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We all know there’s a million different companies that you can insure your car through. After a TON of resarch I found Geico to be the absolute best. Progressive, AAA, State Farm, 21st Century, Geico, AIG, etc etc. There are far too many. Some even claim to give you quotes from other companies. Take this advice with a grain of salt. As tired as you are from looking into the matter, or if you’re just getting started, finding the best / cheapest car insurance will seriously save you a ton of money. I know saving money isn’t the same as making money but …. Well, saving a grand over 12 months is still an extra $1,000 in your pocket no matter how you slice it.

I’ve had my car insured through three different companies and done a lot of shopping around throughout the years. I’ve seen far too many commercials for car insurance, as I’m sure you have too, claiming this and that but pretty much, “We’re the cheapest and best.” Who to believe and how do you know? Well this is going to be a very short post because there’s really not much to say. Take this advice, “As is” and as my own experience but certainly something to consider. After alllll the research and previous companies I’ve been insured through, one of which offered a highly discounted rate because of various “memberships”, I was able to find nothing even close to the rate I was offered by …. Geico. The amount I saved through Geico wasn’t even something small like 15%, it was closer to 40% from the previous company I insured my car through. In addition to the pricing they offer complimentary roadside assistance and are quite helpful when it comes to a claim. Again, take this info “As is” and keep in mind it was my experience but I would certainly recommend Geico as a starting point to hold any other car insurance quotes up to.

This post will cover a last resort to remove a “Hard to Get Off” negative item from your credit report. It’s based on two previous posts that are important to read first. If you’re serious about cleaning up your credit report, I’d recommend starting at the beginning.

Click Here to read the first post on fixing your credit report.

Remember, this is just me throwing my thoughts out there and shouldn’t be confused with financial advice.

Moving along and continuing with our hypothetical situation. Shade was having difficultly removing one last negative item from his credit report. After writing nearly countless letters to the credit bureau’s as well as directly to XYZ credit card he finally gets a break.

He’d sent a letter on June 10 via certified mail and come July 10 hadn’t received a reply from them. Thankfully Shade had been keeping good records including copies of all letters mailed and receipts from the certified mail. He sent XYZ both the initial dispute and the copy of the certified mail requesting that under the Fair Credit Reporting Act they remove the item from your report for not replying within the 30 day period.

They wrote back saying they won’t remove the item or something similar. Perhaps they don’t write back at all! Here’s what Shade’s gonna do to take it to the next level and get this negative item off his report. (It’s not for the faint-hearted.)

Shade decides he’s going to take XYZ credit card company to small claims court. Yes. Small claims court. Nobody’s encouraging frivolous lawsuits but the courts are there to settle disputes that two parties can’t on their own. He walks into the local courthouse and asks for help in filing a claim. (He’s careful to take in all the evidence you have in case he needs it.) The clerk helps Shade set a court date and answers any further questions he has.

In small claims court both parties meet in the court on an arranged date and have a judge look at the evidence. If your evidence is sufficient, they rule in your favor and provide you with a court mandate stating the three credit unions must remove the negative item from your report.

Here’s the great catch that works in Shade’s favor. Both Shade AND a representative from XYZ credit card company must be present on the court date. If one of the parties fails to show up, the judge automatically rules in favor of the party that’s actually there! Now think about it, what’re the chances that XYZ credit card company has someone they’re actually going to send to places all over the country for hundreds upon hundreds of these lawsuits. Especially when they know you’ve got damning evidence and it’s really only over a small amount in their eyes. Well it’s not very likely so if you’re lucky, and it’s pretty likely depending on the situation, nobody will show up and you’ll win by default. If they do show up, well you’ve got a copy of the dated letter you wrote AND a certified mail receipt. There’s not much to argue about.

The kicker is that Shade knows in small claims court you can sue up to $5,000 dollars in damages. And by his estimates the time he spent disputing the inaccurate item and costs he paid for in higher interest rates on a loan he applied for came to about $1,500 dollars. The end result is Shade now has $1,500 in his pocket and the “Hard to Get Off” negative item is off his report.

