I’m sure at one point or another, we have all thought about deleting our social networking accounts, but this day in age, that is virtually impossible.  I’m sure everyone is well aware that Facebook has had its history of privacy scandals.  CEO Mark Zuckerberg is constantly trying to push what privacy means in the 21st century, but how available should we all be on the Internet?  Last week, Facebook announced on its Developers blog that it was making it possible for third-party applications to gain access to users’ mobile phone numbers and addresses.  By early Monday morning the Facebook team had dialed back the change until further notice.

Some of the privacy issues have been just too much for users, resulting in cancelled accounts.  But more and more organizations are joining the Facebook Connect network and incorporating the site’s development tools into their own.  It’s getting to the point where you’re at a disadvantage if you don’t have a Facebook account; you can use it to log in with the same username and password on more than two million sites; it’s not just for checking in on your cousin’s newest baby pictures.  So, here’s the trick: Go into  “Stealth” mode – be nearly invisible.  Nobody will be able to view your photographs, see your activity or where you’ve checked in except for existing friends — but still have an account to use around the web.

If you’re ready to move into Facebook stealth mode, follow these simple steps:

• Visit Facebook.com, log in to your profile and click “Account” in the top-right corner.  Choose “Privacy Settings”

• From the “Privacy Settings” page, click on “View Settings” to see who can search for you, send messages to your account, see your education and work settings and more. Change all of these drop-down menus to “‘Friends Only”

• Return to the “Privacy Settings” page and choose “Customize Settings” near the bottom of the page.  This new page will load a number of different privacy options, but you’ll want to click through each one and change the setting to “Only Me” so that nobody else can see your Facebook activity.

• Stay on the “Customize Settings” page and scroll down to “Things Others Share”:  Here, you’ll want to edit and disable settings so that your friends are unable to write on your wall, comment on posts and check you in to places.

• Return to the “Privacy Settings” page and, under “Apps and Websites” in the bottom-left corner, select “Edit Your Settings”:  This page shows all of the third-party websites and applications that you have given access to some of your Facebook information.  If you see anything on this list that you want to remove, just click to remove it from the list.

• Stay on the “Apps and Websites” page, scroll down to “Instant Personalization” and select “Edit Settings”:  Uncheck the box at the bottom of this page to block other websites from accessing your Facebook interests.  Select “Confirm” when a pop-up asks you if you’re sure you want to disable this option.

• Return to the “Apps and Websites” page, scroll down to “Public Search” and select “Edit Settings”:  To keep search engines from finding your Facebook profile, uncheck the box on this new screen.

At a national average of $3.05 per gallon for regular unleaded, the price of gas has reached its highest level since the fall of 2008.  At that price, gasoline plays a major role in your monthly budgeted car expenses.  In order to help balance out your budget, here are five ways you can save at the pump:

1) Maintain the Correct Tire Pressure

Keeping the correct PSI, or pounds per square inch, in your car’s tires will give you better gas mileage.  If your car is equipped with a tire pressure monitor system, don’t dismiss any alarms as false.  Pressure increases as you drive and tires warm up, so a low-pressure alarm when you start driving that goes away later means tire pressure is on the border of being too low and should be adjusted.  Check your owner’s manual or the label on the inside of the driver’s door for the correct PSI rating.  The number on the tire’s sidewall is the maximum PSI and should not be used.

Don’t Let Your Car ‘Warm Up’ Before You Drive It

Technology in cars built in the past 10 years allows your car to operate at very near its top efficiency the moment it starts.  Letting a car idle, such as when you wait at the curb for a passenger or wait for the heater to kick in, is simply a waste of gas.

Don’t Use a Higher Grade of Gasoline Than Is Recommended

Putting a higher octane gasoline in your car than the manufacturer recommends won’t improve your fuel economy, so it’s not worth the extra price you’ll pay per gallon.  Check your owner’s manual or the label on the gas-tank door for the recommended octane for your car, and fill up with that.  On the flip side, don’t use a lower octane than is recommended, because it may actually worsen your car’s fuel economy and could damage your engine.

Slow Down

Slower speeds win the fuel-economy race and can save you a bundle.  Avoid being a lead foot by accelerating from a stop and by driving over the speed limit on the highway.  Jack-rabbit starts simply waste gas and only get you to the next traffic light faster, where your car will idle longer.  Cars get better gas mileage driving at 65 mph than they do at higher speeds.  Cruise control can help you maintain a steady speed, too, which will further improve fuel economy, especially on the highway.

