Achillia

Once you hit the 7 year mark, it should be automatic. Whether or not it is paid is not relevant. You may need to send a dispute letter.

Isn't 0639 less than 100? This is so weird.

Chexsystem says my score is 0639. Huh?

Thank you! That means a lot to me. I'm in quite a lot of pain right now, but as you said, better I figured this out now, and extra lucky I figured it out before signing my life away. Having been asleep for 25 years, I now feel refreshed. It will all get better. Thank you!

Thanks! Given that I was right on time to withdraw my bid and get my deposit returned, things couldn't be better. And on the bright side-- at least we are not actually married! This could have been way more painful. Maybe in a year or so, I will get myself a place-- just me this time, a much more modest place at that, with only my cat to please.

Lol well, actually the whole thing just blew up in my face, but at least I tried. And luckily I was on time to back out of this utter folly, so it could have been worse.

What I see is more like confusing having stuff with wealth. The fancy car and the big house are nice if you can easily pay for them, but if you are in debt or living paycheck to paycheck, that ain't wealth. My own goal is to simply not need to worry about money. I don't need high end stuff, but I would like to be able to do all of the things I enjoy without having to whip out a spreadsheet and fret over how I will pay for it all. I just pulled the plug on buying a swank condo in a fashionable neighborhood for exactly this reason and I don't regret it. I'd prefer to go find myself a nice unabomber hut somewhere and sleep well at night.

I know a woman who went 400k in debt for *two* creative writing MFAs and then a Ph.D in English. Not sure if she even finished the Ph.D.

I went directly to EQ and it was blank there as well. I will try Free Annual Credit Report. EDIT: Ha! This is CK weirdness. Sheez.

This morning I checked my accounts via Credit Karma and everything was normal. Checked in again a half hour later, and my EQ data appeared to have vanished. Alarmed, I checked into EQ's site and found that there too all my data seemed to have disappeared. No revolving accounts, nothing. Has anyone encountered this? Is it just a glitch that will correct itself? Should I be alarmed? Yikes!

These clubs sell the cheap stuff-- but at an astronomical markup. As in a grand per bottle. Throw in bottle service, the "VIP" section, and a string of private dances and it can easily get up to to 10k.

I have lived and worked abroad and I emphasize this to people: it is NOT as easy as you might think and there are all kinds of problems you will come across that would never imagine until you are actually there. In Istanbul, water was the main problem. It would just arbitrarily shut off, often for days at a stretch. "Complain to your landlord!" Sorry, but tenants do not have the same power there as they do here. Electricity, internet service, phone service.... you *cannot* count on any of this to be reliable unless you are living in one of the wealthy neighborhoods. I have friends who live in Mexico and crime is a major problem. There are professional thieves whose MO is to find out who is an expat-- they know that they will have valuables and that they will be away for long stretches. Then there are taxes: less of a problem if you are rich and maintain multiple houses, but if you are living full time in Portugal you will be amazed at how much tax you will have to pay for your very modest income. Your 40K a year will be taxed at about 48%. And you will still have to file taxes in the US, even if you don't live here anymore. "But you can deduct your earnings from your US taxes!" Yes, your earnings, if you have a job. But *not* your retirement and investment income. Oops.

The 4% rule is designed to make sure you do not run out of money before you die. I don't care about leaving anyone an inheritance, but I would hate to be impoverish when I am 95. Yes, this is a terrible system.

A million will generate about 40K in income, pre-tax. That is not much to live on. You can whittle away on the principal I suppose, but you would be astonished at how fast that money can disappear, and since none of us know how long we will live or what we will need in the way of healthcare end of life, I don't recommend that. I have seen people quit their jobs for far less though.

Good for you! Hey, my idea of a savings account is the coffee can in the toolshed, so I can relate to all of this. Buying for the first time at 59!