Stimulus checks

free credit checks. [2008-10-26]
Is there a way to obtain your credit report for free? I have never checked it. I have always been afraid to, but now I would like to check it now matter how bad and figure on a way to make it better. I have looked on line and found several sites offering free credit checks, but then pay a monthly fee for something. I don I have too many straws in my bank account. I was wondering if my bank would do it or maybe an 800. If I ask, wouldI get laughed out of the building imaging something for free?TIA.

i write checks [2008-10-11]
only when I have to, but I have adorable checks. I know it takes a BIT longer, but now with the new slide your own card, then type 100 keys just to say OK to the transaction it's about the same time, if you really think about it. The thing about people stopping in the middle of an aisle OMG why why WHY do they do that? GET OUT OF THE WAY, MOVE TO THE SIDE, BE CONSIDERATE!!! im with you on that one

I use checks, but have streamlined the process - sm [2008-10-11]
by filling out everything but the amount (date, signature, phone number) on the check, & entering all info. into my check register except the amount, before even leaving for the store. Check is torn out, and in my wallet where I can just pull it out, write in the total, hand it to the cashier, and take off as soon as she gives me the receipt. Nowadays their computer/cash machine setup takes only seconds to verify the check. I usually wait to fill in the amount in the check register until I get home. It's weird, but often I find it takes longer to pay with money than it does with a check. (Especially if I have a bunch of change and I'm trying to pay with the exact amount.) That seems to freak people out in line even more than using a check. Also, nowadays the checker ends up doing the bagging, too (seems the stores have cut WAY back on hiring baggers.) So as he or she finishes each bag, I put it in the cart from where I'm standing, so he or she doesn't have to walk around the counter to do it. And I grab things like milk jugs, big 12-pack soft-drink cartons, cat litter, and other big things that don't really need a bag. Anyway, I find doing just those few things seems to get me through the line pretty fast.

arrested for bad checks - not Caylee [2008-08-30]
very unusual for someone to be arrested that way for bad checks, that scened was sooo dramatic. The cops must hate her too

still no stimulus check ! [2008-06-10]
Anyone else still waiting for their check to arrive via snail mail? Mine was supposed to be here a month ago. I

For anyone who has received a stimulus check by mail, have you all gotten a letter about a week [2008-06-03]
before the check stating when it would be arriving.

Stimulus checks [2008-06-03]
I had a letter a few months ago but not a week before it should have been mailed. According to the website mine was to be mailed NO LATER than 5/23 - and I still don't have it. :(

Stimulus Letter [2008-06-03]
Even though I had my direct deposited, I actually got a letter two days after it was already deposited that it would be coming.

Well I got a notice from the IRS that I could expect my stimulus check by May 30 and I didnt [2008-05-30]
get it today. I will get mine by mail. I wonder how far off it comes from when they say it will come.

It was my understanding, the checks are mailed out on Fridays, and [2008-05-30]
delivered..provided the mailing address was correct! How much are stamps these days???

Would filing your taxes late affect your stimulus check? [2008-05-30]
We filed an extension, and then sent our return out about two weeks late. We are getting a refund, so it wasn It was just a complicated return and we were just procrastinators.

Re: Those economy-stimulation checks - sm [2008-05-29]
I still haven Worse, I just got one of those Return Information Noticesin the mail. Well, guess what? The state of Calif. dida little number-rearranging, (or should I maybe call it fuzzy math?), and my state income tax refund has been changed from over $300 down to ZERO. When you call the number on the website, and finally get a live person to help, they very helpfully refer you to someone who can go over it with you, and then the system tells you it And get THIS: The actually had a LOWER taxable income than I had calculated. So how do they figure I am suddenly owed NO refund? It sure sounds like thathow the gov Like I Looks like once again, this Calif.taxpayer has been Californicated.

