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During the summer, specifically in the month of May, I obtain my free annual credit report from all three credit bureaus.  Everyone is entitled to a free copy of their credit history every year or when you are denied credit.  This is a great thing to do since identity theft continues to rise.

However, some companies (particularly credit card companies) offer you a "free" credit report.  The report only comes after you sign up for some sort of credit watching service, which can be anywhere from a few bucks a month to a percentage of your balance.  Be alert!  The credit report can be obtained directly from the bureaus’ websites.  Congress recently amended the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act that allows you to have all three agencies give you a free credit report from on one web site.  This website is http://www.annualcreditreport.com.  Do not be fooled by imitations (e.g. http://www.freecreditreport.com).  annualcreditreport.com is the only official website promoted by the FTC.

While the credit history is free, your credit score (the numerical value you are scored and are judged on) costs extra.  I would recommend getting this every couple of years.  I’m doing mine this year.

So be cautious web user.  Your credit will thank you.

After many years of avoiding it, I finally caved and created a Facebook profile. There are many things I can say that changed my mind on the issue. The primary reason is probably because so many college students use it as a form of communication. Being a “friend” on facebook is important.

I’ve also revitalized my AIM-screen name. I am not publishing it publically so feel free to e-mail me about it, if you don’t know it.

Yes, this site has changed!!

But most of the functions don’t do a whole lot yet. I’m still working on the pictures section (click on the link for a sneak preview). With this new structure, I’m also hoping to have interesting articles from time-to-time. I’m hoping that this will happen at least once a month.

You will NOT need to log in to this site to view anything. I’m not sure how to get rid of it yet without having things break, but hopefully, I’ll get it right.

Happy New Year!!