Getting Your Credit Reports and Credit Scores for Free!

You know what's more satisfying than knowing your credit history? Getting it for free :) I already had a rough idea of where i stood, but checking it out every now and then helps to make me feel better, not to mention SURE that no one else is trying to be J. Money!

There's a whole gaggle of places to get your credit report, score, monitoring, and 100 other related services, but I usually just use AnnualCreditReport.com. It's 100% free, and can be used every year to pull your report from all 3 major agencies: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. It's also important to know that it's the ONLY site authorized by the Federal Trade Commission. (so watch out for shady imitators)

I pulled my report for the first time in 2 years last night (i'm lazy), and interestingly enough i had over 27 accounts on there! haha...i knew i had a handful, buy my damn i have to close out a cple old credit cards. Although, in my defense it does show history back from the college days when i got those stupid free t-shirts that i mentioned in yesterday's post. I'm a little more watchful these days :)

Also, for whatever reason I can usually only pull the report online from just 1 of the 3 agencies from that site. It always tells me to call the other two and go that route...but, once again, just too lazy to do it. Does that happen to you guys? I've only been able to get it smoothly from Experian.

A couple of notes if it's your first time doing this too - You usually have to prove a looooooooot of stuff to make sure you are who you say you are. Think old addresses, old credit cards, mortgage amounts, you name it. 2 years ago it took me quite a bit of time in researching it all, but if you're more on top of it than i was it should be easier. Especially when you come back year after year (which is a great idea).

So that's the best place i've found to get your report, but what about your actual SCORE? Yeah, i always forget this isn't included in the whole "Free" part. But don't worry, they give you the opportunity to get it quick as hell for *just* $5.99 ;) And you know what? I fall for it every time. But it's totally worth it cuz i can do it right then and there, and i know for SURE i wont' be coming back anytime soon.

There are different kinds of scores out there, like Vantage and FICO, so just keep that in mind when comparing and all. The top VantageScore is 990, in contrast to the top FICO score of 850. So my 876 looks extremely good *if only* it were a FICO score and not a Vantage score ... although it's still pretty good ;) According to Bankrate, you could multiply your VantageScore by 0.86 (850/990) to get a rough approximation of your FICO score. So a good estimate of my FICO score would be 753 (876x.86).

Ooooooh also, before i forget, i read in this month's Money Mag that some lawsuit got slapped on TransUnion, and they're now giving away a $60 service for FREE until Sept 24th - you get your credit report and unlimited credit SCORE checks for 6 months straight. As long as you have had a credit card in the last 20 years you qualify! Just don't forget to cancel it afterwards, eh? More info is at listclassaction.com or by calling 866-416-3470.

Before i go, i wanna leave you with 3 myths that i read while printing off my report on Experian. I fell for the first one!

1. Myth #1: Checking my own credit report will lower my score.
   "Personal inquiries, also known as "soft inquiries" or "below the line inquiries," are not visible to lenders and therefore are not part of your credit score calculation. So you can rest easy—checking your own credit report or score does NOT negatively impact your score."
2. Myth #2: Applying for new credit will actually lower my score.
   "This depends on the type of credit you're applying for. If you apply for several credit cards within a short period of time, the number of inquiries will go up, which could drop your score. But if you're applying for a mortgage or auto loan, multiple inquiries from these lenders are generally treated as a "single inquiry" and will have little impact on your credit score."
3. Myth #3: My score is the only thing that matters to a lender.
   "In addition to your credit score, credit grantors may consider a number of other factors such as your income, assets, length at current residence and employment history when determining whether to extend credit. The criteria used may differ from one creditor to another."

Alrighty, i'm all credited out now....man, that was a lot of info i just pumped out in 30 minutes! Hopefully this helps anyone who didn't alread know. And remember, knowledge is power! Just ask G.I. Joe.

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5 Gas-Saving myths that i was tricked into believing ;)

I came across these twice in the past few days - once on a pf site which i can't remember for the life of me, and the other in this month's Money Magazine - so I'm taking it as a sign to share :) Some of these i've fell for, and others are brand spankin' new (and interesting) to me.

While i usually don't know what to believe out there, I'm sure these "experts" know what they're talking about. That's actually a pretty cool job if you think about it - going around proving myths aren't true! I wonder how much you get paid for that? They probably just go around asking experts in certain fields for their opinion....that makes more sense, but it's not as fun to think about ;)

Anyways, it's always good to separate a little fact from fiction, so here are the truths behind some of those gas-saving myths:

1. Gas up in the morning
I'll have to admit i've never heard this one before, but it has something to do with fluids being more dense in colder temperatures. So if you fill 'er up early on, you'll get more "gas molecules" for your money. Apparently the temperature of the gasoline straight out of the nozzel doesn't fluctuate much though, so it really doesn't matter. Oh well, it was a good try!

2. Change your air filter
Now THIS one i hear alllll the time! In fact, i heard it 2 weeks ago when changing out my oil at one of those Lube Centers (which i LOVE btw, you're in and out in 15 mins if you can beat the lines, and they check everything!) While changing your filter is good to do every now and then, the myth-busters say it doesn't help on gas. "Modern engines have sensors that adjust the fuel-air mixture as an increasingly clogged filter chokes off the oxygen supply". Huh. Interesting...unless you have an older car eh?

3. Use premium fuel
Same goes with this bad boy, your engine sensors can detect the lower-octane fuel and adjust accordingly. This only applies if the manual says premium gas is "recommended". If it says it's required - then you should DEFINITELY stick to that.

4. Put in an additive
A definite nope on this one unfortunately...and I'll be the first to admit i've tried a number of them out there! The idea of it is just so quick and easy, ya know? Oh well, guess we'll have to kiss those secret sauces away for now...at least it'll save a few bucks not putting it in anymore ;)

5. Avoid the AC
If you're driving in town, then it works! (hooray). BUT, if you're speeding along the highway, you might as well forget it. Keeping the windows down affects your mileage just as much because it causes aerodynamic drag...so you might as well choose your fav. option at that point - either way it just sucks. It also sucks that one of my boys told me this a few years ago and i just laughed it off....oops.

And there you have it, 5 myths all cleared up for ya! While it's no fair there aren't any secrets out there, at least you can concentrate on other ways to save on gas now - driving smoother, no heavy stop and go action, carpooling, riding public transportation, etc.

And who knows, I bet someone's devising a little somethin' somethin' as we speak to help alleviate our gas crisis!

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