I agree. We have to pay out a lot. The stimulus checks should be for everyone! sm [2008-05-29]
I owed 4800 this year. BUT no stimulus check. Ok, fine, can accept that btu shoudnstimulus check go toward what I owe!!! Sorry but my bills are going up just like everone else so I donextra either??

you can do the Where's my stimulus form [2008-05-24]
on the IRS site

To all those wondering about stimulus checks SM [2008-05-12]
who are not direct deposit . . Got mine in the mail Friday and my last two numbers were 06.

more stimulus news . . . [2008-05-12]
I just found out that if you had you taxes done by a financial institution like HR Block and you chose to have their fee taken from your refund then you receive your stimulus by mailed check, so you should check the mailing schedule, not direct deposit

Tax stimulus [2008-05-09]
Anybody with a ss# ending in 00-09 get their stimulus in the mail yet? I am not referring to direct deposit...only via mail. My ss# falls in this category and I don't have a car. Don't want to waste money on a cab to the post office unless I have a pretty good indication that the check might be there. I live in GA. Thanks

I believe non-DD people won't get checks for months. sm [2008-05-09]
Someone had a stimulus refund link on here, below, I believe.

try the where's my stimulus check tracker [2008-05-09]
x

Info on stimulus payment... [2008-05-09]
I looked on irs.gov and looked under where is my stimulus payment. It said if you did not send you taxes off until April 15 or close to April 15 you taxes weren't late but the taxes weren't processed by April 15. So you will not get your payment on that date on the schedule. It can be up to 6 weeks later. I mailed mine on April 15 so that is why I didn't get it today.

where's my stimulus tracker i mean [2008-05-08]
x

IRS stimulus - find out when you'll [2008-05-02]
Go to http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=177937,00.html and click on where They just added this yesterday. It will tell you exactly when you are getting yours and how much.

anybody get their stimulus direct deposit yet? [2008-04-30]
mine's not due till May 9 but I was just wondering if anybody has actually gotten theirs yet.

Checks could be in taxpayer mailboxes by June, according to an Associated Press report. [2008-01-24]

the checks should be right there in the store - sm [2007-05-29]
I would think. Or whichever store they run their office from. They should have been able to write one out for you then and there. I would not have left without it, they know you want the money and are going to jerk you around until you give up. I would think that you had a court judgement or order by now and they have to do it or be arrested, etc, could not the deputy arrest the store mananger for something, obstructing the order? Failing to comply, whatever. As for the bank, it would probably be one of the top 3 banks in the area, though I don't know if the bank would tell you if they had an account there. You can always make some calls and try to find out. If they won't give you the money, take your $700 worth of furniture, and obviously try to pick something you want to actually keep, otherwise you will probably only get half of what the retail is if you are lucky and you are still out a chunk of change.

