adsense sign up

credit card search

Google

Friday, May 4, 2007

Financing Laser Vision Correction

Thousands of people have laser vision correction every year. You probably have co-workers, neighbors, friends and family who ve had some type of vision correction procedure like LASIK. Thousands more each year consider improving their vision with eye surgery but say that fear, time or finances prohibit them from moving forward. With a little creativity and resourcefulness, those who think that laser vision correction is too expensive will see just how affordable it can be.

There are numerous ways to save money on laser vision correction. (Choosing the cheapest surgeon in town is not the recommended solution, by the way.) From employer-sponsored flexible spending accounts or health savings accounts to finance companies that cater to laser vision correction patients, solutions abound.

3rd Party Financing

You have many options when it comes to third party finance companies. You can talk with your local bank or credit union. If you don t have local banking resources, you can also apply to companies that specialize in fee-for-service elective medical procedures. A couple of the most popular choices are Care Credit and CapitalOne Healthcare financing. Typically, these companies offer plans with six, nine, twelve months or more of interest-free financing with lower interest rates than traditional credit cards. Interest rates are dependent on your credit rating.

Credit Cards

There are a plethora of companies out there today with great incentives to use their credit card. Whether it is cash back rewards, airline miles or points that you can redeem for vacations, tickets or cruises, a credit card with a low interest rate may be the right choice for you if you are building points or miles toward a particular reward.

Flexible Spending Accounts

Check with your employer to see if this option is available to you. Some companies offer medical spending accounts so that you can use pre-tax dollars to pay for medical expenses. You can use the dollars for medical insurance premiums or for qualified medical expenditures. Laser vision correction is a qualified expense for most plans but be sure to confirm this with your human resources department for deciding to set this aside for the year. The most important thing to remember about flexible spending plans is that if you don t use the set-aside dollars for the plan year, you lose them. However, there is also a huge benefit to you. You get to use more of your money since it is saved at a pre-tax level and the money is taken from you in equal payments from your paycheck throughout the plan year just as if you were making payments to a credit card company only there s no interest to pay.

Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

Another option to investigate with your employer is the use of a health savings account. Like flexible spending accounts, the money to fund the account is taken from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis and can be used to pay qualified medical expenses. However, unlike the flexible spending accounts, you own the account and whatever money you don t spend on medical expenses is yours to keep and rollover to the next plan year. There are rules and restrictions with these accounts so be sure to get all the details from your human resources department.

Medical Expenses Deduction

And last but not least, you can hit up Uncle Sam for a deduction on your IRS income tax return if you qualify. Generally, if you itemize deductions on your tax return and your medical expenses equal or exceed 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income, you can claim them as a deduction. For more detailed instructions, please talk to your tax adviser.

So you see (pardon the pun), if you really want to correct your sight with a laser vision correction procedure, you can afford it. Explore all of the above options and you re sure to find something that can make laser vision correction fit into your budget this year.

What Your Credit Report Says About You

Your credit report reveals your credit history as for your payment history, how much credit you have extended, prior applications for loans and credit cards. Your past and present addresses are on your credit report along with prior employers. This report also gives every name and variation that you have used to obtain or apply for credit.

Your social security number tracks your every move in the financial world. If someone else uses your social security number, this shows up on your credit record as coming from you. In some cases, fraudulent credit and identity theft can be avoided by checking your credit report annually. For the most part, if you see something wrong on your credit report and question it right away, clearing it from your credit history with proper documentation avoids further problems with your ability to apply and receive credit.

Credit history tells lenders about how you pay your bills. If you pay on time, within one month after becoming due and past sixty days. This allows lenders and creditors to see whether you are a good candidate for a loan or credit card. This also helps lenders determine how much money you can receive at that time.

Many employers now conduct a credit check before hiring. The new ruling that came about a few years back, allows the employer to do a credit check in order to determine if you are a good candidate for the job you are applying for in a specific field. The credit checks supply all the information in your credit history.

Viewing your annual free credit report helps in many ways, if you want to buy a home, get a credit card or a loan, receive some types of insurance or in getting a job, you need to know your credit history and what it says about you before doing anything, including applying for a job. People usually find out they were turned down for a job because of a credit check and later found out the credit history was inaccurate.