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I used to have 13 negative items on my credit report. Now I’ve got just 1. But that one negative item has been impossible to get off my report! So what to do when you’ve already disputed a negative item and it won’t come off? Well let’s get down to it.

By the way, in my previous post on ways to fix your credit report I discussed how I had been able to remove all but one negative item from my credit report, how you could duplicate it, and my situation. If you haven’t read it yet I’d strongly recommend reading it first because it discusses a necessary step for what I’m going to discuss here to work.
Click Here to read my first post on fixing your credit report.

As stated in my previous post, this information is based simply on my own experiences and by no means should be confused as financial advice. Just throwing my thoughts out there guys.

Here’s a hypothetical situation and I’m going to cover the whole process so you know what actually happens. Let’s say we’ve got a guy named Shade and he’s got 3 negative items on his credit report. He’s disputed the items he believes to be inaccurate and has had success having all the disputed items removed except for one. He has a XYZ credit card that is reporting he was 60 days late on his payments but Shade is pretty sure he was never late. He started out by writing a dispute to the three major credit unions, Equifax, Transunion, and Experian. The three credit unions then contacted XYZ credit card company asking if the negative item they’re reporting is in fact accurate. XYZ verified the information they were reporting to the unions and the three credit unions in turn replied to you that the item was verified. What to do now?
Well as stated in my previous post, repetition is essential. You’re playing a numbers game with the unions. They receive thousands upon thousands of disputes every day and getting them all verified in 30 days or less is difficult. To be totally honest, stubborn items can take a year or more to get off your report. Sometimes they’ll never come off no matter how many times you write them. Don’t get discouraged though because usually they will come off.

Shade writes the three credit unions again, using the form shown in my previous post, vehemently stating that the negative item XYZ is reporting is incorrect. What’s different is that this time he ALSO writes a letter to XYZ credit card company notifying them that they are reporting negative and inaccurate information to the credit unions. It should look similar to the dispute written to the credit unions. Here’s an example of what Shade wrote but you can tweak it if you like.
———————————-
Your Address

Their address (It should be listed on your credit report.)

Date

Dear Sir/Madam:

This letter is a formal complaint that you are reporting inaccurate and incomplete credit information on my credit report.

Can you you please investigate the following information and either remove the negative item from my report or at the very least send me the information that you used to add it to my report. Furthermore I formally request a copy of my signature on the contract. If you cannot verify this item the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires you to remove the negative item and notify the credit unions immediately that this item has been inaccurately reported and to correct their respective reports.

Place the credit card company name you’re disputing here and the last four digits of the account next to it.
Also include here the negative information they are reporting, in this case, that shade was late in paying his bill by 60 days.
And here write very briefly why you believe the information they’re reporting is inaccurate or incorrect.

Thank you,

Name

SSN#

—————————-
You’ll notice a few things different about this letter. In this letter Shade wrote directly to XYZ credit card and asked them not only to verify the negative item but ALSO to provide him with a copy of his signature on the contract. The cool thing here is that many times your contract has been transferred to microfiche or some tape drive in the third basement down. Point being, it’s hard for them to get to and can take time. I would also recommend sending the above dispute via certified mail either some of the time and preferably all of the time. This way you have PROOF that you sent it on a certain day. (You’ll need this later.)

What Shade is trying to do is write the three major credit unions AND XYZ credit card company enough so that eventually one or all will not be able to get back to him in 30 days or less. If a credit union doesn’t get back to you in 30 days or less, write them and send a copy of the letter you wrote before as proof. It’ll come off. But that would leave the other two credit unions still reporting the negative item. That being the case Shade is gonna want to continue writing the three credit unions but focus on the company, in this case XYZ credit card company, that’s actually reporting the negative item. By that I mean sending the disputes to them via certified mail and more often than the three unions. Do NOT write another dispute until you’ve received a reply from your last one and always remember to update the date on your next letter!