Get the Junk Out of Your Car

The heavier your car is, the more energy it needs to move, so get all the excess gear out of your car when you’re not using it.  Carrying around items you don’t need only worsens your car’s gas mileage unnecessarily.  In addition, the less aerodynamic your car is, the worse its fuel economy.  If you have a rooftop carrier or carry items such as bicycles or skis on your roof, remove these items when they’re not in use to improve your fuel economy.

It has been all over the news this year:  Americans have really struggled to keep their credit under control.  Earlier this year, FICO, the company responsible for the credit scoring system, said 25.5% of Americans had sub-par scores of 600 or below, and the latest data from the Federal Reserve indicate consumer credit card debt increased by $6.5 billion in the third quarter of 2010.  Despite this, there are a few steps you can take to start 2011 off on the right foot, credit-wise.

Run your credit report- Consumers are eligible to receive one free credit report annually, as part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, so if you haven’t taken the government up on this offer, then now’s the time to do it.  You can get a free credit report from any of the three major reporting agencies at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Pay off holiday debts before New Year’s Eve- Any debt you carry into 2011 is going to be quite costly, as interest rates currently remain pretty high, at around 14.7%.  Consider paying off your December credit card bill as soon as possible, even if it is before the bill arrives in the mail.

Don’t close the store cards you opened up during the holiday season- Saving 10% to 15% off when buying presents in bulk may entice many consumers to open store credit cards, despite their apparent drawbacks and the fact that a large number of credit inquiries can actually drop your credit score.  However, closing these accounts once you’ve paid off your balance won’t repair any damage done over the holidays.  If anything, it will lower your score even more since terminating an account right after it was opened tells FICO that you couldn’t afford the credit line to begin with.  Keep the card and use it responsibly, only charging up to about 10% of the credit limit.

Review the fine print on your credit card contract- The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 provides consumers with many protections they didn’t have before, but it’s far from being an iron-clad piece of legislation.  For example, the CARD Act doesn’t prohibit credit card issuers from raising interest rates; it just makes it a little more difficult for them to do so.  It also doesn’t require any notice if your credit card issuer has lowered your credit limit or closed your card.

Protect your identity- People should be on high alert for during the holiday season, but, it’s actually right after New Year’s that cyber-criminal come out of the woodwork.  You will be receiving your 1099s, bank statements, and important tax documents in the mail come January, all of which have your name, address, and Social Security number on them.  Make sure you keep a watchful eye out.

Who amongst you has not received your refund check??  Many of you could receive that check from the IRS — just before the holidays.  Wednesday, the IRS is expected to release the annual list of people whose refund checks were returned by the Postal Service as undeliverable.  Last year, the IRS had over $123 million in returned checks.  The list won’t be coming out until later today though.  Make sure to check if you are still waiting.

To access the IRS Website, where you can find your missing check, click HERE.

There seems to be more and more scams every year around the Holiday season.  This year, however, fraudsters are attempting to lure teens and tweens onto websites by promising them free stuff in exchange for playing games, watching videos, and filling out surveys.  While these websites do exist all year round, kids tend to be more attracted to them around the holidays.  One of the predominant reasons is that kids are busy surfing the web, looking up toys, and making lists of what they want Mom and Dad to buy them.  And while your kids are probably searching legitimate sites, at the same time, the illegitimate ones pop up too.

A second reason is because you may have already laid out a list of items you are not planning to buy your kids this holiday season.  So if you’re not going to give him an Xbox 360 and he doesn’t have the money to buy it on his own, then these websites that promise him a free game system are almost too tempting to pass up.  What kid wouldn’t want a free gaming system?

So what happens if your teenager does start giving out his name, email address and other personal information?  His data is then sold to marketers and in a worst case scenario it could be used for identity theft.  Parents also need to worry about “cookies” and malware when kids go onto these sites.

As for those prizes, chances are your kid is never going to actually get his hands on a new iPad or Xbox.  These sites require users to fill out endless surveys and watch too many videos, which force most people to give up after a couple of weeks.  And even if your youngster sees the process through, the scam artists make it so difficult to redeem the prizes that nearly no one ever wins.  In the rare case your kid does actually score an Xbox, chances are he will be told that the gaming system is currently out-of-stock.