The annual free credit report tells if you have been married and divorced as well as vehicles that you may have owned. Your credit report is your life history and needs checking yearly for accuracy to insure your future credit and buying power. Your ability to keep track of your credit history every year prevents so many problems that arise at the time of a personal or home loan.

Once you realize how your credit report and credit score affect your every day life, you will want a copy every year to view for any inconsistencies that appear on the report. Corrections usually clear up any misunderstanding that occurs because of your credit history.

You can also find more information at Free Annual Credit Report and Free Credit Report Online. Creditscorereportguide.org is a comprehensive resource to find guidness about credit score.

Detailed Information About Business Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express

The American Express has come up with the Business Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express aimed at the small business sector. The card promises the much needed financial help in the form of a credit line of up to $50000. The card is very apt for the business owners who can take advantage of savings on flying miles as the card enables the customers to accumulate considerable airline miles for the Delta and Song airlines.

The Basic Features Of The Card

The annual fee applicable is $85, which is waived off for the first year. An applicant, having a charge card account with the American Express, however, will enjoy a special benefit and will be charged a mere $30 towards fee for the Business Gold Delta Skymiles Card.

The card has a regular APR of 17.99 percent, which is above the average. You should have no problems if you clear your payments regularly. Defaulters, i.e., people who carry balances, will find the card not very beneficial and they will accrue huge credit card debts.

The Card Benefits

The Business Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express awards the users with points. If you spend one dollar on general purchases, then you can earn one point. According to the double points program, you can take back 2 points for every dollar spent at super markets gas stations, drug stores and United States postal services. You can also earn double points if you use the card to make purchases with Delta and Song airlines or for wireless phone bills.

The good news is that the miles earned have no expiration period but you should keep your account active for a three-year time period.

You will receive 15000 start-up miles for making the first purchase with the card. You will be awarded with additional 5000 bonus miles for making purchases worth $15000 and $25000 annually. You will also be eligible for 1000 bonus miles for each additional card application submitted with the basic card application (for up to five additional cards).

Equipped with this card you can save money for the discounts at the FedEx, AT&T, Hertz and many more.

The Extra Benefits

The Business Gold Delta Skymiles from American Express offers a myriad of other benefits and perquisites. You can receive purchase protection related services, travel accident insurance and discounts from those merchants and retailers who are a member of the American Express network. You can also benefit from the various account related services, purchase protection, emergency check in service and other similar services.

Richard Gilliland Provides Expert opinions and reviews to help you Compare and Apply for a Credit Card - Compare Credit Card Offers with Credit-Wisdom.com - Unraveling the best in Personal and Business Credit Cards.

Comparing Business Credit Cards For Profit

Every credit card company wants to get your business. In most cases, though, only one will get it. This means that if you are to get the best deal out there for you and your business, that you are going to have to shop around. Here are some tips on what to look for so that your business can have more than just credit, but also have some savings, too, along with it.

Start With The Type Of Card


You already know what kinds of business expenses require a lot of money each month. This means that in order for you to get the most savings, you need to match a credit card - if possible, with this expense. For instance, if one of your expenses is gas for your vehicles, then this is the type of card to look for. Or, if you or your agents fly a lot, then you would want a business credit card that will give you the highest rewards in air miles and hotel points.

Look At The Rewards Given

A lot of savings can be earned here. Some business credit cards will give you the highest percentage of points on things that your business uses regularly - like office supplies, building supplies, or even hardware supplies. Another card may give you great savings on all of your wireless services. While these features typically come on a more general type of business credit card, points on these types of purchases could mean the greatest savings for you or your business.

Obviously, the choice could be difficult. Still, most business credit cards will give you additional savings on your other purchases, too. You also may be able to take advantage of a card that gives you a lot of points as soon as you make your first purchase with the card, or go with a business credit card that will allow you to use your points to purchase new vehicles.

