Turn your house into a billboard, get free mortgage

Garza - Post #2

http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/05/technology/adzookie/index.htm

Ok. Wow.

I never thought about this solution before, but it looks like a really nice tradeoff. Adzookie says that it will pay the house owner's mortgage every month for as long as the home styas painted.

Think about this for a sec. This could be an interesting strategy for the firms to use and actually give them leverage in the competition. Nike, Sprint, and etc... Advertisements make it possible for the consumers to know what's in the market and what goods and services are there. It's a great way to draw our attention to a certain product.

Well, if I'm in a pickle, I think I'll do that for a while. How about you?

Americans clueless on credit scores

Garza - Post#1

http://money.msn.com/credit-rating/article.aspx?post=299e0d1a-2638-4a7f-973a-82a7fbdbc970

When we hear about credit score and stuff about finance, we tend to ignore it and move on with our lives. Look, if you don't know what credit score and stuff about finance are, you are in trouble because you are giving leverage to the financial institutions like bankers so they can make more profit out of you. There's this saying from this book, called Foreclosure Nation: The less you know, the more you pay. So what's going on here is that we are having a breakdown in consumer education, according to Linda Sherry, spokeswoman for advocacy group Consumer Action, and if we want to live happy lives with wonderful homes, then I suggest that you understand everything you need to know about credit score, debt, and spending too.

First, let me ask you some questions:

- Do you (and your parents) really know what credit score is?

- Do you only have 1 credit card and hardly use it? (If not, then please read this article:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/CreditCardSmarts/1In7AmericansCarries10CreditCards.aspx)

- Do you even keep the receipts and write it down in your checkbook?

- Do you tend to look at your checkings/savings once per week and make sure that you don't go overboard?

1. If you answer "no" to all, then you are very clueless about your debts and spending.

2. If "yes" to all, then you're awesome. :)

So lack of education in finance and spending has a lot to do with foreclosure and its impact on us.

Some advice for homeowners: Even though that you have great credit and income, it doesn't mean that you can take out many mortgage loans. Yes, I understand that the higher the credit score, the better the mortgage deal, but think about it. Do you really want to be paying a lot of money until you die? If something happens to you or your family and you start to be behind with your mortgage payments, how will you pay for the mortgage?

Check out this article about how foreclosure affects your credit score.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/22/real_estate/foreclosure_credit_score/

Yes, this might be "common sense," but a lot of people aren't getting it at all.