Truly Free Credit Score Anytime with Credit Karma

I learn about a new site called creditkarma.com. It's a quick and easy way to continually monitor your averaged credit score for free. It summarizes your credit report, shows how you compare to others, how to improve your credit, and even has a simulator to see how your score will change in certain situations. Credit Karma is a reputable site that requires you to register, and yes it asks for you ssn. This does not concern me since they boast many security certificates, and we learned recently that your 9 digit SSN can be deciphered with public information anyway.

After a free account is established with creditkarma.com, you can log in anytime to see your current credit score. You can check it every day if you want. In the FAQs, credit karma states that the inquiries are on your behalf, and will not be shown to creditors or affect your credit.

So check out Credit Karma, I was very impressed and highly recommend it. It is a great tool to see where you stand before buying a house, car, or applying for a loan.

Lessons Learned from Homeless People

When people are forced into a financial hardship, like being homeless, they often survive only by making the best of their situation, no mater how bleak it is. This humbling experience can also illustrate the value of money, or lack of it, in a crystal clear manner. If only the average consumer looked at their finances like a homeless person trying to survive, they would probably be better off.



For simplicity lets take a look at the value of $5.00.

Scenario 1:
While walking by the corner store, one sweltering hot day, Trevor decided to buy a soda. Unfortunately the clerk only accepted cash, but pointed him to the ATM located in back. On the way to the ATM, Trevor noticed a water fountain by the bathrooms, but he decided the soda sounded more refreshing. After accepting the $2.50 ATM fee, he withdrew $20.00 and returned to the counter to buy the $2.50 soda. He stepped outside took a big gulp and continued his walk hardly skipping a beat.

Scenario 2:
Perry was laid off a while back, and has been without adequate income for a while. He sleeps under a bridge, and can't remember the last time he changed his clothes. He walks 2 miles everyday to the corner of Main street and Union to beg for change. Today it happens to be raining. Perry stands in his regular spot with a cardboard sign in one hand, and holds his garbage bag poncho over his head with the other. Since most drivers don't want to roll down their window in the rain, Perry only receives a handful spare change, and a few dollar bills. After standing on the corner for a couple of hours, he counts his earnings which total $5.00. He staggers into a grocery store to buy breakfast. He first walks into the bathroom to wash his hands, and to fill his water bottle from the sink. He then proceeds to gather his items: A banana for $0.59, an orange for $0.67, a loaf of day old bread for $0.99, a can of tuna for $0.99, a can of stew for $1.29. The total at the checkout counter is $4.94 including the 9% sales tax. It is a familiar total, and leaves him with $0.06 to save for later. Outside he sits against the wall of the building, and eats his fruit. He patiently looks forward to the tuna sandwiches for lunch, and the stew for dinner. Any day that Perry gets to eat is a good one.

The amount spent is exactly the same in both scenarios the only difference is the the way each person perceives money. In the first scenario Trevor chooses soda over water without giving it a second thought. While in the second scenario, Perry stands in the rain for hours for the same amount of money. Five dollars has a much different value in each of their hands. It is too bad that Trevor does not spend money as frugally as Perry, because Trevor owes 22k in credit card debt, while Perry has positive net worth of $0.06.

Happy 4th of July

Here are some emergency instructions in case your celebration gets a little out of control. Be safe, and please be respectful of your neighbors. They might not think lighting M80's at after midnight is as cool as you do. If you plan on lighting off fireworks, make sure you have a fire extinguisher. It can come in handy, and will even decrease your home owners insurance premium.

Now Might be a Good Time to Learn About Stocks

It's hard to go anywhere these days without hearing horror stories about the economy. Many long time investors and retirees have suffered huge losses as the market reached record lows. On the other side of the coin, if you have never invested in the stock market before, then you've never lost anything, and now might be an exceptional time to learn how it all works.

The market will have to recover sooner or later, and right now you can pickup shares at a fraction of the cost, compared to what most shareholders paid. Rumors are also starting to circulate about the economy beginning to recover, but there is no way to know if the worst is over. Consider investing a small amount of play money, that will not lead to your demise if lost. The odds of financial gain in the stock market are much better than going to a Casino or buying lottery tickets and can be just as exciting.

It's impossible to know everything about investing, and learning the basics can be intimidating. A good place to start is CNN's Money 101. It contains a wealth of information on various financial topics, and Lessons 4-5 are specific to Investing. When I started Investing not too long ago, I simply opened a Roth IRA at Tradeking.com, which I found to be the cheapest at $4.95 per trade, and invested $100.00.

I decided to invest in Ford (F) purely on intuition, and was lucky enough to more than double my investment over the past 3-4 months. As a 28 year old, with hardly any money, it was a great way to get my feet wet. I also made a few mistakes as seen in my article Stop Order vs. Limit Order, but it has given me the drive to start learning more and more about how the stock market works. I am now exploring more advanced trading techniques and learning what to look for in companies.

