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  • Know all about your Credit Score

    August 31st, 2010 by Ruth Racey

    You have probably been hearing a lot about this lately. Credit scores, credit reports, free credit reports, credit history, it’s all over the media these days. So, what’s it all about? Why is it so important? Well, here is some information for you.

    The reason a credit score is so important is that the world economy is becoming increasingly dependant on the credit world. If people cannot obtain credit, the cannot make purchases, houses don’t sold, cars sit on lots, merchandise builds up and no one makes any money . Credit and money make the world go around; it makes the economy go around. Everyone has a credit score and this score will determine much of the things they have access too when it comes to credit borrowing.

    How good your credit score is will be what determines if banks, financial institutions, and credit lenders are willing to approve you for credit, credit lines, credit cards, mortgages, loans and business funding. If you have an excellent rating you will be more then likely approved for anything you apply for as long as you have a good enough income and your current debt load isn’t all ready more then you can handle. This being said if you have a good credit score you will more then likely have a good income and low debt load anyways.

    If you have a bad credit score, you are very unlikely to get any funding for anything you want. Whether it be school loans, vacation loans, furnisher, small business loans, or even cash advances, with a lower credit score you are unlikely to receive these things unless you go to less savoury dealers.

    So, how do I find out if I have a good credit score or a poor one? Well, one good way is to request a free credit report online from a trusted credit bureau. You are entitled to one free credit report every year. You may however have to pay for the shipping or mailing cost of the free credit report.

    You can also visit a credit bureau in person and fill out the information to receive your free credit report if you are not comfortable filling out sensitive information online.

    It usually will take a couple weeks to a month to receive your free report, but once you do, you will know your credit score and where you stand so that you can fix your score for the future so that you will have a better access to credit.

  • Identity Theft Information that can help you exert caution

    August 27th, 2010 by Ruth Racey

    Identity theft: two words you have probably been hearing of a lot lately. It is all over the news and advertisements are offering identity theft protection. You are probably confused as to what it is, if it will affect you, and what will happen if your identity is stolen. Here is some information for you to help you understand the growing crime of identity theft.

    Identity theft is a serious crime and is continuing to grow as a means for criminals and petty thief’s to gain access to your money, name, and credit. Many people are becoming victims of this crime. If a person gets a piece of your identity they can use it to get even more information about yourself and then, once they have enough information, they can claim that they are you.

    So, what happens when someone claims that they are me? If this happens to you, the criminal will gain control of your bank accounts, lines of credit, credit cards, etc. They will be able to take out loans and credit with your name so that it goes on your record and not theirs. They will be able to get a car, house, credit cards, etc, in your name. By the time you notice all the bills coming in your name for things you never got yourself, and all the black marks on your credit report for things you purchased but never paid for, it could be too late to stop the criminal from destroying your identity.

    If this happens to you, you will have to spend years and years trying to prove that you are the real you and that you didn’t take out all those loans and credit yourself, that you never made those purchases. It can be very difficult to convince companies and credit bureaus of this.

    People can also use your identity to get employment and then not pay taxes. You yourself will have to pay taxes on income that you did not receive. They can use it to pass themselves off as a doctor or a lawyer if you yourself are one, they can pass themselves off as a specialist, teacher, anything. They can use your identity to escape warrants for crimes they have committed in the past. The possibilities are endless.

    Identity theft is a very dangerous and stressful credit problem. It will create a world of trouble for you, so be smart and protect your personal information from identity theft.

  • How to Get a Free Credit Report

    August 23rd, 2010 by Ruth Racey

    With the growing importance of credit rating in a increasingly credit based world, getting a free credit report for yourself could prove to be an invaluable tool in bettering your life.

    A credit rating will determine whether or not credit lenders and financial institutions will grant you lines of credit or loans. Without a good credit rating or a good credit history, you will not be able to get a lot of the things we need in life, such as a house, car, lines of credit, credit card, vacation loans, pay day advances, etc. This can greatly impact the quality of your life and your family’s life.

    Getting a free credit report is also important because you can find out if there are any errors in your credit report or credit history. If there are errors in your report you must get them fixed. Errors can occur when a company misreports information about you (this happens more often then you think) or when someone with a very similar name in the same general area gets confused for you.

