Margin test

            Small businesses are getting a lot of attention right now. With the presidential election, Affordable Care Act and talk of the looming fiscal cliff, small business health and survival concerns have been widely discussed across the United States. Earlier this year, Experian’s Business Information Services and Moody’s Analytics, a leading independent provider of economic forecasting, joined forces to create a business index and detailed report that provides insight into the health of U.S. businesses. The Experian/Moody’s Analytics Small Business Credit Index is reported quarterly to show fluctuations in the market and discuss factors that are impacting the business economy. The recently released Small Business Credit Index for third quarter 2012 showed that small business credit quality began deteriorating in Q3 after four consecutive quarters of improvement. Findings from the report also indicated that severely delinquent account balances and slower consumer spending growth posed a significant challenge to small businesses that will likely continue throughout the rest of 2012 and most of 2013. Details from the analysis also highlighted several other areas affecting small business including job growth, payment trends, consumer spending, raising home prices and unemployment. To download a full copy of the report, please visit www.experian.com/SmallBusinessCreditIndex

Do you love saving money? Do you ever use apps to help you cut costs and stay on budget? In our continuing quest to promote financial literacy and help consumers live credit smart, we asked some of our favorite personal finance writers to share a favorite app that helps them stay on budget and save money. Check out these great apps: The Ballpark Calculator I really like the Ballpark calculator at choosetosave.org because it gives you a quick, easy estimate of how much you need to save in order to retire comfortably. Knowing *what* you're saving for always makes saving easier for people. Jean Chatzky is the financial editor for NBC’s TODAY show, is an award-winning personal finance journalist, AARP’s personal finance ambassador, and the host of “Money Matters with Jean Chatzky” on RLTV. You can reach her on Twitter @JeanChatzky and find more tips like this in her book: Money Rules The Simple Path to Lifelong Security.    Mint.com I’m a big fan of Mint, which tracks all of our financial accounts and alerts us when we’re paying fees or reaching a spending limit that we’ve set on our accounts. Mint makes it easy to review our transactions so I can see exactly where our money is going and make adjustments as necessary. Liz Weston, writes for MSN, and author of "There Are No Dumb Questions About Money." I love Mint.com. It's just so helpful to be able to look at the state of all of your accounts in one place, and the site makes it easy to set budgets and savings goals. Plus, as a visual person, I find their graphs super helpful — it seems kind of silly, but it's so much easier to have the different sections of my budget visualized instead of looking at them as a series of little numbers in a spreadsheet. Meg Favreau is the Senior Editor at Wisebread.com and tweets @wisebreadmeg. She's also a comedian, food enthusiast, and author of the book Little Old Lady Recipes.   I like Mint.com's app — it securely pulls your bank account and credit card information into one place so you can quickly see how much you've spent and what kinds of things you're spending too much on. It also helps you set spending caps and then will email when you're about to go over these. Catey Hill is the author of "Shoo, Jimmy Choo! The Modern Girl's Guide to Spending Less and Saving More." She regularly writes regularly about personal finance for MarketWatch.com and eHow.com. ShopSavvy Shopping App ShopSavvy is a must-have shopping app for Android users. The app lets you scan barcodes and compare prices across some 20,000 retailers, either the brick and mortar ones or those online. Beats going to each store individually to do canvassing. Plus, you’ve got reviews to make sure you’re purchasing products that others have already tried and tested; it’s got wish lists for those nudge/wink/hint times of the year, and price alerts for the busy folks who still want to save on deals. The best part? The app is free! Kathryn Finney is the founder of TheBudgetFashionista.com and named “One of the Top Ten Women in Money by AOL. Google Calendar I like Google Calendar a lot because I can set up email and text alerts for when bills are due or when a particular promotion is ending. This helps keep my bill payments up-to-date as well as lets me know when it's time to renegotiate items like cable TV fees. Glen Craig is the founder of FreeFromBroke.com. Budgetable App I have so many that I use and love, but my favorite would have to be Budgetable. It not only show you a full snapshot of your finances, but also includes a deals map so you can save even more dough. Kelly Whalen is the blogger behind TheCentsiblelife.com, and has been featured in Money Magazine, USA Today, Consumerist, and MSN Money Blog. My Money Center My favorite tool for saving money and managing my finances is LearnVest’s My Money Center –and it's free! Through My Money Center, you can connect all of your accounts, from credit cards and debit cards to savings accounts, loans and investment accounts. Alexa von Tobel is the founder and CEO of LearnVest.com And check out the new LearnVest app: RetailMeNot Right now, my favorite tool for saving money is the RetailMeNot mobile app that shows coupons and deals both online or in store. It's especially great to have when I'm on the road traveling. I can find discounts on everything from hotels to rental cars to Starbucks (and who doesn't want to save at Starbucks?). Carrie Smith is the blogger and founder of CarefulCents.com RedLaser & Other Barcode Scanning Apps The app I use the most on my iPhone is called RedLaser. It provides product search results sorted by the lowest price for almost any item that has a bar code. It helps me save money at the grocery store, and also when I am shopping at department stores. It provides the best price on items from both brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers. Andrew Schrage is the Editor-in-Chief of MoneyCrashers.com, which has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, US News and World Report, Yahoo Finance, Forbes, and more. I really like the bar code scanning apps out there, where you scan the bar code of a product and it tells you if you can buy it for less somewhere else. I've found a lot of things cheaper on Amazon and those apps (there are a million of them, I think I use Red Laser the most) are great for helping you save a few bucks, especially if you're not in a rush to get it. Sometimes I don't even end up buying the item! Jim Wang is the blogger behind WalletHacks. I'm a big fan of those barcode scanning apps. While you're shopping, you can just take an image of the barcode and it will allow you to compare prices at other stores in town, as well as online. It's a great way to comparison shop and get the best value for your money. Miranda Marquit is the founder of PlantingMoneySeeds.com.  