Unfortunately this is the best way to remove those “Hard to Get Off” items from your credit report. One last thing, I stated above that if a credit union or company is late getting back to you, “… It should come off.” If it does not, or you believe you have an overwhelming amount of evidence to show that no matter what they’re saying you did, you have evidence to the contrary, then there is one other way to get that item off but recommended conditions apply.

Click Here to read: Fix Your Credit Report III - Take them to Court

So I’m assuming that the reason you’re here is because you’ve read the story of the family vacationing in Australia and seen the picture of the couple scuba diving with the massive great white shark coming up behind them. If not, you can click here, to read the story. Much like I did I’m sure you’re wondering, “Is this photo real or not?”, and in this age of digital manipulation it’s a appropriate question. And perhaps, much like me just a little part of you hopes it’s real. Well I hate to burst your bubble because all things considered, the photo is a fake!

Don’t forget to click below to

Watch the TOP 3 ACTUAL SHARK ATTACK VIDEOS online.

Here’s the “doctored” photo of the couple with the shark behind them.

And here’s the original photo of the shark by itself.

Click below to

Watch the TOP 3 ACTUAL GREAT WHITE SHARK ATTACK VIDEOS on the web.

Friends or family that might get a kick outta these pictures? Click the Green “Share This” icon below to email the link and/or share it on a social network.

There is NEVER a bad time to plant a tree! A few good reasons? Well, research shows that trees help the speedy recovery of hospital patients and can reduce stress in the workplace. Community trees are linked to higher property values (as much as 28%), increased income levels, increased tax revenues, increased number of jobs and worker activity which directly correlates to higher numbers of customers and shoppers.
Windbreaks from trees can shield a home against snow and wind, reducing heating costs by as much as 30%. A large shade tree or trees can reduce air conditioning costs by 15 and up to 50%. Neighborhoods without trees, particularly those with many parking lots and asphalt coverage, can be up to 30% hotter!
These are just a few of the great reasons to plant a tree! So enough of why you should plant a tree, you’re ready to take action, right?!?
It’s easy, here’s how you plant a tree properly so that it grows fast and healthy!

• Step 1 - Buy the Tree

It’s obvious, but make sure that whatever type of tree you buy will not only survive but will thrive in the environment you’re going to plant it in. Also take note if the tree you’re planting needs shade, partial sunlight, or full sun. These are imperative to the survival of your tree.

• Step 2 - Digging the Hole

Grab a shovel and start digging! You’ll want to make the hole just a little wider (maybe a 4-6 inches) than the pot the tree comes in. Dig down deep enough so that you can fit the whole tree in the hole you’ve dug and that the tree itself rests a few inches below ground level. You can test this by placing the potted tree into the hole.

• Step 3 - The “Pedestal”

This is easy but important. To ensure your newly planted tree doesn’t get root rot you’ll want to place a “pedestal” of dirt in the center of the hole. Make the “pedestal” an inch or two in height, this will stop the trees roots from just sitting in a puddle of water.

• Step 4 - Planting Your Tree

Remove your tree from it’s pot or sack. Place it into the hole you’ve dug and make sure, again, that you’ve got ~6 inches on all sides, a pedestal at the bottom of the hole, and that the base of the trunk isn’t to low in the ground. (It should be about even with the level of dirt around it.) If the soil you’re planting in isn’t rich soil, meaning it’s flaky and dry, then it’s recommended you add about 1/4 fertilizer or manure to the dirt you end up filling in around your tree. This will help feed your tree vital nutrients. Pack the dirt around your newly planted tree tightly making sure there are no air pockets around the roots.

• Immediate Care for Your New Tree

Immediately after planting your tree water it thoroughly! Fertilizing your tree is also recommended. Be sure to read the directions on the box so you don’t over-fertilize and burn your tree’s roots. After you’ve planted your tree, watered and fertilized it wait an hour and go water it thoroughly again. If it’s in a windy area and is already a few feet tall you may want to place a stake next to it and tie your tree to the stake to make sure it doesn’t blow over.