Consider The Interest Rate And Fees

Just about every business credit card comes with an interest rate. This can range anywhere from 7.99%up to 18.24%. You definitely want to take this into consideration if you normally leave a balance on the card. On the other hand, the interest rate will not matter if you always pay the balance on time every month. For those cards that do not have an interest rate, they will have an annual fee which can range from about $40 to about $125. If you leave a balance on the card, the annual fee may be a better deal for you. Be sure to compare any other fees, too.

Get Balance Transfer

If you already have an existing balance on another credit card, and are paying high interest, then you need balance transfer. Most business credit cards only allow you to have this feature for the life of the introductory offer - some are shorter. Others, though, may allow you to have 0% APR interest for the life of the transfer, giving you great savings. Watch out for charges when you make transfers.

Find out about getting extra business credit cards for your other employees that may need them. This is often free of charge, but not all companies provide this service.

Wooing Small Business with Business Credit Cards

A few weeks ago (April 18, 2007), Discover Financial Services launched a new business credit card that offers frequent flier miles to small business owners. Among the credit card brands, Discover was one of the last to start offering business credit cards to the small business sector. Reportedly, this is only the latest in a virtual avalanche of business credit cards designed for small business.

One cannot but wonder at the sudden interest.

Perhaps a glance at recent research material will offer some clues. Data shows that in 2006, the small business sector spent $4.9 trillion; but only one-twentieth (5%) of that money was paid through business credit cards in any form (credit or debit card). The credit card companies now want in on that huge market, and believe they can induce small business owners to not only make use of their business credit cards but also to spend more on their cards.

To achieve this, the credit card companies will have to convince the small business owners to use business credit cards in less traditional ways. Traditionally, business credit cards have largely been used to cover travel and entertainment expenses. What card companies want is for businesses to use their business credit cards for everyday spend.

This is the reason behind the new cash back rewards business credit cards. These cards offer 5% discounts on purchases of office supplies, gasoline, courier services and other essential business needs. MasterCard even went as far as launching a business credit card targeted at a specific industry: contractors and construction companies. MasterCard was also the first card company to provide zero-liability protection to small business credit card holders.

Discover's recently launched business credit cards offer small business the chance to purchase checkbooks. This enables small business owners to pay for purchases from vendors that don't accept business credit cards. These checkbooks tap into the spending limit on their Discover business credit cards. Visa offers a directly competing program.

American Express sponsors various networking events for small business credit card holders. It also features one of the most extensive business resource databases to help users of its business credit cards to address and resolve their everyday business management problems and concerns.

How big is the potential market for business credit cards, you may ask? If you take the $4.9 trillion small business spending in 2006 and double the current business credit card spend from 5% ($245 billion) to 10%, you have $490 billion. If you charge 15% interest on that, you have a $74 billion potential contribution to profits. In fact, market research companies forecast double-digit growth in small business credit cards between now and 2010, and total charges are projected to reach $740.2 billion by that year. That is a lot of profit.

It has been an uphill climb to get small business owners to subscribe to an expanded use of business credit cards. It takes time, but eventually business owners will respond. One issue that business credit card issuers will have to address is the marked preference of small businesses to pay their full balance for the month as and when it falls due. Card companies do not earn from such transactions. That should be food enough for thought.

A Loan Based On Your Income

When you are borrowing not on the basis of your assets but only on the basis of your monthly income, it obviously follows that the loan amount that you can get is limited. This is because your assets may run into several thousand pounds but your income is usually limited. So, the amount of loan that you may get based on your income is also quite limited.



Your home is safe in case of unsecured loans. The lender has nothing to do with your assets. Even if you advertently or inadvertently make any default in repayment, the lender can only bring a suit against you in the court of law but he cannot repossess your assets. It means that your assets are hundred per cent safe in case of unsecured loans.



Apart from the above said advantages, an unsecured loan also bestows upon you the following advantages:

Quick processing - Unsecured loan permits the borrower to access fast cash by just filling a simple application form. Unsecured loan is ideal if you require money in quick time.
Appropriate for short term debts - If you require finance for up to ten years, then an unsecured loan is ideal for you.
Multi purpose uses - You can use an unsecured loan to repay your credit card bills, medical expenses, holiday expenses, home improvement expenses and much more.
Also available in bad credit situations - Some lenders can provide you an unsecured loan even in case of bad credit history. The rate of interest is bound to be high in such cases.
You can also get your unsecured loan online. This makes it possible for you to apply from the comfort of your home. You do not need to personally visit the lenders' premises. This aspect makes an unsecured loan to be more consumer-friendly.

