Photo Credit:  unk’s dump truck

A few months ago, I was checking out my credit scores to get an idea of where I stand. I had heard that there can be errors on it that can hurt your score and in in turn give you hugher interest rates for auto and home loans.

I noticed three glaring errors when I saw my credit reports:

• My name was listed as my maiden name
• I had a couple of addresses that I never lived in
• I had a medical bill that was listed in collection, but was paid by my insurance years ago.

The first two were annoying, but the last mistake was dropping my credit score. Your bill payments make up an estimated 35% of your score.

How to Order Your Free Report

The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up one website, toll-free telephone number, and mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.

To order, visit annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228

Source: Federal Trade Commission

Free Credit Report.com isn’t free

FreeCreditReport.com isn’t a completely free service. You pay $14.95/month to monitor one of your three scores, Experian. I had it and it didn’t really help. 

When you order your free report here, you will begin your free trial membership in Triple Advantage^SM Credit Monitoring. If you don’t cancel your membership within the 7-day trial period**, you will be billed $14.95 plus applicable sales tax for each month that you continue your membership.

How to Dispute an Error

Call to verify what you need to send for your specific case. Too little and you have to repeat the process and too much information just makes me a bit nervous.

 Credit Agency Contact Numbers

• Equifax:                                    (800) 685-1111
• Experian:                                 (888) 397-3742
• TransUnion:                             (800) 888-4213

My Customer Service Rating

• Equifax: It was easy to get a person available and got the information that I needed. 
• Experian: I can say that they are the hardest to reach. I was trying to get their fax number and their automated system does NOT give you the option of talking with a live person. I went online to hunt for the answer. Once I got someone, it went smoothly.
• TransUnion: Even after digging online I couldn’t get a live person. I just find that annoying. I have to request my report by mail, as they can’t seem to verify me! 

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I had a lot of fun this past Friday: a friend came over and helped organize and redesign the living room space in our apartment. She has a real eye for spaces and she was kind enough to offer her help.

We have been in the apartment for about 8 months and we needed to rearrange it a bit. We have fireplace and since winter is approaching, we want to be able to gather around it. We also want to have a more open feeling with the spot. When we bought the second couch and chair from friends, we kind of just dumped them where we could.

The big concern was budget. We wanted to spruce up the place without spending a ton of money. Fortunately, our friend brought over some stuff she had in her basement and storage and gave us some ideas on how to use what we already have and change it up. Sometimes you don’t have to buy stuff new, you can just reuse items that you have or reuse other people’s ‘treasures’.

Not only are we happy with our living room, we saved hundreds of dollars. It goes to show that with some planning, you can upgrade your space without killing your bank account. We couldn’t do it without our friend. Now I just have to keep the apartment clean.

How did I calculate how much we saved?

I went to Target and Walmart’s site to find a comparable product. I’m not including the fee for a stager/interior designer into the total (for our city, a stager can charge $200 for  de-cluttering and rearrangement!).

• 4 Solid Color Pillows: 4 @ $12.50 => $50
• Patterned Pillow: 1 @ $25
• Set of Curtains: 1 @ $30
• Decorative Candle: 1 @ $10
• Decorative Plate: 1 @ $3
• Poster: 1 @ $5
• Couch Slipcover: 1 @ $60
• Candle Holder and Votive: $10

Total Saved in Living Room: $193

Some Tips on Creating More Space in an Apartment

1. De-clutter your room of unnecessary furniture. We moved the back shelves to the home office where it fits perfectly between our two desks.
2. Keep the walls light in color. Our apartment was painted in tan, so it wasn’t changed. Tan is better than that harsh white shade many apartments complexes use. If we decide to paint later, I prefer light blue, green, or even a pale yellow.
3. Make sure your furniture size works for the room. Our other living room chair was switched with the office chair. While it was comfy, the size a bit too big and made the space seem crowded.
4. Let in more light. The living room has a great view outside, so we leave the shades up and curtain pulled during the day. The natural light helps open up the room.

How much have we spent since the move on fixing up the new apartment?

Here’s what I came up with so far. I might be off by a little, but here are the big purchases in the last 8 months:

• Curtain rods: $30 for a set of 3
• Couch & Comfy Chair w/ Ottoman: $100
• Whirlpool Washer & Dryer: $150
• Washer Cable: $20

For those keeping track with me with Ramit’s 30 Days to Save $1,000 Challenge:

• Tip#1 $45/month
• Tip#2 $10/month
• Tip#3 has brought me $15 for two books I haven’t used.
• Tip#4: $10 for an ING Referral bonus
• Tip#5: $7.25/month
• Tip#6: $235/month once the car loan is paid off
• Tip#7: $80/month
  
• Tip #8: $20/month *note we did this before the challenge
• Tip#9: $240 this month * this also include items we got for the dining room

Grand Total:$407.25

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