Susie Skog knows Lake Norman Real Estate Inside Out

Reading books to your children is fun, and one of the great joys of parenthood is watching them learn to read by themselves.

Lessons about personal finance and how money works can be included in books you read to children, or in books they read with you or on their own.

Here are some good books about money that are aimed at kids, listed by title, grade level and price. Many can also be checked out for free at the library.

One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent: All About Money: K-2, $6. This book is by Bonnie Worth and illustrated by Aristides Ruiz, and has the look and feel of a Dr. Seuss book. However, its not by the original Dr. Seuss himself. It gives a big picture context to money lessons at this age, all in the fun style of Dr. Seuss.

Money Madness: K-3, $8. By author David Adler and illustrated by Edward Miller, this book asks what life would be like without money. It traces the history of the monetary system, starting with hunting and gathering to paper currency. Sections of the book on inflation and fluctuations in exchange rates can be skipped by some children and perhaps tackled at a later age.

Follow the Money: K-3, $8. By Loreen Leedy, this is one of many follow the coin/dollar childrens books that shows what happens to money. This book is from the point of view of a quarter. It goes from the Federal Reserve to a bank, grocery store, childs piggy bank and elsewhere in a busy day of transactions. Along with teaching how money is used and reused, it has a few money-related problems, such as adding coins.

The Coin Counting Book: Grades 1-4, $7. By Rozanne Lanczak Williams, this basic book helps with one of the main math lessons young children learn in school. Large photos of coins, illustrations and rhymes teach children how to add up coins in a fun way.

Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday: K-4, $6. Written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz, this book shows how having some money burning a hole in your pocket, even if its only $1, can leave you broke if you dont learn discipline to save.

These are just a start. For recommendations for your childs reading level, ask his or her teacher or a librarian for help.

Hope you found this helpful! Contact me for more insights and info.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

A late payment on a credit bill or other debt such as a mortgage can have a significant impact on your credit score. And the higher your credit score is to begin with, the more it can fall after a late payment.

Paying your bills on time is the best way to avoid this. If you dont make your payments and your account is turned over to a collections agency, you wont be able to get that account current again. Late payments can stay on a credit report for seven years.

Before it gets to that point, there are four ways to remove late payments from your credit report so that your score isnt affected:

Ask for a Goodwill Adjustment
Creditors can remove a late payment as a goodwill adjustment if you write a forgiveness letter explaining why you were late and asking that they forgive it and adjust your credit report.

Youll likely be successful if you have a good payment history with the creditor and havent asked for an adjustment previously.

Sign Up for Automatic Payments
Signing up for automatic payments with a creditor can be a way of negotiating the removal of a late payment entry. Automatic payments will help you and the creditor because your future payments will be made on time and you wont have to worry about missing another payment. Just make sure theres enough money in the account youre pulling from each month.

Dispute Inaccuracies
If a late payment is inaccurate, then you have the right to dispute it. The entry date or amount could be wrong, or it may not be your debt. Check your credit report regularly for inaccuracies"having proof for your dispute will help your case.

Hire a Pro
If these steps are not effective in your situation, you may want to consider hiring a professional credit repair service. These services can be faster than trying to fix your credit report on your own"though it can be an expensive option. Look at the companys costs and make sure youre not being charged a subscription plan for regular credit checks.

Federal law allows consumers to check their credit reports for free every 12 months from each credit reporting agency. Start at AnnualCreditReport.com and immediately correct any inaccuracies you see in your credit reports.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Should you prioritize paying off debt or saving for retirement?

If youre younger and have high-interest debt, tackle that first and pay beyond the minimum monthly rate.

Youll be able to stop wasting money on interest and then focus on long-term goals.

If you have low-interest debt but little retirement money, contribute to a 401(k) or IRA first, especially if youre older.

If you have debt with moderate interest rates, some retirement funds and decades left to save, strike a balance.

Consider your circumstances, and figure out what makes sense for you.

When it comes to financial priorities, the answer isnt one-size-fits-all.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Reacting quickly is essential after youve been the victim of identity theft. It can lessen the damage by thieves and lower the stress of having your credit card lost or stolen.

You may notice when you get home that your credit card is missing. Or you may get an email from your credit card company that there is some suspicious activity on your account.

Whatever alerts you to identity theft, here are some steps to take immediately after realizing it:

Get on the phone

Depending on the circumstances, you may want to first call the police to report a crime. If someone just grabbed your purse and ran away, the police are obviously the first agency to contact.

Next, call your credit card company and ask that it cancel your credit card and send you a new one immediately. If any charges were made by the thieves, the credit card company should remove them.

With anyone you contact about this theft, be sure to take notes of the names, dates, times, phone numbers and badge numbers of people youve talked to. You may need the information later to track down a police report.

Ask for a fraud alert

Calling one of the three major credit bureaus and reporting an identity theft will allow the credit bureau to put a fraud alert on all three your credit reports within 24 hours. The credit reporting agency must alert the other agencies when a fraud alert is requested, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A fraud alert requires creditors who check your credit report to verify your identity before opening a new account, issuing an additional card or approving a credit limit increase request.

An initial fraud alert lasts for 90 days. It requires creditors to confirm you are who you say you are, such as by calling you to verify a credit request. An extended fraud alert can be placed on your credit report for seven years, requiring the same alerts to verify who you are.

Consider a credit freeze

You can also request a freeze on your credit reports to stop identity thieves from opening new accounts in your name.

A security freeze prevents new creditors from accessing your credit report, which most businesses require to open credit accounts. A freeze wont stop thieves from taking over existing accounts.

Check credit reports

After youve taken the immediate steps needed to deal with identity theft, be sure to periodically check your credit reports, especially in the first year after you discovered the identity theft.

Youre entitled to three free credit reports per year, so take advantage of them and be on the lookout for erroneous information.

Hope you found these tips helpful! Contact me for more insights and info.

Published with permission from RISMedia.