Dear Lifehacker, I moved to Australia from California last year, and I’m wondering how to protect our identity and credit here (beyond changing passwords, shredding documents, and so on). In California and many other states, you can elect to lock down your credit file, meaning that nobody can get credit in your name without a PIN, regardless of how much information they have. Is there anything like this available in Australia? We have credit monitoring services there of course, but they are basically a profit machine for the credit card companies, and are a retroactive tool at best. Thanks, California Dreaming More »
Budget blog Wise Bread discusses financial products and deals that almost everyone should avoid, and at least one of them has been offered to likely every single reader of this blog—store-branded credit cards, often with a same-day savings pitch. But even if you pay off that purchase the minute you arrive home, it’s generally a bad idea: Do not be enticed to sign up for these cards even if the store gives you 30% off on the day you sign up … These are different from a cobranded credit card that can be used anywhere. An example of a co-branded credit card is the Costco Amex Card, which can be used outside of Costco. Co-branded cards generally have better rates and better internal controls than store specific cards.
As noted by BankRate.com, each store card opened automatically knocks 20 points off your credit score, making a discount on one sweater not as appealing. Hit the link for five more items to keep your distance from. Six Horrible Financial Products You Should Avoid [Wise Bread]
US-centric: After just four weeks of their public beta, financial management web site Mint is already boasting over 50,000 members and managing over $2 billion of their money, and early next week Mint is launching several new features intended to improve its already impressive all-in-one money management tool. There’s no question that this snazzy web application deserves of much of its hype, but is it ready for your money?