EARN MONEY SURVEY

Google ships ads out to other search engines and content networks. Content network is the default setting for Google Adwords. Being in the Content network of Google is like the kiss of death for any marketer and their wallet. Ads shown here get killed in the click through rate (CTR) because the user isn't looking to click ads, they are interested in the website's content- not your ad. Besides this, on the rare occasion they do click your ad, conversions are miniscule. This is also where fraud occurs. Adsense based sites get their ads from the Content network. Ever heard of click robots...earn money survey

2. Keywords are too general

Let's say someone is in the mortgage industry... they shouldn't use the general word 'mortgage' if they are selling reverse mortgages or second mortgages. Some people figure the word 'mortgage' will cover their bases, but it only drains their bank account...earn money survey

3. Use quotes and brackets around your keywords If a marketer is using the keywords making money on the internet and doesn't use quotes or brackets, then ANY search that has ANY of those 5 words in it will trigger an impression and drive your CTR down dramatically.

If a searcher uses the words 'making chocolate brownies' your ad pops up. The quotes and brackets specify the keyword phrase you want to focus on. With quotes, your search phrase stays intact but may have other words before or after it. With brackets, the seracher only used those 5 words in the exact order YOU put them in...earn money survey

4. Put the keyword in the title or body of your ad About 80% of marketers don't use the keyword in their ads at all. I put in the words 'training my dog' and only one ad was an exact match. It's true that people search based on what they want to achieve. Training my dog was my goal. Another example would be 'buy tires'. If 'buy tires' were in the title or body of the ad this would add to the quality score.

5. There's a way to cut a deal with other search engines and bypass the content network There are 3 places Google shows ads: a. Home page b. Content network c. Other search engines

It's not uncommon to have 40% of your ads shipped out to other search engines. Once you track this activity you can cut a deal with them and pay half the price per click.

People who have a bad CTR and poor quality score end up paying more per click for minimal results. Google makes a fortune on desperate advertisers who are often novices in the business opportunity industry.

The average click through price for an inexperienced marketer in this arena is $2.00-$4.00/click. Experienced marketers only pay $.75-$1.00/click.

Google will alternate quality ads and poor ads on the home page in order to satisfy both revenue and users search queries. However, the poor expensive ads are usually getting low conversion therefore draining your account. Is it any wonder the stock price was north of $500 a share earlier this year?

Credit Card Debt Management: Bid Farewell To Multiple Credit Card Debts

Credit card debt management programs are high in demand today. The obvious reason for this growing trend for is that the rapid popularity of plastic money has motivated millions of people. Who does not want to enhance their life style? Moreover, this is where people start making un-thoughtful use of credit cards. Initially, it sounds quite comfortable, but as soon as the credit card debts start accumulating, it eventually results in a huge pile of credit card debt that you find yourself hard to pay off. This is where you start looking for a Credit card debt management program that could help you get rid of this nasty situation.

Your Best Tool For Debt Reduction


Now days, as more and more people are getting themselves into the nasty trap of credit card debts, there are various Credit card debt management programs available in the market. You can easily find various lenders and counselors that can show you an effective way to manage your debts and regain control over your finances. These credit card debt consolidation services do not only provide a solution to pay off the huge amount of debts, but they also educate you in order to make sure that you do not put yourself in debts again.

With the help of these Credit card debt management programs, it is much easier for you to merge your various credit card debts that you owe to various credit card companies into one consolidated monthly payment. Work out with the credit card debt consolidation calculator and it can help you come up with a much lower interest rate that you need to pay to the debt consolidation company on the consolidated monthly installment.

