Fashion Clubs: Delivering Style to Busy Women

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January 26th, 2012 - Posted by polina

Source: WeHeartIt

Fashion Clubs are subscription-based sites where members have access to a personalized selection of cute shoes, bags, jewelry and more. Every month, expert stylists (including celebrities like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and Kim Kardashian)  from each club will present you with a showroom filled with trendy goodies, all at a set low price.

The best part about fashion clubs, other than the super cute stuff at low prices, is that they deliver style right to your door! No need to leave your snuggie and drive to the mall — simply sign on, browse and get excited for a new closet addition every month. And this is only one of the perks you get from joining a fashion club. Need more convincing? Check out 5 reasons why  fashion clubs are perfect for a busy lady such as yourself.

Click here to compare all of our fashion clubs.

Is Internet Fax as Secure as Regular Fax?

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January 25th, 2012 - Posted by polina

Q: Is Internet Fax as Secure as a Regular Fax Machine?

A: Actually, it could be argued that Internet Fax is safer than using a regular fax machine. First of all, you don't always feel like standing around the fax machine waiting for a document to arrive. Instead, you may take a coffee break or sit at your desk and then check back on the machine a little bit later. However, leaving the machine unattended makes your private documents vulnerable to prying eyes. With Internet Fax, you can be sure that important files will be sent to your very own password-protected email or Internet Fax provider web account. Not only that, but your faxes stay organized within your account instead of cluttered papers that can potentially be lost. Most of these services even offer SSL encryption. With Internet Fax, you can rest assured that no human interaction happens while your faxes are being sent and no papers are left forgotten on your machine.

Click here to compare all of our Internet Fax services.

Does Identity Guard have a toll-free phone number to call for more information?

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January 24th, 2012 - Posted by Tasha

Q:  Does Identity Guard have a toll-free phone number to call for more information?

A:  Yes, Identity Guard does have a toll-free phone number you can call for more information about their product: 1-855-727-5801. Identity Guard customer service representatives are available via that phone number from 8am to 8pm EST Monday through Friday. This is a dedicated line for NextAdvisor readers, so you'll still be able to get the free 30-day trial AND 25% off the subscription price (bringing price down to $14.99/mo) of top-rated Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION® when you call in.

Which Diet Food Tastes the Best? Our Taste Test Has the Answer

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January 24th, 2012 - Posted by polina

Do you ever wonder how diet meal delivery programs actually taste? We do, and instead of judging by the airbrushed photos of mouthwatering dishes, we tried the meals ourselves and developed the official diet meal delivery taste test. For this independent taste test, we ordered meals from six different diet programs out of pocket, unbeknownst to the diet food companies themselves. Eight men and women tasted meals from breakfast, lunch and dinner of each program, and they didn't shy away from their thoughts. The testers rated the taste of each meal on a scale of 1-10 and included additional comments. These comments ranged anywhere from  "I like! Chicken is tender, orzo is delicious, and even the veggies are good!" to "Mushy, weird texture and a little scary."

In the end, BistroMD came out on top with 5 stars for all breakfast, lunch and dinner. Jenny Craig, winner of our last diet taste test back in October 2010, placed second followed by Diet To Go, The Biggest Loser, eDiets and Nutrisystem. To check out the full diet meal delivery taste test, click here!

Want to learn more about meal delivery programs? Compare them all and read the reviews here.

Which Online Backup Service Features a "Mirror Image" of my Hard Drive?

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January 23rd, 2012 - Posted by polina

Q: I'm afraid that if I were to loose my hard drive completely, I wouldn't be able to find and load all the programs I use. I'd like to know what service to purchase so that my backup includes a "mirror image" of my hard drive?

A: Online Backup services work hard to save all of your important files, making sure that you will never lose them permanently. In the event of a data loss catastrophe such as a computer crash, these services will help you restore all of your files with ease.

Though all of the online backup services we review keep your files safe and can restore everything back to normal, we  recommend the Carbonite HomePlus plan and HomePremier plan if you specifically want a "mirror image" taken of your hard drive. This feature creates a mirror image of your PC every 24 hours, which includes your operating system, settings, programs, files, and folders as of a specific date.  This service is  intended for people repairing a crashed PC and not replacing it because installing a mirror image of your last PC on a new computer can cause some instability due to system differences. After your initial mirror image is completed and saved onto your external hard drive, your Carbonite info center will display snapshots and information about when your last mirror image was finished.

Carbonite Mirror Image

If computer disaster strikes and all of your files are lost, the mirror image feature is a great way to restore everything back to exactly how it was. Carbonite has a great tutorial on their site on exactly how to restore your computer using the mirror image service. To read more about Carbonite and their various plans, read the full review here!

Want to Get a Jump on Your Taxes? Tax E-filing Has Started

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January 20th, 2012 - Posted by jeff

The IRS is now accepting tax e-filing, as of January 17, so you can file your taxes early. Why should you file early? If you are getting a refund, the earlier you file, the quicker you get your refund. Since so many people wait to file their taxes, the IRS has less to process in January and February, so they can process and return your refund quickly.