ImpulseSave & LevelUp Obviously, we're huge fans of ImpulseSave. Our app allows you to turn those impulse buys into ImpulseSaves right in the moment  – transferring that money you would have spent into a separate savings account under a goal that you really care about. If you can buy on Impulse just about anywhere – why shouldn't you be able to save on impulse too? Another staff favorite is LevelUp, which allows you to make payments with your phone while also getting loyalty discounts from local merchants. It's beautifully simple to setup and use, and loyalty rewards are automatically applied to your transaction (no more carrying around those "free sandwich" cards). Phil Fremont-Smith is the co-founder and CEO of ImpulseSave.com  Hotel Tonight My favorite new app is Hotel Tonight. Check it out the day that you need a hotel, and it will let you know if your city has any inventory on sale! The app is adding cities constantly and it's a fun way to catch a last minute hotel sale. You can get rooms for up to 70 percent off. Natalie P. McNeal, creator, TheFrugalista.com, author, The Frugalista Files: How One Woman Got Out of Debt Without Giving Up the Fabulous Life  Craigslist App I really like the Craigslist app. When I find something that's been lying around my house for too long without getting used, I take out the app, snap a pic, and list my item for sale. The app is also good for quickly finding a used version of something I may need. Philip Taylor is the blogger and founder behind PTmoney.com, and has been featured on CNBC, Fox Business, U.S. News and World Report, and MSN.  Peapod Grocery Shopping App My Peapod grocery shopping app– it makes it so easy for me to shop for my groceries online (for delivery) that I can easily plan my meals, see what's on sale, and make my shopping list. I can do it all while I'm waiting in line or watching TV. Kimberly Palmer is the Sr. Editor at U.S. News & World Report and author of GenerationEarn.com  Pencil and Paper Whether you scratch a budget out on a ledger with a pencil like we did in our early years of marriage or whether you use a high-tech budgeting software that syncs with your phone and computer, I believe a written budget is imperative for true financial success. Without it, all your money will just pass through your fingers like sand with little to show for it. Contrary to what many people think, following a budget gives you freedom. You can guiltlessly spend the money you've allotted in your eating out budget without having to worry about how you're going to afford to pay your electric bill since you already have money set aside for that and all of your other necessities. Crystal Paine is founder of MoneySavingMom.com and author of The Money Saving Mom®'s Budget. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook.   I don’t own a smartphone (that saves me money) so I don’t use any apps.  My favorite tool is a pencil and a piece of paper, which I use to make a menu plan and a grocery list.  The menu plan helps prevent me from eating out and the grocery list helps me buy only the things I need. Kristen is the founder of TheFrugalGirl.com, where she shares practical tips for simple, frugal living. She tweets at @thefrugalgirl can also be found at facebook.com/thefrugalgirl. ReadyForZero When I decided to get out of debt earlier this year, I knew I would use ReadyForZero, a free online tool that helps you organize and pay off your debts as fast as possible. But I didn't realize just how useful it would be! The most important feature is that it lets you make a plan that works with your individual budget, and it can be adjusted at any time. Then it tells you which account has the highest interest rate, and helps you target that one with timely e-mail reminders and a bright blue progress bar to keep you focused on your goal. Ben Feldman is the writer and content strategist for ReadyforZero.com   ING App My favorite app is ING's, only because of the awesome check deposit tool. You take pictures of the front and back of a check, and can deposit it easily. The app has dramatically reduced the number of trips I make to the bank! Other banks have similar apps, I just happen to use ING so it's the only one I have personal experience with. Cathy is the founder of ChiefFamilyOfficer.com and wrote a great post on creating a price book to help you save money. Yelp My husband and I consider eating out a special treat both financially and nutritionally.  When we indulge, we love to get special deals by using Yelp.  It is a great way to see what others think of the restaurant and occasionally to enjoy free wine or two-for-one dining. Maxine Sweet is vice president of Experian North America’s Public Education organization and leads Experian’s consumer education, community involvement and corporate responsibility teams.   BigCrumbs.com & Ebates.com So what types of applications or tools do I use to help save me money?  I thoroughly appreciate any great comparison shopping tool or review site.  These tools and sites allow me to get a better grasp for a product and service before I commit to a purchase.  I also like using cash back sites such as BigCrumbs.com and Ebates.com. These cash back shopping sites can help you save money even as you spend.  I manage to earn enough cash back from these sites to help defray the costs of my holiday shopping every Christmas season. Silicon Valley Blogger (SVB) runs The Digerati Life, a personal finance site that offers tips and resources on saving money, stock investing, credit management and general money management. You can check out her twitter page at @TheDigeratiLife and Facebook. Excel Spreadsheet I'm a tinkerer by nature, so my favorite tool for saving money is actually my trusty old spreadsheet. Whether it's my budget, investment performance or net worth, I can tailor the information to my liking without worrying about security, updatability or cost. David Ning is the founder of MoneyNing.com. Ah, there are so many! I get that question often. So often, that I put together a list of all of the money saving products I use. Some favorites include the American Express Blue Preferred card, which gives 6% cash back on groceries and a low-flow showerhead. G.E. Miller is the founder and blogger behind 20somethingfinance.com.   Do you use any apps that help you stay on budget? Comment below and let us know. Photo: Shutterstock