In fact, this is one of the greatest advantages of the Credit card debt management programs that it can help substantially reduce the existing rates of interest as compared to the earlier ones. This eventually cut down the overall repayment installments. However, when you go for such credit card debt consolidation services, you must take numerous factors into your careful consideration. For example, make sure that you repay the consolidated monthly amount on proposed time because if you do not do so and default on an installment at this stage, it will put you into much deeper problems. It is no exaggeration to say that it would be like a financial suicide if you avoid the repayments after consolidating all your debts into one single payment, that too, at a much lower interest rate.

Overall, Credit card debt management programs can take off all of your financial worries associated with the various credit cards.

MLM Funded Proposals - What are they and do they work?

MLM Funded Proposals - What are they and do they really work?

Are you trapped by MLM? Stuck in the trap of money always being paid out and next to nothing coming in?

If so, you are not alone!

97% of all network marketers (that's the ones who never make it!) are in the same trap and its the main reason they eventually fail. A pretty dismal picture if you ask me.

The constant moan you hear from network marketers is, "If only I had a way to make some quick cash, even just to cover my expenses and a source of decent quality leads - people who are actually interested in building a business..."

Hey wouldn't that be great? That's what it comes down to isn't it - Cash flow and leads? If only...

This, supposedly, is where the "Funded Proposal" business model comes in. So what exectly is it?

An MLM Funded Proposal definition: Simply put it's 1. The idea of bringing in cash by selling something that is affordable and of high interest to the people you want to attract to your business and..2. Gathering and recording the names and email addresses of those who show an interest in the product - even if they don't buy....yet.

Ok, that sounds simple enough in theory but how easy is it really to put into practice and secondly - Does it work?

Well, I am here to tell you it does work exceptionally well - if it's done the right way.

The four things needed for a Funded Proposal program to work. By work I mean bring in a steady flow of cash and leads month after month before anyone even joins your primary business.

1. The Product - Must be affordable, ie. less than $50, and highly sort after by the people you are targeting. In other words, it needs to solve a problem commonly experienced by network marketers everywhere. For example, If it can either make things easier, faster or cheaper, or better still, all three at once then you are on to a winner.

2. A sales system for the product. Starting from the marketing, designed to bring in the hordes of buyers you are after, then a sales-letter website with a tracking system to monitor and analyse the results, followed by the credit card processor and digital download set up to deal with payment and delivery.

3. An optin system for gathering the names and email addresses. This consists of a form incorporated into the landing page where interested people fill in their details in order to get more information before they are taken to the main sales letter page of the website.

4. A system that converts those leads into lifetime customers. The main features of this would include: email follow up using an auto-responder program; additional information and training in the form of such things as email courses, downloadable free reports, video and audio recordings, web-conferencing plus other products, e-books and the like that can be also be sold to generate more cash.

With such a system in place you can virtually guarantee your own success in MLM as the two main issues network marketers face are covered - money to cover expenses and quality prospects to work with and eventually draw into your primary business.

The Easy Way to Acquire a Merchant Account for an Adult Business

There are two surefire ways to make money off the Internet. First, find something (product, service, etc) that could arouse the interest of your target audience. If this is a niche product -- something that you and a handful of other adult merchants specialize in -- much better. It would only mean you have less competition and a bigger probability to succeed. As this article deals with something more towards the adult industry, let's take a look at that in particular. Focusing on general adult entertainment can be too broad and tiring to maintain. Try to shift your focus onto more specific fields (ie adult toys, dating service, live webcam feeds, blogs and real life stories and so much more).

Second and more important of the two, get a merchant account service provider that would enable you to accept payments online. Unless you're running an adult entertainment business purely as a hobby, you would want to collect money off your patrons. All your hard work would be a great waste if your website is not equipped as an e-commerce site. Being able to accept major credit cards whether for recurring subscriptions or one-time purchases is the key to running a successful online adult business.

For the first problem, there's an easy solution. After all, you wouldn't be in this business if you didn't already have materials in the first place, right? So you can either ride on your creativity (for blogs, stories and photography), buy available content online (videos and photos), hire talents (live webcam feeds) or have good sourcing (for toys and other adult paraphernalia). That shouldn't be a big problem then.

