The No Credit Needed Network will hosting this week’s Carnival of Debt Reduction. For more information, please click this link.
Archive for August, 2006
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How To Get THREE (or SIX) Free Annual Credit Reports
August 31st, 2006 
NCN I am not a fan of credit cards, debt, or borrowing money, but I AM a fan of keeping my personal-finance house in order. So, I like to check my credit report, at least once a year. I have been doing so for the past 4 or 5 years. I live in Georgia, and we have been entitled to a free credit report (also known as a credit file disclosure) for many years. Now, everyone in the United States is eligible for a free copy of their credit report. Here is a link to the site for your free annual credit report:
Simply go to the site, and select your state, and begin the process of getting your free credit report. What if you want more than one free annual credit report? Well, you are in luck! First off, there are THREE credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. All THREE of them do pretty much the same thing (and all three of them are accesible via the link above). They track your credit and debt history, and provide a consolidated report to financial institutions with which you might do business. (Some jobs, schools, and insurance companies also pull credit reports. So, you need to be sure that your credit report is up-to-date, and accurate. By the way, it is illegal to remove ACCURATE information from your credit report.) So, here is the trick for getting THREE, not just ONE, annual credit report. Simply request a credit report from ONE of the three companies at a time, not all three at the same time. You schedule could look something like this:
February: Request credit report from Equifax
June: Request credit report from Experian
October: Request credit report from TransUnion
There, now you will get not “one” free annual credit report, but three. If you are married, you could actually get SIX free annual credit reports, three for yourself, and three for your spouse. If both of your names are on joint accounts, you can track those accounts on all six reports. Something like this:
February: Request your credit report from Equifax
April: Request your spouse’s credit report from TransUnion
June: Request your credit report from Experian
August: Request your spouse’s credit report from Equifax
October: Request your credit report from TransUnion
December: Request you spouse’s credit report from Experian
There, now you have six credit reports, for free. (Please note, it is illegal to request another person’s credit report. Allow your spouse to request his / her own credit report, or get their permission.)
Warning: If you find an error on one of the reports (a serious error, which could result in a negative affect on your credit score) immediately pull ALL three of your credit reports, so that you can compare and contrast.
For much more information about your free Annual Credit Report, please click this link for their faq’s.
Saving More Cash
August 30th, 2006 NCN I am 65% of the way towards reaching my goal of saving 20,000 dollars by 10/10/2006. You can check out my chart here… (shameless plug for the NCN Network…) So, it is almost time to reevaluate my goals for the coming year. (My wife and I each contribute to retirement plans, and we will be increasing our contributions in 2007. The following represent NON- RETIREMENT, NON-COLLEGE cash savings, for emergencies and planned purchases.) In our house, our fiscal year actually starts in OCTOBER…
My Goals by Year
2005
[x] Save 1000 dollars for mini-emergency fund
[x] 11,510.22 Debt Re-Payment (Actually completed in February 2006)
2006
[ ] Save 20,000 dollars in a 6-Month Emergency fund (65% complete)
2007
[ ] Save 20,000 dollars in auto-replacement fund
[ ] Make 5000 in new, additional income
I save all of my money at ING Direct. They pay 4.35% on my savings. If you’d like a referral to ING Direct so that you can start your cash savings, please click this link, or hit the contact button at the top of this page and send me an email. Also, if ING Direct does not float your boat, you can check out this awesome site which lists the best, current banking rates and deals.
Ever Want To…
August 29th, 2006 NCN Forget about your budget plans and splurge on something that you don’t really, really need?
Buy a 50 Inch HDTV, even though you only watch about 3 hours of television a week, just because they are soooo pretty?
Eat and eat and eat, even when you are not hungry, because you are: bored, tired, frustrated, happy, celebrating, stressed, etc… etc… etc…?
Put of doing something that is relatively easy, instead of going ahead and doing it and getting it over with?
Refuse to forgive someone, and stew in your anger, just because it feels “good” to be a jerk once in a while?
Grind your budget into little bits and pieces, spend a bunch of money, and live like “everybody” else for a month or two?
eBay EVERYTHING and go live in a cabin, in the woods, all by yourself, because you are tired of stupid people?
Eat even more?
Stop blogging, podcasting and networking, because… you know… they take hard work, effort and imagination, three things that are, right now, in short supply?
Kick somebody?
Go all day without a shower?
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Let me tell you a little secret. You see those things up there. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY has to deal with the temptation to throw their hands up, forgo progress, and stop moving forward. In order to be successful with your debt reduction (and life) you must be determined to press forward. You must refuse to live under the influence of your “feelings” and you must determine to live by the power of “faith” in your plan. If the idea of getting out of debt was good yesterday, it is still a good idea today. DO NOT STOP, even when tempted by frustrating situations, unforeseen setbacks, and temporary problems. You are in charge of you. You rock! You are awesome! You are “your change”.
Free Boxes For Shipping via USPS from eBay
August 25th, 2006 NCN If you like to use eBay (like I do!) for making some extra money (for debt reduction and/or extra income) you know that packing products (i.e. boxes) can be expensive. Alas! eBay has partnered with the Unites States Postal Service to offer FREE shipping boxes. Here’s the link for free boxes from the USPS and eBay.
Details:
eBay offers boxes in 6 sizes: 4 for PRIORITY MAIL and 2 for FLAT-RATE PRIORITY MAIL. The boxes are delivered straight to your door, and come in bundles of 25 or 10. The boxes are sturdy, and have super-strong adhesive ends, for securing your items. I use the bigger of the two flat-rate boxes for heavier, bigger items. The flat-rate boxes ship for 8.10, regardless of weight. I use the smaller priority boxes for shipping items which weight less than 2 pounds.
You can also pick up free Priority boxes at your local post office. I have found, however, that my local post office, which is rather small, seldom carries enough of these boxes. I love the convenience of ordering them in bulk via the Internet. It usually takes a week to two weeks to receive the boxes. (Irony: “priority boxes” ship via “parcel post…”)
(Quick note: I sell a lot of clothing on eBay, and I use the free Priority Mail envelopes, offered freely at the local post office.)
Negatives: You are “supposed” to only use these boxes with USPS and only for Priority or Flat-Rate Priority shipping. There are “hacks”… I’ve received items shipped in these boxes and the boxes have been: a. flipped inside-out b. distressed on the outside to cover up the eBay and USPS logos. I feel that these boxes should be used only for their intended purposes, shipping items via USPS Priority mail. (I also feel, however, that after a box has been used once, a person should feel free to recycle the box, and use it for whatever purpose they choose.)
