Margin test

Thanks to the new online tools and services found at SSA.gov, you no longer have to wait on the phone or in line at the Social Security Administration (SSA) to access your benefits. Today, vital financial information such as your recorded earnings; social security benefits (or expected benefits), and disability and survivor benefits are instantly accessible online. The SSA recently announced the online “My Social Security” account, a tool that provides access to benefit verification letters and statements. Signing up for an account is easy, free and secure. Simply visit SocialSecurity.gov/myaccount to create a unique username and password. You will then be asked a series of questions provided by Experian to verify your identity and ensure secure access to your account. At this point, your account is fully set up and you can check your information as many times as you want, free of charge. This is important because, much like balancing your checkbook, regularly checking your online social security account is key to making informed financial decisions. Since its announcement, thousands of people a day have been checking their online account. Take charge of your financial planning and create an online “My Social Security” account to check your statement today. Photo: Shutterstock

Email marketing continues to be the hub and driving force in cross-channel integration as consumers are becoming more vocal and more demanding with what they expect from their favorite brands. Today, Experian Marketing Services released findings from its email market survey that addresses acquisition and engagement tactics email marketers use in tackling these challenges head-on. Email strategies often act as connectors to Website, mobile, social and in-store channels. To provide deeper industry insight and help marketers better understand how leading brands are using specific email marketing tactics, Experian Marketing Services surveyed email marketers across eight verticals about their email-marketing initiatives, including their strategies for subscriber acquisition, mobile and social marketing, testing and creative design. “We are seeing more email marketers testing new engagement strategies to expand their reach into other marketing channels,” said Peter DeNunzio, general manager at Experian Marketing Services’ CheetahMail. “Insights from this market study not only confirm that email is still a very strong performer, but it is also a spearhead in the progression towards true cross-channel optimization.” Fifty-three percent of respondents represent multichannel retailers — companies that have both brick-and-mortar stores and ecommerce sites. These survey results provide benchmarks on which marketers can gauge their own programs, or use as a factor when deciding to implement new tactics. Key insights in this study include: 44 percent of total opens occur on mobile devices 52 percent of marketers have used animated gifs in their email campaigns Marketers are seeing strong survey completion rates, regardless of offer Email is still a strong performer as a generator of both Website traffic and revenue Email marketers are testing subject lines and creative more than any other factors 78 percent of brands use sales associates to collect email addresses Download the study here and receive deeper insight on strategies marketers are using for subscriber acquisition and engagement. Photo:  Shutterstock

In today’s ultra competitive world, every organization is doing what it can to not only reach new customers, but, some could argue more importantly, to hold on to the ones they already have. In the recently released Loyalty and Market Trends Report by Experian Automotive, we looked at Automotive Loyalty at the brand, model and corporate level to see which auto makers were the most successful at keeping their customers coming back for more. Drum roll please … our analysis found that Ford took the top spot in Brand Loyalty* overall and that the Ford Fusion and the Ford Flex took the top two spots for brand loyalty at the model level during Q3 2012 (surpassing the Q2 2012 model loyalty leader Chevrolet Sonic). “Ford continues to perform exceptionally well in brand loyalty, with a range of products that are getting customers back to the showroom again and again,” said Jeffrey Anderson, director of consulting and analytics for Experian Automotive. “Loyal customers provide a ready-made source of sales and constitute an important element of maintaining or expanding market share and profitability.” Overall, Ford had seven models in the top 10 for brand loyalty. Other Ford models in the top 10 included the Ford Edge, Ford Five Hundred, Ford Fiesta, Ford Escape and Ford Focus. The other top 10 finishers include the Chevrolet Sonic, Kia Forte and Cadillac DTS. When looking at the overall brand level (or when the owner of a certain brand returned to market to buy the same brand of car regardless of the model), the analysis found that Ford and Toyota maintained the top two spots, and Kia and Hyundai moved into the third and fourth positions, surpassing Honda. In regards to Corporate loyalty, Toyota, GM and Ford hold the top three spots, with Hyundai, Honda, Chrysler, Subaru, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen rounding out the top ten. The full report also highlighted several other areas of the Auto industry including registration trends, market share shifts and changes in the average vehicle age. All of this information will be presented in a free webinar on Jan. 23 at 11 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Central/2 p.m. Eastern. If you would like to attend the event, please visit www.ExperianAutomotive.com to register. Experian Automotive also will be tweeting highlights from the report during the Webinar on Twitter @Experian_Auto using #EXPAuto. If you can’t make the live event, a recording will be available on the site for download. *To measure loyalty, we looked at vehicle owners and their subsequent vehicle purchase. For example, if you owned an Acura, then purchased a Honda, you would be considered Corporate Loyal, but not Brand Loyal. To be Brand Loyal, you need to buy another Acura. Photo: Shutterstock

