Opt Out to Protect Yourself

This week is National Consumer Protection Week. And while that sounds like another Hallmark holiday, it's actually a great opportunity to examine a bunch of ways you can protect yourself in an increasingly digital world.

So I thought we'd take the next five days and go over some smart strategies that will help you protect your identity and prepare for retirement.

Let's start with identity theft, which claimed more than 10 million victims last year. One of the best ways to cut your risk is to opt out of as many databases as possible.

To decrease the amount of junk mail you receive, call or write to the Direct Marketing Association in Farmingdale, NY. You can also cut down on the credit card offers you receive in the mail by calling 888-5OPT-OUT.

Go to my website, ThinkGlink.com, and I'll put up links with additional information. Just type "Opt Out" into the search box at the top of the page.

Protect Yourself By Avoiding Payday Loans

It's National Consumer Protection Week, and one thing that we're not protecting is our savings. The average savings rate in the US is a stunning negative 1 percent. That means we're spending more than we make every year.

To make up the difference, we're borrowing money like crazy, sometimes on credit cards, or on a home equity loan.

But if you're living paycheck to paycheck, your loan of choice might be a payday loan.

Payday loans are extremely expensive cash advances that must be paid in full with your next paycheck.

Unfortunately, cash-strapped borrowers often find that the triple-digit interest rate on the loan plus fees means their next paycheck isn't enough to pay off the loan. So, they end up borrowing more in a horrific cycle that's akin to running into a brick wall at 60 miles per hour.

How can you protect yourself?

Build a small emergency cash reserve. Then, if your car breaks down, you won't have to turn to a payday lender to get cash.

Eliminate Telemarketing Phone Calls By Signing Up For DoNotCall.gov

It's National Consumer Protection Week, and one of the things you might want to protect is your dinner hour.

I don't know about you, but there's nothing more annoying than having a family dinner interrupted by incessant calls from telemarketers.

But Uncle Sam has a great way to cut down on those annoying telemarketing calls. Sign up for the DO NOT CALL list.

You can go online to donotcall.gov, and register your phone numbers, including your cell phone number. All you have to do is type in your telephone numbers and in 31 days, your phone number should fall off of those direct marketers who are required to subscribe to the DO NOT CALL lists.

This should eliminate most of the telemarketing calls, but not all. Congress being Congress, there are some exempt organizations, including charities, political organizations, telephone surveyors and companies you do business with.

Still, my dinner hour is a lot quieter. I expect yours will be, too.

Watch for the Warning Signs of Identity Theft

It's National Consume Protection Week and one thing that increasingly needs protection is our identity.

How do you know if your identity has been stolen? Here are some warning signs:

• If you start receiving mail at your address with someone else's name on it, or bills that you regularly get aren't turning up
• If you get credit cards in someone else's name.
• If you're denied credit for no apparent reason.
• And here's a biggie: If you start getting calls from creditors for stuff you didn't buy.

Of all the tips I have on my website ThinkGlink.com for preventing identity theft, there are three really big ones:

• First, try to get all of your bills electronically rather than through the mail, and go online weekly to see if there are any charges you can't account for.
• Next, regularly check your credit history at annualcreditreport.com
• And finally, be very careful whenever you use your ATM card or credit card, and watch who's watching you.

Are You Saving Enough for Retirement?

The New York Times had a story recently about how a few finance professors think the majority of Americans are actually saving enough for retirement. They argue that financial institutions like Fidelity and Charles Schwab want you to save more because they earn more in fees.

Perhaps that's true, but I wouldn't want to be 97 and broke. Would you?

Still, it's not enough to just save in a vacuum. Savings plans work best when you actually have a number that you're shooting for. So here's a simple way to do a back of the envelope calculation about retirement.

First, figure out how much it'll cost you to live if you retired today. Next, add up all of the cash coming to you in retirement from pensions, social security, an inheritance, and current savings.

Are these numbers about equal? If so, then you're probably on track to saving enough money for retirement. If not, then you need to calculate how much more you'll need. Tap into my website at ThinkGlink.com for more resources.