I’ve started reading Eleanor Blayneys’ “Women’s Worth: Finding Your Financial Confidence” for August’s Virtual Book Salon and am loving what she has to share. As a Certified Financial Planner who focuses on women’s financial issues and struggles, I’m finding that her book speaks to me. One of the points she makes early on is that is important for us to ‘know our numbers.” She parallels our physical health to our financial health. Most of us know our blood pressure, our cholesterol levels, our weight, etc. Yet, how many of us have stepped on the ‘credit score scale’ or know our net worth, our tax liability, the total of our monthly fixed expenses? Watch Eleanor talk about the importance of knowing our numbers in this short video:

The 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility & Disclosure [CARD] Act went into effect on February 22, 2010, and will result in many changes regarding credit card policies. Some of the things to watch out for are:

• a return of annual fees
• disappearance of the “grace period”
• new fees for services not specifically banned in the law
• rate hikes for all
• lower credit limits

The Center for Financial Social Work is hosting a *free* webinar on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 2pm EST.  This is an opportunity for you to learn all about ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly’ of how the credit card reform will impact your life. To register, send an email to 1financialsocialwork@gmail.com with “FREE Credit Card Reform Webinar” in the subject line.

You can also check out this informative video about the new law from www.plentii.com:

Perhaps you are aware that federal law guarantees access to one free credit report each year, and it is being financially smitten to check your credit report at least once a year. But many consumers who get theirs from the widely advertised FreeCreditReport.com are automatically registered for an expensive credit monitoring service, often unbeknownst to them. New York Times financial journalist Ron Leiber recently created this video advising, ‘buyer beware,’ and does a great job explaining some of the ins and outs of credit reporting.

Click here to watch the video:  Costly Free Credit Reports

Bottom line, for a truly ‘free’ credit report, visit  www.annualcreditreport.com.