I just need to VENT and see what you all think...Beware...this is long...sm [2008-11-30]
I have tried twice to tell this story but deleted it both times because the story is just too long so I will be as short as I can. I have a bunch of ROTTEN TO THE CORE sisters.My sisters are just about the worst people I have ever met in my whole 43 years on this planet. There is one who is especially bad and I just told my other sister that if she ever dies, to please not call me as I won I come from a very large family with 5 sisters and 1 brother with my brother being the oldest. He is not involved. He sort ofleft the family years ago because he couldn They did terrible things to him after his divorce. We rarely see him now.I am considered a scumbag and a loser because my husband and I don We don We don We can We love our children with everything in our souls. They have made fun of me and my husband and insulted us to our faces.My husband and I have a difficult marriage as he is tough to get along with so they hate my husband My sistershave all gone out to dinner without inviting me. I have found out because of someone They have made threats and sent rumors flying throughout the family, without me knowing, about calling DCYF on me. I heard that one too from a slip of the tongue. I cried for 2 hours in the shower that day. They talk about everyone and I mean everyone badly. They have awell known reputation ina couple of our towns here for being mean horrible girls. They are about as fake and phony as a person can get. Sweet and all smiles to your face and when you turn around, they stick that knife in as far as they can get it in. They have what they have in their lives because of what someone has given them. My sister had her property given to her by her in-laws. It is worth about $1,000,000. My other sister had land given to her by her husbandto lessen their mortage burden so now they owe almost nothing on their $500,000 house. They think they are fabulous people. They think they are the cat In the past years when we were all talking and I would be invited to a holiday, I was not spoken to at all the whole time I was there. I am a venter and I always have been so if my husband and I are fighting, I will always go to my older sister (one up from me) and vent and vent until I can She gets on the phone the second I leave and tells every person in my family what is going on. They in turn judge me and my husband, make their threats, and so on. This is also happening to my oldest sister and her partner (she is in a gay relationship but was always dating a man and was married twice) and my sister The three of us, me, my sister and her partner, and my sister We get along well. We are happy with each other. We don Whatever happens in each other lives, we just accept it and don I now attend holidays at my sister I don I don The sisters (I like to call them the Witches of Eastwick) all attend holidays with each other up at my sister The three of us are not invited. My older sister has a son. Several yeas ago, my sister and her partner had a terrible fight with him. He went to the witches and told them a bunch of lies and now they have pretty much shunned her and her daughter and me too because we still talk to her.I have a sister, who is involved in all of this, that I speak to on a regular basis. She is close to my kids or at least my oldest son. She pretty much ignores my other two children and they tell me, It She is the one who has spread rumors about me in the family trying to get everyone to call DCYF on me. I heard this too by a slip of the tongue from another sister a few years back. I tend to be a forgiving person so I quietly forgave her for this without her ever knowing that I knew what she was trying to do. Now that they are all inviited to the holidays up to my sister They are extremely fat just like her. These holiday trips up north are usually kept quiet and I only know about it the day before they are leaving to go, which is when she inevitably asks me to come feed her f******g cats. This is how Iknow that a big party is going on up at the cabin and once again only the chosen selected few are going. This is usually for 3 or 4 days and they get fed twice a day so I have to goto her house twice a day. Sometimes I have to give them medication and the last time she asked me, I even had to soak her sick cat She lives about 20 minutes away from me. This girl would NEVER, NEVER, EVER do this for me. My husband and I took our children on a cruise 3 years ago and we have a cat and I never asked her to do this for me as I know she would have laughed in my face. I have been feeding her cats for years now when she goes away. Keep in mind though that she was in the select chosen few to be invited up to the cabin. I was not as I am considered trash in the family. I am SICK AND TIRED of feeding this girl My sister who invites everyone to go is a mean, horrible, sadistic, vicious, backstabbing wretched b***h. No one will say anything to her like, Gee Pat, where is everyone else? Didn They could care less. All they know is that THEY were invited. Anyway, I am sorry this is so long. I cananymore. I have been thinking of this all day all weekend long. I am really to the point where I just don I am goingto tell my fat a** b***h sister to fnd another way to get her cats fed because I She is just using me and believe me when I tell you, she enjoys it. She is verydiabolical. She loves it that I am not invited and she and her husband are.She even questions me and counts the cat food cans to make sure that I came on all of the days they were gone. These people have balls of brass and I have had ENOUGH.I am just sitting and waiting patiently for the next time she says, Oh, we Can you come and feed the cats? I just canNo. I can I will never feed your cats again! Find some other sucker to do it! I believe that they are severely narcissistic people and this is nothing to take lightly.These types of people are very destructive. Do any of you have family members like this and what do you do about them? How do you stop them from making you feelsad, lonely, excluded andless than you are or deserve? I think it is time for me to cut all ties with them. I just can

What we do - [2008-11-13]
I have always had a plan, but I am very cautious about money and always have been. We do not spend beyond what my hubby makes, which fortunately is plenty to live on because MT sure does not pay me what it used to. I save all my checks and then as much of his as I can each month. Cut out ALL extras if you have not already and save, save, save every little bit you can. If your cars are killing you, can you sell them (and not take a bath on them!) and get something cheaper? Either you or hubby may want to get a holiday job for some extra cash and a store discount for a little shopping for gifts. Hope I offered some ideas. I do not know a single person who is not nervous about money right now to some degree. Hang in there! :-)

I can see why some folks are giving up their pets [2008-11-08]
I just took Spot and Nerys to the vet for routine senior kitty blood checks. I also got Nerys a refill on her prednisalone. It cost $325. Those furballs had better appreciate it tonight when I shove pills down their throats.

