To get your free credit score try Quizzle.com, CreditKarma.com or Credit.com.  These sites do not offer the not the official FICO, but an approximation of it.  
The only place to get your free credit report once a year is AnnualCreditReport.com.  Accept no other source!
Thanks to Clark Howard for the information.

Ok, so I am not really trying to turn Thrifty Mommy into a political blog but there are some things that are just griping me!!
This stimulus package is a big one.  These ideas are just mine and feel free to disagree as I am really wanting someone to explain the other side because I am just not getting it right now.

If we don’t have the money to spend, why are we spending it?  I realize that we need to do something.  However, I am of the mind that if we don’t liek the practices of a bank, then we don’t …read more

After some consideration, I’ve decided to add two new categories to Thrifty Mommy.
The first one is debt/credit.  I have no idea why we haven’t added it sooner because we talk a lot about the effects of debt.  I guess in the past we have just lumped it into financial matters.  No more!  I think debt needs a category for itself.
The other category is product reviews.  To save money, before I buy certain items I find myself surfing the web to find out what others say about the product.  We have tested products too, so why not pass on the helpful information to you? 
Don’t …read more

Congratulations! We’re pleased to inform you that your outstanding credit management has earned you a credit line increase on your Discover Card.
Your new Discover Card credit limit is $14,200.00.
Your increased buying power makes Discover Card the best choice for all your purchases.
They even enclosed another three checks.  Oh geez.  How lucky am I?    :p

If you want to improve your credit score by piggy-backing on a relative’s credit card account, then you’ll need to start looking for Plan B.  Fair Isaac Corporation has announced a change in its FICO credit scoring system that will no longer consider authorized user accounts when calculating credit scores.  (Fair Isaac Corporation is the pioneer of the FICO credit score used by most lenders to evaluate consumer credit risk.)
Adding a family member or friend as an authorized user on an existing credit card account has often been used as a way to establish credit.  But some credit repair organizations have recently …read more

There are tricks that consumers can use to save money, but stores hate us for it.  Here are some of my favorite thrifty purchasing tips.  To see the complete list, visit The Consumerist.
Buying Loss Leaders and Leaving: Stores put these buy 1 get 1 free offers on the front of the sales flyer to lure you in.  They’re hoping and expecting that once you’re there, you’ll do the rest of your shopping.  If you just buy these items, then they’re losing money.
Using Credit and Paying it Off on Time:  Stores don’t offer you 0% financing for 6 months to help you …read more

The 4th edition of Carnival of Credit Card is up at Credit Card Lowdown.  The carnival has some articles on reducing credit card debt, getting free money from Bank of America, learning how credit cards work, how to protect your personal information, and more.  My article The Thrifty Smart Cookies is also included. 
The next carnival will be hosted here at Thrifty Mommy.  Deadline for submissions is Saturday, February 24 at 3 pm (EST).  Click here to submit your article.

I got a bill in the mail this weekend. At first I told my husband to shred it.  It looked like one of those fake bills from some company that is just trying to sucker you out of some money.  So, the bill was in the shred pile and I got to thinking maybe I should take a better look at it.  What I found was a bill for $64 for a U.S. Cellular account we used to have.
Oh, I am so ticked!!!  The bill I got was from a collection agency.  We haven’t had that account in years . …read more

Identity theft has been on the rise for several years now.  The best way to keep track of all of your accounts is to order copies of your credit report on a regular basis.
Due to new Federal Consumer Protection laws, everyone is allowed to receive one free copy of their credit report per year from each of the credit bureaus.  Since there are three major credit reporting bureaus, this means you can get a free copy every 4 months. 
Be sure and write down the dates on your calendar or palm pilot to remind you of when you need to order …read more

This past year my husband received a letter from the federal government informing us that veteran information was stolen.  Later we received a letter telling us that although the information was stolen, it was recovered and nothing was compromised. I’m not so sure how much of that I believe. 
There have been 788 incidents of lost information by the federal government.  Nineteen agencies have lost information on the general public and on federal employees.   The Commerce Department has lost more than 1,000 laptops used by the U.S. Census Bureau.
So, how safe do you think your information is??????  I’m not so sure myself.  Pretty scary when you …read more