After months and months of reading, a lot of it skimming, I found a few posts that, as a newbie, just came right out and said BAM! here is what you need. I started out with so many questions, and afraid to really get started in fear that I would be "doing it wrong". Sometimes I come across a post that clears things up for me right away. I wanted to share these with other newbies, even thought they are linked in other places like the FAQ and the Primer. My only goal is that in learning myself, I can help another newbie, since I am there now, and a lot of this is old hat to the veterans. So here goes: http://consumers.creditnet.com/stra...stid=207457&highlight="validation"#post207457 This is by far the most informative thread I have come across, just because it gives me a starting point. http://consumers.creditnet.com/straighttalk/board/showthread.php?s=&postid=172812#post172812 Erik776 sums it all up, info I had been looking for but could never find a really clear answer. Also, the FAQ has SOOO much information, I read it 2 or 3 times, the copied and pasted things I felt I needed into a word doc for later. And don't forget the primer! I would recommend reading every post linked in the FAQ, primer, and Hall of Fame postings several times. For me, after all the time I have spent, something just "clicked" and made things really clear to me. Hope this helps someone in my position.