Lately it feels that I've been experiencing life at a rate of wtf's per minute. Yet, I am still grateful that I'm here to blog about it. Which brings us to .....
Gratitude.
Gratitude is the ability to be grateful for everything we have in our lives.
So I've been trying to ignore the WTFs and make gratitude a daily practice. Someone once told me that an attitude of gratitude protects us from negative emotions. I'm not 100% sure yet but I'm trying to get there.
Seriously, "do you bless everything that comes your way? How deep is your gratitude? Are you thankful for you meal? For the store it came from? For the migrant workers that picked the crops? How about the farmer that planted the seeds?" Heck, I even thank the company that genetically engineered the seeds and sell 'em to the farmers every year. Well maybe not but you get my point.
My Quote for 2010
"You can be grateful because you are happy, but you can also be happy because you are grateful."
Showing posts with label finances. Show all posts
Showing posts with label finances. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2010
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Credit, credit, credit: Get it together!
OK since we've been visiting and focusing on credit lately, I decided to get my affairs in order.
Credit Report
First of all I need to get my credit reports.
According to the Federal Trade Commission there is only 1 place to go to to get your free annual credit report.
http://www.annualcreditreport.com/
It takes a few minutes but when you are done you will have all the information that 3 of the major credit bureaus have about you. Once you get it, review it and make corrections by writing the bureaus or following the instructions on their websites.
If you need more information about credit reports, the credit bureaus and pricing:
http://www.credit.com/credit_information/credit_report/How-to-order-your-free-annual-credit-reports.jsp
Credit Score
You also want to get your credit score. My favorite site is www.myfico.com
They charge money for the information but they deliver it to you in an easy to read format and also provide all sorts of calculators and other information.
If you want to wait until you clean up your credit to start paying for those types of services there are free alternatives.
One is Credit Karma. They provide you a credit score from TransUnion and they also provide a credit "report card".
Credit Report Cards
Another free tool is Credit.com's Credit Report Card. A nifty tool that also attempts to rate your credit based on the information pulled from the credit bureaus. It also provides you with an "estimated" credit score.
Which One?
At first glance, there isn't a huge difference besides CreditKarma.com offering a free score from transunion. According to this article Credit Report Cards: Credit.com vs Credit Karma, Credit.com tends to be more accurate in terms of pure data. Check out both websites and see which ones appeal to you. I've been using Credit Karma for about a year and don't have any issues. I don't see a need to switch, but that's just me.
Mint.com
Since we are getting our affairs in order, you might as well sign up for Mint.com. A real easy way to track your finances, it includes some calculators and budget tools to help you see where you need improvement. Mint.com needs its own article and I will provide one in the future.
Credit Report
First of all I need to get my credit reports.
According to the Federal Trade Commission there is only 1 place to go to to get your free annual credit report.
http://www.annualcreditreport.com/
It takes a few minutes but when you are done you will have all the information that 3 of the major credit bureaus have about you. Once you get it, review it and make corrections by writing the bureaus or following the instructions on their websites.
If you need more information about credit reports, the credit bureaus and pricing:
http://www.credit.com/credit_information/credit_report/How-to-order-your-free-annual-credit-reports.jsp
Credit Score
You also want to get your credit score. My favorite site is www.myfico.com
They charge money for the information but they deliver it to you in an easy to read format and also provide all sorts of calculators and other information.
If you want to wait until you clean up your credit to start paying for those types of services there are free alternatives.
One is Credit Karma. They provide you a credit score from TransUnion and they also provide a credit "report card".
Credit Report Cards
Another free tool is Credit.com's Credit Report Card. A nifty tool that also attempts to rate your credit based on the information pulled from the credit bureaus. It also provides you with an "estimated" credit score.
Which One?
At first glance, there isn't a huge difference besides CreditKarma.com offering a free score from transunion. According to this article Credit Report Cards: Credit.com vs Credit Karma, Credit.com tends to be more accurate in terms of pure data. Check out both websites and see which ones appeal to you. I've been using Credit Karma for about a year and don't have any issues. I don't see a need to switch, but that's just me.
Mint.com
Since we are getting our affairs in order, you might as well sign up for Mint.com. A real easy way to track your finances, it includes some calculators and budget tools to help you see where you need improvement. Mint.com needs its own article and I will provide one in the future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
