IT’S EASIER THAN EVER TO SEE YOUR CREDIT SCORE FOR FREE

Free Credit Scores Abound. A handful of credit card issuers are betting that you'd like to see your credit score every month. Discover, Barclaycard US and First Bankcard's have started offering their 35 million cardholders free access to their credit scores. The score they're sharing called FICO is used by credit card issuers to decide whether to give you a charge account and what interest rate to charge you. Discover is putting your credit score on your monthly statement. Barclaycard and First Bankcard customers will have to visit their credit card company's website to see their score. You don't have to open a new credit card account to see your credit score. Credit.com, CreditSesame.com and CreditKarma.com will give you a credit score (without making you pay for credit monitoring services as some other sites do). The score you get on those sites can be different from your FICO score and from the credit scores used by mortgage companies, auto dealers and other types of lenders. All credit scores are calculated using information from your credit report, but each type of credit score is based on a proprietary formula devised by the company that sells the score. While different scores have different number ranges they all predict how likely you are to repay. So if you have good credit based on one scale, you should have good credit based on another credit score's scale, even though the two numbers might be different.

Which LED Light Bulbs Work Best?

The incandescent bulb's days are numbered; by Jan. 1, 2014, most will have been phased out. You sure won't miss their influence on your utility bill since a typical 60-watt bulb costs more than three times as much per year to run as a similar LED bulb. But you might cringe when you see how much it costs to replace an incandescent with an LED. You can save money by looking for a utility rebate coupon before you head to the store. When shopping for LED bulbs, keep in mind: Lumens indicate brightness Kelvin number tells you what color light the bulb gives off. The Best LED Bulbs for Different Fixtures Don't assume the most expensive LED bulb is the best. Consumer Reports says these less expensive, LED options shined brightly compared to the competition: For lamps and ceiling fixtures: For 60-watt replacements, Wal-Mart's Great Value Soft White LED ($10),the least expensive of the new bulbs in Consumer Reports' preliminary tests gives off a warm yellow light similar to an incandescent bulb. They also liked Cree's 9.5-Watt (60W) Warm White ($13) and the Philips 11W 60W Soft White 424382 ($14). The fully-tested, top-rated Samsung 60-Watt Warm White LED ($30) provides a bright, warm yellow light. For light that's warm but brighter, and is meant to replace 75-watt bulbs, the Eco-Smart 14-Watt (75W) Soft White 726558 ($35) is an alternate choice. For recessed and track lights: In preliminary tests, Wal-Mart's Great Value Soft White BR30 is bright and dimmable, and is the least expensive ($160. The fully-tested Feit Electric BR30 Dimmable LED ($18) replaces a 65-watt bulb and casts a warm yellow light. For outdoor lights: The Max-Lite 20Watt PAR38 100W ($40) offers bright white light in Consumer Reports' preliminary tests and can be used with some electronic timers, photocells and motion sensors. The fully-tested TCP 17W PAR38 Flood LED ($40) claims to last about 46 years when used 3 hours a day. The full report on LED light bulbs, including additional recommendations, is in Consumer Reports' January 2014 issue.