Need help filing your taxes? We've got you covered! We review all the top tax preparation experts to tell you who offers the fastest, easiest and most reliable tax prep assistance. And right now, TurboTax, one of our top-rated services, is offering NextAdvisor readers up to 40% off their tax prep services. To read all the reviews and get the latest deals, click here.

If I sign up for Identity Guard today, will I get immediate knowledge of opened credit to date?

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January 20th, 2012 - Posted by Tasha

Q:  If I sign up for Identity Guard today, will I get immediate knowledge of opened credit to date?

A:  Yes, if you sign up for Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION® today, you will find out about the lines of credit opened in your name to date. That's because when you sign up for Identity Guard, you'll receive access to your 3-bureau credit report—a summary of your credit history as provided by each of the 3 credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Within this summary are all of the credit accounts included in your current credit history as well as the payment history for each account over the last 24 months. You'll also get your credit scores from all 3 credit bureaus for free.

It's important to note that over time, some information does fall off your credit reports. Positive account information remains in your credit report for at least 10 years. Delinquent payment information remains on your credit report for 7 years from the date of delinquency.

We really like Identity Guard as both a credit monitoring and identity theft protection service, and right now they are offering a free 30-day trial and 25% off the subscription price to NextAdvisor readers.

If I Sign Up for a Fashion Club, do I have to Buy Something Every Month?

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January 19th, 2012 - Posted by polina

Q: I really want to sign up for a fashion club, but what if one month I don't like any of the styles or I just don't want to buy anything? Will I still be charged?

Screenshot of ShoeDazzle Shoes

A: To put it simply, No! You never have to buy anything if you don't feel like it. One of our favorite parts about online fashion clubs is the amount of flexibility they provide for their members. A perfect example of this is the Skip the Month button featured on each of the fashion club sites. Though the specifics vary from club to club, in general, if you decide that you don't want anything one month, you can sign into your account within the first five days of that month and select the Skip the Month option. This way, you will not be charged.

If you forget to select this option in the first five days of the month, you will be charged and will receive one credit. Nothing will be sent to you without your consent! Instead, you can redeem this credit anytime you want for anything on the site. Want to learn more about fashion clubs? Compare them all here!

Will applying for a credit card hurt my credit score?

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January 19th, 2012 - Posted by Tasha

Q:  I am looking to apply for a secured or unsecured credit card to help me boost my credit scores. If I apply for an unsecured credit card, will it drop my credit score when my credit history is pulled? Will applying for a secured card be the better option or does that also drop my score? How can I apply and obtain a credit card to rebuild my credit score without having my credit history pulled and my score negatively affected?

A:   According to FICO, the gold standard of credit score providers, applying for one new line of credit (whether it's for a secured or unsecured credit card) won't hurt your credit score very much. In fact, "for most people, one additional credit inquiry will take less than five points off their FICO score". Where you need to start being careful is if you're applying for multiple lines of credit (aka, credit cards) over a short period of time. This can be perceived as risky credit behavior and drop your credit score more than just a single credit card application would.

Since it seems one of your primary goals is to rebuild your credit history, you should definitely be applying for a credit card that reports to all 3 credit bureaus. Some good examples are cards developed specifically for those with poor or limited credit, like the Orchard Bank Visa Card and the Capital One® Secured Mastercard®. However, these cards (like all credit card applications, whether they are for secured or unsecured cards) will pull your credit report to determine your creditworthiness.

If your bigger concern is the credit card application not having ANY impact on your credit score, you can try a prepaid debit card like the PrePaid Visa® RushCard.  When you apply for the Rushcard no credit check is run, but it probably won't help improve your credit because it does NOT feature 3-bureau reporting. Instead it reports your payment history to lesser-known (and used) LexisNexis® and PRBC®.

If you're worried about how your credit score fluctuates over time (especially when you apply for credit cards or lines of credit), consider signing up for PrivacyGuard. PrivacyGuard's top-rated credit monitoring service provides 3-bureau credit monitoring as well as monthly updates to your 3-bureau credit scores and reports. Right now PrivacyGuard is offering NextAdvisor readers a 30-day trial for $1. When you sign up for the trial you'll receive all 3 credit scores and reports, and they are yours to keep even if you cancel during the trial period.

How do I Retrieve my Weight Watchers Lifetime Membership Number?

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January 18th, 2012 - Posted by polina

Q: I was a Weight Watchers lifetime member many, many years ago and am interested in re-joining. I do not have my lifetime member card. Could I have it emailed or mailed to my home?

A: If you’ve lost your Weight Watchers lifetime membership number, they can retrieve it, as long as you live in the same area where you signed up. Just call 800-651-6000 or go to the site and email Weight Watchers to get your number. If you have moved away from the area where you signed up, Weight Watchers suggests you fill out a new Lifetime Membership Information Request Form at your new Weight Watchers meeting location.

If you are interested in checking out some other diet plans, we review both Do-It-Yourself Plans and Meal Delivery Plans that could fit your diet needs. To check out the reviews, click here.