YPRuck: YPBlogSpot was contacted by a partner of Fellowes, Inc. regarding sharing some tax season tips to protect Young Professionals from the costly crime of identity theft. As Young Professionals it is important to be aware of all possible threats to one’s personal information and ways to protect this information. Take heed to the tips via Fellowes, Inc. and the Identity Theft Resource Center and protect your information YPs.
The Identity Theft Resource Center and its corporate sponsor Fellowes offer the following tips to help consumers protect themselves from identity theft during tax season this year:
Filing taxes online:
- Choose a tax filing service you are familiar with. The IRS provides a list of approved companies at www.irs.gov/efile.
- Make sure personal computers are protected with updated firewall and secure software systems, which contain antivirus and anti-spyware programs.
- If you are storing important tax-related documents on your computer, change your passwords frequently between December and April.
- Ensure that every website you are using during tax filing is encrypted to protect personal information when transmitted.
- Shred any backup documents once you’ve filed your taxes online with a Cross-Cut shredder like Fellowes’ 79Ci.
Filing taxes by mail:
- Regularly check the mailbox for W-2 forms and other documents containing sensitive information that arrive by mail. If you don’t receive these documents by Feb. 15, contact the IRS for assistance at (800) 829-1040 as missing forms may be an indication that an identity thief went through your mail.
- Send completed tax returns from a locked mailbox or the post office. If mailing from home, do not put the mailbox flag up. This [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Fellowes,
Identity Theft Resource Center,
Identity Theft Tips,
Personal Finance,
Tax Tips
YPs there’s a saying, “Closed mouths don’t get fed,” I don’t know who said it but it holds true in so many instances. I’ve recently had to use what I know to get what I needed and wanted regarding two credit issues in which I had to ask/negotiate and was successful in doing so.
The first issue was regarding a collections account for a cell phone I had back in the day that I knew about and wanted to pay the account off but I wanted to pay it off on my terms. YPs collection accounts do adversely affect your credit reports but once a collection account is on your credit report unless your trying to buy a house, you [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Credit Cards,
Customer Service,
Negogiating Debt,
Persistance
“My money’s funny. And my credit won’t get it.”
If you’re a Young Professional then you probably understand the importance of your credit. In addition, if you’re a Young Professional you’ve either learned the importance of credit one of two ways. You either learned the importance of credit via experience or you had a parent or guardian thoroughly explain credit to you but most of us in our youth probably learned through experience. This is how I learned the importance of credit.
YPs when it comes to credit, in our youth we tend to bite off more then we can chew. I had my first credit card before I turned 18. It was with CapitalOne and I had a $500 limit which was perfect for me. A $500 credit line wasn’t going to put me in the poor house if things went south so everything was all good. I made purchases with the credit card and paid the balance off in one or two cycles. My mother would sit me down when my statements would come in [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Bank Lenders,
Credit,
Credit Card Companies,
Credit Repair
“Think outside the box. There is more room outside of the box”
I came across this quote from Nashiem Myrick while he was being interviewed and was asked what advice he would give to up and coming music producers. For those unfamiliar with Myrick, he was apart of “The Hitmen” collection assembled by Sean “P.Diddy” Combs in the 90s and is responsible for a lot of great hip-hop records. When I heard him talk about there being more room outside of the box it struck a chord with me. A lot of times people (including myself) play things safe and go with the norm. Going with the norm usually gives us safe and predictable results. However, choosing to go with the unknown leaves endless possibilities. While failure can be one of those possibilities, unbelievable success can be the other possibility. In my opinion, thinking outside of the box and challenging yourself is better than going with the norm. Push yourself to achieve your dreams and they just might come true.
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Good Quote,
Nashiem Myrick,
Think Outisde the box