The second one, as previously mentioned, is more important, and even more difficult to acquire. Any financial institution, whether banks or other alternative channels, will go through its clients with utmost care and consideration. Lending money or processing it for other people is a big responsibility; as such you might have to go through the strictest standards to get a merchant account.

One very important thing you have to understand though, adult businesses are considered high-risk businesses. This means that while merchant account providers might be tough on regular online merchants, expect them to deal with you with an iron fist. This may mean a lot of things, including more paperwork to present, longer approval time, even outright denial. Also part of the problems that adult merchants might encounter would be the higher fees. If you bear all these in mind when looking for an account, you should be able to get through the process much easier.

Now, off to the more important questions. As you go thorough your list of possible merchant account service providers, you should also begin to prepare a second list. This one should detail what each payment processor asks from you. If you find that some of the requirements are common across all payment processing service providers, then by all mean, jot them down. Then, proactively prepare a package with all the things they require. This would lessen your work of compiling each and every document every time you send out an application form. Here are samples of the kind of information that you should anticipate the merchant account provider would ask for:

1.Pertinent details about the company (ie, name of corporation, full address of where you conduct business, contact details of the company representative and much more)
2.Website information (including URL, years online, current traffic, etc.)
3.A general description of the types of products and services sold on your website
4.Information about your existing payment processor (name of the current merchant account provider, how long you were with them, the kind of relationship you had, the service they were able to provide, etc.)
5.Sales volume
6.Average number of sale transactions (per month)
7.Chargeback volume ratio
8.Refund ratio by volume

In terms of paperwork, different merchant account providers require different things. In any case, you should be prepared to provide:

Completed application form (issued by the merchant account provider)
Statements from your current processor (if you have one)
Articles of Incorporation (or Certificate of Incorporation)
Annual / Quarterly financial report from the company's public accountant
Letters of reference (in most cases, from other financial institutions)
Information about the corporation's board of directors
Proper identification for members of the board
PCI (AIS/SDP) compliance certification

To protect its assets, the merchant account provider may also ask you questions about the company's practices. This may include questions about your customer support ability, shipping fees and estimated delivery time, return policy, cancellation policy, existing fraud scrubbing methods and other such matters. Bear with them as they try to assess your business. Keep in mind that not all merchant account service providers cater to the adult business, so they really need to find out about all these. There are some businesses out there that already understand the adult industry. You can also try a number or other service providers out there. Use a reliable search engine to come up with a list. Try keywords like adult merchant account or adult payment processor to generate a fairly long list.

Knowing all these will not guarantee an approval but the information can prepare you for the challenge of looking for a merchant account for your adult business. Requirements differ between payment processors, but there is one thing they have in common: they want to help you. This may mean knowing everything about you and your adult business and if you can also help them fulfill a long-lasting and mutually beneficial relationship.

Jess Gables is a traveling journalist and author of numerous articles published in travel and hotel service sites, television programs and print materials. She is also a large contributor of articles to various online resource sites, garnering the reputation of being a trusted author on various topics. Gables is a content producer for various resource websites, such as AdultMerchantPay. She has a background in photography, videography, pre and post production and online affiliate marketing.

Tallahassee- How Much Do You Know About the State Capital?

Florida's state capital is often overlooked. With professional sports teams in Miami, Jacksonville, and Tampa Bay, and world famous theme parks in Orlando, it's hard for Tallahassee to make its mark. Nonetheless, Florida's center is a city rich with the soils of the past, and enough interesting facts to fill the Everglades. Take our quiz to see how muc you know about Tallahassee.

1. What year did Tallahassee become Florida s state capital?

a. 1824
b. 1865
c. 1801
d. 23 A.D.

