NetBloke.com - Credit Crush
Publication Date: 07/08/2001
ISSN 1445-1360
Publication Date: 07/08/2001
ISSN 1445-1360
G'day!
Well I realized the other day why I wasn't getting many new subscribers to this newsletter. It appears that when I swapped to my new server the sign-up box on my Web site stopped working. So can I beg and plead with you to tell any friends you might have already told to try and sign up again? Remember if you use tellafriend.netbloke.com you will be in the running for a $20 gift certificate from an online retailer. Also remember with more people reading this the more time I can spend coming up with new content and ideas for you all!
David Gano had some great feedback on last weeks theme park issue. Let me simply show you what he had to say:
"I routinely go to Disney World and the other Orlando theme parks (like in Jacksonville, about 2 hours away) and the lines (for the GOOD rides) are usually an hour or less, depending on the time of year you go. Rest assured, a trip in November or February is much more bearable, crowd-wise, than a trip in July or August.
Also, if you're looking for a good, small park with great roller coasters -- which, of course, YOU aren't :), take a look at Cedar Island in Sandusky, Ohio, my favourite."
Then Glenn E. Lanier has the following to say about his Disney World experience:
"Disney World can have long rides; but part of that is planning the trip during an off-peak (their words) time (which also makes it much cheaper). I've been a couple of times in late-October (honeymoon/subsequent anniversary trip) and the longest we waited for a park ride was about 5 minutes. We did wait longer for a bus one night; but that really doesn't count.
If/when you go, definitely plan to stay onsite. Not only are the hotels amazing, the service beats any thing else I've ever seen."
Thanks for that feedback David and Glenn. Anyone planning a trip will find this first hand information valuable!
Well with every passing day I realize more and more how important good credit is here in the states. So this week I am going to focus on credit. A lot of the sites I am going to recommend have come from my own personal surfing around the Web and from a lot of Blokes and Sheila's that read NetBloke. It sure makes NetBloke fun to write knowing so many people are reading it and contributing with their feedback.
Also you might have noticed that I am eagerly counting down the days (www.netbloke.com) until our move to Des Moines.
So until next week seeya later!
Nathan Allan
If you have a bank account these days my guess is that you can access it online through your Web browser. This will allow you to manage your account night or day and normally pay bills as well.
Also any fees you may incur will probably be a lot less than over the counter transactions.
So if you haven't already enabled or signed up for Internet banking, do it now. You just might save yourself a few bucks!
If you are dead motherless broke you could be on the verge of having bad credit, as you wouldn't have two cents to your name.
United States Residents
I will hand this over to a top bloke named Paul J. Miller. He sent the following message to me that details the USA credit world:
Hi, Nathan and WELCOME to the USA! I really enjoy NetBloke and look forward to reading it every week. I just received the latest, and I wanted to provide a little help to NetBloke readers regarding credit reporting agencies (credit bureaus).
In the United States, there are three major credit bureaus that provide credit reports:
Equifax
http://www.equifax.com
Experian
http://www.experian.com
Trans Union
http://www.transunion.com
The credit bureaus use the information in a person's credit report to calculate the person's credit score, called a FICO score after Fair, Isaac and Company, Inc., which invented it.
http://www.fairisaac.com
Fair, Isaac and Co. provides the mathematical formula the bureaus use to calculate FICO scores. At present, FICO scores are calculated by the three US bureaus, and the two Canadian bureaus (Trans Union and Equifax), and will soon be calculated at a British bureau named Callcredit. The FICO score is used by most U.S. lenders for loan approval, credit cards and financing. Fair, Isaac and Co. has developed a website where you can learn all about credit scoring. For $12.95 you can also get your own FICO score, including your Equifax Credit Profile containing your credit history, a full explanation of your score and tips on how to improve your score.
Get your FICO score from:
http://www.myfico.com
Australian Residents
This piece of information came to me via an old work colleague, Lynne Lawler-Hodge. She had the following to say:
Also you comment about the credit bureau, there is one in Sydney it has been operating for about 25 years and most lenders and large organizations subscribe to it, but it is not open to the general public.
It does not have "everyone" listed but more so those who default payments. Years ago banks would not give the bureau any info about individual's credit status but now I believe they are all in together since credit cards came in and payment default is more common. If you have a credit history you can request a report from them about yourself, i.e. to check that they have the correct info as I have heard that sometimes they get it wrong, e.g. similar names etc.
And to recap on what David Christie had to say:
"Man, we sure do have credit checks in Australia!!!
Every time you have a default in paying off your credit card, house loan, car loan or any loan or credit or store account the detail may be recorded on your individual file maintained by Credit Advantage. They are located in St Leonards in good ole Sydney and they span the whole continent!! It is a "central repository" and it has the power to make or break your dreams!"
Check out Credit Advantages site at:
http://www.credref.com.au
Jason Donovan sent in the following question:
"What sort of Web camera do you have? I am going to purchase one and would like to know what you and your readers think are good."
If you have an answer, email netbloke@netbloke.com
Answer
Last week I asked you the following question:
" Hi, can anyone recommend a hard drive for under £100 with the greatest capacity?"
I got a great deal on a Western Digital 20Gb drive from PCMall.
Check them out at:
http://www.pc-mall.com
I also had these suggestions from a couple of readers.
Jim Harris has recommend the following attack plan:
"This is just one, there are tons of auctions. I think as long as one knows what one wants and reads the description everything works OK. I buy parts this way all the time. It also helps to get to know the "dealers" so you can trust them and e-mail them personally."
Here is Jim's example of an Auction site:
http://list.auctions.yahoo.com/51331-category-leaf.html
Colleen from Canada has sent me the following titbit:
"Since I had to convert pounds to Canadian dollars, you can probably get a Maxtor 40 Gig 7200 rpm up here for 100 pounds. However if he shops around he may find a 60 Gig for smiggens more."
John Connell who grew up in Dayton Ohio and used to go to King's Island all the time and now frequents Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio, recommends the following deal for a 40 Gb hard drive:
http://www.googlegear.com/ggweb/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=100480
Thanks for the feedback guys!
If you have a question of your own, contact me.
TEN TOP SIGNS YOUR CO-WORKER IS A COMPUTER HACKER
10. You ticked him off once and your next phone bill was for $39,459.
9. He's won the Publisher's Clearing House sweepstakes 3 years running.
8. When asked for his phone number he gives it in hexadecimal.
7. Seems strangely calm whenever the office LAN goes down.
6. Somehow gets HBO on his PC at work.
5. He mumbled, "Oh, please!" 95 times during the movie "The Net".
4. Massive 401k contribution made in half-cent increments.
3. His video dating profile lists "public-key encryption" among turn ons.
2. For his welcome voice on AOL, you hear, "Good Morning, Mr. President".
1. You hear him murmur, "Let's see you use that Visa now Professor
I-don't-give-A's-in-Computer-Science!"