What’s a parent to do?  Buying your kid whatever he wants clearly isn’t the answer.  Sure, it would stop the temptation to chase free stuff, but it would create so many other issues.  Instead, warn your child to avoid these sites and to NEVER give out his personal information.  Then, if he really feels he must have the latest gaming system, let him earn it the old fashioned way by saving up his allowance or by getting a job, if he’s old enough to work.  Finally, parents who aren’t sure if a website is legit or not can look it up on SiteJabber.com.

Despite the fact that we would all like to think that such a thing as free money exists, alas, it does not … unless, of course, you want to open a checking account.  Several banks have started offering cash just to get new customers in the door.  But hidden in the fine print, are fees and rules that will wipe out the supposed windfall.  Cash incentive offers have more than doubled over the last year.

For the banks, this is a calculated trade-off.  As they start lending again, banks need more cash from deposit accounts to help fund those car loans and mortgages.  So while a handout from a bank might feel like you’ve won the lottery, you’re actually handing over the real prize: your money.  Banks are targeting “good” would-be customers, who are likely to maintain high balances and use their debit cards frequently.  In turn, they hope new account-holders will raise banks revenues and apply for loans down the road.

But, if you are a savvy consumer, you already knew there’s no such thing as free money.  Expect to jump through serious hoops, just to qualify.  For starters, you don’t get the cash right away.  You first have to meet certain requirements, many aimed at simply getting more of your money: To get $300 at Citi, you’d have to open a Citigold interest checking account and deposit $1,000 by Nov. 18.  Then, you’ll have to maintain an average daily balance of $1,000 through the end of the month.  You’ll also have to sign up for three more Citi products – like a savings account, certificate of deposit or a credit card within two months of opening the account.  And when you finally get the money, expect a bill come tax time.  All of these cash bonuses will be taxed as regular income.  If you’re in the 25% tax bracket, that $300 award will drop to $225.

So here’s the rub –

Minimum Required Balance

Consumers who receive cash offers for a new account should watch out for minimum balance requirements, which more checking accounts require these days.  The average minimum balance requirement is $3,883 for a no-fee interest-bearing checking account, up 15% from last year, according to Bankrate.com.  That minimum falls to $249 on non-interest checking – still 34% higher than last year.  The average customer who falls below the threshold pays a fee as high as $13.  Look for accounts with zero minimum balance requirements.

Debit Card Rules

At Chase, consumers need just $25 to open Chase Checking and to get up to $125 cash bonus.  But account-holders will be charged $6 per month if they don’t buy something with their debit card five times each month or have at least one monthly direct deposit posted to their account.  For banks, this proves especially lucrative because they make money with interchange fees.

Overdraft Fees

Along with cash bonuses, new checking accounts come with a hard sell on overdraft coverage.  AVOID IT.  The fees kick in when a consumer withdraws more money from their checking account than they have.  As of August, new Federal Reserve rules prevent banks from automatically enrolling consumers in debit-card overdraft coverage, which permits purchases to go through even if the consumer doesn’t have enough money in their checking account, thereby allowing banks to collect their fee.  Now, customers who do nothing will have their overdraft purchases declined.

Groupon’s popularity has skyrocketed since it launched in 2008.  The company reports that it now has 18 million subscribers in 29 countries.  Total savings in North America alone add up to half a billion dollars.  Part of the appeal is how easy it is to use: Customers can sign up to receive daily deals free of charge.  Then, once a deal is posted at midnight, they can purchase the coupon, which often provides a 50 percent or greater discount off the face value of the good or service being offered that day.  There’s often a minimum number of customers required for the deal to go through, so people share the deal with their friends on social networking sites.

But #Groupon isn’t all about delivering super-cheap items to coupon-hungry customers.  Here are some things you might not know about how the company works:

1. Groupons focus on experiences, not things.  While plenty of deals include gift certificates to restaurants or coupons for yummy desserts, many of the most popular ones center on experiences.  Some of Groupon’s most popular experiential deals include sky diving, sensory deprivation tanks, and winery tours.  The company has also offered discounts on culinary tours, foreign language classes, and hotel stays.