Banks sm [2008-11-07]
I agree with the above poster. Your bank dropped the ball here. Did you write void on the check? Also I wouldnYou need somethingin writing from them and/or Wal-Mart. I hate the way Wal-Mart does their checks now. How do they know it is you that is cashing that check? A person could find or steal a checkbook and start signing andcashing checks at Wal-Mart. They don One more reason I don

I wrote a $10 check to Wal-Mart and turned in to a $40 mistake so far. [2008-11-05]
Here is what happened. When you write a check at this Wal-Mart here, they have you sign something and give the check back. I stuck it back in my purse. They are supposed to void. I was cleaning at my purse that day and paying bills at the same time. I wrote a $250 to pay a loan. I really don A week later, i was looking at my acct online. I notice that that $10 I had written to Wal-Mart went through twice. I called the bank and asked why. They said, oh, it looks like Wal-Mart double dipped. so I was refunded the money. I don Anyway, I became concerned about why that 250 check didn They said $10 was credit to my acct. I did not connect the 2 at the time. I thought, 10, I don The man told me he would look into it incase there was a mistake. He called back the day later and said that was a $10 originally written to Wal-Mart and we cashed it. So I called the bank and told them. They then had me go to wal-mart because they said I owed them $10 back. I go to wal-mart and they say no it is the Telecheck, company they use for this service andthey thanked me for trying to clear it up and said Telecheck will be contacting me. So I get a letter in the mail saying I owe $40 plus I am not allowed to write checks anywhere that uses their service until I pay that $40 back. Whatscares me is that that check said VOID on it and that other bunch wasstill able to cash it and get their money, which I think was dishonest of them...also my bank let it go through.Now what if I were to loosea bunch of those type checks and someone cashes itAGAIN. Man I would be out a lot.Do you think any of this is right? TIA.

That's crazy! [2008-11-05]
I would write a letter to the bank and cancel my account with them. That is wrong that they cashed a voided check. Can't fault Wal-Mart for wanting their money, but the bank should be paying that $40, not you! Not saying its right, but the other place probably doesn't look at the mail-in checks very closely but just send them through to the bank. Bottom line, the bank should have caught that.

Let's start a why do they thread! [2008-11-03]
Why do they make spice jar openings to small for a measuring spoon?Why to they pkg 8 hot dogs and then pkg 6 buns? you never catch up!Why does yellow mustard opening plug up and when you shake it, it squirts yellow oil?Why do credit card cos send blank checks through the mail, forcing you to open all of it?okay next?

free credit checks. [2008-10-26]
Is there a way to obtain your credit report for free? I have never checked it. I have always been afraid to, but now I would like to check it now matter how bad and figure on a way to make it better. I have looked on line and found several sites offering free credit checks, but then pay a monthly fee for something. I don I have too many straws in my bank account. I was wondering if my bank would do it or maybe an 800. If I ask, wouldI get laughed out of the building imaging something for free?TIA.

i write checks [2008-10-11]
only when I have to, but I have adorable checks. I know it takes a BIT longer, but now with the new slide your own card, then type 100 keys just to say OK to the transaction it's about the same time, if you really think about it. The thing about people stopping in the middle of an aisle OMG why why WHY do they do that? GET OUT OF THE WAY, MOVE TO THE SIDE, BE CONSIDERATE!!! im with you on that one

No where even close....100Kyes?? No 5 is avg. sm [2008-10-11]
But no I have to wait (Express line only - can understand regular line) for somenone to fill out a piece of paper to be handed back to them? Um, No! Sorry, donget me out of here ASAP.

it was just an exaggeration geez [2008-10-11]
I still stand by, when i use my debit or credit card itwas the checker friendly today is this amount okay please sign here or do you want cash back and then the final OKAY. And most people I see writing checks are elderly people, so I don't blame them. If you are in that much of a hurry then go at a time when there's NOT gonna be a line. geesh

I hate it when....... [2008-10-10]
People write checks period. But even more so when they are in the express lane and write a check. Second, I hate it when people stop in the middle of the aisle to have a lengthy conversation and block the whole aisle!

