2007 June | Wheatworks Blog: Financial Matters

Real Estate Calculator Suite Update Available

6/29/2007, 8:38 am

Earlier this week Real Estate Calculator Suite version 4.7 was released by Wheatworks Software, LLC. This is a minor update with a few cosmetic changes which make it prettier on Vista. However, it still runs on the entire spectrum of Windows® operating systems including 95, 98, 2000, XP, NT4 and Vista. One new feature is an additional menu item in the Online Resources menu which links to Wheatworks’ new website, IdentityTheftChecklist.com

This is a free update for all currently licensed users of Real Estate Calculator Suite and costs only $39.95 for a new license. Learn more at http://www.wheatworks.com/real-estate-calculator.htm

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Category: Software Updates | Comment

Your FICO credit score may change soon

6/28/2007, 5:36 pm

Fair Isaac (the company which developed the FICO credit score) has announced their next version of FICO scoring will no longer consider authorized user accounts. This change is being made to address an industry concern about the impact of authorized user accounts on credit risk.

An authorized user account is one in which a person other than the one responsible for paying the balance is allowed to make purchases with a credit card. Authorized users are usually spouses or college students who have little or no personal credit.

Authorized users can improve their credit score is an account’s primary cardholder maintains a low balance and pay on time over a long period of time.

While authorized user accounts have been around for a long time, it’s the current concern over credit renting that Fair Isaac is addressing with the new scoring method. Credit renting is the act of allowing someone with a poor credit score to become and authorized user on the account of someone with a good credit score. The person with a good score makes a few bucks and the person with the poor credit score boosts their score because they’re an authorized user on an account with a good score.

The new scoring method will be introduced in few months to one of the three major credit reporting agencies. The other two will begin using the new FICO scoring method in 2008.

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Category: Consumer Credit | Comment

Another Reason to Buy American

6/27/2007, 12:30 pm

"Buy American", I posted yesterday. The news today on MSNBC.com offers another good reason. China has shut down 180 food factories for using industrial chemicals like formaldehyde, industrial wax and illegal dyes in the production of everything from pickles to seafood.

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Category: Consumer Safety | Comment

Buy American

6/26/2007, 6:08 pm

"Buy American" is a phrase one doesn’t hear very often these days. Not like in the past. When I was a child television commercials encouraged consumers to "Buy American." I haven’t seen the commercial in a long time.

The "Buy American" concept was once so important that it became law. The Buy American Act of 1933 required that the US government prefer domestically produced products.

Of course, "Buying American" has become increasingly difficult because so many American corporations have outsourced their manufacturing processes overseas. It’s a little tongue in cheek to ask, but what DO we make in America anymore?

So many important things are imported, that it’s hard to remember when something wasn’t being recalled or a warning to consumers wasn’t being issued because of poor quality control at a foreign manufacturing plant. And it’s important to remember, poor quality control at a foreign manufacturing facility does not excuse the poor inspection procedures of American companies failing to adequately examine their imported products after they arrive but before they are offered to consumers.

Recent problems include pet food recalls because of melamine-adulterated wheat gluten imported from China, the FDA’s warning to avoid toothpaste imported from China that may contain diethylene glycol, concerns about the safety of imported fish which have led several states to ban certain fish from China and Viet Nam, and today, the Wall Street Journal reports that at least 450,000 Chinese-made tires sold in the U.S. may lack an important safety feature.

When you purchase a product from an American company, you should be able to trust the company to provide a safe product. As more American businesses rely on imported products, it becomes more difficult to eat, drive, brush your teeth, etc. without being concerned about your health.

(So that you realize this post is not written with xenophobic slant, even when you Buy American and it was grown in the US, there’s still no guarantee of safety. It’s hard not to remember this year’s recall of e coli-infected greens grown in this country.)

Bottom Line: it’s time to be picky about what you buy and (when you can find it) Buy American.