2. You don’t need to use the coupon the day you buy it – in fact, you often can’t.  There’s some urgency to the way Groupon works though.  Deals get posted at midnight and customers usually have about 24 hours to nab it, although sometimes the limit is reached early.  (During that window, you can use the discussion board on Groupon.com to ask questions and get input from others.)  But once you buy the deal, there’s no rush to use it.  In fact, you often can’t use it on the day that you buy it, partly to help merchants prepare for the onslaught of new customers.

For appointment-based deals, such as hair cuts or salon visits, it is recommended that you wait until the initial rush passes before cashing in.  Most deals last six months to a year, and Groupon helps users remember to use what’s in their account through reminder e-mails.

3. You might not be getting the same deals as your girlfriend/boyfriend. Because Groupon customizes deals sent to customers based on their gender, zip code, and buying history, a woman might receive a deal on a pedicure while her husband gets offered a restaurant gift certificate.

4. It’s no longer the only game in town. LivingSocial.com, Tippr.com, and 8coupons.com are among the new entrants in the field of group coupons.  At 8coupons.com, for example, users can check out the current deals closest to them on an interactive map (the site gets your location from your IP address).  It collects more than 500,000 deals, including those offered through Groupon.

5. It might get you to spend more money, not less.  You might not even be thinking about buying a cupcake or splurging on a massage until you see a tempting offer come in from Groupon.  The power of suggestion can get you to spend more, not less.  But for users who had already planned to spend the money, there’s only upside.

6. Users aren’t your typical coupon clippers; in fact, they make a lot of money.  Most Groupon users are women (77 percent), work full time, and about half are single.  About half earn over $70,000 a year and 29 percent earn more than $100,000, according to Groupon.

7. Groupon developed out of a charity site.  Groupon grew out of ThePoint.com, a site for collective action and charity work.  It allows people to start and promote campaigns, the same way Groupon promotes discounts.

The whole social networking phenomenon has millions of Americans sharing their photos, favorite songs and details about their class reunions on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and dozens of similar sites.  But there are a handful of personal details that you should never say if you don’t want criminals, cyber or otherwise, to rob you blind.  At least by now, most people know that those drunken party pictures could cost them their jobs. But don’t think that you can’t enjoy networking and sharing photos, just know that sharing some information puts you at risk.

Your Birth Date and Place

Sure, you can say what day you were born, but if you provide the year and where you were born too, you’ve just given identity thieves a key to stealing your financial life.  A study done by Carnegie Mellon showed that a date and place of birth could be used to predict most, and sometimes all of the numbers in your Social Security number.

Vacation Plans

There may be a better way to say “Rob me, please” than posting something along the lines of: “Count-down to Maui! Two days and Ritz Carlton, here we come!” on Twitter.  But it’s pretty hard to think of one.  Just post the photos on Facebook when you return, if you like.

Home Address

Do I have to elaborate?  A study recently released by the Ponemon Institute found that users of Social Media sites were at greater risk of physical and identity theft because of the information they were sharing.  Some 40% listed their home address on the sites; 65% didn’t even attempt to block out strangers with privacy settings.  And 60% said they weren’t confident that their “friends” were really just people they know.

Confessionals

You may hate your job; lie on your taxes; or be a recreational user of illicit drugs, but this is no place to confess.  Employers commonly peruse social networking sites to determine who to hire and, sometimes, who to fire.  One study done last year estimated that 8% of companies fired someone for “misuse” of social media.

Password Clues

If you’ve got online accounts, you’ve probably answered a dozen different security questions, telling your bank or brokerage firm your mother’s maiden name; the church you were married in; or the name of your favorite song.  Got that same stuff on the information page of your Facebook profile? You’re giving crooks an easy way to guess your passwords.

Risky Behaviors

You take your classic Camaro out for street racing, soar above the hills in a hang glider, or smoke like a chimney?  Insurers are increasingly turning to the web to figure out whether their applicants and customers are putting their lives or property at risk.  So far, there’s no efficient way to collect the data, so cancellations and rate hikes are rare.  But the technology is fast evolving and insurance companies are responding.  Don’t get yourself into trouble.

