One of the top rules of managing debt is that all consumers should regularly be checking their credit reports for mistakes and inaccurate information. Mistakes by credit reporting agencies and creditors are common but typically it is minor information that is being reported incorrectly. However, there may be a rare time that a consumer is very conscious of an outstanding debt that doesn't seem to be listed on a credit report. While it is likely not to happen to most consumers in a lifetime, there is a possibility that a true debt is missing from a debtors report.

Sure, it may seem like a wondrous time in the life of a debtor to seemingly be rid of a debt, especially a large one, the reality is that it can come back to haunt you. One reasonable explanation as to why the debt is not on a person's credit report is likely because it is on someone else's. If that consumer were to check their credit report and report the mistake, chances are very good that the debt will find its original owner. Creditors who are owed large sums of money will not hesitate to take the actions necessary to pursue the money.

Beyond the Limitations of Your State?

If you have found that your credit report is missing some information, there are several things you should do. The first step would be to check the statute of limitations on debt in your state. If the statute of limitations has passed, a creditor can still contact you regarding the debt; however, it will be no longer legal for them to collect on it. If you are confident the statute of limitation has passed, the creditor will likely stop contacting you if you can prove your are right and that you, in fact, know your rights.

If your debt is not outside the limitations of time set by the state in which you reside, it is advisable that you start putting money away toward paying off the debt. Do not contact the creditor until you are ready to deal with the debt. The only way you will be able to propose a settlement is if you have the money upfront to do so. Settling for a lesser amount or paying the debt in full will be the only two ways to be rid of a debt that has not exceeded the statute of limitations.

Start Preparing for The Payoff

You can start saving and play the waiting game to see if the creditor contacts you first, especially if the statute of limitation time is close. However, for consumers who want to make good on the debt, it is advisable to have enough money to offer at least 50-60% of the balance before making contact. If a debt is really far gone and has been outstanding for a long time, creditors will probably not be very willing to accept any kind of monthly payments. If the balance is high enough, a creditor may be inclined to take you to court if you are not ready to settle outright.

In most cases where a debt is erroneously attributed to another consumer or missed from a credit report by mistake, the mistake will be noticed and very rarely will a creditor miss an opportunity to collect on monies owed. By taking proactive measure to settle on the debts you owe, you'll be ready to face up to the financial obligations you have created and not further harm your credit or future financial life.

This is a guest post from Tisha Tolar. Tisha is a writer for DebtFreeDestiny.com, where she provides information about credit card consolidation, debt relief and how to get out of debt.

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You ever have that feeling where you just feel good and that everything is okay in your world? I've had the feeling for the last few days and I'm sure my upcoming trip has a lot to do with it.

I will be headed off to San Juan, Puerto Rico tomorrow for 4 days with a couple of my friends. I've never been to Puerto Rico and I've actually never left the continuous 48 states. I know some people take vacations all the time and it is no big deal. To me though, growing up with a single mother and with very little money, travel was not something I ever saw myself doing. I envisioned my adult life struggling financially just as my mom did.

These days, the money worries are still there; just not nearly as bad as they were back then. I was able to pay for my hotel and flight from money I'd saved; not using money I didn't have (credit cards). I was able to go to the ATM and withdraw spending money for my trip without worrying about if I would be able to pay my mortgage or utilities next month. If I splurge a little on my trip, it's not a big deal; I've saved for that.

I've said it before and I say it again, SAVE, SAVE, SAVE. It doesn't matter if it is $5, $50 or $500; just save. Having a savings account not only allows you to cover those emergencies or unplanned expenses, it also allows you to cover fun things.

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Here are some links to a few of the most popular online savings accounts:
ING Direct Orange Savings Account
HSBC Online Savings Account
WT Direct High Interest Savings
MoneyAisle - Great rates on CD's and Savings Accounts

I've now made it a little easier for you to get a $25 referral for opening a new ING Orange savings account or an Electric Orange account. All you need to do is click on one of the links below and then open your account with a minimum of $250 and you will get a $25 bonus referral. If you don't have $250 right now to open the account, please use this link instead and open with whatever amount you can afford.

