Credit Score Increasing Tips

Published on October 21, 2011 in U.S. Closed Tags: , , , , , .

* Get a copy of your credit report from all three credit agencies. U.S.

residents are entitled to one free copy of their credit report from each credit reporting agency once every 12 months. This information is found by calling 1-877-322-8228 or at AnnualCreditReport.com. If any of the information on a report is incorrect, contact the agency to correct it; doing so may give your score a quick boost.

* Pay all your bills on time. This is the single most important factor in your credit score. Even if you only pay the minimum, pay your bills on time.

Set payment reminders by email or text. Late and missed payments can quickly lower your credit score.

* Pay off your debt. High balances and high debt ratios drag down credit scores. Your debt balance should be less than 35% of your available credit.

If you have a good payment history, contact your creditors and ask for lower interest rates. Then use what you saved in interest to pay down your credit card balances.

* Build a long-term relationship with the accounts you have. A long history of good payments on a car loan, a mortgage, or a credit card increases your credit score. Keep older credit card accounts open, even if you are not using them, because you are rewarded for a long, positive credit history. If you review your credit report and discover accounts that you no longer use, close the newest ones first.

* Limit your credit applications. Too many new accounts can lower your credit score. Each time you apply for a loan, the application shows up on your credit report. A significant increase in inquiries signals that you are desperate for money and are a credit risk. The exception is shopping for a mortgage or a car loan, as multiple inquiries for the same purpose in a reasonable period are considered a single inquiry.

* Get a checking and a savings account.

* Do not co-sign for a loan for someone else. This shows up on your credit report, and a missed payment or a maxed out credit card by the other person will negatively affect your credit score.

* If you can’t pay your bills, contact your creditor or see a legitimate credit counselor. The National Foundation for Credit Counselors (http://www.nfcc.org/), a not-for-profit organization, can give counseling and help you put together a debt management plan.

* Beware of credit repair scams and anyone who tells you they can improve your credit score for a fee. Investigate any company with your local consumer protection agency or Better Business Bureau.

LowCards.com ( http://www.lowcards.com) simplifies the confusion of shopping for credit cards. It is a free, independent website that helps consumers easily compare credit cards in a variety of categories such as lowest rates, rewards, rebates, balance transfers and lowest introductory rates. It also gives an unbiased ranking and review for each card. The LowCards.com Complete Credit Card Index ( http://www.lowcards.com/CreditCardIndex.aspx) is the most objective and comprehensive resource on the Internet which allows consumers to compare rates for over 1000 credit cards offered in this country. Created by Hampton & Associates, the company has been analyzing the credit card industry and supplying objective websites on various consumer expenses for eleven years.

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon Showed off Their Twins Moroccan and Monroe

Published on October 21, 2011 in Celebtrities. Closed Tags: , , , , .

Well, after keeping their twins under wraps for quite a while, it looks like Nick and Mariah are ready to show off their little bundles of joy. Good for them.
Mariah Carey with Nick Cannon
Hollywood Life–HollyBaby.com already revealed that Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon would reveal their twins Monroe and Moroccan for the first time during an interview on 20/20, but now a sneak peek is available!

Although their faces aren’t visible, it’s clear the twins have learned style from their parents. Their daughter Monroe is wearing a puffy white dress, while Moroccan has a camel blazer.According to The Daily Mail, the happy couple have already given the twins the nicknames “Roc and Roe.”

The twins were born April 30, but Nick said their personalities are already showing — and Monroe is just like her diva mom!“My daughter is a diva,” he said. “My son is laid back. When he wakes up, he wakes up smiling. He’ll wait for a minute and if he’s hungry, he’ll let you know.”

NBA Lockout: Players and Owners Break off Talks

Published on October 21, 2011 in Sports. Closed Tags: , , , , .

After spending two days getting closer, it seemed the proximity only served to allow the NBA and Players Association to get in better shots at each other.
NBA
With two weeks of the regular season already cancelled and more games certain to be lost, the two sides have broken off negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. And as they left the hotel in Manhattan, they had no appointment to meet again.

After meeting a total of 24 and a half hours over the previous two days, the league and players reconvened at 2 p.m. today. Some five hours later, Celtic managing partner Wyc Grousbeck emerged from the meeting area and walked briskly through the hotel lobby wearing an overcoat and carrying his suitcase. He paused long enough to say hello, but the two sides didn’t seem to be on terms even that good as they broke off the talks.

The players said the owners essentially drew a line in the sand over the percentage of basketball related income that would go to each. In the previous CBA, the players received 57 percent, and the owners say not they have come from 47 to 50 percent as to what they are willing to put into salaries.
NBA
The players are proposing a band approach. They are down to 53 percent in their request, but they say they will accept a mechanism based on economic circumstances that guarantees them no less than 50 percent and as much as 53.

With commissioner David Stern home with the flu, deputy commissioner Adam Silver and labor relations committee chairman Peter Holt of the Spurs said the players had dug in at 52 and a half percent.

“The response back from the union today was they made a slight move from 53 to 52.5 percent of BRI, and that’s where we broke off,” said Silver. “They made it clear that if our position was that we were unwilling to move beyond 50 percent, there was nothing else to talk about.

“We were unable to bridge the gap that separates the two parties, and at this time we have no further discussions scheduled with the union.”
NBA
Players’ union president Derek Fisher first apologized to the fans and the people who make their living around the NBA. Then he swung at the league and owners, saying, “From there, I want to make it clear that you guys were lied to earlier. It’s that simple. We spent the last few days making our best effort to try and find a resolution here.

“They’re interested in telling you one-sided stories that are not true. Obviously they have to have no intention of moving from 50. But we said we’d be willing to park that issue and put it to the side. Billy (Hunter, executive director of the union) said it repeatedly.”

Elizabeth Warren, Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Facing Criticism

Published on October 20, 2011 in U.S. Closed Tags: , , , , .

Democrat Elizabeth Warren, a longtime Harvard law professor, said in a podcast interview that she was courting “the hick vote” in her bid against Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown.
Elizabeth Warren
The comments came in jest when her interviewer, who grew up in Oklahoma and West Virginia, said he had often been called a hick and would “love” to see Warren, also from Oklahoma, take the seat.
“I’m going for the hick vote here,” Warren said, laughingly. “I just want you to know. Maybe we could start wearing stickers that say, ‘Hicks for Elizabeth.’ Could we do that?”

In the interview, posted Friday on the progressive blog “Left Ahead,” Warren said she appeals to different groups of people because of her background growing up in the South, then working at Harvard.

“I think I’m a new category: The elite hick,” Warren said.

The Massachusetts GOP jumped on the remarks, saying it’s “telling” that Warren compared being from Oklahoma with being a “hick.”

“She proves the point we have been making all along: Her two decades at Harvard have conditioned her to look down on everyone else as unrefined simpletons who need academic elites like her to show them the way,” said party chairman Jennifer Nassour in a statement, adding that “Warren should apologize for her offensive remark.”

But Warren’s campaign said the comments were simply made in jest.
Elizabeth Warren Pictures
“Elizabeth gave a self deprecating answer when an interviewer said that like her, he was from Oklahoma and often called a hick,” said Warren spokesman Kyle Sullivan on Tuesday. “It was a lighthearted moment in an otherwise serious conversation about Elizabeth’s fight for middle class families.”

Her remarks come a year after national Republicans took heat over running an ad during the West Virginia Senate battle that had a casting call for actors with a “‘Hicky’ Blue Collar look.”

Known for her role as an adviser to President Barack Obama in helping develop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Warren is leading in the polls to become the potential Democratic opponent to Brown in 2012.