Everyday Cheapskate

Dear Mary: I went online to see what this Mint.com is all about. They want my bank account information and password. Is this really safe? — Dody, e-mail

Dear Dody: They need that information so they can aggregate all of your financial activities into your Mint account. Without that linkage, Mint would be worthless. Mint, like Mvelopes, uses 128-bit SSL encryption, the industry standard for data protection, to ensure that all communications are secure. That's what your banks use for online bill pay and so forth.

Mint is a "read-only" service. You can view and organize your money with Mint, but you cannot use it to move money that is in your accounts.

I find Mvelopes to be a better tool for money management, but there is an annual fee for the service.

That being said, I wouldn't do anything online with my personal information were it not for my LifeLock insurance. It gives me peace of mind in my busy life, much of which is spent in cyberspace. By the way, we have negotiated a discount for "Everyday Cheapskate" readers. You can find that discount at https://secure.lifelock.com/EnrollmentForm.aspx?promocode=EC.

Dear Mary: Our bank has offered us a home equity loan because we have 30 percent of our home's value in equity. The annual percentage rate is 4.25. We carry $5,500 of credit card debt and have two cars — which are 13 and 15 years old, respectively. We want to replace them, but there's no room in the budget for a car payment.

If we took an equity loan of $15,000, the monthly payment would be $127 for a 15-year term. Should we buy two cars and pay off the credit card debt, all for a monthly payment that is less than our current credit card payment? — Marty and Beth, e-mail

Dear Marty and Beth: Please don't. Tapping your home's equity could be the worst of all decisions. As it is now, even though things are tight, you are not in danger of losing your home. Instead, you need to move into survival mode, cutting out all nonessential spending. Crash save to replace a car, and start tackling the credit card debt. Keep driving both cars, but do it as judiciously as humanly possible. Baby them to death. And when it is absolutely necessary, only then, buy the best replacement car you can find for the cash you have. Then keep saving. I cannot tell you how important it is for you to pay off the credit card debt as soon as possible.

Dear Mary: I have a brand-new dryer. My son left a piece of gum in the laundry, and it got dried. My dryer now has gum all over it. Is there a way to get it off the sides of the dryer? — Stacy M., Minnesota

Dear Stacy: Raid your garage for the WD-40. Spray the gum and it will come right off. Then scrub to remove the WD-40 residue.

Do you have a question for Mary? E-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 18 books, including "Can I Pay My Credit Card Bill With a Credit Card?" To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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