Personal Finance

Nowadays online users are aware of government officials from Nigeria or other foreign country asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts. What about other online money scams? Jeanie Ahn writes on Yahoo Finance explains 3 social media money scams you need to watch out for:

1. Fake coupon that trick you into clicking
2. Facebook profile viewer tracking to see who has been checking your profile
3. Phishing emails about closed accounts on how to reactivate because it’s been cancelled or closed

(yahoo.com)

According to Consumer Reports, between 50 percent to 70 percent of Americans overpay for mobile-phone plans. Consumers should be paying no more than $50 per phone line. “Carriers, by and large, unless you make a move, aren’t likely to inform you. They’ll never call you to tell you how to save money if you are already their customer,” said Michael Gikas, senior editor for electronics and technology at Consumer Reports. However, consumers tend to be loyal to wireless carriers to a fault. In a survey, only 6 percent of  90,000 mobile phone subscribers switched providers in the past year. Their wireless bill decrease by $20 or more a month when they switched. Carriers normally offer special prices to subscribers threatening to leave, but it’s up to consumers to find the deals. (bloomberg.com)

Do you buy American or foreign cars? Startup YourMechanic analyzed a huge dataset of the country’s largest markets to come up with the American car index. In San Jose, Calif., only 25% of cars is an American brand, while in San Francisco it’s a bit higher where 27% of cars are American brand. Bridgeport, Conn., New York City, and Boston round out the bottom five cities for American cars. When it comes to buying American, the Midwest reigns supreme with Detroit on the top of the list with 77%. (yourmechanic.com)

While high standard is good, perfectionist can hinder your personal finance in the long run. The Finance Buff writes: “What I observed is a tendency among some people to over-optimize, in other words trying to wring out every last drop. It’s not necessary. It can even be counterproductive in some cases. It’s better to leave some money on the table.” It’s okay to pay off debts instead of squeezing out extra returns in risky investments while paying the minimum. As long as you max out your backdoor Roth IRA contribution, it’s okay to take your time to convert the money. For your emergency funds, it’s okay to put your liquid fund in 1% saving account instead of switching to 1.1% saving account. “Leaving some money on the table when you win the big battles minimizes the chances that something goes wrong. I see it as small prices to pay for the big wins,” said The Finance Buff. (thefinancebuff.com)

Personal finance expert and blogger Marsha Barnes turned a school bus into a mobile financial literacy hub. Barnes, 40, bought a school bus to deliver personal finance advice to people on the belief that financial literacy shouldn’t be considered as a luxury and any willing person can turn their financial situation around. “A school bus, to me, speaks to learning and being in a classroom environment,” Barnes, told Yahoo Finance. Barnes has taken her bus on the road to college campuses and domestic abuse shelters where people need affordable financial education. This year Barnes plans to launch a free two-hour event where women in her community can gather to discuss their financial challenges and seek advice. She’s also partnering with a local radio station to run a 52-week series called “Getting Your Money Right in 2016.” (yahoo.com)

Artificial intelligence (AI) has progressed constantly and has performed better than human in many fields. Earlier this month AlphaGo AI developed by Google’s DeepMind has beaten the world’s top player Lee Sedol in a complex game that enthusiasts hoped it would be decades before machines would be able to triumph over the best human players. AI is already competent at self-driving, but is AI the way forward for personal finance? San Francisco-based start-up Wallet.AI already tries some breakthrough in this field of personal financial management to “build machines to help consumers make smarter decisions about their money, especially when they’re out spending it,” according to its CEO Omar Green. He sees data analysis with the help of AI as the “key to a smarter way to manage finances than a spreadsheet or piece of paper.” Perhaps, one day AI will help human on a small scale financial decision, which eventually saves a lot of money for that person. (wired.com)

Warren Buffett is the most successful investor in the world, and he’s also one of the world’s s wealthiest person. Surely we can learn from his insights and sage advice. The Motley Fool collected some of the best pieces of personal finance advice Warren Buffett has ever given. Here are the 5 best money tips from Warren Buffett:

1. Avoid debt: “You really don’t need leverage in this world much. If you’re smart, you’re going to make a lot of money without borrowing.”
2. Invest in yourself: “Anything you do to improve your own talents and make yourself more valuable will get paid off in terms of appropriate real purchasing power.”
3. Learn about personal finance: Keep on reading. “That’s how knowledge builds up, like compound interest.”
4. Trust a low-cost index fund: “If you invested in a very low-cost index fund — where you don’t put the money in at one time but average in over 10 years — you’ll do better than 90% of people who start investing at the same time.”
5. View money as a long-term game: “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

(fool.com)