GROHE Essence New Single Lever Shower Mixer, price, review and buy in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and rest of United Arab Emirates

Read article : GROHE Essence New Single Lever Shower Mixer, price, review and buy in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and rest of United Arab Emirates

Date of Birth

Please fill in a complete birthdayEnter a valid birthday

Great deal-2 bedroom 2 bath condo for price of a cheap room - Review of The Historic Powhatan Resort, Williamsburg, VA

Read article : Great deal-2 bedroom 2 bath condo for price of a cheap room - Review of The Historic Powhatan Resort, Williamsburg, VA

while I will say the term "resort" is overstating it a bit, we booked a 1 bedroom condo and were upgraded for the price of what the cheapest hotels in williamsburg were going for at the time. For $59/nite, we got a washer/dryer, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, spa tub, nice quiet room after a day of sightseeing. didn't try to use the pool, restaurant or any amenities, but the area looked nice. very close to a grocery store and historic part of williamsburg and jamestown 10-20 minute drive. It's not plush but perfectly quiet for a great price. Parked right outside the room. The only noise was geese flying overhead in the morning.

Whoever had trouble finding the place must be unable to use google maps or follow simple directions.

I would recommend paying for parking in "downtown" williamsburg ($1/hour) rather than at the visitor's center for free, as it's a relatively long hilly walk to the historic part (ok for me but not for my sister recovering from a broken ankle), and not very nice as it's along a road with cars speeding by-sort of destroys the historic vibe. The official williamsburg maps are somewhat misleading on this. The Prime Outlets east of town are pretty nice.

Wisconsin's price for Foxconn may be steep: Dayton Business

Read article : Wisconsin's price for Foxconn may be steep: Dayton Business

Published:Tuesday, October 03, 2017 @ 10:37 AM
Updated:Tuesday, October 03, 2017 @ 10:37 AM
By: Rose Kennedy - For the AJC

—With the 2017 hacking of credit bureau Equifax, credit scores have been in the spotlight recently. But credit scores are important every day for adults who earn or borrow money, especially the FICO score, which is used by 90 of the top 100 largest U.S. financial institutions. 

RELATED: Equifax data breach: What to know

Just what is a FICO score? The short answer: the global standard for measuring credit risk in the banking, mortgage, credit card, auto and retail industries, created by Fair Isaac Corporation. The average adult has FICO scores from each of the three main credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. FICO scores are based on amounts owed (30 percent), new credit (10 percent), length of credit history (15 percent), payment history (35 percent) and credit mix (10 percent).

A low FICO score might contribute to a lender's decision to deny you credit and could increase the cost of an auto loan by almost $5,000, according to Consumer Reports. A high FICO can save you thousands annually on everything from reduced credit card interest to the size of the deposit you must pay for electric utility service.

RELATED: Uber isn't everything: 7 other lucrative part-time side gigs 

To get into the all-important "good credit" score range, Consumer Reports and myFICO.com recommend these five strategies:

Atlanta-based consumer credit reporting agency Equifax reversed a decision to include forced arbitration language in its terms of service for its free credit monitoring products after a public outcry earlier this month. The company said a breach of its computer systems had exposed the Social Security numbers and birthdates of up to 143 million U.S. consumers. (Dreamstime/TNS)(The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Check and re-check your credit report

Request one free credit report from a different reporting agency every four months through AnnualCreditReport.com and check for errors, according to Consumer Reports. If you find an error, dispute it with the credit bureau. Pay particular attention to make sure no one has incorrectly listed a late payment on any of your accounts or miscalculated amounts owed on any open accounts. "Hard pull" credit inquiries, which are made by potential lenders with your permission, can lower your FICO score slightly, but this is different. When you check on your own credit, there's no penalty. 

Avoid quick-fix promises

According to myFICO.com, so-called "quick fix" efforts to repair your credit history are the most likely to backfire, so consumers should be leery of any advertisements or credit counselors claiming they can improve your credit score fast. Depending on the reason for a low score, you may need 12 to 24 months before any efforts (except for error corrections) start showing on your score. You can accelerate the improvement by enrolling in a debt-management program and making payments on time, but there's no instant fix.

<?EM-dummyText [Caption]?>(Contributed by nestiny.com/For the AJC)

Contributed by nestiny.com/For the AJC

Persistently pay your bills on time

Even if you are only missing payments by a few days, delinquent payments can seriously damage your FICO scores, particularly since you can't fix previous missed or late payments. If you have missed payments, get current and stay current so you can demonstrate that the problem is in the past. Accoding to myFICO, older credit problems count for less and will fade as your new on-time payment pattern starts showing up on your credit report. Some older versions of FICO keep collection accounts on your credit report for up to seven years even if they're paid off, but the most current versions of FICO ignore any collections when the balance is zero, according to Consumer Reports.

Pay off more of what you owe

The "amounts owed" category makes up 30 percent to your FICO score calculation. Unlike payment history, you can address it immediately, but you'll need financial discipline: "The most effective way to improve your credit scores in this area is by paying down your revolving–credit card–debt." Don't close unused credit cards as a short-term plan to up your scores, since it may just increase the percentage of available credit you are using - a no-no for high credit scores. The same goes for opening a new credit cards you don't need: while it will increase your available credit, it could negatively impact the average age of your credit accounts and damage your FICO scores.

Apply for credit cards one at a time

When you apply for multiple credit cards at the same time, you generate several "hard pull" requests for your credit history, which can hurt your FICO score, according to Consumer Reports. This advice only holds true for credit cards, not house, car or student loans. 

MyFICO also reminds consumers that while FICO scores are important, they're not the be-all and end-all. Lenders look at information such as the amount of debt you can reasonably handle given your income, your employment history and your credit history. Based on their perception of this information, as well as their specific underwriting policies, lenders may extend credit to you even if your score is low - or decline your request for credit even though your score is high.

To get started improving your FICO score, access myFICO's estimator tool, which helps you approximate your score range without any identifying information. It also offers a direct link that allows you to file an online credit report dispute and gives more detailed answers to the question "What is FICO?"