Abandon Nest

Earlier this year, I was very curious about what kind of information the people looking at my financial records were receiving. On the advice of my father, I decided to check my credit report online. Based on what I found, I recommend that every one of you do the same. Here’s some reasons why:

1. Find Forgotten Accounts - You know that credit card you applied for when you first started college? The one that you threw in your desk drawer as the emergency card and completely forgot about? Yeah, that’s still on your credit history even if you don’t use it ever. Lenders will look at open accounts and wonder why you have them.
2. Verify Your Information - What are your lenders reporting to the credit bureaus? If you get your credit report, you’ll find out, and you’ll find out if the information is valid and correct. There are times when the credit bureaus flat out receive incorrect information. If you discover this, you can write them and have it corrected.
3. Confirm Your Credit Standing - Credit scores are important because it’s how lenders decide what kind of interest rates to give you, whether to lend you money, and decide on various other terms. If you have a high credit score, you can be fairly certain that you’ll be ok when you go to borrow money or sign a contract (lease, cell phone plan, etc.). If you have a low credit score, you need to start doing things that will boost it. Use your credit cards responsibly, make payments on time, and don’t exceed your credit limits.

When I went to get my credit report, I did it from this website. It’s reliable, and you get the credit report for free. I highly recommend it and encourage you strongly to get your credit report. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Kira says you can also get your credit report absolutely free at AnnualCreditReport.com. Thanks Kira!

In this, my triumphant return to blogging, I’d like to go through my list of the 5 best things you can do on a weekend. Now, weekends are very distinct from the ordinary weekday because you tend to have less things to do. There’s no work, no school, and few obligations, freeing time for other activities. Here’s what I recommend.

• Sleep - I don’t know about you, but during the week I don’t get nearly enough sleep. Every day I have so much that I want to accomplish and it just never seems to get done. Sure, I’ll work hard all day but I’m still up late into the night with work or some activity that I wanted to partake in. Weekends provide an opportunity to shut off the alarm and just sleep until you wake up. Recharge the batteries and let your body tune itself up.
• Play Sports - Ready to put all that free time to good use? Get off the couch and out on the football field or onto a basketball court. Get your friends, lace em up, and get ready to play. Sports are a great way to build endurance, expend energy, and live life to the fullest.
• Go to Church - After your physical expenditures, it’s time for a mental, physical, and spiritual rebuilding. Attending church services on the weekend is a great way to focus on your life, come together with a community, and think about the direction you want to head. It lasts an hour and you’ll be grateful you spent the time you did.
• Pursue Your Hobbies - Every day the average person is put through the grinder. You have to work, there’s huge expectations of you, you need to pay bills, and so on. The weekends allow you the time to focus on your hobbies and spend some time on things that you really care about. For me, I like to do a little bit of programming on the weekends to relax and explore my different options.
• Road Trip - Sure, three days isn’t that long of a time, but visiting family or friends a couple of hours away is a perfectly reasonable weekend task. Set off right after work on Friday and come back Sunday night. Sometimes getting away from your normal life is what you really need to do.

Take this weekend to jumpstart your life and try out one of the things I’ve listed. I assure you you’ll be a happier person.