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Personal finance from around the Web:

  • Think your credit score doesn't mean much? Think again. Over your lifetime, a poor one could cost you $200,000. [It's Your Money]
  • If you live in Chicago and need your car fixed, good luck. You'll need it. AutoMD.com sent mystery shoppers to car repair shops in 50 markets to rank which ones had the fairest quotes. The cities with the lowest rankings -- based affordability, price variation and shop integrity -- were Chicago, Honolulu and Albuquerque. On the bright side, Memphis was the best place to get a repair, followed by Jacksonville, Fla., and Omaha. [AutoMD.com]
  • Frustrated by foreclosure, one homeowner bulldozed his home to prevent the bank from seizing it. [CreditBloggers]
  • Reality show powerhouse American Idol isn't just a riveting singing competition. You can learn some personal finance lessons from it, too. [BeingFrugal]

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