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Stat Of The Day
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$45
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Show up at the airport without your ID? It will cost ya. A TSA program rolling out soon will charge travelers $45 to get through security if they don’t have proper identification, such as a Real ID or passport.
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This Week In Your Wallet
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Ready to jet set? Today’s your day – "Travel Tuesday" is bursting with deals. As The New York Times reports, you’ll find discounts on everything from airfare and cruises to group adventures (Everest, anyone?) and hotel stays. One standout – Jamaica, which is offering major bargains as it works to bring travelers back following Hurricane Melissa. "In Ocho Rios, the 52-suite Jamaica Inn, which survived the storm relatively unscathed, is offering 30% off rooms, which normally start at $499, when booked through Dec. 2," notes the NYT.
And as you shop for your next vacay, beware of AI scams. Booking.com recently reported a 900% increase in travel scams, largely due to AI. Some of the more common ones? Fake hotel booking websites and AI-generated reviews. "Nowadays, nearly anything can be faked with AI so if it is ‘too’ well written, an offer that’s ‘too’ good to be true, or something that looks ‘too nice’ in pictures, then I would be especially careful," warns Christoph Cemper, founder of AIPRM, a software development company focused on AI prompt management tools.
And last but certainly not least, today also marks "Giving Tuesday," an annual day of charitable giving. If your budget is feeling stretched and there’s no room to donate, remember – there are ways to give back that don’t cost a dime. We’re rounding up three easy options, starting with clearing out and donating items you no longer need, including pantry staples a local food bank could use. "While you’re searching, also think about your pots, pans, and other rarely-used kitchen tools that could use a new home," writes Lindsay Tigar. "Toss them into your donation box, too — they’re perfect to donate to a women’s shelter, as when the women are able to move out on their own and start fresh, they’ll need tools to make their house a home."
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Things That Save You Money
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Financial Caregiving 101: What You Need To Know Before A Loved One Gets Sick
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It starts with a call. A parent has fallen. A diagnosis hits. Suddenly, you’re in charge — not just of their care, but their money, their legal documents, their online accounts, and even their home.
Financial planner and MarketWatch columnist Beth Pinsker knows the feeling. Despite years in personal finance, she says she "stumbled at every turn" managing her mother’s affairs.
On the HerMoney Podcast, Pinsker shares her story and the essential lessons from her new book, "My Mother’s Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving."
Her first tip? Start with a "family map" – a list of who’s responsible for what. "You want to send an email to everybody who is on that list and find out where they are on these two very key pieces of paperwork: a power of attorney and a healthcare proxy," she shares. "You have them in case something should happen, and everybody who’s a legal adult over the age of 18 needs these things, whether you think you do or not. You just have them in case something happens."
Pinsker also breaks down three things every adult and caregiver should do today. Listen in to learn what they are.
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Ask Jean
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I have a long credit history, many cards and lots of available credit. If I call and have some of the credit amounts decreased, what will happen? I want to open another card for a specific large purchase (and get travel points), but I imagine they may look at my available credit and think it’s too much.
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What you’re suggesting can create a lot of unnecessary hassle – it might even hurt your credit score. That’s the word from Lisa Gill, a credit expert with Consumer Reports, who shared her insights on the potential pitfalls of reducing your credit just to qualify for a new card:
If you carry any debt, reducing the available credit on your cards could backfire. That's because doing so will actually worsen your "debt-to-credit" ratio—the amount of credit you’re using compared to what’s available.
It works like this: Let's say you have a $1,000 credit limit on a card, and you carry a balance of $300, which amounts to a 30% utilization, which is the sweet spot. If you called the card issuer, spent a half hour or so on the phone with customer service to reduce your credit limit to say, $600, now not only do you have a migraine from all the back-and-forth with the agent, but your new debt-to–credit ratio becomes 50% and your credit score is going to take a hit.
If you did this for all your cards, you might need a very long nap to recover from being on the phone so long – and you'll almost certainly see a noticeable, double-digit drop in your credit score. Ouch.
Say you were to do all this, and after your nap, you go apply for the new travel card. The issuer pulls your credit info, and instead of that stellar score you had two days ago, now they see it's dropped recently and that your debt-to-credit ratio has increased. All of a sudden, you aren't looking like a great candidate to give more credit to.
My somewhat annoying, big-sisterly advice is to consider forgoing the new card and all the hassle that comes with it. Instead, figure out which of your existing cards already has travel partnerships that you can take advantage of with the massive amount of new points your big new purchase will provide.
If none of the cards in your wallet satisfy this itch, then consider picking a card that's fully paid off and cancel it entirely. Then, if you're sure your FICO score falls into the "very good" or "exceptional" standing, go ahead and apply for the new travel card.
Good luck and bon voyage!
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Submit your questions to Jean here.
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