Personal blog on early retirement, selling tradelines, and analytics projects. I write about what I learn as I am learning it.
If you’re applying for a mortgage, there’s a good chance the lender is going to pull what’s called a tri-merge credit report — and your score for that application won’t be the same one you see in Credit Karma or on your bank’s app. Understanding what a tri-merge report actually is, and how lenders use it, helps you know what you’re walking into before the application.
People ask this one when they’re about to apply — usually because they’ve already found the place and want to know how fast things can move. Short answer: most apartment approvals happen within 24 to 72 hours. The actual wait depends more on the landlord than on you. But if your credit is shaky, it’s not the timing that’s the issue — it’s whether you get approved at all.
There’s a certain type of personal finance book that makes you want to close it halfway through and go simplify your portfolio immediately. “A Wealth of Common Sense” by Ben Carlson is one of those books. It doesn’t try to teach you a complicated system or sell you on a strategy you’ve never heard of. The entire argument is: you’re probably doing too much, the complexity isn’t helping, and here’s why simplicity tends to win.
Hello, brave souls and fellow seekers of the almighty FU Money. You’ve stumbled upon my little corner of the internet where I share tales of my quest for the ultimate financial freedom. If you’re expecting a dry, step-by-step guide, you’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere. But if you’re here for a sprinkle of wit on a bed of honest finance advice, grab your favorite beverage and settle in.
Most people don’t go looking for a credit limit increase — it just shows up one day. You log in, notice your limit jumped a few hundred or a few thousand dollars, and wonder what triggered it. The short answer: your issuer decided you’d earned it. The longer answer is a bit more interesting.