Any suggestions are welcome [2008-09-30]
I find I am going into a depression each day as time goes on. The root cause is home sickness. I live far away from my family where the only way to see them is to fly. This happens maybe once every 3 or 4 years (which is how often I go back). My DH doesn However, with that said DH listens to a lot of talk shows, news stations, etc. Almost 2 or 3 times a week heanyone is nuts to want to get on a plane now adays. I havensis is desparate to see me and I haven He just came out again to tell me hedonCanada to Mexico whenever they want to) My heart just sinks everytime he says that. Once I told him that they have to make flying safe because the whole country is filled with people who have to fly for business or personal reasons. I want to go back to see my family so badly my heart just aches, sowas thinking maybe betweenThanksgiving andChristmas time frame (we donthat way it would give things time to settle, but I just haven Also, with the crisis and election coming up there is a lot of uncertainty too, and I can't throw too much at him (he can't handle it). - Believe me in this household the impending gloom and doom are an every day part of our lives and our talks what we'd do if certain things were to happen. What would you do? Do you think I should just hang in there and wait to see what happens over the next few weeks or so? P.S. - we do not have a marriage where I just demand or tell him the way its going to be. Of course I may just be thinking too much of this, but at this point not sure and I get more and more depressed the more I think about it. So looking for some opinions/suggestions on how you would handle this situation.

Is it OK to do, or not OK? [2008-09-28]
something else while on company time? http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/09/24/lw.working.on.the.job/index.html ~snippet~ Brian, a 30-something salesman from New York City, uses bathroom breaks to handle the demands of his second job. The bathroom stall becomes a secret cubicle for his other job as a mortgage broker. He sends e-mails, checks his voice mail and makes appointments. Many workers daylight in defiance of company policy, frustrating managers and human-resource executives. I have a certain lifestyle, and I need a certain amount of money coming in, he says. Brian isnCareer Wisdom: 101 Proven Strategies to Ensure Workplace Success, confirms that he has noticed an increase. Shoehorning a second career into the same shift as your primary job is tricky -- and ethically questionable. Some workers do it with the approval of their superiors. But many do it in defiance of company policy (the main reason most daylighters interviewed preferred to remain anonymous) frustrating managers and human-resource executives.

I had an ex husband just like that [2008-09-22]
And the current husband was like that. I have been opening his eyes, such that he is much better. He wanted joint accounts, put me on everything. But I kept back, donhis account and he didn I just write him a large check each payday and he writes out the bills, then he puts in an equal amount of money out of his checkand writes out more bills. This way I I had to play HItler with the ex, he was so bad with money. I gave him 4 checks a month already filled out for a set amount for gas in his truck. Then I gave him an allowance. If he used less gas through the month, then he got to keep the extra money as his own reward. Then I would write out bills and over pay them deliberately, so that there would be a credit balance, or write out in the check book that I had taken $100 a month out for cash purchases, without actually taking the money out, kept a running total, so that if he would come to me and look at the balance, he would think there was less money and then he would know if he could spend or not (He wasn That way I would have money I needed in the account to cover bi-annual expenses like car insurance.

You are right, everyone makes mistakes [2008-09-15]
but like you said they are held to a higher degree of accountability. If you have every worked in a hospital, in any capacity, even as an MT, you know that there is a system of checks balances for everything from dietary and housekeeping to OR employees. There is a reason why these systems including HIPAA, OSHA, and JHACO are in place. Sadly, there are always those few doctors (thank goodness for the nursespolicy and procedure. This might be a simple case of someone needing to be reminded that they are not above any protocol and they can make serious mistakes very easily.

my ex [2008-09-08]
My ex husband did the same to me - lied about money all the time - even telling me several times he had deposited his pay check into our checking account when he had not. . then when checks bounced, he blamed it on the bank, saying they must have made a mistake - never would admit anything. . turned out, he was spending his money on drugs. . In hindsight, I wished I would have divorced him way before I did - I nearly lost everything, including my sanity. Good luck to you.

