June 2018

When Equifax allowed the Social Security numbers of 145 million people to fall into the hands of thieves last year, I froze my credit at the three major credit reporting agencies to help prevent someone from stealing my identity. It wasn’t difficult, it didn’t take long and it was very cheap. Here’s why and how I did it, and what it means.

I recently bought a new car and the process was downright enjoyable compared to yesteryear – because I was prepared. In contrast, I have a distinct memory of Lisa and me buying a Honda Civic about a quarter century ago and negotiating – and walking out of the dealership twice – for about 5 hours until we finally struck a deal. When we were signing our young lives away the dealership manager brought me an umbrella as a nice gesture. I told him, “If I’d known there was an umbrella in the deal, I would’ve signed a long time ago.” Well, if looks could kill this blog would have to be ghost-written.