September 7, 2021  • Newsletter

This Month’s Money Message: Monitor

Upside down. That’s how one client a few weeks ago described how she was feeling. And who can blame her? The world feels upside down right now. Performing artists are planning for live events, while knowing they could be canceled any time. Visual artists who rely on robust holiday sales are holding their breaths, hoping the spending sprees continue through the end of the year. Creative individuals who also teach are mostly teaching in person again, with the threat of going remote looming over them. Upside down feels exactly right sometimes. So we monitor. We monitor how we are feeling. We monitor what might happen based on health metrics and industry trends. We plan accordingly. But we don’t obsess. We don’t monitor every second of every day. We cannot possibly do that. There is too much else to do. Plus, there are experts that help filter the details so we can monitor what matters without digging in too far.

We don’t monitor every second of every day…There is too much to do.
Our credit histories are the same way. We monitor them without obsessing If it has been a while since you have pulled your credit report – not your credit score, but the actual report – this is a good month to do that. Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax all produce credit reports on each individual, and monitoring these reports once a year or so (without obsessing over them) is a good way to make sure your credit history is captured accurately.

Plus, we saw huge increases in identity theft and fraud reports in 2020, including from fraudulent claims for unemployment and other pandemic-related benefits. It’s not a bad idea to check in with your report to see if you notice anything unusual. There is a lot of information on the report, but what you are looking for are items you don’t recognize or items that are blatantly wrong. Maybe you opened a credit card at Hot Topic when you were in college to save 25% on your purchase. If you never closed the card, it will likely still show up on your credit report. Or maybe you moved out of an apartment and your roommate never paid the final utility bill (which happened to be in your name). That’s probably showing up as a negative item on your credit report. Or maybe someone applied for a car loan in your name using your social security number during the pandemic. Then you may have an identity fraud situation on your hands. Once you know what’s there, you can start using the information. Your next step might be to clean up old, negative items to boost your credit score. Or your next step might be to tighten your credit usage for the exact same reason. Or your next step might be to relax until this time next year when you are ready to monitor your credit report again.

As you prepare this month, here are some things to know, do, and believe:

Know: How to pull your credit reports and what to look for.

Remember the names of the three major bureaus (or link to them at AnnualCreditReport.com as a good starting point). Then get to know the sections of the report so you can recognize anything unusual.

 

Do: Mark your calendar to pull your credit report once a year.

I like doing this on my birthday each year but choose a date that works with your schedule. Depending on what you find, you may have additional things to do (for example, closing that old Hot Topic credit card.) 

 

Believe: Knowing is better than not knowing.

It doesn’t matter if there are negative items listed. It’s still better to know what’s there, especially if there are things you can do about it.You might be surprised at what you find.

 

What We’re Doing

This month is all about teaching and learning with workshops – still mostly virtual. Elaine will join a professional practices class at NYU on the 14th, the Creative Capital community on the 20th, and the Tamarack Foundation’s Art Summit on the 17th. Plus, Elaine will be a student as she visits groups across Indiana who led her On-Ramp program this summer to understand what worked well and what improvements could be made.

What We’re Talking About

Should I pay off my student loans? Or let them hang out in forbearance until January? That question has come up more than once lately. As has the old classic: What can I do to increase my credit score? If you have questions about anything debt- or credit score related, feel free to reach out.

Creative Coaching (1 hour, $110)

If you’d like to chat with me to answer your own questions, feel free to find a time that works with your schedule. Fair warning: These slots are full (ish) for the next month or so.

BOOK

 

Monitor

I hope your monitoring activities go well this month, whether you are monitoring your credit report, your savings or your own health and wellness. The world is upside down but taking a small step to monitor your credit can put at least one thing right-side up.

Until next month…

 

 

 

 





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Arts & Numbers

You don’t have to do this alone. Arts & Numbers is a comprehensive financial guide for creative individuals… and anyone else with a passion for something other than accounting and finance. This book aims to provide basic information on finance and financial matters for creative entrepreneurs to take ownership of their financial situations, thus ensuring their long-term success, creative and otherwise.

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