Car rental alert: You may need insurance after all

BOSTON (10/30/07)--For years, you've made the wise decision not to buy expensive collision damage waivers (CDW) for car rentals if your credit card company already has identical coverage. Now, despite what seemed like good advice, many consumers are finding out the hard way that they're not covered for loss-of-use (LOU) charges (smartertravel.com Oct. 25).

SmarterTravel.com expert Ed Perkins did some investigating, and discovered some gaps in credit card coverage (PR Newswire Oct. 25). Many people believed that if a credit card covers collision damage repair, it also covers loss of use charges. However, some credit card companies require that the car rental company provide a vehicle log for the credit card company's coverage to work. If the car rental company refuses to supply the log, the credit card company can refuse to cover any charges for loss of use, and you're stuck with the bill.

Anecdotes posted on the SmarterTravel Website provide several expensive scenarios. In one, some car rental companies charged LOU at the full, undiscounted, short-term rental rate rather than using the discounted rate on the renter's contract. In another example, the car rental company imposed LOU charges even though there were plenty of other cars in the lot and it didn't lose any revenue while the damaged car was being fixed.

Which companies aren't sharing vehicle logs? Perkins writes that Avis, Budget and Hertz don't share logs with either credit card or insurance companies. Although American Express and MasterCard must have logs to honor their coverage, Visa--according to Perkins--indicated it will try for an equitable solution. And even if you have American Express' Premium Car Rental Protection plan, you'd still need the vehicle log to be covered.

Here's some advice:

• If you want to rent from a car rental company that does provide vehicle logs to credit card issuers, stick with Alamo, Enterprise or National. Others may provide logs--check before you rent.
• Using Visa may give you the opportunity to negotiate coverage for LOU; using American Express and MasterCard won't.
• If you want to avoid financial exposure, buy CDW when you rent, or purchase separate travel insurance that covers rental car damage--you may pay a fraction of what you'd pay the car rental company for the same coverage.

For more information, read, "Research, Plan, and Budget for That Special Vacation" in Home & Family Finance Resource Center.

courtesy of cuna.org

Disaster preparation key for some peace of mind

MADISON, Wis. (10/29/07)--Whether it's fires in California or more floods in New Orleans, each disaster brings another reminder--no matter where you live--to develop a personal or family disaster plan (CUNA Center for Personal Finance).

Don't know where to begin? Check out these resources:

• ready.gov. California residents can access links about evacuation procedures, wildfire preparedness and local resources. Before a crisis hits, click to start a kit, make a plan, be informed, and watch a video.
• redcross.org. Get general tips on protecting your home before a disaster strikes, including what to do when a wildfire threatens your home, what to include in an emergency supply kit, and how to create a family disaster plan. Links can help you find missing loved ones and help you donate to relief funds.
• fema.gov/areyouready/. Access step-by-step, in-depth guides in both English and Spanish to help you prepare.
• prepare.org. This site contains disaster preparedness tips for vulnerable populations: seniors, children, people with disabilities, people with mobility issues and pet owners.

If you wish to donate to relief efforts, call 800-REDCROSS or contact the local American Red Cross chapter. To find the nearest chapter, visit redcross.org.

For more information, read, "Disaster-Proof Your Important Papers" in Home & Family Finance Resource Center.

courtesy of cuna.org

Stopping junk mail, lowering utility costs

WASHINGTON (10/26/07)--Experts on Sunday's H&FF Radio show will offer tips to help you significantly reduce the amount of junk mail and e-mail you get, get a handle on the high cost of utilities this winter, build a good credit record, and keep kids safe on the Internet.

Home & Family Finance airs Sundays at 3 p.m. EDT on the Radio America Network. The one-hour program devoted to consumer finance issues is brought to you by America's credit unions and their 90 million members, and is presented by CO-OP Network.