If you click on a link and get the following message, “We’re sorry, but the referral link within the email you received has expired and is no longer valid. We recommend that you contact the sender and ask them to re-send the referral email. Or click ‘Continue’ to proceed with the application process without the account opening bonus.” try the next link on the list. I’ll cross them off as they’re used. If all the links are used, email me and let me know.

Orange Savings Account - 1.30% APY as of 9/20/2009. No fees and no minimum balance.

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Or, if you are looking to open an Electric Orange account, open with $250 and get a $25 bonus.

Electric Orange Referral 1

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Make 2009 your year for savings. ING allows you to open multiple savings account for multiple purposes.Open your accounts today.

They also have savings accounts for Business Savings!!!

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I haven't done a credit score checkup post in quite awhile. Although I check my credit reports monthly to make sure there are no errors, I haven't checked my credit scores since April and that was because I was looking to refinance my adjustable rate home loan. I wanted to make sure my scores were good enough to obtain the best interest rates available since I knew the decrease in my home value would be one of the factors hindering the loan approval.

One of my ongoing and not often mentioned financial goals is to get and maintain credit scores of 720 and above with all three credit bureaus. When I checked my scores in April, all three bureaus were showing scores over 720!!!

When I checked my scores last week, there was an unexplained drop in 2 of my scores. I know that my new home loan is showing up on my credit report now and new accounts usually drop your scores temporarily by a few points; but not over 30 points.

How are my scores looking right now?

Equifax

• 758 on 4/12/2009
• 765 on 9/3/2009
• I'm pretty happy with my Equifax score. Most lenders in my area pull Equifax.
  

TransUnion

• 734 on 4/12/2009
• 688 on 9/3/2009
• I don't know what happened here. A drop of over 40 points for a new home loan? I've been checking my credit report and there hasn't been any negative information added. I'll have to keep an eye on this.
  

Experian

• 721 on 4/12/2009
• 685 on 9/3/2009
• This is always the lowest score for me. I still don't understand the sudden decrease.
  

The highest FICO score you can obtain is 850 and anything over 720 is generally considered a good credit score.

How do you get and maintain a good credit score?

Timely Bill Payment. This is 35% of your credit score. Having a late payment reported can send your credit score into a downward spiral. A late payment can stay on your report for up to 7 years.

Credit Mix. This is 10% of your credit score. Having a good mix of installment loans, credit cards and mortgages is good for your credit score. This is really important if you have a short credit history. Obviously, you should not apply for new credit just to have different types of credit if you don't need it. This will actually hurt your credit in the short term.

Debt to Credit Ratio. This is 30% of your credit score. The closer you are to maxing out your amount of available credit, the more negative the impact to your credit score.

Length of Credit History. This is 15% of your credit score and is something that simply improves with age. The oldest credit line on my credit report is over 13 years old.

New Credit. This is 10% of your credit score. Every time you apply for new credit, the lender checks your credit score. This causes an "inquiry" on your credit report and can decrease your score 2-3 points. Multiple inquires in a short amount of time can also send your credit score into a downward spiral. Shopping for a mortgage or car loan is considered as one inquiry if done within a 30 day time period.

How do I check my credit reports?

I use Equifax Credit Watch Gold (affiliate) which tracks all 3 credit bureaus and alerts you to any changes within 24 hours.

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This weekend, I was looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing and pretty much just hanging around the house and catching up on my sleep.

Unfortunately, Saturday morning around 6am, my sleep was cut short by a phone call. The call came from an unknown number and I don't usually answer those calls. They called three times before finally leaving a message. Since they kept calling, I figured it may be important and promptly checked my voicemail.

It was a message from my cousin's girlfriend asking me to call her back ASAP and it was urgent. They have a one year old child and I figured that maybe something bad had happened and she needed me. I quickly called her back; only to find that my cousin had been arrested the night before and they needed $1300 to bail him out of jail.