Whether you own the largest pickup or the smallest hybrid on the market, one thing remains clear – folks in the U.S. love their vehicles. In the recently released Loyalty and Market Trends Report by Experian Automotive, we looked at several key trends that highlight who is buying what, and which auto makers received highest marks in loyalty in Q2. The infographic here reveals that Toyota took the top spot in Corporate Loyalty* for the first time since Q3 2009, and that the Chevrolet Sonic was top model in Brand Loyalty. The analysis also found that Ford owners were the most Brand Loyal overall, landing six models in the top ten. The 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 Oct. 11 at 11am PT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET. If you would like to attend the event, visit www.ExperianAutomotive.com to register. 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.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has just issued its latest report to Congress on credit scores sold to consumers versus credit scores sold to creditors. The 42-page report, which you can find here, provides an analysis of different scoring models, comparing credit scores sold to creditors and those sold to consumers by the national credit reporting agencies, including Experian. Of particular interest, and of reassurance to consumers, are some high-level conclusions from the report: "The CFPB found that for a majority of consumers the scores produced by different scoring models provided similar information about the relative creditworthiness of the consumers. That is, if a consumer had a good score from one scoring model the consumer likely had a good score on another model. For a substantial minority, however, different scoring models gave meaningfully different results." "Correlations across the results of scoring models were high, generally over .90 (out of a possible one). Correlations were stronger among the models for consumers with scores below the median than for consumers with scores above the median." There are many details in the report, but Stuart Pratt, president and CEO of the Consumer Data Industry Association, provides a thoughtful analysis of the report in the CDIA’s public response: We applaud the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s credit score report that was released today. We think it puts an end to the debate over the value of educational scores versus those scores lenders use. The CFPB study concluded that ‘correlations across the results of the scoring models were high.’ As a result, it determined ‘that for a majority of consumers the scores produced by different scoring models provided similar information about the relative creditworthiness of the consumers. The study found that different scoring models would place consumers in the same credit-quality category 73-80% of the time. The study sheds new light on why consumers can trust the credit score disclosures they receive and the products in the commercial marketplace that help consumers build a deeper understanding of their credit scores and how they affect their financial decisions. Consumers want to be proactive in learning about their scores. Unfortunately, too many mixed messages have made them hesitant to access the data currently available that will help them better understand the scoring process. This study is good news for consumers who can now be confident that the disclosures and services they are getting today are helping to empower them to receive better prices tomorrow in the credit market, according to Pratt. The study was built on the foundation of two key facts made clear in the Bureau’s 2011 report and reiterated again in this study: Given this complexity it is unlikely that a consumer will often be able to know the exact score that a particular lender will use to evaluate them. Lenders use credit scores produced by many different scoring models. The CFPB is right. No one score is used by all lenders. However, the credit score is a valuable educational tool and can enable consumers to better understand their creditworthiness relative to other consumers. As the CFPB’s report notes, the many credit score options in the marketplace today will help consumers answer these questions, Pratt concluded. In its announcement, the CFPB also made two recommendations to consumers, which reflect what Experian frequently advocates to consumers who are working to improve their credit history and credit scores: Shop around for credit. Consumers benefit by shopping for credit. Regardless of the scores different lenders use, they may offer different loan terms because they operate different risk models or face different competitive pressures.Consumers should not rule out of seeking lower priced credit because of assumptions they make about their credit score. While some consumers are reluctant to shop for credit out of fear that they will harm their credit score, that negative impact may be overblown. Inquiries generally do not result in a large reduction in a consumer credit score. Check the credit report for accuracy and dispute errors. Credit scores are calculated based on information in a consumer’s credit file. Inaccurate information may be the difference between a consumer being approved or denied a loan. Before shopping for major credit items, the Bureau recommends that consumers review their credit files for inaccuracies. Each of the nationwide credit bureaus is required by law to provide credit reports for free to consumers who request them once every 12 months.

