How to Fix Errors on Your U.S. Credit Report

Errors on your Credit Report

First Published Date : June 4, 2011

It is estimated that about 75 per cent of all credit reports have errors on them. It happens and when it does, it is a big annoyance for many people. Often, errors can be something that you never had or bought, or it could be an account you paid off but which is not shown as paid off.

Thankfully, when there is an error on your credit report, you can fix it easily and all you need to do is follow these steps.

First of all, get your credit report. Without your credit report, how will you know whether or not you have an error on your credit report? If you live in the United States, then you are entitled to one free credit report a year. You can get a free credit report, every 12 months, from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can also get your free credit report from www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1.877.322.8228.

If you find an error on the credit report, do the following:

1.    In writing, send a letter to the credit report agency detailing what information you believe is incorrect. When you do this, send copies of any documents that will support the position that you have paid off a bill, or that you never had that credit account in the first place. Explain why you dispute the error and that you want the error removed or corrected on your credit report. Make sure you send your letter through certified mail with “return receipt requested”. By law, the credit report agency must investigate the error within 30 days and then send you all date related to the error to the organization that provided the information or error to your credit report. Then, they have to report the information to you and tell you in writing whether or not the dispute has been approved or rejected.

2.    When you send the letter to the credit agency, send copies of the same documents and the same letter to the creditor that you believe is responsible for the error on your credit report.

If your error dispute is rejected, then you need to find more information to back up your claim, otherwise there is little you can do but pay whatever you are believed to owe by the creditor. Your other option is to contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1.877.382.4357 to state your dispute and that you want your credit report cleared. A last resort is legal action because often the legal action will cost you more than it will to just pay off the debt.

Credit errors are terrible things but often they can be removed very easily as long as you have the documentation proving that the item on your credit report is in fact an error. This is why it is so important to hold onto your receipts and any items relating to your credit so when an error does happen, you can clear it up very easily.

Samsung ST65/ST67 Camera Review

Digital Camera Technology Can Change So Much in Five Years

First Published Date : June 8, 2011

My last digital camera before my Samsung ST67 was a HP Photosmart R817. I bought it in 2006 for $270, which was not cheap. The features were not bad, but nothing extraordinary compared to other cameras back then. I have been using this camera for 5 years without any problem; however, digital camera technology has brought so many new features in the last few years that with its bulky charging and photo sharing doc with tangles of wires and incapability to produce an HD video, it made sense for me to buy a new digital camera which can do it all, keeping accessories to its minimum. And the Samsung ST67 is the one I picked after searching electronic stores for months. I don’t need to carry a separate digital camera and an HD video camera anymore, as this tiny Samsung ST67 can do both jobs (take pictures and shot HD video) amazingly. See the picture and video clip yourself, if you are still skeptical about Samsung.

Do you believe that Nikon, Sony, Canon can give you better products because they are more expensive and have been around longer? I don’t. All my household products are Samsung. They look a lot better than other so-called famous pricey brands, saved me thousands of dollars and running amazingly well without any problem so far. This is no joke – whenever I bought Sony in the past, I ran into problems. However, I never had any problems with any of my Samsung products so far. So, as you can possibly guess, the main reason behind picking this Samsung ST67 digital camera was its price – at $129 this is a bargain which would be hard to surpass for me.

Let’s look at some Samsung ST67 features:

Ultra slim – feels like carrying nothing at all. I still remember the pain of carrying 2 cameras tangled with wires, chargers, and docks on my Cuba trip. With my new Samsung ST67, I just need one USB cable, as it can charge from a laptop.

14.2 MP resolution and 5X optical zoom.

Records in HD 720p resolution at 30 fps (see the video clip, link provided at the bottom).

Smile Shot and Blink Detection technology can automatically take pictures when subjects are smiling and eyes open. Also, there’s another feature called Beauty Shot which can take away blemishes on the face.

Smart Filter lens can take normal pictures looking like miniaturized or model-scale, and the Fish-eye effect can give videos distorted, cool looks. The Sketch and Defog effect can add emotion or an ultra vivid vibe to pictures.