My first thought was to say no. Over the years, I've adopted a pretty strict policy against loaning money to family and friends. I've done it in the past and it usually ended badly. This time though, after thinking about it for a little bit, I figured I needed to help him out. He just started a new job and I knew he had to work on Saturday afternoon. Having a young child, he can not afford to lose his job. Reluctantly, I rolled out of my nice comfy bed, got dressed and headed to the bank to withdraw $1300 from my Slush Fund and then head over to the county jail.

I am so thankful that I have a Slush Fund for things like this. This savings account is my first line of defense before hitting my real Emergency Fund. This account covers those minor emergencies, irregular expenses and things I just plain forgot about. I can withdraw money from this account and it does not disrupt my finances very much since I set aside a fixed amount each month out of my regular budget.

Finally, after waiting around for several hours, they released him. We got out of there around 3pm; just in time for him to get a shower and get to work and just in time for me to get back home and take a nice 2 hr nap.

When my uncle died about 10 years ago, he left my cousin a small amount of money in a savings account. I didn't realize he still had it until he came over yesterday to bring me back the $1300. I really didn't expect to get the money back; at least not all at once.

Luckily, the thing he got arrested for was a misdemeanor and will probably get his money back once he goes to court in November. Hopefully, this will be a learning experience for him and his first and last experience with the inside of a jail cell.

Financial Resources

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I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of thrift store shopping. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to it or think that I'm too good for thrift stores. My problem is that I hardly ever find the things that I am looking for. When I go to the thrift store, I'm usually looking for hardly used pants and shirts. I've posted before that I am not the most patient person so It's really hard to look through hundreds of pairs of pants. Especially when there are multiple combinations of sizes and lengths all there together in no particular order.

I'm more than happy to buy and wear good quality clothing from the thrift store. As a matter of fact, just a few weeks ago, I was able to find a pair of khaki's for $4 that had never been worn and still had the original tags on them.

My aunt on the other hand is the thrift store queen. She buys all of her clothes from thrift stores and I don't think she had been to the mall in years. I can only imagine how much money she's saved just from buying her clothes at the thrift store instead of the big department stores.

I went with her on one of her thrift store shopping sprees and picked up a couple of tips I'd like to share.

Be Open Minded. Since the inventory changes daily, you never know what you may find. You may go in one day and not find anything that you can use. You could go back the next day and find a tons of items. Most thrift stores have a range of items such as clothing, housewares, furniture, electronics, outdoor furniture and books.

High Income Neighborhoods. My aunt has found that by going to thrift stores in high income areas, the items are usually of higher quality and in better condition. Most times, she is able to find clothing that still has the original price tags on them.

Return Policy. Since most thrift stores do not accept returns, be sure you check and make sure any electronics you purchase work properly before you leave the store. Most of the thrift stores I've been have dressing rooms allowing you to try on the clothing before you purchase it. Some stores do have a 7 day return policy so make sure you check on the store's return policy if your aren't sure about an item.

Sale Days. Some stores have certain days when a special color tag is at a special price. For example, on Tuesdays, all green tags may be 50% off.

Are you a thrift store shopper? What tips can you add?

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Did you know that anyone can be a victim of identity theft? Looks like not even the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, immune to it.

According to USA Today, identity thieves stole his wife's purse last August from a Capital Hill Starbucks. It doesn't appear that the Bernanke's were personally targeted as there were over 500 families involved.

What was in Mrs. Bernanke's purse? Her drivers license, Social Security card, four credit cards and a book of checks from the couple's joint bank account. You would think the federal reserve chairman's wife would know better than to keep her Social Security card in her purse.

With your drivers license, social security card and a credit card, the identity thieves have all they need to assume your identity and wreck your finances. If you currently have your social security card in your purse or wallet, remove it now and put it in a safe place.

Here is a 3 part series I wrote on Avoiding Identity Theft:
Avoiding Identity Theft - Part 1
Avoiding Identity Theft - Part 2
Avoiding Identity Theft - Part 3