Top 10 Personal Finance Articles of the Month — September 2017

Equifax Hack Aftermath

How to Protect Your Identity After the Equifax Hack — Greg Johnson, Club Thrifty

Early this month Equifax announced that it had been the victim of a cyber attack that may have affected as many as 143 million Americans. With that, many consumers are now left to wonder what steps they should take to shield themselves from identity fraud. In this piece, Greg looks at several actions to consider to protect yourself and your credit following this attack.

Equifax Credit Freeze: Why to Do This After the Data Breach — and How Much it Costs in Each US State — Mic, Gina Ragusa

Among the options that individuals may choose to take in the wake of the Equifax hack is to freeze their credit. This will prevent any bad actors from opening new credit accounts in your name but does have a few drawbacks as well. Gina not only gives a rundown of what credit freezes are all about but also how much they’ll cost you depending on your state of residence.

Make Sure You’re Not Going to an Equifax Hacking Site — Kristin Wong, TwoCents

Adding insult to injury, a couple of weeks after news of the attack broke, some hackers tried to take advantage of the situation by creating phishing sites that mirrored the Equifax page. Of course Equifax didn’t do themselves any favors by making an entirely new URL for their cyber attack update site instead of using a subdomain. As Kristin chronicles, this flaw was realized by a whitehat who exploited it, reminding us once again to be careful with our information.

All the Reasons You Should Be Absolutely Furious at Equifax—and the Entire Credit Bureau Industry — Lynn Stuart Parramore, Quartz

The Equifax saga has served to highlight a number of issues, ranging from cybersecurity to insider trading. Also being drudged up in the aftermath are other problems with the credit bureau industry, such as the frequency in which errors appear on consumer’s reports. That’s what Lynn looks at in this article, recapping the massive power these credit reporting companies have over our lives.

Grocery Shopping and Savings

Money-Saving Grocery Shopping Tips and 3 Frugal Meal Ideas — Kyle Burbank, Money@30

One of the largest expenses consumers have each year is food. While grocery shopping and cooking at home are universally viewed as thrifty alternatives to eating out, it’s important to shop smart in order to truly maximize your savings. For his piece, Kyle offers a few tips for saving money at the grocery store while also suggesting some frugal recipes to try at home.

8 Sneaky Mind Games Grocery Stores Play to Get You to Spend More Money — Lisa Rowan, The Penny Hoarder

Alas, shopping smart at the supermarket isn’t always as easy as it sounds. In fact many chains utilize a number of small tricks to get you to spend more. Lisa highlights some of these interesting techniques so you can identify and avoid them on your next grocery store trip.

5 Popular Foods that Will Soon Cost More Money — Catey Hill, Moneyish

Another issue facing thrifty shoppers is that grocery prices tend to fluctuate due to a number of factors. As it turns out, there are some price increases on the horizon, impacting some popular products. Catey looks at why items ranging from eggs to chicken wings will likely soon cost you more money.

Entrepreneurship and Career

Why Now’s the Right Time to Jumpstart Your Career — Damian Davila, Wisebread

This past July, 3.2 million people quit their jobs, up from 2.5 million three years early. While it might not seem like it on the surface, this is actually a good thing as it signals that people are finding better opportunities and furthering their careers. As Damian explains, now is a great time to request better benefits, develop your skills, and more.

How America’s Outdated Tax Code Fails Gig Economy Workers — Eric Boehm, Reason

Following yet another failed attempt by the GOP to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the focus is now on tax reform. Still, one issue that few are discussing is how the current tax code complicates things for so-called “gig economy” participants like Uber and Lyft drivers. That’s why Eric brings some of these issues to light and points out a few ways Congress could help alleviate such pains.

5 Bad Financial Habits to Eliminate Before Starting a Business —Lucas Miller, The Next Web

Whether you want to start your own company or join the aforementioned gig economy, it’s important to ensure your personal finances are where they should be. This means breaking bad habits like blindly paying bills or failing to stick to a budget. Lucas discusses these and other financial habits you should change before embarking on your new venture.

Thanks for checking out my top 10 personal finance articles published last month and congratulations to all of the bloggers who made the list. To find more of these great articles on a daily basis, be sure to follow me on Twitter @jondyer9 and of course visit DyerNews.com.