Is the Samsung ST67 worth $129? Absolutely yes. Technology is bringing innovative and exciting products so fast that what you buy today will be obsolete tomorrow, so you don’t want to spend a lot of money on products like cameras, laptops, and so on. Try to spend as less as possible and use it for as long as you can. However, if you can’t do that and end up buying a newer model again shortly, spending less the first time around will cause you less regret than spending a fortune initially.

The Growing Middle Class Of India

The Middle Class in India

First Published Date : June 13, 2011 ADawnJournal.com

One of the biggest drivers of an economy is the middle class. They have enough disposable income to help fuel retail businesses, they also have more time to enjoy what they buy, which usually results in them buying more things that are slightly more expensive. For a country to be strong and healthy, it needs a good middle class and there are few with a middle class as large, or growing as fast, as India’s middle class.

India is currently growing, economically-speaking, at a rate of 8.3 per cent every single year. This is putting the country on track to become one of the biggest economy on the planet. Currently, India has the third largest economy in Asia, behind only China and Japan.

Currently, the middle class of India numbers 50 million people, all of whom are being sold on Western culture, including its brands. This means that India’s purchasing power is going to grow, reaching 6.1 per cent of the world share by 2015. India is also working to eradicate poverty within only nine years. In 2006, one quarter of India was in poverty but that number is shrinking.

As India grows, so does its middle class and so does the PPP-adjusted GDP of the Indian people, which currently sits at $3,290 in U.S. dollars.

Amazingly, by only 2015, 70 per cent of India could be in the middle class, which would mean it will grow from 50 million people to nearly 750 million people, more than most countries have combined. This means that North American markets and investors can begin investing in products that Indians want, because in only a few years, a lot of Indians are going to be able to buy them.

India trades heavily with China, which in turn will continue to help China’s growth. North American and European investors don’t want to be left behind though and are working hard to make sure India keeps buying from them as well.

India joins several other economies in Asia that are becoming world leaders and are expected to be the dominant economies of the 21st century in a few decades. These countries include Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand and Malaysia. In 2050, these countries will represent 75 per cent of the Asian population, and their Gross Domestic Product could push past 90 per cent of all of Asia’s Gross Domestic Product. Amazingly, these countries will also account for half of the world’s entire Gross Domestic Product by 2050 as well. If these countries have 3.1 billion people, and $14.2 trillion in GDP right now, think of how much they will have in just a few decades.

As India grows, so does its middle class and that presents immense opportunities for many investors to get in on the ground floor of people who suddenly have more money than they ever had before, and who are ready to spend that money like never before as well.

There are big opportunities indeed.

Canadian Dividend ETFs

Canadian Income ETFs

First Published Date : June 19, 2011 ADawnJournal.com

Who does not like to sit back, relax, and collect dividends on a regular basis without worrying too much about picking individual stocks or giving hefty fees (MER) to mutual funds? ETFS allow you to do just that, and for income hungry investors the choices to pick income or dividend EFTs are getting noticeably wider in Canada. Today, I am going to discuss my top eight ETFs I like for generating income. ETFs trade on stock exchanges just like stocks and you can buy them through your discount brokerage account or through a licensed financial advisor. For more information on ETFs, please visit A Dawn Journal ETF Section and TMX Money ETF Section.

BMO Covered Call Canadian Banks ETF (TSX: ZWB) – This ETF invests in Canadian banks and writes out of the money covered call options, thus earning premiums on call options. As of this writing, it has a staggering portfolio yield of 9.56 per cent and MER is 0.65 per cent. Before considering this ETF, do understand how the covered call option strategy works and the risks associated with it.

BMO monthly Income ETF (TSX: ZMI) – This ETF, actually, is an ETF of ETFs. It maintains a 50/50 balance of equities and fixed income, investing 50/50 in high yielding equity and fixed income ETFs. Portfolio yield is 5.35 per cent and MER is 0.55 per cent.

Claymore 1 – 5 YR Laddered Corporate Bond ETF (TSX: CBO) – This ETF tracks the DEX 1-5 Yr Laddered Corporate Bond Index. It tries to main a continuous maturity laddered portfolio of securities maturing in a proportional, annual sequential pattern. Portfolio yield is 4.63 per cent and MER is 0.27 per cent.