Sunday's show, which you also can hear later via the Internet, features Paul Berry, Washington, D.C., journalist and broadcaster, discussing these topics with special guests:

• "How to Stop Getting Junk Mail You Don't Want," with Pat Kachura, senior vice president for corporate responsibility, Direct Marketing Association, Washington, D.C.;
• "Kids.gov--The Official Kids' Portal for the U.S. Government," with Mary Levy, director, Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) Consumer Information and Outreach Division, Washington, D.C.;
• "Building Credit With a Secured Credit Card," with Linda Sherry, director of national priorities, Consumer Action, Washington, D.C.;
• "Ways to Lower Your Utility Costs," with Mike Wilson, marketing and communications coordinator, Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative, Paxton, Ill.; and
• Listener E-mail Questions.

Home & Family Finance is a resource center for personal finance information at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). The radio show is sponsored by CO-OP Network, the national credit union ATM network; Cabot Creamery Cooperative, makers of cheddar cheese; and Visa. For more information, read "Keep Kids Safe Online" and "Start an Energy Diet: Save Money Around Home" in Home & Family Finance Resource Center.

courtesy of cuna.org

How to spot a counterfeit bill

WASHINGTON (10/23/07)--Creating fake money with a PC, scanner, and inkjet printer is easy, but counterfeiters are discovering that the latest, high-tech counterfeit-proof bills from the U.S. Treasury are making fake bills easier for consumers to detect, and punishment is swift (secretservice.gov).

It pays to know how to spot a fake. New $20 bills printed by the Treasury contain three key security features:

1. The number "20" located in the bottom right corner made of color-shifting ink that changes from copper to green;
2. A plastic security strip with the words "USA TWENTY";and
3. A smaller version of President Andrew Jackson's portrait that's visible if you hold the bill up to a light.

The U.S. Secret Service offers advice to protect yourself from counterfeit scams:

• Check for duplicate serial numbers.
• Hold bills up to the light. A counterfeiter rarely can replicate the color-shift ink.
• Be suspicious of bills of larger denominations and those that bear pre-1996 designs; nearly all pre-1996 money has been taken out of circulation and destroyed.
• Take time to make sure the bills you receive look--and feel--legitimate. If the colors are off or the paper is not like papers on other bills, contact local authorities.

If you can't see any of the security features on the new bill, you may be holding a fake. Counterfeiting is a felony handled by the U.S. Secret Service. Anyone facing counterfeit charges could face up to 15 years in prison and stiff fines.

For more information, read, "Catching the Bad Guys: Credit Unions Look Out for Members' Safety" in Home & Family Finance Resource Center.

courtesy of cuna.org

Laddering CDs: Some peace of mind for market volatility

KANSAS CITY (10/22/07)--Given recent ups and downs in the market, are you looking for an investment strategy that gives higher dividends than a regular savings account, is federally insured, and offers predictable returns? Consider laddering your certificates of deposit (CDs) (The Kansas City Star Oct. 13).

Mary Rhodes, director of deposit services at CommunityAmerica CU, Lenexa, Kan., emphasizes that wary investors shouldn't shy away from CDs in today's shaky economic environment--particularly when they consider the benefits of laddering.

Rhodes' recent article in the Kansas City Star explains that laddering CDs helps you insulate some of your investments from recent economic events. She stresses the importance of regularly expiring CD terms so your money is available to you as often as you like, while giving you a stable investment return.

Industry experts agree. In addition to a stable source of income, laddering can help give you more liquidity (Bankrate.com).

Here's an example of how laddering works: If you have $5,000 to invest, put $1,000 each into certificates maturing in one, two, three, four, and five years. Then, one year later when your first certificate matures, you either can cash it in or reinvest that sum in a new five-year certificate. When your two-year certificate matures the next year, you can reinvestment in a new five-year certificate, and so on.

The result: Each year you have a certificate maturing and can opt to take the cash or invest it for five years. This means by the end of the fourth year, all your money is earning dividends at the five-year rate.

Not crazy about tying up your money for long periods of time? For more frequent rollovers, try laddering in three-month, six-month, or nine-month terms. Regardless of the time period you choose, if interest rates increase, you can reinvest each period at the new, higher rate. If interest rates fall, only a portion of your money is locked in at the previous higher rate.

Remember: Structure your ladder to meet your needs, and use the same term for each certificate when you roll it over at maturity.

For more information, read, "Ladder Your Way to Bigger Savings" in Plan It: Retire Ready Toolkit.

courtesy of cuna.org