My Way Credit

The Federal Reserve board is meeting today and assessing the state of the economy. Many economists and fed-watchers expect Ben Bernanke to announce another rate cut this afternoon. The last rate cut, on September 18, was a half a percent drop to 4.75%. The change was intended to "promote the restoration of orderly conditions in financial markets."

Six weeks later and the market is still looking shaky and the credit crunch hasn't gone away. Investors are really pushing for the rate to drop another quarter percent, to 4.5%, this afternoon. Stocks have already jumped in anticipation of this rate change.

What will another rate drop mean to you?

• Slightly lower credit card rates - Most credit card APR's are tied directly to the prime rate, which is impacted by Fed Rate. You might see a .25% drop in your credit card rate, although it's unlike to have an impact on other credit card trends such as lowered credit limits and aggressive marketing.
• Slightly lower home equity & auto loan rates - Only a quarter of a percent, but it can help if you're trying to get a good deal on a loan.
• Mortgage rates - Expect some instability here. After the September rate cut, mortgage rates actually spiked and have just now settled down again.
• Higher savings rates - It's a pretty good time to have a high-yield savings account. The rates aren't rising that fast, but they're decently high.
   
• Inflation - It's a real possibility but being very closely watched.
• Stocks - The stock market is loving these rate decreases and will probably have a very good day after the announcement is made.

We'll keep you posted as the announcement comes in at 2:15 PST. In the meantime: what would you do if you were Bernanke? Cut the rates? Leave them alone?

Emily Davidson – Credit.com's Communication Director and former TransUnion credit expert. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com moderator.

The fires in California reminded me how important it is to keep copies of all key documents together, so if you need to get out in a hurry, you can quickly locate and grab them. They also reminded me of a warning I recently received from the Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC).

Yet Another Scam
It seems that there’s a nationwide scam underway, trying to get people to buy certified copies of their deeds. The letters cite the FCIC’s useful article, “Managing Household Records,” as a reason for buying a certified deed. The FCIC wants everyone to know there’s no need to use a private company to obtain a copy of a deed. You can easily get one from your local Register of Deeds for free or at a low cost.

Where to Keep What
Ideally, your original deed is best kept in a safe deposit box, along with the following: birth, marriage, and death certificates, car titles, passports, mortgage and other loan agreements, insurance policies, a list of credit card numbers, assorted passwords, codes, and account information, and Social Security cards.

The originals of health-related documents, such as advance directives, health care proxies, and burial wishes, don’t belong in a safe deposit box. The people you put in charge might need the documents before they can get access to the box. Experts recommend that the person who will be carrying out your wishes should have the originals, and copies should be in your doctor’s files as well as given to family and close friends, if you’d like.

As for wills and financial powers of attorney, they don’t belong in a safe deposit box, either. My attorney has the original of my will, and my partner, Marc, the person I’ve chosen to be in charge if I can’t sign for things, has the original of my power of attorney – as well as all those health papers -- buried somewhere in the chaos that is known as our new home. Ditto for his important papers.

Marc and I can’t really use our move as an excuse. Our records were just as chaotic before we moved. I am going to take the fires in California and this blog as a challenge: To get our important papers where they should be! Want to do likewise?

Looks like a good place to start is by reading Nolo.com’s "Keeping Track of Secured Places and Passwords," which will help us focus on the records we ought to organize. Hope you’ll join me!

Nancy Castleman – Co-author of "Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life" and founder of Good Advice Press. Nancy has spent the last 23 years teaching people how to get out of debt, save money, and live better on less. She writes on all these subjects for CreditBloggers.com.