In our busy lives, it is easy to miss paying a bill. However, your lenders won’t accept excuses for why they you didn’t pay them as you agreed to do.  For example, your bankcard company cannot make excuses for being late in paying the merchants where you made your purchases. When you don’t pay, they still have to pay on your behalf. Missed payments can have a severe impact on your credit scores. And lower credit scores will often penalize you with higher interest rates – which can end up costing you tens-of-thousands of dollars throughout your life. So here are five strategies to help you build the best credit scores: 1. Never miss making a payment. One of the best ways to establish a great credit history is to demonstrate that you can manage credit and pay all of your bills as agreed. Late payments will likely cost you in penalties and can cause your interest rate to rise significantly. But, when you miss an entire payment for the month, it will be reported in your credit history and can have a terrible impact on your credit. So, even if it is only the minimum amount, make a promise to start paying every bill on time. You see, paying your bills as agreed shows that you're trustworthy and diligent in paying off debts. When you want to apply for new services, companies will want to do business with you. They will trust you to be a good customer and are more likely to offer you their best rates and lowest down payments. And, companies will want to hire you because you have demonstrated that you manage your finances well and will likely be a good manager of their resources. Strategies to help you pay your bills on time: Set-up auto payments with your bank Use an online calendar to set-up alerts to remind you to make payments Schedule an email to be sent to you when a bill is due 2. Reduce your debt on "revolving credit" accounts. You probably know that your credit scores are impacted by the amount of debt you owe. But you may not know that when lenders consider doing business with you, they are going to analyze your utilization rate. That's just a fancy term that informs lenders how much debt you have vs. the amount of credit available to you. For example, if you owe $5,000 on a credit card and have a credit limit of $10,000, you've used up 50% of your available credit.  That means you would have a 50% utilization rate, which is very high and likely to hurt your credit scores. Work on reducing to your debt so that you're utilization rate is under 30% on all your revolving credit accounts.  Ideally, you should only charge what you can pay in full each month which means you aren’t using credit to live beyond your means. Steps to help you find credit cards with high utilization rates: Review the last credit card billing statement for each card Write down the credit card debt owed Find out what your credit limit is for each card Divide your credit card debt by your credit limit (and then multiply by 100) Calculate your utilization rate for each card, and identify any cards over 30% 3. Keep older credit card accounts active. Some people make the mistake of closing old credit accounts simply because they aren't using the accounts anymore. But older credit accounts with good history can actually help you build your scores over time. Closing the account will mean that great credit history will get deleted after 10 years, which could actually drop your score. So keep older, good credit accounts live. 4. Audit your credit report to make sure it's accurate. Many people don't realize that they are able to access their credit report for free from each credit bureau every year. This means you could pull your credit report every 4 months from a different bureau to look for signs of fraud. It is important to review your credit report regularly to make sure your identifying information is correct so that all of your accounts can be correctly linked to you. You also want to make sure your accounts are being reported correctly by your lenders. How to get your free credit report and dispute any errors: Go to annualcreditreport.com and verify your identity by answering authentication questions to access your credit report for free.  If you can’t pass authentication, you will be provided instructions on how to write. Review your credit report and look for any errors (accounts that do not belong to you, delinquent payments that were not late.) Dispute any errors as instructed and allow up to 30 days for the account to be verified with your lender If the lender changes the status of their account, they will also report the update to any other credit reporting company to which they provide their data. 5. Communicate directly with your lender If you have a delinquent payment listed and you don’t agree that it was late, you may want to check directly you’re your lender to find out why their records do not agree with yours. If they have misapplied a payment, you may need to provide them proof of your payment. Remember that your goal is not just to make sure that your credit report is accurate with Experian.  You want to make sure that your information is correct with the source so that it won’t impact your terms with that lender and that it will be reported correctly by that lender to all who check your credit references. It takes time to build a great credit history, and there are no shortcuts. By following these five strategies, you can begin the process of building a great credit history, which will produce great credit scores. Recommended Reading: How to Dispute Credit Report Information Easily 7 Stubborn Credit Score Myths & Misconceptions Debunked What You Should Know About Credit Repair Companies >> Subscribe to the Experian Blog by Email for More Credit Tips Photo: Shutterstock