In this special spooky episode, Nikki and Jenny share their favorite scary money stories. From people getting ripped off to online scams, this podcast will surely have you quaking in your boots.  Listen now

Get creative and earn free music downloads. All you have to do is submit a Haiku about money.

What’s a Haiku? It’s a three-line poem with 5, 7 and 5 syllables. Here’s an example:

Get free music now
Just write a money Haiku
It is that easy

Your Haiku must be original and should be related to money. Once your Haiku is approved (see rules below), we’ll email you a 3-song PIN code for www.PureTracks.com, where you can choose from more than 3.4 million songs! Haiku for Tunes is valid October 15 to November 30, 2011, or while supplies last! Only one unique Haiku may be submitted per email address.

Visit your credit union’s Elements of Money website to submit your Haiku

Official Rules: Must be 13 years or older to submit a Haiku. Your Haiku will not be considered if you are under the age of 13. Only one unique Haiku may be submitted per email address. Haikus must be original and written about the topic of money to qualify for the music download code. Haikus containing foul language, copyright protected material or personal information will not be accepted. All entries become the property of Subcat, Inc. Haiku for Tunes promotion is valid October 15 through November 30, 2011, or while supplies last.

When it comes to protecting your money online, your best line of defense is a solid password. In this podcast, Nikki and Jenny discuss what you can do to create the perfect password. Listen Now

What’s the easiest way to protect your online accounts from hackers? Be proactive! Jenny and Nikki share their tips for keeping your money safe, even if hackers attack your favorite websites. Listen to the latest podcast now.

Want to make a few extra bucks? Have a yard sale! In the latest Elements of Money podcast, Jenny and Nikki share their tips for a successful yard sale. Who knows, you may make more money than you expect just by selling stuff you no longer use (or need). Listen to the podcast now.

In our last post, we talked about things you should do to protect your identity and account information if you belonged to Sony’s Playstation Network. The good news is that the Playstation Network is back online. Just a reminder: if you haven’t already changed your password, do it ASAP!

More good news: Sony is offering a bunch of free stuff as a way to say “sorry” for going offline. All PlayStation Network customers can select two games from a pre-selected list of five games. The games will be available for 30 days after PlayStation Store is restored and can be kept forever.

In addition, Sony is offering 30 days free PlayStation Plus membership for non PlayStation Plus subscribers. Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive an additional 60 days of free subscription.
To learn more about Sony’s Welcome Back program, you can visit the Playstation blog.

(photo by animaster)

Sony announced that 70 million Playstation Network (PSN) accounts have been hacked. If you have a PSN account, Sony is saying that it’s possible that your personal information may have been accessed including:

• name
• address (city, state, zip), country
• email address
• birthdate
• PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and PSN online ID.

It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address, and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers. But wait, it gets worse. Sony is also hinting that credit card information may have also been stolen.

So what should you do if you have a Playstation Network account? Here are a few tips:

1. Tell your parents if you are using their credit card for PSN purchases. If they don’t know you’re using their credit card, now’s the time to break the news to them. Seriously, it’s better to take care of things now before their credit card information is sold on the black market and they’re faced with thousands of dollars of charges.
2. Change your passwords. This includes passwords across multiple services such as Facebook, Xbox Live, online banking, eBay, etc. Once the PSN comes back up live, be sure to change that too.
3. Change your secret answers. If identity thieves know your secret answers, they can control your accounts.
4. Review ALL your accounts for unauthorized charges. You should be doing this regularly anyways, but now it’s REALLY important. This includes your online banking accounts, credit cards, eBay, Amazon, etc. If you find an charge you didn’t make, contact the company immediately.
5. Watch out for scammers trying to hit you from everywhere: email, phone, Facebook, even regular mail. Don’t give out any more personal information or click on suspicious links. Sony’s explained on their blog that Sony won’t be contacting any user for any personally identifiable identification. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the one asking. Hang up immediately.

Jenny and Nikki just wrapped up the latest Elements of Money podcast, titled “What Does It Mean to Be a Credit Union Member?” In the podcast, you’ll hear how young people across the country answered this question … via Twitter. We’ll share their tweets and uncover the mystery of credit union membership. Listen to the podcast now.

So who submitted the winning tweet? Dillon Arnold!

Congratulations to Dillon (@MajorAvenger) who received $1,250 in scholarship funds for this winning tweet:

Many congrats to our runners-up and thanks to all who participated. Make sure to check back for our next scholarship contest. And for more information on money and college, check your credit union’s Elements of Money website.