Husband lying and I am going carzy [2008-09-08]
At least once a week I catch my husband in a lie, and it is always about money. He writes checks and lies to me about what they are for, how much they are for, etc. If I ask him how much money he has on him he will even lie to me how much he has. This is just a general question I ask him to know if I need to go get my own or if he has enough for whatever we have planned. When I asked him about it he gets angry and defensive and cannot remember. Or he will say he told me about it and make me feel I am going crazy. We are actually trying to do Dave RamseyFinancial Peace which says you NEED TO COMMUNICATE ABOUT MONEY AND KNOW WHERE IT IS GOING. What do you think is going on? Where do I get help? I am ready to leave, as he has been lying to me like this the whole 16 years of our marriage. He had a major gambling problem years ago and a counselor once told him, even though you I have been in counseling three times with this man. I feel like i am the only one giving 100% to this marriage. I just need to know that it Our kids adore him, but I cannot live with him. What do I do?

arrested for bad checks - not Caylee [2008-08-30]
very unusual for someone to be arrested that way for bad checks, that scened was sooo dramatic. The cops must hate her too

Exactly! [2008-08-29]
My dad watched the show and I guess they took her in for fraud and theft? I guess she took some checks from a girlfriend and used them. Why they are doing this now, I don't know? But hopefully it's just to get her back into custody till they can charge her with bigger things! I will be watching later, as I am on the West Coast.

Hooray - glad I'm not the only one [2008-08-27]
I have read that scientist who have been studying this for years and years say the earth is actually on a cooling trend and we are headed on our way to an ice age. I'm not sure whether or not I think Gore believes what he is saying. I know he is receiving a lot of money to say what he is, so I think that is a huge factor. One thing that bothers me about his theory is that he will not listen to the scientist who know what they are talking about. He just cashes the checks he is receiving (from the people who are not studying this). Also, the last time the planet was in its warming phase was before the industrial revolution when there was no polution, automobiles, etc. So why do a lot of people believe that that is why they think our planet is warming. I do believe the planet warms and cools in its own time and this is not something that is only caused by polution. Also I understand the sun has none (or very little) sun spots (? - don't know if sun spots is the correct word), but the sun should have a ton of these spots and the scientist are trying to figure out why they don't. DH told me many planets are being affected and if global warming is being caused by human polution, how can there be global warming on other planets. Maybe there are little green men and they are poluting the other plants. :-) P.S. - how about those carbon credits????? What a joke.

