Sunday, March 22, 2009

Satan Has a 350 Credit Score

The lowest credit score you can have is a 350. I Mego action figures fairly certain Midge doll if the Devil had one it would most certainly be the worst possible. How does one generate such a low score? Well, like Garbage Pail Kids himself, indulgence, greed, envy, lust, gluttony and being a debtor with outright disrespect to the creditor can earn you a bad credit rating.

I have personally never seen a 350 credit score but supposedly they do exist. If you have bad credit did the Devil make you do it? Not hardly, you probably did it to yourself. Things happen. Life happens. People lose their jobs, go through divorce, lose retirement and savings in the stock market and are forced to avoid creditors for no other reason than survival.

Then there are those with devilish instincts that purposely rack up those credit cards, flee the repo man, and even stay under that roof until served with eviction for non payment of rent or mortgage. Until recently you could do all of the above, file bankruptcy and wash all the debts away, then two years later do it all over again. Sounds pretty crummy huh? If you were one of those people I need to ask you a simple question. How would you feel if you loaned your buddy $1000 only to never be repaid. Would you appreciate that? I know that is a dumb question but it works both ways.

Having a low credit rating happens for a combination of the following reasons:

You are consistently late on any or all of your obligations. Your credit limits are tapped You have exceeded your credit limits You are constantly trying to get more credit You spend more than you make

Some of you may have a low credit score and not even know it. I have known several people that had an ex spouse wreak havoc on their credit without with out any warning signs. This one friend of mine found out after the divorce that she had a four wheeler, collections to Bass Pro Shops and various other bills that her red neck ex had put in her name and never made a payment on. When she went to buy a car and was denied the loan extreme frustration set in. What could she have done to prevent this?

Others find out way too late that their identity was stolen. The latest reports show that over 10 million people were affected by some type of identity fraud. I was actually one of them. While vacationing in Mexico someone back in the U.S. was buying clothes at the GAP with the same card I was buying margaritas with in Playacar. Fortunately I flagged it with my next months statement and the charges were removed. A more serious type of fraud happens when a new account is opened, charged to the max and never paid. This can go unnoticed for months and whittle away at your credit report.

It's a cruel world we live in and there will always be those that over indulge, lust for everything and live by the motto that greed is good. It is too bad that we can't all just live by the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. We must monitor our credit on a regular basis, or pray that we don't become a victim of credit and identity fraud.

About the author: John Rasor is the owner of Dallas, Texas based http://www.creditscorecowboy.com/ Credit Score Cowboy is one of the most unique on line resources in the world for free credit score reports, free credit scores, secured credit cards, identity theft protection and a BLOG with a wealth of information about credit and how to raise your credit score.

Why We Suck - A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid by Dr Denis Leary

Denis Leary spares no one in "Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid." In this hilarious book, Leary offends just about anyone that could be offended, and can add a couple more to that list just in case you forget someone.

If you don't like four letter words, if you don't like Leary's type of humor, and if you think day-to-day life in America Watchmen movie just hunky dory, don't buy this book. You won't like it. However, if you enjoy Denis Leary on stage, don't mind almost every page laden with four letter words, and realize that there are a lot of things we do in America that do suck, grab this book, sit back and enjoy yourself as you read Leary's rants on just about everything.

You learn a lot about Leary, how he grew up, his family, etcetera. You may also recognize that much of what he discusses comes from how messed up parts of our society have become. Maybe reading this will spur you to change some of the things you do, especially if you don't spend enough time with your children! Leary's rants on being a parent hit home with some of the people I've seen that really should have remained childless.

Leary assaults and insults just about everyone. Anyone who has been in the pop culture news in the last few years is probably mentioned in this book. And for those that are searching for the differences between men and women, search no further. In his no-nonsense style, Leary explains the differences so anyone can understand them. The illustrations on pages 184 and 185 sum these differences according to Dr. Leary up pretty succinctly, the largest portion of a man's Alien action figure focuses on sex, while the largest portion of a woman's brain focuses on shoes. Hey, what did you expect from Dr. Leary?

Bottom line, if you like Denis Leary's humor, you are going to laugh out loud and enjoy this book. While it is for adults only and would be rated R if it was a movie, just as his stand-up routines are, it is funny and has everything those of us that are Leary fans look for. Insults, swearing, and practical no-holds barred advice on how things ought to be. Not only is it hilarious, it might just make you think about things as well.

Alain Burrese, J.D. is a mediator/attorney with Bennett Law Office P.C. and an author/speaker through his own company Burrese Enterprises Inc. He teaches people to live with the warrior's edge through his writing and speaking on a variety of topics focusing on the business areas of negotiation and success principles as well as self-defense and safety topics. He is the author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks, several instructional dvds, and numerous articles. You can find out more about Alain Burrese at his websites http://www.burrese.com and http://bennettlawofficepc.com