Archive for the ‘Finance’ Category

The Fastest Way to Boost Your Credit Score 100 Points – And It’s Free!

Posted in Finance on 03/30/2011 04:15 pm by
Ryan J. Taylor asked:




There’s no need to seek a credit counselor to increase your credit score. In most cases you can do it on your own by following some simple steps that can raise your score 100 points or more.

When you do, you’ll not only be able to flaunt your high credit rating, but you can use it to help you:

- Land a Higher Paying Job
- Reduce Your Auto Loan Payment
- Increase Your Credit Card Limits

That’s just the start. More and more companies and individuals are looking at your credit score as they run background checks for various reasons. Whether if it is part of the job interview process or to determine if you can rent an apartment, your score is one of the most important pieces of financial information you have.

That’s why raising it is never a bad idea…

The easiest and quickest way to do this is to remove the negative information on your credit history that doesn’t belong there. If you haven’t looked at all 3 of your credit reports lately, you’ll notice that different information is listed on different reports.

Take a closer look and you’ll notice that some of this information is just plain wrong. There may be accounts listed as “in collections” that you closed years ago, credit card accounts that you never opened, and even thing as sever as a bankruptcy filing or judgment against your home.

Identify these errors and immediately notify the reporting agency about the mistakes. By law they must remove these items, and as a result you can watch your score shoot up 100 points or more from just 15 minutes of work.

Randall
 

Boost Credit Score – Proven Strategies That Will Increase Your Credit Score

Posted in Finance on 03/25/2011 08:21 pm by
Frances Hobsons asked:




Raising a credit score is perhaps not the easiest things to do. People tend to get desperate in a case when they see that their credibility is getting effected in the market. The loans which they had applied for has either got rejected or the rate at which they are offered is too high. Most of the people who want a loan for some purpose or the other want to take up measures which will help them in sorting the issue of taking credit from the open market.

Some of the strategies which will help the customer to increase the credit score are listed below.

The customer would need to start living off his pocket. This would mean that the customer needs to use credit as less as possible. More over the customer needs to use just 30% of the credit limit that has been allotted to him. The customer needs to save up and get a deposit with the bank. He should try to get a secured credit card for himself. It is easy to get a credit card once you have a deposit with the bank or a lending institution. The customer needs to be regular in his payments with the credit card that he takes. He needs to honor deadline and take care of the fact that it is paid back before the due date. The customer also needs to take care that he pays back any debt which is lying unpaid in his account. If the customer has been debating with himself if he should be paying a certain creditor,s due. It is best that he pay’s back and clears his dues because if he pays back it would immediately boost his credit score.These are some small steps the customer must take to build on his credit score which will help him in applying for a loan in future and get competitive interest rates.

Lois
 

Boost Your Credit Score

Posted in Finance on 03/19/2011 01:00 pm by
Rick Belden asked:




Boost your credit score by collecting all your bills and financial papers and giving them a spring cleaning, regardless of the time of year. Everyone wants a perfect credit score of 850 or to increase their credit rating to the best possible credit score. This is the main factor lending agencies consider when extending a loan or approving credit cards. Lenders want to know your payment history and credit scores are the way they get this information quickly and easily.

What makes up a person’s credit score? How it becomes part of their credit history? A credit score is based on information gathered by the three U.S. credit bureaus: Equifax, Experion and Trans Union. Your credit score history began with the first purchase you ever made using credit. You didn’t do anything for the credit information to get into your credit history. You simply signed a credit note or credit agreement promising to repay the credit lender the funds of the loan or credit card through payments of a specific minimum amount over a specific period of time. The credit lender extending the credit, whether is was for an automobile, furniture or something else, automatically entered your credit information into the credit bureau systems and your credit payments were recorded and monitored until you paid in full. When you paid a loan in full, that account was marked “closed”. In the case of a credit card, the account would remain open as long as you are authorized to use that credit card account.

If you made no late credit payments, the credit entry became a good reference for your next purchase. All late or insufficient payments were noted and if there were many, a bad mark was placed on your credit history. As you began to use more credit, your credit history grew. The credit bureaus generated a credit score based on your credit repayments. Today, a credit score of 750 is considered a very good credit rating; a credit score over 750 is excellent while a credit scores below 600 is poor.

Boost your credit score by keeping your credit history up-to-date and making every credit card or other credit payment on time. Commit to avoid making any late credit payments. Pay off some of your credit debit completely. Reduce your overall credit debt to income ratio.

