On Thursdays, I share my thoughts on Family Finances. 

Later this month, I will mark the one year anniversary of having my identity stolen by a really bad guy.  During April and early May last year, the aforementioned bad guy was having a ball opening 18 new accounts in my name and purchasing no less than 8 laptops on my tab.  Because I was clueless, I did not become away of the damage that had been done until I opened a rogue Sears bill on May 15th.  Since I don’t have a Sears card, I was instantly suspicious.  I made a call to the 800 number, and thus ended my stage of being blissfully unaware of the pain of identity theft.

Now, almost a year later, I am wiser but still always on the prowl for potential attacks on my credit.  In honor of all I have learned, I’ve decided to make the first Thursday of every month "Eye on Identity Theft" day here at Productivity @ Home.  If I can spare even one of you the heartache, hassle and horrendous time dump of being a victim of Identity Theft, I will be happy.

Please take time today to begin protecting yourself against this crime.  I mistakenly thought that since I was very careful with my personal information, I was protected.  I hadn’t lost a purse, purchased anything online though a suspicious site, or given out my Social Security number willy-nilly.  And still, it happened.  I will now forever be subscribed to a top notch credit monitoring service and will check my credit reports on a monthly basis.  My credit score is now much higher than it was this time last year, even prior to the attack, thanks to all I’ve learned.

Want to start protecting yourself?  Click here to read a very helpful article on Preventing Identity Theft and Fraud from Equifax and take at least half an hour today, on the first day of the month, to monitor your credit and take preventative steps.  You will be glad you did! 

Best of the Blogs:
(Recent posts related to today’s topic of Family Finances)

• Six Tips for Eating Out Frugally
• Save Cash and Earth: Start a Garden
• Teach Your Children Well

On the Bookshelf:

• The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect Yourself from the Most Pervasive Crime in America (Wall Street Journal Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect)

Home-work for Today:

• Check your credit report - just do it! Click here for information on how to obtain your free annual credit report from the FTC.