    As well, getting a free credit report could allow you to find out if someone’s been using your name and identification to get things in your name.

    Fixing errors in your report can be done by filing a free dispute claim on the credit bureaus website. This can be a hassle as you will have to go through a lot of documents and filing and call a lot of different companies to explain to them the error, and you may even have to go to court to reclaim your identity or rightful name in the credit report. It’s a hassle but sometimes these things happen, it’s not a perfect system.

    So, how do I get a free credit report from a credit bureau? Well, you need to go to the website of a reputable credit bureau and download their form. Once you will it out, you can send it in to them and they will send you out their report within a month, generally. You may have to pay for the shipping or mailing fees though.

    As well, you can go to see them in person if you are not comfortable sending in information online. Older people tend to prefer this method, though it is not as convient or easy as just doing it online.

    Either way you decide, you can get your credit report, free of charge.

  • Debt Management Help: Debt Consolidation

    August 20th, 2010 by Ruth Racey

    You have found yourself in a mountain of debt and you just have no way of finding yourself out of it. You are lost, frustrated, and confused. You are so desperate to be financially free, you are considering bankruptcy.  But this will not grant you financial freedom but will instead trap you in a bad credit score for seven or more years. Don’t declare bankruptcy, at least, not until you have checked into this other option I am going to tell you about. This option is debt consolidation as your way of getting debt management help.  What is debt consolidation? Here is some information for you.

    Debt consolidation is an option that most financial consultants will suggest to their clients who have a large debt load that owe money to a large number of creditors. They will sit down with your creditors and negotiate with them, talking them into agreeing to this debt consolidation. So you will have to face your creditors, but you will not be alone in this.

    Once they have negotiated a deal with you, all your loans, debts, mortgage, car loans, past due bills, everything that you owe money on, will be compacted into one large consolidated loan with a lower interest rate then you had before.

    This is great because now you will only have one large bill to worry about paying every month instead of twenty. You will also only have one interest rate and one set of fees to worry about, this will make it much easier to pay off your principle loan. This is a great option for many people.

    If you, however, know that you still are not responsible enough or financially able to pay off the large debt consolidation loan, then I’m afraid no one can help you and you will have to declare bankruptcy.

    Before you do this, check into with a financial consultant to first see if this is the best option for you, because maybe debt consolidation is the better option. If you are able to get debt consolidation instead, get it, because it will far less hurt your credit score, bankruptcy will destroy your credit rating for years and years and you won’t be able to get any credit or financial help for anything. You will be a financial black mark and no one will want to do business with you.

    Think over your options before you make your decision on what’s the best choice for you.

  • Credit Score: How it will affect you

    August 16th, 2010 by Ruth Racey

    The world has become extremely credit based. If you do not have a good credit score it will limit you in the things you can do and get in your life or your families life.

    Having a poor credit score you will lessen your chances of getting a loan for a house, or if you do, it will be for a smaller home or for a very high interest rate. They will only loan you what they think you will be able to pay back. The better credit score you have, the more a financial institution or credit lender will trust you and there fore approve you for a better loan.

    If you have a low credit rating you will be unable to get approved for a car loan or vacation loan or a loan for furnisher.  Even for these smaller purchases, a financial institution or credit lender will want to be assured that you will be responsible enough and have the means enough to be able to pay back your loan in the time frame they have laid down for you.

    Another thing which can be impacted by your low credit score would be loans for education. Sometimes this can be affected if you are getting student loans from someone other then your government. If you are applying to a bank or credit lender for this type of loan they will want to be sure you have your own financial backing to be able to repay the loans in the future.

    Most people are surprised that this will actually matter when you are a student because student don’t actually that much money, but it will, which is why it’s best to get loans from your government if you can.

    Another thing which can be impacted by a low credit score is obtaining a position of employment. Most people will again be surprised to learn this, but some companies will check the credit history and report of potential employees to make sure that they are responsible with money and responsible with paying bills on time.

    This will be especially true if the place you are applying to is a company that deals with money in which you will be handling money or budgets. A company won’t put you in charge of money matters when you cannot even handle your own.

    So, now you can see how important you credit score is, you will know to take better care of it in the future, in insure a better future for yourself.

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