How does credit monitoring affect your credit score?
February 3rd, 2012 - Posted by Tasha
Q: I've been told that your credit score can suffer if your credit report is checked too often in a 12 month time period. How does credit monitoring affect your credit score?
A: Good news—first off, you can check your own credit score and/or report as many times as you want without it affecting your credit score. Checking your own credit score/report is considered a "soft" inquiry and will NOT affect your credit score in any way. It also won't show up on credit reports given to third parties.
Additionally, subscribing to a legitimate credit monitoring service won't hurt your credit score. That's because when you subscribe to a credit monitoring service you authorize them to act on your behalf to monitor your credit reports. This means they can also check your credit scores and reports without it affecting your score. If you're in the market for a credit monitoring service, take a look at our top-rated Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION® and PrivacyGuard.
New Cloud Storage Reviews: Access your Files Online Anywhere, Anytime.
February 2nd, 2012 - Posted by polina
Got lots of files? Store them in the cloud!
Cloud storage services not only ensure that all of your files are backed up online and ready for access no matter where you are, but they also sync your files across all of your devices and on the web. This way you can have documents as updated as you are, anywhere, anytime.
With all of the services out there however, it may be hard to choose the one that's right for you. Well not to fear, we did the work for you. We reviewed SugarSync, JustCloud, ZipCloud, Spideroak, MyPCBackup, LiveDrive and DropBox and laid out all of the specs so you can find your cloud soulmate. No matter what you need from your cloud storage provider, you are sure to find one that covers all of your needs at the price you want.
New Zoosk Offer: Social Networking Meets Online Dating
February 2nd, 2012 - Posted by jeff
If you like a lot of features and avenues of communication with your online dating site, you should check out Zoosk. It takes the best parts of Facebook, Zynga and other social networking companies and incorporates them into a robust online dating experience. It includes a news feed, coins you can use to upgrade services and a completely integrated chat tool. While our reviewers weren't impressed by the selection of Zoosk's matches, the company is still growing, which means the selection will continue to grow. The best part? Most of these features can be used and tested without a subscription, so you can check out the site and play with the features for free.
Want to know more? Check out our full review of Zoosk and sign up to create a profile here!
With Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, do I have to book my travel through the Capital One Rewards Center, or can I book it myself?
February 2nd, 2012 - Posted by Tasha
Q: With Capital One® VentureSM Rewards Credit Card, do I have to book my travel through the Capital One Rewards Center or can I go anywhere (i.e., Travelocity) to book my travel and still use my reward points for the purchase?
A: The Capital One® VentureSM Rewards Credit Card makes it pretty easy to redeem your miles. You can either directly use the miles you've already accrued by contacting the Rewards Center (toll-free) to book your travel. OR you can shop around and book the travel yourself using your Venture Rewards Card – online, in person or over the phone.
If you choose to book your own travel you can redeem the miles you earn online to get reimbursed for the cost of the travel purchase. This means if you book your own travel, you'll earn miles that you can then redeem for a statement credit, cash back, gift cards or merchandise. (Note: you have 90 days from the date your travel purchase posts to your statement to redeem your miles). It may seem a little complicated, but it helps to think of your miles as something you can either spend directly on travel (by using the Rewards Center) or convert into cash back (by booking the travel yourself, and then using the miles you earned to reimburse yourself with a statement credit).
We really like the Capital One® VentureSM Rewards Credit Card because users earn a straightforward 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases….and they can redeem those miles online without a hassle. But if you'd like to shop around, check out all our Travel Credit Card Reviews.
New TaxBrain Review: Easy-to-Use, Streamlined Tax Preparation
February 1st, 2012 - Posted by jeff
If H&R Block or TurboTax don't work for you or if you are just looking to try a new tax prep service, TaxBrain offers the same reliable services without a lot of the annoying questions. One of the downsides of the big names is that you feel like you are stuck in a long string of questions that never ends. Did you contribute to your 401K? Did you refinance your house? If you don't have a 401K or a house for that matter, these questions can be annoying. TaxBrain lets you streamline your tax prep experience so you only really need to deal with the deduction questions that pertain to you. Of course, in order to get the best refund, you should already be knowledgeable about the best deductions for you, otherwise TaxBrain can be confusing.
Want to know more? Check out our full review of TaxBrain and take advantage of their early e-filing service.
Need a Virtual Phone Provider? Get a $75 Credit from Grasshopper!
January 31st, 2012 - Posted by polina
Do you have a small business? Virtual phone services allow your clients to call you on a single phone number, and these calls can be forwarded to any number of your choice.
Grasshopper, a particularly feature-filled virtual phone service, is offering an exclusive deal to our readers. Now when you sign up for this service through NextAdvisor, you will get a $75 credit towards your account. Grasshopper allows an unlimited number of extensions and even has fax-receiving capabilities. You can customize each extension and call-forwarding number, organizing your business' phone system no matter how many employees, and different locations, are involved.
No coupon code is necessary, just click on any Grasshopper sign-up link on NextAdvisor to take advantage of this sweet deal. Click here to read the full Grasshopper review.
How Many Files can I Backup with MyPCBackup?
January 30th, 2012 - Posted by polina
Q: When backing up my computer with MyPCBackup, how large and how many files can be uploaded at once? I have a picture directory with 10,000 files or so. Can I upload this directory all at once?
A: Thanks for your question! The biggest perk of MyPCBackup is that you get unlimited storage space for one computer. Thus, no matter how many files you have, photos in your case, you can back them all up with your one basic subscription. You can definitely backup your directory all at once, but this might take a while. The upload time isn't a big deal though since you can continue using your computer while your files are safely being stored.
Another service that lets you backup an unlimited amount of files for one computer is the top rated Carbonite. To compare all of our online backup services, click here!
Yahoo Web Hosting Drops Its Prices, Great News for Beginners
January 27th, 2012 - Posted by jeff
Yahoo's web hosting has always been a great service for beginners, except for the price. Now Yahoo has made it even easier for beginners of web hosting to access their suite of services by dropping the prices for all their web hosting options.
The cheapest plan is the Basic plan, for $4.99/month, but NextAdvisor readers get an extra 25% off for three months, bringing the price down to $3.74. The Basic service comes with 100GB of storage space and 1000GB of data transfer allowance a month. Or you could upgrade to the more popular Advanced plan, which is $5.99 for the first three months and then $7.99/month after that. The Advanced plan offers 500GB of storage space and 5000GB of data transfer allowance a month. If you think you are going to need more storage/transfer space, you can get the Premier plan, which is unlimited, for $8.99 for the first three months and then $11.99/month after that.
All of the plans offer Yahoo's user-friendly interface and intuitive site builder, along with many other features that every beginner will need. To read our full review of Yahoo Web Hosting and to take advantage of the new pricing, click here.
Fashion Clubs: Delivering Style to Busy Women
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?
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.
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