This guest post is from Benjamin Feldman (@BWFeldman), writer and content strategist at ReadyForZero.com, a company helping people get out of debt. At the beginning of this year, I had several thousand dollars in credit card debt and I was ready to pay it off. But I knew that I needed to cut down on my spending in order to have enough money left over to start paying down my credit card balance. So I did some research and started finding ways to cut expenses. One of the things I realized is that your fixed expenses – the ones that seem to be locked in – like your auto insurance and rent, often have some flexibility after all. Below are some tips I’ve found for reducing those fixed expenses: 1. Renegotiate Your Cell Phone Plan When it comes right down to it, we pay a lot for our cell phones – not always for the phones themselves, but for the monthly calling plan (and data plan, in most cases) that comes with them. These companies count on the fact that we sign up for a plan when we’re excited about our new phone and then simply pay the bill every month – which means a steady cash flow for them. But what if you need to get out of debt or simply want to save more of your take-home pay each month? If that’s the case, you should try to get that cell phone bill lowered. First, look at your most recent statement and see what you’re actually paying for. It’s possible your bill includes things you signed up for but are no longer using, like an extended data plan, unlimited text messaging, or an additional phone line. Decide what level of service you actually need, and then research how much that would cost if you purchased it from another provider. When you find the best rate, call up that company and ask if they can guarantee that rate while waiving your cancellation penalty fees from your current provider. If they can, then you’re in business. But first call your current provider and see if they can match the offer – in many cases, they will because they don’t want to lose you as a customer. 2. Cut Your Cable Bill… Or Drop It Entirely Another monthly expense that we all seem to have is the good old (actually not so good and not so old) cable bill. But you’re stuck with that one, right? Wrong. You can use similar tactics described above to lower the cost of your cable bill. Even if there are no competitors in your area, you can still use leverage you have as a loyal customer to reduce your rate. That’s because there are now so many alternative ways to get TV shows and other entertainment online. Call up your cable company and tell them you are thinking about switching to Netflix or Hulu instead of being a cable subscriber. See if you can get a discount for 6-12 months or if they can take certain charges off your monthly bill – especially if you have ‘extra’s that you don’t need, like a second cable box or premium channels that you rarely watch. And if you need more details on alternatives to cable, check out this post on the ReadyForZero blog. 3. Save Money on Your Auto and Renters/Home Insurance We’ve all seen the ads on TV telling us to look for better rates on auto insurance. It turns out, that’s not a bad idea. Keep in mind, that you can often save more with the company you’re currently with (due to their loyal customer program). However, that doesn’t mean you should assume that you already have the best deal. Find your statement and see how much you’re paying right now. Also, make sure you understand what type of coverage you’re paying for. Then start calling around and find out which company may have a lower rate – for the same coverage. If you can get a lower rate quoted to you, take that back to your current insurance provider and ask if they can match it. Also, make sure you ask them about all the possible discounts that might apply to you, such as the one for buying your auto and home (or renter’s) insurance from the same company, the good driver discount, the family discount, etc. 4. Get a Good Workout for Less You probably want to be healthy and get your recommended amount of exercise; but who says you have to pay an arm and a leg for an expensive gym membership? Especially when free and low-cost memberships exist, it’s worth downsizing or eliminating your gym membership. If your workouts consist mostly of running on a treadmill or doing sit-ups and push-ups, you can probably do without a gym membership. On the other hand, if you need to use certain exercise machines only available in a gym, look around for discount coupons available at stores like Costco or online that can cut your monthly gym costs in half. 5. Try to Lower Your Rent This one will be tough for some people – especially if you live in an apartment that is managed by a corporate leasing office. However, if you have a landlord that you personally know, you might be surprised that you can find ways to get a discount on your rent. You might ask if you can help maintain the plants and landscaping around your apartment or help with do-it-yourself projects like repainting worn exterior walls in exchange for a reduced rental rate. I’ve seen instances when this kind of agreement worked quite well. Even if you have a mortgage, there are ways to lower your monthly housing costs. For one thing, if you have a guest bedroom that is not being used, you could consider finding a renter. With any luck you might find a respectful and quiet person whose monthly rent payment will help cover a significant portion of your mortgage. You can also research whether refinancing would help to lower your payment, but make sure that doesn’t force you to pay more interest in the long run. I hope these tips will help you lower your fixed expenses and get you on your way toward achieving your financial goals. If you want more tips on how to save money and streamline your budget, check out our Budgeting Tips resource center. Or, if you’re trying to get out of debt by the end of this year, take a look at our Student Loan Debt and Credit Card Debt resource centers. No matter what, stay motivated and keep moving forward! Photo: Shutterstock

When I speak to people about credit reports and credit scores one of the things I always do is ask the audience members to raise their hands if they’ve requested their free annual credit report. Sadly, on a good night only about half the people in the audience raise their hands. A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) confirmed my simple surveys. Far too few people request their reports each year. At a minimum you should check your credit report at least once every 12 months. There are a lot of reasons to get it, and here are five: It’s free. Never pass up a freebie, especially when it can affects your financial health and well-being. Your credit report plays an important part in your credit transactions and many other financial relationships.  Get your annual credit report.  It’s an important step in rebuilding and maintaining good credit. Reviewing your credit report periodically will help you make sure it is in good shape when you are ready to apply for new credit and enable you to monitor your progress if you are recovering from past credit problems. Photo: Shutterstock It’s an important part of managing your personal finances. You should review your credit report just like you do your bank statements and credit card bills. Managing credit, keeping track of spending and putting aside savings are all essential to being financially successful. It’s often the first indicator that you are an identity theft victim. If you find names you don’t recognize, Social Security numbers that don’t belong to you, or accounts that aren’t yours, you might be a fraud victim. Experian and the other national credit reporting companies can help you stop the credit fraud and prevent future misuse of your identity. It’s the first step in correcting any information you feel is inaccurate. The vast majority of the time people find everything is accurate. But if you do find something wrong, your personal credit report comes with instructions for submitting disputes and contact information including a toll-free telephone number, Internet address and mailing address.