Now sit back, water your tree as recommended, and enjoy watching it grow!

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One of the best ways to maximize your Google Adsense click’s and your income is to wrap your website text around the links as you see I’ve done to the right. By doing so it will help draw viewers attention to the ads and increase your click-thru rate. On this website, I honestly didn’t like the way a square box of Adsense ads looked compared to a 468×60 text box that shows two text link ads. When I changed it up a bit and introduced the square ads my click thru rate increased by about 25%. That was one week ago, and I will keep you updated but my own experience is not unique. Google themselves recommend square ad blocks saying that the large 300×250 sized Adsense ads have a 300% higher click-thru rate. The reason being is that not only are the square ads large and therefore call attention to themselves but most webmasters will wrap their text around such ad blocks. If you’re blogging to make money or have a website you’d like to monetize it’s a wise way to increase your income. Here’s how you can wrap your website text around your Adsense code. Square or not. (This requires a bit of HTML knowledge but not much.)

All you need to do is add the following HTML to your blog/website. Typically it’s placed at the beginning of your post or of the page you’d like to have it display on. As I said, this will display your Adsense code and wrap your text around the ad as you see above.

<div style=””display:block;float:right;”>Place your Adsense Code Here</div>Place your website/blog text here and continue on with your post.

You can change to location of the Adsense box to the left side by changing “right” to “left”. Pretty straight forward.

That’s really it. Let me know how it effects your online money making profits. The key to keep in mind is experimentation!

I noticed today that my 4 ft tall majesty palm tree was absolutely COVERED with small, circular, brown colored scales! I’m not sure how I hadn’t noticed before because there are a ton of them! Especially on the new chutes. As it turns out my majesty palm has “Palm Leaf Scales”.

• What are Palm Leaf Scales?

Palm leaf scales are actually an insect! I know I know. Looking at them, as I assume you’re doing if you’re reading this, you would never guess it! They are small brown scaly looking bumps that can appear almost anywhere on your palm tree but tend to focus on new fronds. The tiny, legless and headless insects attach themselves to a palm tree and suck out moisture! They are both common and damaging to palms and are very difficult to kill.

• How do I get rid of them?

As I said, they are very difficult to kill! If you love your palm as I do you’re going to have to be persistent. You can try to scrape them off yourself, and depending on how many there are, have some success doing so. If your palm tree is really covered with the scales then you can strap some gloves on (they look nasty!) and go to town but my feelings are you’re going to miss some somewhere. That being the case here’s what you do.

1. Get yourself a small spray bottle, some rubbing alcohol and some dish soap.
2. Mix up equal parts rubbing alcohol and soapy water.
3. Now what? Yeah. Go spray your tree thoroughly.
4. Repeat Often.

You will definitely see a difference with the number of scales on your palm tree but keep in mind what I said. They are really hard to get completely rid of so stick to it and good luck! I’ll let you know how my majesty palm does.

Sometimes it’s amazing what you can find on your credit report. And often times you will find that many of the negative items on your report are incorrect, duplicated or, as I’ll show you, easily fixed. I had 13 negative items on my credit report and using the simple advice below have gotten it down to ONE negative item!

Your credit score is what banks and companies look at to determine if you are a risky candidate for a loan or service and a low credit score can seriously hold you back in life! Here’s a brief overview of what I did to get myself into credit card trouble, what my situation was, and how I fixed it. Please keep in mind this is simply what I did to clean up my credit report and by no means should be taken as financial advice. This is just what I did so take it “as is”. It worked for me though!

I departed for Australia in 2003 at the age of 25 and on 6 days notice. I’d committed to living there for a year and a half while I studied for my masters degree. This short notice and ill-planning meant I had little savings and even less time to prepare financially to cover all the expenses. Over the next 8 months I was forced to live primarily off my credit cards due to work limitations on my “Tourist” visa. When there’s nothing but money going out and none coming in you start to get into trouble. FAST!

