If you’re going to access capital before the holidays here’s something you’ll want to be sure to look at… CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

13 Fun Turkey Facts….

• The average weight of a turkey purchased at Thanksgiving is 15 pounds.
• The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog.
• A 15 pound turkey usually has about 70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark meat.
• The five most popular ways to serve leftover turkey is as a sandwich, in stew, chili or soup, casseroles and as a burger.
• Turkey has more protein than chicken or beef.
• Turkeys will have 3,500 feathers at maturity.
• Male turkeys gobble. Hens do not. They make a clucking noise.
• Commercially raised turkeys cannot fly.
• Turkeys have heart attacks. The United States Air Force was doing test runs and breaking the sound barrier. Nearby turkeys dropped dead with heart attacks.
• A large group of turkeys is called a flock.
• Turkeys have poor night vision.
• It takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 30 pound tom turkey.
• A 16-week-old turkey is called a fryer. A five to seven month old turkey is called a young roaster.

Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.

–      Theodore Roosevelt

Posted by ehoyer on November 18th, 2014 :: Filed under Bankground Checks

Can’t Pay Your Credit Card Bill? Here’s What To Do

Dave Fulk

You already know how important it is to pay your credit card bill on time. Until now, you’ve managed to avoid getting into the downward spiral of late fees, bad credit, and interest rate hikes that can turn even small purchases into life-damaging debt. But it’s the holiday season, and spending on your credit card is easier than digging spare change out from under the couch. What do you do when the credit card bill comes next month and you can’t pay it off?

We hope that you will never find yourself in this situation, but the reality is that it happens sometimes, whether it’s due to excess holiday spending or falling back on credit cards for an emergency. While prevention is the best medicine, there are a number of things you should do as soon as you realize you won’t be able to make your minimum payment.

Step 1: Come Up With a Plan

Before you call your creditors, take a moment to assess your situation. Many creditors are willing to extend payment due dates on a one-time basis, but you’ll need to have a different conversation if you don’t know when you’ll be able to pay your bill. Arm yourself with knowledge, including your monthly income, the reason you are unable to pay your bill right now, and when you think you’ll be able to make your payment.

Step 2: Notify Your Credit Company A.S.A.P.

Call your credit card company on the phone as soon as you realize you can’t pay your bill — don’t get stuck on Step 1 if it prevents you from making the call. The sooner you call your creditors, the more good faith you establish. Be brief and clear about explaining your problem, and make sure to ask for a ticket number so you know your problem has gone on the record, and so you don’t have to explain it again next time you call.

Step 3: Negotiate a Solution

Tell the customer service representative how you would like to approach the situation. Be cautious when estimating time frames — it’s better to pay on time, every time, than to try to pay your bill quickly and fail. Your creditor may have a specific way of handling bill nonpayment, so work together to agree upon terms that both you and your creditor are comfortable with.

Step 4: If Necessary, Ask For a Hardship Variation

If you don’t know when you’ll be able to pay off your credit card bill, you may want to ask for a hardship variation, especially if you’re dealing with unemployment or other special circumstances. Hardship variations are a way of asking your creditor to change the terms of your contract to make it easier for you to pay off what you owe. Once you apply for it, your creditors must respond to you within 21 days, and you are owed an explanation if your application is denied.

Step 5: Don’t Neglect Other Payments

Never juggle bills to pay off your credit card — there are serious consequences for nonpayment of all types of bills. Don’t take out loans to cover costs, either, as this increases debt rather than repairing it. If you find that you are unable to pay off other bills in addition to your credit card, you may want to consider credit counseling, which can help repair your credit and get you out of the cycle of debt.

Posted by ehoyer on November 12th, 2014 :: Filed under Bankground Checks

The holiday season has become as well known for frenzied shopping and door-buster sales as it is for feasts with family and friends, festive parades and football. Making your way to the
stores this season is all but unavoidable, but be cautious—now more so than ever, you need to make sure you’re prepared to prevent and handle any data breeches or identity theft that comes your way.

Remember, it was only a year ago that Target disclosed that its credit card database had been hacked. Just a month later, Neiman Marcus suffered the same fate.

Don’t fall victim to cybercrimes or identity theft. Protect yourself this holiday season by following these shopping safety tips.

1. Create strong passwords and update them frequently.
Passwords provide the first line of defense against unauthorized access to your accounts. The stronger your password, the more protected you’ll be.

In general, strong passwords:

• Are at least eight characters long.
• Don’t contain your username, real name or company name.
• Don’t contain a complete word.
• Are significantly different from previous passwords.
• Contain a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.

Also, be sure to change your passwords every 3 months or so to stay ahead of cyber crime.

2. Keep sensitive and personal documents secure.
Your Social Security card, birth certificate and other important documents should be kept in a safe-deposit box or fireproof safe. At the very list, keep your sensitive documents filed in a secure place in your home, not in your purse, wallet or car.

3. Protect and set a password on your mobile device.
While the small, lightweight design of our mobile devices make them easy to carry with us, this also makes them easy to misplace or lose.

Back up and protect the data on your mobile device. Create a strong password, use your device’s auto-lock feature and don’t share your device with others. Also, back up your data, delete messages with sensitive information and install security updates.

4. Check your credit report.
At a minimum, you should check your credit report at least once every 12 months. Among other benefits of checking your score, this is often the first indicator that you’ve been the victim of
identity theft.

Multiple websites offer opportunities for their users to check their credit report for free. 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 have been a victim of fraud. Work with an expert, Like National Credit Federation who can help you stop this fraud and prevent future misuse of your identity.

5. Only carry what you need in your purse or wallet.
Don’t needlessly expose your credit card, debit cards or important documents to possible theft. Leave any cards that you aren’t planning to use, as well as your Social Security card, in a safe, secured spot when you head out on the town.

6. Make a copy of everything you carry and store them
in a safe place. If you’ve ever misplaced your purse or wallet—or worse yet, had them stolen—you know that canceling and replacing your cards can be a huge hassle.

Minimize this headache by making front and back copies of everything that you carry with you, like your credit cards, debit cards and drivers license. Store these copies alongside your other important documents.

If you’ve fallen victim to cybercrime, been hit by identity theft or need to make a dramatic improvement to your credit score, call National Credit Federation at (877) 720-PLUS (7587). We’ll help you develop a strategy to get your life back on track and legally restore your credit score!

-Dave Fulk
President | National Credit Federation