Happy New Year!!!

A credit card that has not been activated still affects your credit score.  Credit scores treat activated and unactivated cards the same way – which means that cancelling a card that you never activated is considered an account closure, which could hurt your credit score.  What to do:  Apply only for credit cards that you intend to activate and use.

As part of the federal overhaul of health-care insurance, employers with the equivalent of fewer than 25 full-time employees may qualify under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Pct (PPACA) for a tax credit of up to 35% of premium costs for providing health coverage to employees.  Find details at www.irs.gov.