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Nevermind all the advertisements you see on television and in the papers. Only one website is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law - annualcreditreport.com. Other websites that claim to offer free credit reports, free credit scores, or free credit monitoring are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In many cases, the "free" report comes with strings attached such as signing you up for a trial period of credit monitoring services. I got suckered into one of those years ago and when it came time actually use the credit "protection" the company denied me over some technically - after I'd paid around $30 a month for a year!

The free service from annualcreditreport.com (they could really do with a name that is not just ".com") acts as a central location to access your reports from the three nationwide consumer reporting companies; Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. The sites require various validation information so be prepared to have a variety of details about your personal history such as former employers, account numbers, addresses, loans, etc. I actually failed entrance to Experian because I couldn't remember enough details about a car loan and they only give you one chance. The other agencies give you 3 or 4. Still, the information I got from the other 2 credit agencies was very helpful. Keep in mind however that while the report itself is free, getting your "score" is an optional service ($5.95). TransUnion also offered a "debt analysis" service as well but I found it useless. You enter your debt amount and gross income and it computes your risk. That much I'm sure you can figure out on your own. Lenders typically view debt to income ratios less than 20% as very good so that should give you something to work towards.

I've been looking into the real estate market lately but feared my credit score would be too low to qualify for a loan. To my disbelief I found that my credit report is impeccable and my score is actually very high. I was surprised because of how much I rely I debt and even more intrigued by their recommendations on how to make the credit score even higher - take on more revolving accounts which provide more information on payment behavior. In the end I learned that a good credit score is not just about being debt-free (I actually have a considerable amount of debt), it's about proving your ability to incur, repay, and take on more debt over a long period of time. When you're looking for a 5 year car loan a bank is going to want assurance that you'll continue to make payments on that loan in a timely fashion for the full 5 years - not just the first one or two. Factor that into a 15 or 30 year home loan and you begin to get the full picture.

I'd been getting nervous about my debt-load so I've been systematically paying off balances and closing accounts but in reality, while it may be liberating to cut that credit card in two, make sure to hold onto the older ones. The longer an account has been open, the more history you have with the company. The longer the history, the higher the score. Just don't fall into the trap of incurring more debt than you can reasonably handle. It is very easy to go from a few "oh I'll pay that off next paycheck" purchases to "oh shit, this is going to take me forever to pay this off" shopping sprees.

Checking up on your credit report is not only a wise choice but an essential and FREE one.

Your Access to Free Credit Reports

» tags: free Technorati Tag: free  credit Technorati Tag: credit  reports Technorati Tag: reports

An interesting campaign highlighting the falsehoods that plague the entertainment industry and media at large. There are various levels of the campaign; from specific letter sent to media companies, to banned television commercials and the "why" campaign which tackles the question - "Why make a guide to plastic surgery for 15-year olds?".

The real winner however is the step by step flash animation that highlights the retouching of a girl's photograph as it transforms in 20 hours to a finished product ready for a magazine spread. From reshaped eyes, to fixed teeth, lips, nose, hair, jawline, waist, breasts, hips, and everywhere in between, the campaign is intended to get you questioning what you see around you. Be Media Critical - Think critically, react more!

Reminds me a bit of the Glen Feron post from a few months ago. He does retouching for a living...

Forsman & Bodenfors G!rlpower Campaign

(via BB)


ps: this is the 500th post since the Jungle-Life relaunch. Check the archives for everything you've missed!

Proving once again that marketing outside of the U.S varies wildly from the marketing inside the U.S, McDonald's Japan has replaced the iconic Ronald McDonald with a sultry woman instead. With shoulder-length straight red hair, a low cut dress, and in some cases even a bikini, Japan's version of Ronald McDonald is not supposed to be called the female Ronald - one look however and you're left deciding for yourself.

Personally, I think it's very strange to see a woman dressed up in Ronald's outfit (however modified it has been). I find nothing about McDonald's sexy and in fact, it makes me a little ill looking at these pictures and just thinking of hot woman and McDonald's in the same context.

The article gives some more direct insight however this ridiclous quote at the bottom is just mind numbing: "According to the Times, when faced with accusations that hamburgers were inimical to the country's diet, Den Fujita, the first McDonald's Japan president, declared: "The reason Japanese people are so short and have yellow skins is because they have eaten nothing but fish and rice for 2,000 years. If we eat McDonald's hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years we will become taller, our skin become white and our hair blond."

This news is actually over a year old but for some reasons everyone (including myself) is just catching on to it right now... Looks like the commercials are no longer on the air either.

Also, Ronald is actually called "Donald" McDonald in Japan :)

Ronald gets a makeover

No clowning: Ronald becomes a McHottie!

Ronald McDonaldress: The Female Ronald

Low Culture calls this a "happy steal" from The Fifth Element

» tags: mcdonalds Technorati Tag: mcdonalds  marketing Technorati Tag: marketing  advertising Technorati Tag: advertising  japan Technorati Tag: japan