Before the post gets buried below regarding credit - very long message sm [2008-08-24]
I just wanted to share with the posters who were considering bankruptcy. Unless you are on the verge of losing your home, I would strongly encourage you to consider another option. Bankruptcy does not just go away after a few years. It Even if you rebuild your credit afterwards, it A friend and my in-laws also filed bankruptcy in the past. My in-laws filed over 20 years ago and have recovered financially but it My husband is a credit card spender. I would only spend when I had the cash and did not depend on credit. It didn Our spending habits combined nearly led to our financial demise a few years back too. This is what I did and I hope you give it a try and it works for you too. I started with a complete inventory of all of our bills, separating them into three categories. Home (mortgage and utilities) Credit cards - (lowest balance to highest balance regardless of the APR) Miscellaneous bills (entertainment, clothing, food, gas, fast food, etc.) Since the Home category is pretty consistent every month, I set up a budget for that first. I went back through our utility bill for the year prior and chose the highest month bill of the year and added that amount to our mortgage amount. Next, I reviewed our telephone, internet, and television (satellite) bills. On average, I was paying about 230.00 per month for them all combined. Way too much in my opinion. I started shopping around and found a bundle package with Verizon. Now I pay 153.00 per month for unlimited long distance telephone, satellite TV, and DSL service. Saved $77.00 per month, just doing that. Then I added this amount to the mortgage and utilities. This totalled amount is what I know I absolutely have to pay every month and I better make sure it's in the account. Next, I did the Miscellaneous. I I started going over what was spent where and learned that we spent a lot more than we really needed to. I set up a weekly grocery budget and a fun budget. If there was anything extra at the end of the week, it was divided evenly between the two and added to the next week. I do this every week until the end of the month. If there is anything left over, that amount is divided in half again and half is divided again and added to the following week's budget (grocery and fun), the other half is locked away in the savings account. The money for monthly gas was a little trickier when the gas prices skyrocketed. I first had a set limit for gas each week but did have to adjust that. I did manage to adjust it a little bit upwards and still be able to pay the cards down (see below.) Also, every time I spend cash, no matter if the amount is $5.01 and all I need is a penny, I don Instead, I will give them $6.00 and get 0.99 change to put in my giant size espresso cup of change. When the cup gets full, the change is rolled and turned in to the bank as a deposit into the savings account. My cup last gave me $281.00 change to put in the savings account. That was in March. It Nobody touches the cup! They might lose a finger or even a hand! That being said, and having two set amounts for each budget, I then subtracted that amount, plus the Household amount from our combined monthly income. Lastly came the dreaded credit cards. To be honest, I was floored when I learned just how much credit card debt we had. My husband had wracked up over $40,000.00 in credit card debt alone. Since he paid his own credit card bills each month, I had no idea. Even worse than that, he is very inconsistent about paying his bills on time so he had late charges and the interest rates were way the heck up there. It was terrible. I took each of his cards most current statements and started from the lowest to highest balance. The lowest one was about 1200.00 but the interest rate on it by that time was 22%. This is where I started. I had him call the company and basically gave him a script to go by (my name wasn He requested a decrease in his APR on each and every card. Two of the five card companies agreed on the first call. The 22% card was reduced to 11% so they cut it in half. Not as low as I would like but it was a start. Another card was up to 31% and they reduced that to 20%. The other three didn't budge the first time. This is where I made two The first one was MS Money software. I highly recommend it. You can set up your checking, savings accounts, print your checks, balance your checkbook in about 5 minutes, pretty much a no brainer software that really keeps you in line with your bills and spending as long as you remember to faithfully enter any debit card purchase in your check register provided with the software. It will also link to many banks to update your balances online. You can also set it up to remind you for upcoming bills. (Maybe if the husband had used this earlier, we would not have been in this situation?) The second purchase was about $8.00. An accordion file folder for the monthly statements. Husband always threw his away and I cana dumb idea that is. KEEP them. Organize the tabs for each bill and put your statement in when you pay each bill. I also write the date and the amount when I make a payment somewhere on the statement, then keep them in chronological order. The actual payments came next. The smallest balance card was paid off first. All of other cards only got the minimum payment PLUS $1 more. I started doing this just for my own peace of mind I guess but I learned later that this actually helped us a bit when negotiating the lower APRs on the three more stubborn cards. It may have only been $1 extra but it was EXTRA payment and, believe it or not, they do look at that. Excluding the card to be paid off first, I added up the minimum payments of the remaining four cards (plus the extra dollar to each of those) and decided on an amount to pay the lowest balance card to get that balance moving toward 0 as fast as I could. In this case, I decided on 200.00. This left me with a little over 200.00 extra (I call it mad money but it really goes into savings anyway -planning ahead for birthdays, auto insurance, Christmas, and emergencies.) I had that card paid off relatively quickly in a few months. When it was paid off, the card was cancelled and that 200.00 was added to the minimum payment (plus $1) on the next lowest balance card. After the first month of this, once again, had the husband call his credit card company and ask for a reduction in his APR. This time it was granted. Should also mention that this card was one of the three that refused the request the first time. The first six months or so of this wasa mildly painful transition. He was used to whipping out a credit card, I was used to having cash on hand for whatever I wanted. It wasn't going to happen anymore. Finally, I wasdown to the last remaining card (754.00 per month payment by this time, having applied the payments for each card to the next as they were paid off.) When I got to this point, I started shopping around for cards with rewards programs and started comparing those cards. The last card I was paying on also had a rewards program but not quite what I wanted. I wanted to know if the terms were negotiable. It was! How about that! So, instead of losing a valuable customer the card company decided to keep me. Now I get 3% back on purchases of most things as long as I pay the balance in full every month (which I do). Any kind of air or rail travel purchased with the card is a 6% reward. I no longer use a debit card. The husband is not allowed to get a credit card again but instead, takes a certain amount of cash every week. Say what you want but he got us into this mess pretty much so he has to live with it now. It I find that I average about 400.00 per month AFTER the rewards bonuses kick in so essentially I am able to bank another $354.00 per month in savings. It adds up quicker than you might think. Should also mention that we have two teens still at home and they can really be expensive. They were made a part of the plan and do their part to help out too. Their contribution is mostly the avoidance of fast food all the time. They can come home and have a meal or eat before they leave. Things like that. Sorry for the lengthy post but hopefully I can help anyone else get out of a potentially bad financial situation like we faced.

