the iTunes store
2) Connect your iPod to the computer via the USB port.
3) The process should be automatic afterwards and songs from the play lists will be transfered to the iPod.
4) To download from CD to the iPod, just click on "Import CD" and then follow step 2 above.
by Tim Stark |
The State of Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation has provided a website: www.fluidnow.com for you to claim your weeks online and file for unemployment compensation claims. If you are unemployed and laid off or fired without cause, then you can claim your unemployment weeks online at the website. At www.fluidnow.com, you can get temporary wage replacement benefits if you are out of work. If your claims were denied before, you can also login to FluidNow.com to file an appeal and get a hearing again and have your case reviewed by the Unemployment Appeals Commission.
How to file for a Florida Unemployment Claim at FluidNow.com?
Go to www.FluidNow.com and click on File a Claim. Then, you will need to complete the application within 72 hours. It is also important to complete by midnight Saturday and my guess is they wipe out pending application every Saturday midnight. After you file a claim, please sure to record your confirmation numbers. The whole claim process will take you about 30 minutes to 1 hour to complete on www.fluidnow.com.
How to file for extended benefits at FluidNow.com.
In order to file for extended benefits which is part of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation, you will need to have your social security number, previous employers' information, dates workked and gross earning as well as your bank account information for direct deposit.
Do not make a false statement
As tempted as you are, never make a false statement in order to claim unemployment benefits or file for increased benefits. Florida Law can have you fine up to $5,000 and worse of all can jail you for five years under Florida Law.
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by Tim Stark |