You should obtain a copy of your credit score report. Credit reports are now available, at no cost to you except postage and handling, once per year by requesting them from the credit bureaus. Check each credit entry, making certain that all credit entries actually belong on your credit record, that credit accounts you have paid off are marked ‘closed’ and clear up any errors or credit entries that haven’t been recorded properly. You might even find credit history that has not been recorded at all. The credit bureaus will send a form to request any corrections; simply fill out this form and return it by mail. After a few months, obtain another credit report and verify correction to your credit records. Check to see if you have successfully increased your credit score. By increasing your credit score even a few points at a time, you will be able to gain more buying power through prudent use of credit.

Copyright (c) FindYourCard.com

Corey
 

Low APR Credit Card Boost Credit Card Sales

Posted in Finance on 03/13/2011 07:01 pm by
Mike Ziegler asked:




Credit card companies are using different marketing strategies to sell their credit cards effectively. Several advantages being offered by credit cards are more likely to attract consumers. However, most potential clients always consider the most essential benefit they could get out of purchasing a credit card. So, the credit card companies’ greatest come-on for their consumers is the lowest credit card APRs. It is a fact that most people would opt for lowest credit card APRs, because it helps them save money each month. In addition, credit cards with higher interest rates results in higher monthly bills, and less of the payment going toward the principal amount.

The low APR (Annual Percentage Rate) credit card is a great option for credit card holders, in securing their credit for the long run. Lower interest rates are equivalent to lower monthly bills. It helps the holder pay less money when using the card or borrowing money. But you must remember that your credit scores make the interest rates either higher or lower.

Many consumers are not informed that this low APR credit card exists. Lower APR is one of the most important factors that must be considered when looking for a credit card. Most credit card holders only realize the effect of higher interest credit cards after seeing their monthly bills. They will then hurriedly cancel their credit cards so that they can apply for lower credit card APRs. So, to prevent this kind of trouble, always consider different factors when applying for a credit card. Try to avoid committing costly mistakes because you didn’t thoroughly look at the offer beforehand.

There are different interest rates with various credit cards on the market today. They could be as low as six percent, but could also be as high as thirty percent in some extreme cases. However, the lower credit card APRs are reserved for individuals who have excellent credit history.

Credit card holders should remember that low credit card APRs are the company’s way to boost their sales. There are some companies who are even offering zero percent APRs on their credit cards for short periods of time. This is usually referred to as the “Introductory Rate.” But this kind of benefit is just for those few months or during the introductory period. The interest will be increased after this given period. The introductory period and the normal interest rate should be clearly stated in the application. Take note; credit card companies cannot sustain a zero percent APRs on their credit cards. It would jeopardize their business. Being a consumer, it is your responsibility to know and understand what low credit card APRs really mean. Always carefully read the application and marketing materials of the company, the conditions and terms of your credit cards, and the duration of introductory APRs.

Credit card companies always try to retain good customers with good credit card histories. They are able to offer them a consistently low APR. Another option for you, the credit card holder is to transfer from one company to another to obtain low APRs as a bonus. This should be done judiciously, in order to protect your credit score. Applying for too many credit cards can be a serious “red flag” to the scoring companies.

Credit card holders should be cautious, because APRs are calculated differently from one company to another. Make sure to compare different APRs before you purchase a credit card. Check for the possibility of additional fees in connection with late payments or payments that don’t meet the minimum required. Many complacent consumers fail in this process. That is why they are charged with higher fees even though they have a low APR credit card.

There are a lot of benefits to you the consumer, if you get the right low APR credit card. It will save you money year after year.

Brian
 

How Inquiry Removal Can Help Boost Your Credit Score

Posted in Finance on 03/08/2011 10:11 am by
Chris Robertson asked:




Your credit score plays a crucial role in your ability to obtain a loan, whether it is a small personal loan, an auto loan, or a home or business mortgage. New credit (or your pursuit thereof) is one of the main factors that determine your score. When your credit score is being calculated, then the most recent credit on your report will account for about 10 percent of your score. Within that “new credit” category, there may be what’s called hard credit inquiries. That’s why inquiry removal can greatly affect your credit score in a positive manner. Let’s explore how this works.

Credit Inquiries Explained

A credit inquiry is displayed whenever a business (with permission according to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act) requests a copy of someone’s credit report. Some inquiries called “hard inquiries” will count against your credit score, while others called “soft inquiries” will not. