Let’s Bake Some Bread

Baking bread is one of the easiest ways to cut a few dollars off your grocery bill each week.  What do you spend on bread each week? If you are like my family we eat one to two loaves a week, even if we were to get the inexpensive bread that adds up to $3.50 a week, about $14 a month, or $168 a year.  What could you do with an extra $168 a year?

Baking bread may seem scary but it really isn’t hard at all. It also seems like it will take all day long with the proofing and rising and baking, but again it isn’t as bad as it sounds. Here are a few simple recipes you can use. My husband is the baker so he has a bunch of recipes he uses but those are a tad more complicated than what I like to use.

My favorite bread is a simple Amish White Bread.

Ingredients:

§  2 cups warm water

• 1/3 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbls active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups flour

Add sugar to a bowl and then add water (make sure it is approx. 115 degrees). Sprinkle your yeast on top of the sugar and stir gently for 30 seconds and let sit for 10 or so minutes. When the mixture bubbles up you know you can move on to the next steps. Add your oil and half the flour mixture and then your salt (salt after flour as the salt kills the yeast). Add in the remaining flour and mix. If you are using a mixer you can put on your dough hook to mix.  Add flour to your counter top or baking mat and place the dough on your counter and knead the dough for approx. 3 to 5 minutes, forming a soft round ball.  Lightly grease a bowl and then add your dough ball to the bowl, flip it over so all sides are coated with the grease. Cover the top of the bowl with a damp warm towel or saran wrap and let it sit for about one hour. 

Once again lightly flour your counter surface to prevent the dough from sticking. Once the dough has doubled in size you will remove it from the bowel and punch it down and then cut in half. You will then need to form your dough into the shape of a loaf. Pinch the ends, or tuck the ends under, this will help create uniformity as your bread bakes. You will want to prepare a bread pan (9x5) by greasing the sides. Put your dough in the pan and cover and let rise for about 30 minutes (when the dough doubles in size).  When you cover your dough turn your oven on to preheat to 350 degrees. 

When your dough has doubled in size, place in your oven and bake for 25 minutes or so, until golden brown.  Right before the bread is finish you will melt 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter to brush on top when you pull the bread out of the oven. Let your bread sit and rest for 10 minutes after removing from the oven (and brushing the top with butter) and then remove from pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

I know, I know, that seems like a lot of work for a simple loaf of bread. But trust me it really isn’t a lot of work (just very detailed directions) and it really is worth it.  For starters the bread tastes amazing, way better than what you would get in the store. Second, you know what is in your bread because you put it there. Take a look at the ingredient list on the back of your store purchased bread. I bet there are more ingredients listed than what is listed above and some of those you probably can’t even pronounce. Last but not least making your own bread is less expensive in the long run than buying a loaf of bread or two a week.  Kristen from The Frugal Girl did a very thorough investigation into how much it you’ll save by making your own homemade bread. She estimated that you’ll save at least $0.50 per loaf if you typically buy the very cheapest bread on the market (that typically sells for $0.99 per loaf). However, if you typically buy a little bit higher quality bread (that usually retails for $2-$3 per loaf, than you’re going to be saving $1.50 to $2.50 per loaf easily.

So happy baking everyone, I can't wait to hear how well your bread came out and how amazing it tasted. My husband just made fresh French Bread so I am off to enjoy a nice warm slice with lunch. 

Cutting Meat to Save Money.

Cutting your own meat you purchase in bulk DOES save money. This is something my husband and I have been doing for years now and we have noticed a really big savings. We started with a Costco membership but since moving this summer we ended up getting a Sam's Club.


This is what we purchased to last this month and a little bit of next month.

2 large pork loins. They were about $20 each.
2 beef sirloins. These are a little on the pricey side at $85 each. Don't let the price scare you though.
20 pounds of Hamburger (not pictured). Each 10 pound package was about $20

How much do you think all of that came up to? Come on, you can take a guess. =)  Ok, I will tell you what it came up to. Everything listed above was only $250; not bad huh?  All of this meat will feed my family of 5 for a full month and will give me extra for next month.

Here is a run down of all that is shown in this picture.

8 packages of Hamburger (2.5lbs each). 

2 large pot roasts. 

3 bags of stew meat. 

3 packages of steak (5 steaks each package)

2 large pork loins

5 packages of pork chops with 6 pork chops in each. 

Not pictured or added in the total above are the frozen hamburger patties we purchased. The package was only $13 and will give my family enough for 3 full meals. I know I could make my own hamburger patties but I am too lazy to do that.  

No, we don't only eat pork and beef all month, but I stocked up last month on chicken and some fish so I had no need to get any this month. My freezer has been so empty since we moved and I am working hard at stocking up on my meats and my freezer meals. 

Cutting your own meat does not have to be difficult or scary, really it is easy. All you need available is the meat (of course), a good knife, and something to store your meat in. 

When you cut your pork loin into chops you cut them into 1 in segments (or however thick you want them).  If you want a large pork loin to throw in a crock pot (makes great pulled pork sandwiches) or grill you just cut that portion. I just cut the large pork loin in half and this will give us enough of a pork loin for my family. 

Picture from "I believe I can fly"

The sirloin comes in this big chunk of meat and may look a little scary to cut up.  We cut larger chunks off for our roasts and then work on the steak and stew meat. I just cut the steak into sections like I do for the pork. I will put a small section aside and cut that into chunks for stew meat. 

The hamburger comes in large 10 pound packages like you would buy any other package of ground hamburger. I use a small scale to weigh out the meat into 2.5 pound packages. If you don't have that you can also cut the large section into 4 sections. 

Not only does cutting your own meat save you money but you are less likely to go to the store on a whim to buy meat or call for take-out because you didn't go to the store and this will save you even more money. 

I'm baaack... many changes to come.

I must apologize for my absence over the last year, it sure has been an amazing and hectic one. However, it is now time to share all of my cost cutting secrets with you so you can living an amazing year like we have.  The biggest and most exciting news I have to share is that we are now home owners.  Yes, you read the correctly, we are home owners and we are loving every minute of it. 

The few things I have learned from moving one house to another are: 

1.) Moving Sucks.

2.) Moving is Expensive.

3.) If it can go wrong it will go wrong.

4.) You find so much nifty stuff you forgot you had.

I am sure that list is a pretty common list when someone moves,but for me it was even harder because I was doing everything on my own. Due to my husband's injuries he wasn't able to help much more than keeping an eye on the baby while I pack and move things around. We chose to rent a Uhaul and hire moving helpers to load and unload the truck. We did save money and that was the point but honestly I think if we ever move again we will hire a company to come in and pack and do all the work. I was stressed to the max, very ill (from exhaustion), and just not a happy camper by the end of the move. 

Now that we are home owners I have the fun task of decorating an entire house on a budget. I am sure we will have home maintenance issues pop up that we have to deal with as well. I have a feeling YouTube and I will become really good friends over the next few years. But that is okay because we are home owners and I love my house. 

I can't wait to share all of my DIY projects, even if they are considered a fail and I am sure we will have a few of those. Besides the unpacking and decorating the house I have three projects lined up and so far the first project is coming along nicely. So don't forget to come back and learn some awesome DIY projects, money saving tips, and general life advice.

Now I am sure you all are waiting to see pictures of the new house so here they are. 

This is our gorgeous Cap Cod style home. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a completed basement. 

This is most of our backyard. The yard goes further down to a creek.

The day we got the keys to our home. I kept this larger key so I can add it to a shadow box one day. 

The one area in my home that is put together. 

We all love extra money.............

With hundreds of thousands of workers furlough during this Government shutdown, and over a million Veterans and disabled Americans possibly not receiving their monthly check come November 1 the need for cash (or a good deal) is more important than ever.  So what are some ways you can earn money NOW or add extra money overall to your pocket book.

1.)    What do you have to sell? In my house our garage is the big black hole of the house. We have boxes that were put in there when we moved into the house three years ago, and we have steadily added to that. At the beginning of the summer we decided when the weather starts to cool down we would finally get out there and clean out all of the boxes, donate whatever we need to, throw away the trash, etc. With the Government shutdown looming over us we decided to utilize different media outlets to sell whatever we could and donate the rest (or after a few days donate what doesn't sell). 

These few ideas are great to make some money but also great to find an amazing deal on something you need. Winter is coming and you will need warmer coats for you and the kids. Why spend $80 on each coat when you can get it for $15/$20? Expecting a blessing (baby) and need some extra supplies, why not save upwards of 75% off retail. The list goes on and on.

I am on Facebook (take a look at this page’s fan page HERE) and in my local area there are groups designed for buying/selling household items (or really anything). Try a simple search for your area with “virtual yard sale” in the title. I know in my area there are several groups, some designed for baby items, and others designed for “man things” while other groups are just general groups that accept most items. 

Another website I regularly use is Bookoo.com. You can do a search for your zip code to see if there is a group for your area, if not you can create one. This site is very popular near military installations and has been for some time.

I am sure many people have heard about Craigslist.org. If not Craigslist in a website that you can buy and or sell your goods, hire someone to do something for you, offer a service you have to offer. It is a great way to save money or make a few bucks. 

What happens if you don’t have internet access to utilize these websites? No worries call your local newspaper and see how much they would charge for a classified ad. This may not be a great idea if you have an item you are selling for $10, but some of your higher priced goods would fit perfectly in the newspaper.  A free way you can list items for sale is by placing an ad on your local community boards. These can be at school, grocery stores, local gyms, pet stores, etc. 

So far I have sold about 15/20 things that I was just going to donate and have earned roughly $200. What could you do with an extra $200? 

2.)    Opening your own business is a great way to earn some extra income. I am not talking about a store at the mall, but a small home based business.  There are some GREAT options available that pay you to sell their product. Remember Tupperware? The company is still around and doing great. Visit Jenn’s Tupperware page HERE to see the deals she offers. Love doing your nails? Take a look at Jamberry Nail Wraps. This company is new to the direct sales business but already making waves in the fashion industry, making appearances on the runways of Fashion Week, and celebrity Instagram pages. Take a look at the products available and see if it is something you and your friends would like – click HERE. So many other companies like Scentsy, Posh, Miche, and Tastefully Simple. Most have a small start-up cost but you can easily add a few hundred dollars to your bank account at the end of the month with a little work. 

3.)    Do you have old jewelry just sitting in your drawer? Maybe some broken pieces you couldn't bring yourself to throw out or get rid of before? Now there are companies (even home based businesses like in number two) that will buy your gold and give you cash on the spot.  You can host a party and even earn money from your friends selling their gold and earning cash. Just Google what the market rate is for gold the day you decide to sell. This way you know if someone is really giving you a fair price for your gold or taking advantage.

4.)    Become a mystery shopper. I know it sounds crazy but companies will pay you to check up on their employees. You should NOT have to pay a company to become a mystery shopper with them.

5.)    Are you a crafty person or good with tools? You can refinish furniture you find at thrift stores or the free pile and resell these pieces. You can sell your crafts at a local craft fair or online. You can become a handyman for your community, doing odd jobs here and there. 

6.)    Sell CD, DVDs, and books you have laying around the house. There are stores and online companies willing to pay you for these items. 

7.)    “Donate” your plasma. There are centers in most cities and states that will pay you (upwards of $300 a month) to come in and sell your plasma. Plasma donation is as simple as donating your blood, the only difference is a machine spins out the plasma and pumps your blood back into you. 

8.)    Do surveys online test out websites, and get paid to read emails,. Here is a list of different companies that can match you with people hiring for these easy tasks.   Volition.com  usertesting.com  and http://www.surveypolice.com 

9.)    Get a paper route in your community or a job delivering pizza. These jobs pay minimal wages but tips can be very lucrative.

10.) Tutor for money. Parents will pay upward of $25 an hour for you to tutor their child in a subject they need help with. Are you great with number, perfect with spelling and grammar, or love history? This is a great way to add some extra cash to your wallet.

Even though things are tight now with these simple tricks you can easily earn some extra money for your household to ease these frugal times. 

Free to Cheap Summer Activities

School is out and the kids are home.... now what? My kids have been out of school for about 2 weeks now and even though they have yet to drive me crazy I know that is coming. Don't get me wrong I love spending extra time with my kids but I know they are bored and want to go here and there just to fill their day with stuff. But the bank book doesn’t like all the added activities that seem to cost an arm in a leg during the summer. So I am coming up with some free to inexpensive activities we can do that the kids will like and fill our day/weeks with activities.  These are some things I am doing with my kids, so please forgive me if the program or activity isn’t available in your area. If you comment below with where you live I can see if I can find some fun stuff for you to do.

The older monkeys like to read so we go to the Library twice a week. I know it isn’t a big activity but it is fun to get out of the house, plus reading during the week gives the kids an escape from boredom. Our library offers a fun summer reading program, complete with prizes and awards. I remember as a kid our library did this and for so many pages you read you received a Pizza Hut coupon for a personal pan pizza. I know some libraries offer a ready night or story time, this may be a fun alternative if you have little ones who would sit still and enjoy story time.

Home Depot offers a free building workshop for kids (ages 5 to 12 years old). These workshops are held once a month, usually the 1^st Saturday of the month, but I suggest calling your local store to find out the details. This isn’t a summer only thing, so the kids get to enjoy these projects all year-round. I believe Lowe’s offers the same sort of kids building workshop, but maybe twice a month. Home Depot is closer to us though so we haven’t attended a Lowe’s workshop.

During the summer there are free movie nights at the local elementary school. They inflate a large screen and we just sit on a blanket and watch a movie, it is usually a new DVD release movie. You can bring your own picnic or buy concession stand food. Most of the time we bring out own food and buy the kids one fun snack from the concession stand. The money goes back to the school district and you get out of the house for an evening.

Just like the movie at the elementary school the local parks and recreations have free live concerts in the park during the summer.  Again you sit picnic style on the grass or bring your own chairs, bring your own food or buy from vendors. Sometimes the music isn’t great but getting out of the house and meeting your neighbors and letting the kids run around more than makes up for not so great music.

Some museums offer free admissions during the summer months, but you need to check with your individual museum. We are lucky enough to live close to Washington DC where most of the museums are free all year. Plus we can have lunch from a local street vendor for about $15 for the whole family. Another really cool resource for FREE admission to different museums is if you have a Bank of America account or credit card. They have a summer promotion that allows you access to many different museums. Visit http://museums.bankofamerica.com/ for more details. Check with your bank to see if they have a similar promotion.

Our local bowling alley does free bowling – two free games every day for the kids. The catch is you have to rent the shoes (not all places do this though, call to find out). You can go to www.kidsbowlfree.com or https://freebowling.amf.com/ to see what bowling alleys in your area participate.

Several movie theaters offer free movies or super cheap (like $1 to $2) movies during the summer. We go to the Regal Summer Movie Express and see previously released movies for $1. Yes, my kids have seen most of these movies before and we probably own one or two of them on DVD but getting out of the house and having fun is what we are after. We will have a late breakfast before we head to the theater and we will get one large popcorn and one large drink to share. I know it isn’t free, but it sure beats the normal $10 a movie ticket price. I know Regal is nationwide but check with your local movie theater to see if they are doing something like it. I know we have a small no name theater that is doing a program just like this and the tickets are free.

If previously released movies are not your thing check with your local bulk warehouse store (we use Costco) to see if they have movie tickets. I spend $17 on two Regal movie tickets that can be used at any time and normally with no added cost. The only time we have had to pay an extra $3 is if we wanted to see a movie in 3D and we rarely do that. It is nice having these tickets on hand because we don’t have to worry about trying to get to the theater for the matinée showing (less expensive tickets in general). If you wanted to buy a large bulk of these tickets to have on hand you can do that as well. Just go to the Regal website and buy tickets online. You have to buy a minimum of 50 tickets to get the $8.50 cost.

If you are military don’t forget to flash your military ID to get a discount if offered. Most restaurants, museums, theaters, aquariums and zoos offer discounts. My favorite military discount is offered by the Ripley’s museums.  They offer 75% off for military members – and when they have pretty inexpensive tickets to begin with it is nice. Last summer we went to the Ripley’s aquarium in Myrtle Beach, SC and got in for about $3 a person.  So do not be shy when you are out and about and ask about military discounts, you may be surprised to find your favorite place has been offering 10% (or more) off for ages.

Other activities are your local parks and check to see if you have a national park too. Rivers and lakes are super fun. If you happen to have a beach nearby take advantage of it. I could go on and on with free to cheap activities (and it looks like I have already). But it comes down to your local area. Do a simple Google search of “(your city) free summer activities” and see what pops up.

Comic Book Floor - My take on the Brown Paper Bag Floor method

My son’s carpet NEEDED to be changed. The carpet was older than he is and was installed in the house when it was built in 2000. Even though it looked pretty good the carpet smelled, had a filmy feel too it and just was all around gross. We have plans to change all the flooring in the house later this year but his room really needed to be done now due to his allergies and asthma issues.  I just wasn’t sure what we would be doing or if we could do anything other than waiting.  This is when Google came to the rescue, a simple search for “inexpensive floor”,” floors on a budget”, and “DIY flooring” really came into play. Several times I was sent back to the blog by An Oregon Cottage An Oregon Cottage and the blog by Lovely Crafty Home. Lovely Crafty Home Even though I loved the look it just didn’t feel right, I wanted this floor to be awesome, suddenly an idea popped into my head. COMIC BOOKS…… do my son’s floors in comic book pages. But can it be done? All I found was information on brown paper bags; would comic books be the same? I did find a simple blog called Lazy Cozy Lazy Cozy where she did something similar in her bathroom, but with heavy craft paper instead of brown paper.