For many people, April is tax refund time; but for others, it brings about very unpleasant thoughts.  What would you do if your accountant called you to tell you the results of your processed return and it turns out you owe thousands of dollars you don’t have?  Or if you did your own return, how many times can you re-run the numbers?  There are possible options you can use to help pay your tax bill.  One option available is paying with one or more of your credit cards.  This may not be the best option, however, given how high the interest rates are on credit cards.  Also, when you pay your taxes with your credit card, you will incur a 2.25-3.93% convenience depending on the third-party company you use.

Another option is to obtain a bank loan.  Banks and credit unions offer loans to help consolidate debt secured by your property, but this option may or may not be much better than putting the money on your credit card.  A debt consolidation loan may charge between 6-21% APR depending on your credit rating.  If you currently have good credit and this tax debacle is a one time thing though, your credit score might be better off if you take out the loan versus racking up a credit card balance with a high interest rate.

Unexpectedly owing money to the IRS, in my humble opinion, definitely counts as an emergency situation.  You may want to consider using your savings, your emergency fund to pay off the debt.  If you can afford to pay it off from savings, it is best to do so and not incur any further penalties or interest.  Any good accountant would tell you the same thing.

There is also the option of selling off investments.  But the problem with selling off investments in an emergency situation is that you may have to take a loss.  But, if you speak to your accountant about this, there are two positive things that may come of it.  The first being that your tax bill is paid off and you are not accruing interest and penalties furthering your debt.  The second being that if you have to sell at a loss up to $3000, you can use this to offset any gains from selling appreciated investments in the same year.  This will minimize next year’s tax bill.  Any losses over $3000 can be carried over to the following year.

You can also contact the IRS about setting up an installment agreement.  You will still face penalties and interest while you are paying off the debt, and you’ll need to make the payments in full and on time every month.  There is also a fee to setting up the plan, as well as a fee to reinstate the plan if you fail to meet your obligations.  One reason you may not want to go this route though is that the government can still file a a Notice of Federal Tax Lien on your property until your debt is paid off, making moving or using your equity near impossible.

The last option is taking out a home equity line of credit if you own a home.  Borrowing against your equity is an attractive option because interest rates tend to be low and the interest may be tax deductible.  The problem is, if you fail to make payments on the loan, you risk losing your house.  The extra interest you may pay by putting it on your credit card may be worth not putting your home at risk.

Don’t feel alone if you fall into this category of owing money to the IRS.  Many people find themselves in this position every year, and every year accountants help their clients try to work things out.  Weigh out all of your options, sit down with a professional, and determine the most suitable option for your position.  But don’t stick your head in the sand like an ostrich and think the problem will just go away; the IRS will eventually come knocking.

If the IRS decides to target you with an audit, what would you do?  Most people would just surrender, no matter how good a case they may have.  Taking on the government, to most,  sounds like the ultimate nightmare: costly, time consuming, and stressful.  But if you are ready for the challenge, there are some smart ways to fight back.  First, you should begin by hiring a smart, reputable tax preparer.  Not only will they know the tax codes backwards and forwards, but they will take over the bulk of the ever-exhausting fight with the IRS.  They will also help you to decide how far to take your fight.

If you haven’t started already, make sure you save all of your tax returns forever and supporting documents for at least 3 years.  The IRS only has 3 years to initiate an audit.  See, Paper Records: What to Keep, What to Toss.  It may seem like a nuisance, but all those papers are the most important documents for your case.  The more organized and less holes you have in your documentation, the better the chance you have at winning your appeal.

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of hiring a tax specialist, you should consider taking your case to the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS).  This is an organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve tax problems as well as advocate for changes within the system.  You may be eligible for this service if you have tried to resolve your problems through normal IRS channels and have gotten nowhere, or if you believe an IRS procedure is not working as it should.  This service is also available to those whose tax problems are causing financial hardships and they cannot afford to hire a specialist.

Most people who decide to truly have it out with the IRS file a petition with the US Tax Court.  If you choose this route, you generally do not need to pay the amount in dispute while your case is pending.  (This according to the court’s website: www.ustaxcourt.gov)  If the tax court decides that you do owe taxes or you come to a settlement about what you will owe, the interest on those taxes runs from their original due date until paid in full, unfortunately.  Your only other option is to have your case heard in Federal District Court, but the disputed amount generally needs to be paid in full and file a refund with the IRS before the case is filed.

Choosing which option is best for you ultimately is your decision, however, at least speaking with a tax specialist is always advisable.  Most first time consultations are free.