Anyone out there own a HAIER portable washer? - see questions [2008-07-16]
I just bought a Haier portable clothes washer (8.8 pound, top-load model), and a portable dryer too, with my economic stimulus check. Since I've always used laundrymat machines, I'm a little confused about a couple of things not mentioned in the owner's manual. 1 - Dumb question #1: Are you supposed to turn on the water supply at the sink first, and then the poweron button to start the machine, or do you first start the power, and then start the machine? 2 - Okay, here Where do you put the liquid laundry detergent? Theredetergent, but I Also, there is a little thing above that that says detergent dispenser on it. This is confusing, detergent on it, so I don (And although not a domestic goddess, I am quite mechanically-minded and had no trouble assembling the parts and hooking it up.) I also don or if you first add the detergent, then power it up. I REALLY don I donkill the poor thing its first day on the job!

Identity theft [2008-06-27]
So, somebody has your social security number. Just wait until the IRS comes after you for not reporting the income from your second job, picking grapefruit in Florida. Happened to a guy here. Has cost bundles in legal fees to straighten it out. Reader Ita background check. Identity theft is a real mess. I don Shakespear said it.He who steals my purse steals trash; but he who steals my good name takes that which little enriches him but makes me poor indeed.

Identity theft -- never thought it could [2008-06-26]
Yesterday, I got a call from QVC. I had ordered a GPS system for my hubby and QVC called to say they were unable to complete processing of my order because my credit card wouldn QVC said the address I gave them as the billing address did not match the billing address of my credit card. I asked the rep to hold on while I pulled my credit card account up on line. When I did, I saw that my address and phone number had been changed to somewhere in TX (I live in PA). I told QVC I would have to call them back. I immediately called the credit card company. They pulled up my account and said that yes my address had been changed just a few days ago. When I asked how, they couldn They did not know if it was done on-line or by telephone. This, I don If someone called in to change it, shouldn Furthermore, if it was changed on-line, wouldn At any rate, it was changed, and my cc company tried to contact me to verify it by calling the new phone number given. (Makes no sense). Having received no answer, they sent a letter to me, which I have yet to get. One day after changing my address, someone made a $10 on-line purchase with cc account, which went through. Immediately following that, a $4500 on-line purchase was attempted to be put through. This one the cc company did not allow (thank God for small miracles). After having all of this explained to me, I was then transferred to an Identity Theft Specialist, who would help me close this account and reopen another one as well as put into action security alerts for me. For the next 7 years, my credit report will be flagged as a fraud alert, meaning that if anyone tries to open a new account in my name, the lender will have go through extensive verification to confirm it I I also had to file a report with my local police, which I doubt will accomplish anything. Local police are not trained in the same manner as state police, and I don We will see. I did, however, write down the address and the phone number that my account was changed to. My husband called the number last night from his cell phone and no one answered. He left a message stating he was looking for my name and to please return his call to his number. They immediately called back, but when my husband answered, they said nothing. They called back again later that night and did the same thing. Here I told her that apparently I was a victim of identity theft. She said that I said what do you mean and she proceeds to tell me that there have been a lot of account takeovers with this particular company and that it was determined to be an inside job. This left me feeling less than secure about setting up a new account with that company. It also makes me wonder if that My husband says as soon as the new account is set up, we Fortunately, this cc company has 0% identity theft liability, so we will not be responsible for the charges that did go through. However, the bigger concern here is that this person obviously has enough personal information about me to set up new accounts without my knowledge; hence, the reason for the fraud alerts on my credit report. I am so furious, if I ever get my hands on this person, I My husband and I have worked hard all our lives to have good credit and some skuzbucket thinks he can just come along and take it. I don I intend to pursue this fully. If it is an inside job, I will make sure that this credit card company does something about its current employee background checks. So, take a minute today and call your credit companies or go on-line and check to make sure that noone has changed your address and phone number.