When I returned to the US I was able to eventually pay off the balances on my credit cards but I was left with quite a few negative items and inquiries. (In fact some credit card companies had duplicated negative items!) Both of the preceding items can and will have a heavy impact on your credit score for the worse. Bad credit can drastically limit your participation in a multitude of life’s opportunities like affordable house ownership, car/truck/boat/motorcycle ownership, higher rates on any loans, etc etc.

The info in this article is worth knowing and looking into yourself. After all, you’re the only one responsible when it comes to what’s on your report or not. That being said, if you still have a lot of outstanding debts on credit cards or high interest rate loans it may be worth looking into companies that can help repair your credit for you or consolidate your outstanding debts. The credit repair method I will show you below below is simple but effective. It is good to know no matter what, but will be of greater assistance to those trying to clean up a credit report not those trying to solve massive debt problems.

Here’s what you need to do to remove late payment penalties from your credit report:

• Get a Free Copy of your Credit Report

It’s not well known but you can actually order a copy of your credit report free and without any strings attached. “The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.” Click Here, to learn more about this AND order your credit report directly from the Federal Trade Commission’s website. Do this first so you’ve got a copy of your report and can see what’s good and what’s not so good.

• Review Your Credit Report

This is the most confusing part but you can get through it pretty quick. The three main credit reporting agencies in the US are Experian, Transunion and Equifax and each has it’s own way of displaying their report. Regardless, they will all show you “positive items” (things that are helping your credit score) and “negative items” (things that are hurting your credit score.) Look for anything that lists what credit cards you’ve had in the past and any currently open credit card accounts you have. They will be separated into two categories “Positive” and “Negative”. When you see a negative item highlight which account it is and why it’s being listed as negative. (Often times it will say, 30 days late, 60 days late, etc) Look over every credit card listed and in each of the three reports, highlighting negative items as you go.

• Dispute!

So now what to do? Dispute those negative items! To keep it simple, here’s how I think of it. Say you had a credit card with XYZ and they are reporting to Experian that you were 60 days late paying them. But you don’t think you were ever late paying them. What you’re going to do is simply dispute that you were ever late and ask them to verify their information. Here’s where the cool part comes in. From the moment you first post your dispute, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Experian has 30 days to investigate your dispute and reply to you with their findings. If they cannot do so in 30 days the negative item you’ve disputed automatically comes off your credit report. Usually they do reply within 30 days but simply because they get tens of thousands of disputes EVERY DAY sometimes they can’t verify the item you’re disputing or can’t get to it in time and now you’ve now got one less negative item on your report! This being the case it’s imperative that you keep copies of the disputes you send in and when you send them!

Here’s what a typical dispute looks like:
————————————————–

Your Address

Their address (I’ll give them to you below)

Date

Dear Sir/Madam:

This letter is a formal complaint that you are reporting inaccurate and incomplete credit information on my credit report. I also formally request a description of the procedures used to determine the accuracy of the disputed information below.

Can you you please investigate the following information and either remove the negative item from my report or at the very least send me the information that you used to add it to my report.

Place the credit card company name you’re disputing here and the last four digits of the account next to it.

Thank you,

Name

SSN#

——————————————–
Like I said, it’s simple and you can use this basic formula to dispute anything you think unfair or inaccurate that’s on your report.

• Mail the Dispute

Now you should have three letters disputing negative items, one to each of the three credit reporting agencies. Mail them to the following address’s:

Experian - ATTN: Dispute Department. P.O. Box 2002. Allen, TX 75013

Transunion - ATTN: Dispute Department. P.O. Box 2000. Chester, PA 19022

Equifax - ATTN: Dispute Department. P.O. Box 105518. Atlanta, GA 30348

Remember to keep copies of each letter mailed as well as recording the date mailed. (I wrote it on my copy so I knew where it was.)

• What Next?

