How to Build Your Credit at No Cost
Credit Card (Photo credit: 401K)
Since we talked about How to Check Your Credit for Free yesterday, I figured I would follow up and show you how you can improve your credit score for free.
First, I want to mention that debt should not be a lifetime endeavor, but only used for a short stint of your life. The goal should be to use debt for the smallest amount of time possible and then with the extra cash you were using to make your debt payments, start saving up and paying cash for things.
Many people think that they need to go out and finance a car or get a store credit card to build their credit, but this can be costly. If you take a loan out on a used car, the current average interest rate is 4.35% according to Bankrate.com. If you take out a store credit card, you could have annual fees and the possibility of overspending.
Here is a simple, free way to build your credit score:
Get a credit card that has no fees whatsoever. Then, setup auto-pay for bills that are fixed. Here are some examples: cell phone bills, internet bills, insurance bills, cable bills, etc. Then cut up the card and never use it. This way, you are never at risk of overspending. Also, you should never pay interest because you already budgeted that expense. Then pay it off every month so that you never carry a balance. This is what we have decided to do and it works great.
But I don’t Overspend
According to a study done by Dunn and Bradstreet, people spend 12-18% more when they use a credit card. On top of that, if you pay cash, a lot of times you can get a discount. I can’t tell you how many times I have told sales guys, “I am paying cash, what is the best price you can give me?” There is a reason why 75% of the Forbes 400, the richest 400 Americans, said the best way to become wealthy is to become debt-free and stay there.
Our goal is to be completely debt-free, including the house in 6 years. What’s yours?
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How to Check Your Credit Report for Free
Checking your credit report can be a really good thing to do. The challenge is that there are so many websites out there that appear from the surface to be free. However, there is only one website that is truly free: AnnualCreditReport.com. According to the Federal Trade Commission, this is “the only authorized source to get your free annual credit report under Federal law.”
Why is it Important to Check my Credit?
Inaccuracies or Fraudulent Activity - The main reason is to look for errors or fraudulent activities. A couple of years ago we ran my wife’s credit report and it had a delinquent bill from a cable company in Texas. The funny thing is that she never lived inTtexas. We since got it taken off, but the only way we knew about it was by pulling her credit.
Securing Low Rates – If you read yesterdays post about How to Pay Your Mortgage Off Early, I talked about refinancing to a 15 year mortgage at around 3.11%. The only way you could qualify for a rate that good is by having a solid credit score.
How Often Should I Check my Credit Report?
Once a year should suffice. Pull one report from each of the three bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. If you pull one every 4 months, this would be a good system to catch errors and address them quickly. Then go through each item and verify that it is correct. If you find any errors you should be either able to submit a request online or there is a telephone number for each company where you can file a dispute on what is being reported.
How Much Should I Care About my Credit Score?
All a credit score does is tell people how good you are about borrowing money and paying it back. You should desire to have a history of paying people what you owe them, however, the goal should be to borrow money for a short period of your life and transition to a cash based approach. Once you have a paid for house and are completely debt-free, a credit score will basically be useless. In fact, if you don’t borrow money for an extended period of time your report may come back with zero data. That is a good thing if you don’t want to use debt as a way of life.
So if you haven’t checked your credit report in a while, why not check it today for free?
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse for Free
Eclipse Annular (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As you have probably heard, today there will be an Annular Solar Eclipse in the Western United States starting around 5pm. It is referred to as an “annular” eclipse because the sun is covered by the moon which produces a “ring of fire” effect as it blocks most of the sun’s light. There are several different observatories and organizations that are offering free viewings of the solar eclipse later today. If you are looking for the time and location of a viewing in your area, then you have come to the right place:
Arizona
Who: East Valley Astronomy Club
Where: Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch - Gilbert, AZ (Phoenix area)
When: May 20th, 2012 at 5:15pm
California
Who: Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society
Where: Sacramento City College - Sacramento, CA
When: May 20th, 2012 at 5:00pm
Nevada
Who: Sidewalk Universe
Where: Sparks Marina Park - Sparks, NV
When: May 20th, 2012 at3:00pm
New Mexico
Who: Bandelier National Monument Night Sky Team
Where: Bandelier National Monument - Los Alamos, NM
When: May 20th, 2012 at 6:30pm
Texas
Who: The South Plains Astronomy Club and TTU Museum
Where: Lubbock Lake Landmark - Lubbock, TX
When: May 20th, 2012 at 6:30pm
If you are looking for more viewing opportunities, NASA has a site where you can search by city here.