2. In 1841, Francis W. Eppes became the first mayor of Tallahassee. Who was his grandfather?

a. George Washington
b. James Madison
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. Bill Clinton

3. During the Civil War, what notable fact did Tallahassee hold?

a. It was the hometown of the most Civil War generals
b. It was the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not captured by Union forces
c. It was the only southern city that was neutral
d. It was host to an Abe Lincoln impersonation contest

4. What school was established in Tallahassee in 1931?

a. Florida State University
b. The University of Florida
c. The Lively Vocational Technical School
d. Harvard University

5. In 1956, two students from Florida A&M University were arrested for what?

a. They disrupted a campus visit by the President
b. They refused to give up their bus seats to a white passenger
c. They were caught selling secrets to the Russians
d. Underage drinking

6. In 1978, what serial killer came to Tallahassee and rented a room under the names Chris Hagen and Ken Misner?

a. Charles Manson
b. John Wayne Gacy
c. Ted Bundy
d. Jack the Ripper

7. Tallahassee is the Florida city with the lowest temperature ever recorded. What was it?

a. -2 degrees Fahrenheit
b. 32 degrees Fahrenheit
c. 25 degrees Fahrenheit
d. 85 degrees Fahrenheit

8. What fitness guru has been known to call Tallahassee home?

a. Richard Simmons
b. Jane Fonda
c. Tony Little
d. Jarrod from Subway

9. What famous singer recorded a song called Tallahassee with the Andrews Sisters?



a. Elvis Presley
b. Bing Crosby
c. Carole King
d. Sanjaya

10. Which of the following is one of Tallahassee s sister cities?

a. Sydney, Australia
b. Alberta, Canada
c. Krasnodar, Russia
d. Tallahassee is an only child

Answers: 1. a. 1824; 2. c. Thomas Jefferson; 3. b. It was the only Confederate capital east of the Mississippi not captured by union forces; 4. c. The Lively Vocational Technical School; 5. b. They refused to give up their bus seats to a white passengers; 6. c. Ted Bundy; 7. -2 degrees Fahrenheit; 8. a. Richard Simmons; 9. b. Bing Crosby; 10. c. Krasnodar, Russia.

See how you did:

9-10 correct: You are a Tallahassee genius. Very Talla-sassy!

6-8 correct: Nice job. You might not be the major of Tallahassee knowledge, but you could probably be a cabinet member.

3-5 correct: Well, at least you know enough to not go around saying Miami is the capital of Florida.

Less than 3: Yikes. You should learn more, if it's not too much of a Talla-hassle.

What Your Credit Score Reveals

Find out what your credit score reveals about you and your ability to purchase a home or obtain a credit card. Creditors and lenders look at your credit score to determine if you qualify for a loan or credit card. Have you ever received something in the mail saying you are pre qualified to receive a loan or credit card? Well these companies look at your credit score and your ability to pay for what they are offering, and then send you out a message that you are pre approved.

Your credit score determines your interest rate on a home loan, the better your credit score the lower your interest rate. This procedure takes on a mathematical formula that comes from your credit history. This score tells if you are likely or unlikely to pay the bill. The higher your credit scores the better rates you receive on loans, credit cards and of course, car insurance.

What is a good credit score? Most people never know their credit score until they apply for a loan or credit card. Knowing your credit score and credit history prior to applying for a loan will give you an idea about the interest you are going to receive. The better your credit score the lower your interest rate. Therefore, what is a good credit score? A determination made by using your credit report and credit history.

A credit score ranges from three hundred to eight hundred and fifty. Most credit reporting agencies use the FICO score to calculate your credit score. For the most part people generally range between six and eight hundred. The higher your credit scores the lower your interest rate. A credit score of seven hundred or more receives a lower interest rate on a loan or credit card.

Up until a few years ago, people never knew their credit scores, because credit reporting agencies did not feel a person outside of the financial circle would understand the figures. Today, people receive the credit score as a way to increase their knowledge and find ways to raise the credit score. Before applying for any loan or credit of any type, you have the right to know how your credit score affects your interest rate as well as your credibility.

How and when you pay your bills, amount of outstanding debt and available credit, length of your credit history, how many new applications you have applied for and what types of credit you have such as credit cards, revolving credit mortgages and installment loans, all have a percentage in determining your credit score. Although all three credit-reporting agencies have different information and different scores for you, you can average the three and see what you are worth as far as borrowing and the interest rate.

You can also find more information at credit report and Credit Check. Creditscorereportguide.org is a comprehensive resource to find guidness about credit score.