In a about a month you should receive a reply stating their findings and what action they took. The letter will also include another free copy of your credit report and any changes made. If they verify the item as accurate and therefore do NOT remove it from your report then wait a few weeks and write another letter to them. It can be basically the same as before, just ask them to re investigate. The key here is persistence! I’m not kidding you about this. On the first batch of disputes I sent out about 8 of the 13 negative items came off immediately! The remaining five I kept writing and disputing and within four months I was able to get all but one negative item off!

And lastly, If they don’t get back to you in 30 days or less write them another letter with a copy of the old one stating they failed to get back to you in 30 days or less and that under the Fair Credit Reporting Act the negative item disputed must be removed. Now in a perfect world this is exactly what happens, and usually it does. But what if they write you back and say, “No!”?

I’ve been asked by a few people, “What DO I do if they simply say “No!” and/or it remains on my credit report without any response?” and, “What if I have strong evidence that no matter what they are saying, I know and can prove the negative information they’re reporting is incorrect?” Well if this applies to you or you just want to learn more then you should read part two of this three part post.

Click Here to Read: Fix Your Credit Report II - How to Remove “Hard to Get Off” Negative Items

First and absolutely foremost, please keep in mind that these are my humble insights and thoughts on my experiences on learning to blog and nothing more.

Blogging is a strange and beautiful thing. It’s nothing new nowadays but at the same time it is to many people. There are a million blogs out there but there’s room for billions more. That’s where you come in! What you need to do is ask yourself, “What do I have to say?” And taking that question one step further, “What do I have to say that people will want to hear?” If you can’t answer that question you either need to think harder or come to the conclusion that perhaps blogging isn’t for you. I personally believe that EVERYONE has something to say so I will be VERY encouraging to you all to get into blogging if it’s something you feel inclined towards. I think if you, or anyone, digs deep enough you can come up with something that you’re good at that others will want to read about and benefit from. I think just about anyone can start a blog, but making money from it requires some smarts which we’ll get into later. It is imperative that whatever you blog about is something that you’re passionate about. An example, and an accurate one at that, is this: Imagine trying to write a book about a topic you care little for and therefore know little about. How long do you think you’ll spend researching and working on this book before you tire and give up? I think that most bloggers, myself included, are doing so not only to share ideas with and help others but also make money! However, if you’re looking to start a blog JUST to make money (there’s nothing wrong with it!) make sure it’s on a topic you are passionate about!
I will say this, if you’re reading this there’s a good chance you are interested in becoming a blogger and you have something to say. If not, then go enjoy a great post of mine showing A Massive Great White Shark Stalking a Couple Scuba Diving and move on. It’s OK. Blogging isn’t for everyone and I’m going to lay it out pretty straight-up here so don’t discouraged. By the way, and if you weren’t already aware of this, blogging can not only be a great way to share your thoughts, ideas, experiences and more but it can also make you a good deal of money! (I’ll cover blogging to make money AND help others in the next few posts. And I’ll tell you of my own monetary profits explicitly. Up-front and honestly. Rest assured I’ll include links to help you find it all.)
The only reason I start with the post “… Should I?” is because it’s a serious question you should ask yourself. I asked myself before I got started, “Why do I want to start a blog?”. “What do I have to offer?”. “Who will care?”. “Maybe nobody!?”. “What is my end goal?”. You need to think of answers to these questions. If you don’t have answers it still doesn’t mean that blogging isn’t for you! Honestly it’s not a great start but much like anything, if you’re determined to do something make it happen! I’ll do my best to share with you the pitfalls to avoid, the shortcuts to take, and eventually, if you desire, how to make the money!

If we’re all honest with each other, and I’m going to be with you, I think that one of the driving reasons people want to start a blog is to not only share information, but also to make money while doing so! (and why not?) Starting with the next post I’ll teach you on a step by step basis how I went about starting a blog and how to monetize it as well!

These posts will continue and if you’re interested I would recommend clicking on the “Subscribe” button on the upper right hand corner of this page to be notified when updates are available or check back frequently!
Please leave comments if you have any and/or questions and I’ll do my best to answer/respond as quickly as possible!