The most important rule when starting out is: to realize that you don't yet know what you're doing, and should never invest more than you can afford to loose. It is also important to realize that paying off debt usually is a better investment than trying to earn a return on stocks.

Overall the stock market really isn't that scary, and by getting in now, you might make a pretty penny when the markets recover.

Defacing Credit Cards to Save Money

When money is tight, plastic is cheap; or so they say. We've all been there, your checking account is low, but you see something that you just can't live without. You quickly whip out your credit card for an impulse buy with the intention of paying it off the next time you get paid.

Unfortunately for most people this happens much to often, and can quickly cause severe credit card debt. The Internet is riddled with ways to detour people from using their credit cards, like the classic freezing your credit card in a block of ice. I, on the other hand, have a more practical solution I call "Credit Card Defacing." If you are currently trying to pay off a credit card with revolving debt, take a sharpie and write something embarrassing like "I am an idiot for using this card", "emergency only", or "Don't let me buy this" in big letters on the front of the card. The next time you use the card, you will be scrutinized by the person behind the counter. They will probably laugh at you, creating an extra humility barrier between you and your purchases. In a true emergency situation, the graffiti will not hinder the use of the card. Although keeping a credit card for emergencies is ridiculous and unnecessary anyway. People should instead have an emergency savings account linked to a debit card, but that is their decision.

"Defacing your Credit Card" is a great deterrent that allows you to cater the card message to the severity of you spending habits. If you have a really big problem you could even try writing offensive stuff like "Screw You" on the card. If the cashier does not have the thickest of skin, he or she might not even do business with you.

Every time you feel the urge to buy something with that credit card, you will stop and ask yourself is it really worth having to deal with the clerk. That will ultimately help curb spending.

Anonymous Web Surfing with Portable Opera+Tor

*This information is for educational purpose only. Live for Improvement does not condone any illegal activity, or side stepping of security parameters.*

Many businesses allow employees to use the Internet during breaks to check email, or to safely surf the web. You may, however, not want your co-workers to know that you're considering hair transplant surgery, searching E-harmony for special someone, or paying bills using sensitive banking information. If you fit this criteria or similar, then check out Opera Tor.

Opera Tor is one of the securest portable browsers available, and its free. By downloading the file, and installing it on a portable thumb drive, you can surf the Internet anywhere with peace of mind and privacy. It uses data encryption and proxy servers to securely transmit data. It also prevents any data from being stored on the local computer. It is nearly impossible for anyone to know what you are doing or where you have been.

The only draw back is that Opera Tor is extremely slow, and should only be used when necessary. It can also make things interesting when you go to international sites like Google and the German version is displayed because it thinks you are in Düsseldorf.

So if you are extra paranoid that big brother is looking over your shoulder, this is the app for you.

Have a Family Duress Code

Whether it's signalling to leave a boring dinner party, or being held at gunpoint while answering your wife's phone call, it is a good idea to establish a duress code. Take a few moments with your loved ones to agree on a specific word, phrase, and body language that can be used during such occasions. It could really be the difference between life and death, or at least minimize the discomfort of attending a function where you don't know anyone.



Picking a Duress Code:

• Words - Try picking words that don't come up regularly in conversation, and will not sound strange when used. Your friends might become suspicious if you start saying "Abbra Cadabara" every time you are about to leave. You might consider choosing a less conspicuous word like automobile, newspaper, heartbeat, or streetlight that can easily be inserted into a sentence. To be even more subtle, have a secret pet name for your significant other like hunny, or sweetheart to be used only in the perils of danger. It may seem silly to dedicate a special word, when most couples have a knack for reading each other, but it could be crucial in a telephone or email conversation. Its better to have a duress code word and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
  
  
• Phrases - Using a phrase can simply be a sentence with your secret word in it, but it can also be a metaphor. Suppose your secret phrase is the "car trouble". This allows you to use the different words every time. You could say the cars making noises, having trouble starting, acting funny, or the battery is won't hold a charge. This gives you much more variety in dialogue, and could be used to interpret the severity of a situation. If you want to leave a party, you might say that you recently noticed the tires look low. If you are being held at gun point you might say that yesterday the car started making loud grinding noises during gear shifts.
  
  
• Body Language - Simple gestures like scratching your elbow, or cracking your knuckles can also relay the message of duress. It doesn't have to be as elaborate as a major league catcher signaling the pitcher, just enough to get your point across to the intended recipient. Being able to signal your wife could come in pretty handy the next time someone invites you to attend their child's fifth grade piano recital, and expects an on the spot answer.
  

It is a good idea to incorporated all three of these methods when creating your duress code. This allows for the most flexibility for sending signals. Use some creativity to determine your own personal duress codes, and never tell anyone.