Skip to main content

Not Necessarily Utterly and Totally Irrelevant

Have you ever had to write a blog post on something that you didn’t necessarily agree with or get behind 100%? Probably not. I wrote a blog post about a year ago on this same subject, and I’m afraid I haven’t yet learned to care (shame on me). I mean, I know it’s important in this day and age, but if you totally adhered to the principal of using cash for everything, the subject of a credit score would be moot.

But because everybody seems to worship their credit score (insert eye roll and sarcastic tone here), I suppose it might be important to do what one can to protect it. So, let’s talk about that. I hope you don’t mind if I quote myself–my advice is still quite relevant.

“Check out annualcreditreport.com for reports from each of the three credit reporting companies. Make sure they are accurate. Reach out to them if they are not. Close old yet still open accounts with zero balances. Even consider freezing your credit since you are no longer relying on debt and, like me, don’t intend to borrow any more money. This will also help protect you from identity theft.

While I may not agree with the need for this rating system, I do understand that if you have one you want it to remain in good shape. So, take care of it.”

Ok, now my rant is really over, at least for 2022.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

One More–Christmas Experiences Part II

Christmas is just a week away. Hopefully you’ve checked everything off your to-do list and can spend some quality time “experiencing” Christmas gifts with your family. Because, after all, your loved ones will be far more touched by how you made them feel than they will be with what you gave them. This week, I want to share with you my sister, Carey’s, family Christmas experience. “One Christmas, when my boys, now 18, 23 and 28, were little, we gave them an experience that is still talked about now. And it’s something so easily replicated that any family can do it, and it’s not too late to do it for Christmas (even ON Christmas) this year. We drove around our neighborhood and looked at all the homes decorated for the holiday. We took note of the addresses as we numbered them. We talked about what made each ornamented yards stand out. And at the end of the night, we voted for our favorite. I had my sons help me make some of our favorite holiday desserts and, in addition to taking p...

More Financial Help

As part of the Discovery Family Coalition, we work with many agencies whose purposes are to help families in a myriad of areas. One of those areas is finances (that I get to chat with you about every week–yay!). And right now, families need all the financial help they can get, mine included. One of our fellow coalition partners, the Utah Department of Health & Human Services Child & Family Services, also does what it can to get help, including financial help, to families who need it. I happen to be on an email list, and this week I got an email with this information: “The Connect toCollect(C2C) program is focused on increasing low-income Utahans' receipt of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by educating individuals about this federal program and linking them to high quality, free tax preparation." What is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)? It's a tax credit that  helps low- to moderate-income workers and families get a tax break. If you qualify, you can us...

The Marshmallow Experiment

In 1972, Stanford did a study about delayed gratification with children. It involved giant marshmallows and testing their patience.  You can see a short YouTube video about the study here . Basically, the kids who could sit alone with a giant marshmallow without eating it for a certain length of time were rewarded with a second giant marshmallow. Fun, huh? Some kids could be patient and reap the rewards; some could not. I was a small child when the study was conducted, and I wonder which side I might have been on. I HAVE learned to be pretty patient as an adult. One of the areas in which I’ve seen improvement is in finances. I have become a good money manager–I could be paid once annually and budget so that I won’t run out before year’s end, including having enough money to pay my own quarterly taxes–self-employed people do that. Speaking of taxes, I try not to overpay so that I qualify for a “refund,” because the government does not practice The Marshmallow Experiment. Huh? ...