So I had an idea, sorta-kinda instructions, a room that needed new floors, and a whole week to complete the project. My husband said worse case if it looks horrible we can put down a cheap throw rug and the oldest monkey could wait until the rest of the house has floors installed to get a new one. But we both agreed the carpet had to go.  Plus it would be an awesome surprise for my son.

For anyone who likes the idea of inexpensive floors but not the brown paper bag idea take head of this blog. I will walk you step-by-step of what I did from start to finish (complete with pictures), and I will let you know what I would have done differently. This tutorial is what worked for me in my home. I can’t guarantee it will work for you or turn out the same. You can go to the wood section of your home goods store and get a panel of wood and try it on that, or do like me – just jump right in and pray it worked out.

SUPPLIES I USED (and the cost)

1.)    1 gallon tub of Elmer’s Glue All. I purchased this as the art store with a ½ off coupon. Cost was $9. Best part is I have more than enough to use for the next room.

2.)    Paint Brush – didn’t use anything special, got this at the art store too, $5

3.)    White Craft Paper – Got at the art store for $12.

4.)    Polyurethane – I got this at the Home Depot, but I am sure any home good store carries the same thing, or even a painting store. Make sure you get water based polyurethane and the one that is safe for floors.  This was about $49 for a gallon, don’t go cheap or you will have cheap results.  I ended up needing a second gallon of this, so that was an additional $49. You may or may not need a second can; I suggest using the first gallon and seeing if you like the results first. I could have finished after the first gallon, but I wanted more layers. In hindsight I think it was overkill.

5.)    Comic Books – I could have gotten a great deal if I planned better and purchased in bulk online, but I didn’t. I got 40 comic books at $2 each for a total of $80.

6.)    New floor vent cover thingy. The old one had some rust on it so I opted to replace instead of refinish. $7 at Home Depot.

7.)    Floor Transition – you will need this for a smooth transition between the new floor and your old flooring in the hallway.  $5 

Total Cost of project: $216. The room is approx. 250 square feet so the cost comes out to about $0.86 a square foot.

All of the tutorials talk about how you can do this floor for about $0.50 a sq ft.  I can see that is you stuck with the original Brown Paper Bag flooring. 

PREPERATION

STEP ONE: Clear out the room. I used this time to pack up everything in my son’s room and throw away old pieces of paper, purge his toy box and just do a general clean of everything.  I also cleaned the baseboards with soap and water, something I hadn’t done in a while.

STEP TWO:  Pull up the carpet. Did I mention this one my first every DIY project? I had no idea how to pull up carpet or what I was going to find under the carpet and boy was I scared. Just in case you wanted to know how - go to the corner with a pair of pliers and just grab ahold of the carpet and start pulling. The carpet will start popping off the tack nails and a carpet pad will be revealed.  I suggest that you roll the carpet as you pull it up; this makes it easier to dispose of when you are finished. You will need a box cutter or something you can use to cut the carpet at the doorway.

STEP THREE: When the carpet and the padding are removed you will see these strips of wood down the sides of the walls with little nails sticking up. This is how the carpet was being held to your floor. You will also notice staples that held down the carpet pad, you will need to remove those as well. It wasn’t has horrible as I thought it would be, I just used a hammer and screw driver to remove the wood and the staples. You may have a better tool to do this though. I saw whatever works for you feel free to use.

STEP FOUR: Sweep and clean the floor. I used my regular broom and dustpan and then finished with my vacuum cleaner. I have read on some tutorials you could mop the floor up and let dry, but I skipped that step and it was just fine. 

Now you have a nice and clean subfloor that is ready for your new flooring. Remember this is what worked for me and there are a few steps listed below that I wouldn’t do if I did the floor again, but you can see the list of things I would do differently at the end.

FLOORING

STEP ONE: Lay down the white craft paper. Prepare the Elmer’s Glue by mixing approx. 1 cup of glue to 2 cups of water.  This is just what I did and you can have a better mix ratio, just make sure it isn’t too watery.  I brushed the glue on one side of the paper and placed on the floor. After it was down I brushed on the glue mixture over the top. Repeat this step on the whole floor. The comic pages will be going on top of this paper. If you have any vent holes just cut the paper to go around the vent hole.  Let the whole floor dry, takes about 12 to 18 hours.