Make sure not to look directly at the solar eclipse without protective glasses as it can severely damage your eyes. See the article, “How to Safely Observe Sunday’s Solar Eclipse“ on Space.com for safety tips.
If you’re not much of a risk taker and want to play it safe, you can view the eclipse live online via the Slooh Space Camera.
Lastly, if you have your own glasses or viewing equipment, you can find out the best time to see it in your area by going to TimeandDate.com.
How to Watch Movies Before They are Released for Free
The original Paramount logo seen on 1930s movies and Popeye shorts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Last night I saw a movie 5 months before it is going to be released. It was crazy, because all I knew beforehand was a list of movies that it was like, as they haven’t even named the movie yet. They had me sign a non-disclosure agreement so I am limited to what I can tell you. But what I can say is that it was a Paramount Picture and that it was a crime-drama.
I didn’t think it was that big of a deal at first, until I got there. They had a metal detector to get into the theater and a half-dozen guys in suits that looked like secret service agents. Apparently there are people out there who would bring their cell phone into the theater to record a movie. This screening company was not going to let that happen. So much so that they had people survey the audience with night vision goggles to see if any one had smuggled in recording device.
Now, not all screenings are like this. Most of the one’s that I have gone to in the past were finished, had a title, and were being shown only weeks before the official release. If you want to be able to see movies for free that are completed you can sign up at www.Gofobo.com. All you need to do is fill in a little about yourself and if you meet the criteria of the audience they want to preview the movie, they will send you an invite via email.
If you are into watching movies way in advance that are not a finished production, you can sign up at www.TheScreeningExchange.com. The cool thing about these movies is that they actually WANT your feedback; What you liked, what you dis-liked, or what you thought was missing. I really liked this aspect of the screening last night because, although it was a great movie, there were holes in it. I felt like I had the ability to tell the movie studio what it was lacking and tell them how it could be better. I guess the only way to truly know if I had in impact is to go see the movie again in November.
One last thing you should know is that this is not always so glorious. You are taking a gamble because you have no idea if the movie is going to be good or not. Also, it is a decent time commitment. Often you need to get to theater 3 hours in advance and stand in line. This is a huge struggle for me because I hate lines.
Have you ever been to a movie screening? What has your experience been like?
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List of Top 10 Free Android Apps
Below is a list of my top ten favorite free Android apps. You might be asking yourself, ‘what does this have to do with personal finance?’ Well, that’s simple! All of the apps that I will share with you in this post are free. This, in turn, should save you money so that you don’t have to buy apps that do the same thing. Here is the list:
1. Mint – This is a simple to use money management app where you can view ALL of your finances in one place.
2. Craigsnotifica – Search for deals on Craigslist and be notified instantly when your criteria is met.
3. Amazon Appstore – Like Android Market, with an added bonus of one FREE (normally paid for) app per day.
4. Soundhound – Can’t figure out the name of a song or who sings it? Just fire this app up, sing the tune, and it will magically tell you.
5. Skype – My wife and I talked while I was in Cairo for FREE. This is an unbelieveable app if you are trying to keep in touch with someone oversees.
6. Lookout Mobile – This is a security app that has multiple features: virus scan, file back up, and you can even locate your phone if you lose it by logging in online in order to activate a loud siren on your phone.
7. Dropbox – Put your important files in the cloud and be able to access not only from your phone, but virtually any device that has internet.
8. Evernote – Tired of making notes in your phone, only to sell that phone a few months later and loose every note? You don’t have to worry about that any more with this app. It stores your notes in the cloud.
9. Amazon MP3 – Store all your music in the cloud and be able to access it anywhere, including your cell phone.
10. Google Translate – Speak into your phone in your language and it will translate it into your desired language.
If you have a favorite app that isn’t listed here, leave it in a comment below and I will be sure to check it out!
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