Saving a significant yet manageable amount of money in a savings account might be one of the most important ways to enhance our financial standing in the future. However, that is not the only way to secure a clear financial future.
Mellody Hobson, the current president of Ariel Investments and personal finance contributor of “Good Morning America,” lays out some of the most sensible finance resolutions we can make for 2010.
Hobson thinks that investing in the stock market might be a good idea to start the year. According to her, the stock market was able to recover from hitting rock bottom last March 2009. In fact, the stock market was reported to have gone up an astounding 57% earlier this year.
Apart from that, Mellody Hobson also encourages people to consider reviewing the accuracy of their credit scores. According to her, credit reports are one of the most important items in each person’s financial life. Credit scores can bring most people bigger interest payments when getting loans for homes or new cars. In addition to that, Hobson also says that a person’s credit score can either make or break his/her bid for his/her dream job. However, to achieve all those, people need to give more importance to the accuracy of their credit scores. Mellody Hobson says that around 80% of credit reports are flawed. Major credit reporting agencies including Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian are not responsible for ensuring the accuracy of each person’s credit reports. Therefore, the owner of the credit report must take the responsibility himself.
In addition to those two, Mellody Hobson also advises people to prepare themselves for the possibility of rising minimum payments. Due to the new legislation, most credit card issuers including JP Morgan, Citibank, MBNA, and the Bank of America are increasing the amount of minimum payments.