 

STEP TWO: Take the comic book pages and place on the floor. This step I used double sided tape to hold each page down. I decided to do it this way to save time and I was afraid that the extra glue would just be too much on the comic book pages.

STEP THREE: When all the comic book pages are down you can start using the polyurethane. Just open the can and dump your brush in. I used a roller brush, but I have seen others use a regular paint brush. I did a medium coat of polyurethane on the whole floor; I didn’t want it too thin but didn’t want it to thick either. The polyurethane goes on sort of blue but dries clear; it was super easy to use.  I didn’t sand in between coats like the directions on the can said. Remember when you are laying down the polyurethane to leave a path to the door. I just filled that area in as I was heading to the door.  It takes about 3 to 4 hours for the polyurethane to dry, make sure the previous layer is dried before you brush on the new coat.  I did a total of 7 layers of polyurethane and the floor looks amazing and is super easy to walk on.

 

 

 

 

FINISHED FLOOR

 

WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENT

I would not have put down the white craft paper first. I would have just glued the comic book to the subfloor directly, and maybe just added a second layer of comics if it was needed. There isn’t anything wrong with the white craft paper, it was just an unnecessary step that added time to the project.

I would have been more patient and not used the second can of polyurethane. Yes, it worked out and the floor feels great and smooth but this was an added expense and time that wasn’t needed. I truly feel I would have gotten the same results if I only did 4 coats of polyurethane that the first gallon gave me.

As I mentioned before I should have purchased the comic books in bulk for less than the local store gave them to me for. Don’t get me wrong I still got a great deal, but I know I could have gotten it for less if I was patient.

When the oldest monkey got home from camp he was super happy to see his floor. In all honesty his room is one of my favorite rooms in the house. I can't wait to repeat this process with my daughter's room. I am coming up with all kinds of ideas for her floor, I am thinking pink, purple, and maybe zebra print. One thing I learned from this project is to not be afraid of a DIY project. Just jump right in and have a plan B. Wonder what other typed of projects I can do around the house.

FREE Credit Report and why you should look

Today’s post is very important and one that you really should take interest in and follow. I will be talking about credit reports, what’s on your credit report, and how things could affect you in the long run. I am not one to judge or say I am prefect or that my credit is perfect. I have had issues in the past, ran from creditors, and pretended bills that I couldn’t pay didn’t exist. Of course this wouldn’t be a budget post if I didn’t tell you how to get your credit report for FREE…….

The law states that everyone should have access to their credit report and what is on it. You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com and get your credit report from the three major credit bureaus for FREE once a year. You should also look at your Chex Systems and Telecheck reports. These two places handle all of your banking reports, such as who you have banked with in the past and if you have any accounts that are in negative status, or if you have ever written a bad check, things like that. You can get those reports by going directly to their websites.

Chexsystems is https://www.consumerdebit.com/consumerinfo/us/en/chexsystems/report/index.htm 

Telechecks is http://www.firstdata.com/telecheck/telecheck-request-file-report.htm

Why does this matter? Well your credit information is attached to your social security number. Your credit report is a good indication if you have been a victim of identity theft. The information shared on your report can keep you from getting a job, credit from a merchant, insurance, or a place to live. Making sure you have a good credit number can save hassle and heartache later on if you need to buy a new car, or a house, or whatever reason you may need a good credit score.

Did you know the collection companies have laws that they are supposed to follow when they report information or when they contact you about a debt? The Fair Debt Collection Protection Act was created to keep collection companies from harassing you or using deceptive means to collect a debt. Sadly many people do not know they have rights and bill collectors know this so they just ignore the law. I suggest becoming familiar with this law and how it can help you if you are dealing with bill collectors.

You are also allowed to have access to your credit report free of charge if you are denied credit or a job because of what is on your report. Below are links to the three bureaus to request those reports.

If you do not like what is on your report or disagree with it, or just want to know more about credit reports and how to build and maintain good credit I suggest an amazing website (also FREE to use) called CreditBoards. You can find the site at http://creditboards.com/forums/

EXPERIAN: http://www.experian.com/credit-advice/topic-get-credit-report.html
EQUIFAX: https://aa.econsumer.equifax.com/aad/landing.ehtml
TRANSUNION: https://disclosure.transunion.com