Claymore S&P/TSX Preferred Share ETF (TSX: CPD) – Simply enough, this ETF tries to match the performance of the S&P/TSX Preferred Share index. Portfolio yield is 4.80 per cent and MER is 0.48 per cent.

Claymore 1 – 5 YR Laddered Government Bond ETF (TSX: CBO) – Similar concept like CBO mentioned above, but this ETF tracks the DEX 1-5 Year Laddered Government Bond index instead of the DEX 1-5 Yr Laddered Corporate Bond Index. Portfolio yield is 4.52 per cent and MER is 0.16 per cent. Notice the MER; it’s really a bargain.

Claymore Canadian Financial Monthly Income ETF (TSX: FIE) – Name says it all. This ETF tries to provide monthly cash distribution of $0.04 per units. Portfolio yield is 6.70 per cent and MER is 1.24 per cent. MER is quiet high.

iShares Diversified Monthly Income (TSX: XTR) – Similar concept like ZMI mentioned above, XTR is an ETF of ETFs and provides consistent monthly cash distribution. Portfolio yield is 5.78 per cent and MER is 0.55 per cent.

iShares S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index ET (TSX: XRE) – This ETF tries to match the performance of the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. Portfolio yield is 4.88 per cent and MER is 0.59 per cent.

Disclosure – This article is for information purposes only and No information is intended as investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, or as an offer to sell or buy or solicitation of an offer to sell or buy, or as an endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company, security, ETF, or fund. The author assumes no liability for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information, nor for any actions taken in reliance thereon. You bear responsibility for your own investment research and decisions, and should seek the advice of a qualified financial professional before making any investment decision. I own some of the ETFs mentioned here.

What Is Fiscal Stimulus?

Fiscal Stimulus

First Published Date : November 10, 2010 AdawnJournal.com

Right now there is a lot of talk about how the government is trying to get the economy moving through the use of stimulus packages. Often, many wonder about just how effective a stimulus package is and whether or not fiscal stimulus is actually something that should be used. The problem is that many people do not understand what fiscal stimulus is, so to help, here is a rundown to get you up to speed.

Fiscal policy is essentially fiscal stimulus and it involves the use of government spending and revenue collection to help influence the economy, usually to restart it and get it moving again during a recession. Government expenditures, known as fiscal stimulus, helps to distribute income, allocate resources, and aggregate the demand and level of economic activity.

Many economists actually doubt just how effective a fiscal stimulus actually is though. The reason is that some economists feel that fiscal stimulus will cause crowding out. What this means is that government borrowing will lead to higher interest rates, which then will offset the stimulus and its impact on spending. When the government is running into a deficit with its budget, then the government gets its money from issuing government bonds, which is a form of borrowing from the public. The government can also borrow from overseas or monetize the debt. When the government funds a deficit with government bonds, the borrowing itself creates a higher demand for credit, which then causes interest rates to increase. This in turn creates a lower demand for goods and services, which completely goes against the point of the stimulus package itself.

In the United States, the most famous example of fiscal stimulus is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The point of this stimulus was to create jobs and promote consumer investing and spending through the recession. This goes along with the basis of a fiscal stimulus, which is the government running a deficit in order to improve spending with the consumers through a recession. Many economists felt this was the wrong path to take but the Federal Reserve had already cut interest rates to zero, which thereby reduced the number of policy options open to the government. The flow of cash within the government was also stagnant, which made things difficult and the government argued that a stimulus was the only option within these conditions. This fiscal stimulus package was worth $787 billion and included the expansion of unemployment benefits, social welfare services, increased spending in education, the energy sector, infrastructure and health care. It also featured tax incentives for consumers and companies to help jump-start the economy.

It will be awhile before we know for sure if the stimulus package worked or not, but as for now, the concept of fiscal stimulus appears to be the best bet for many industrialized countries around the world who are trying to improve their economies and get out of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Now you know what a fiscal stimulus is, which will help you understand how it works and how it affects you better.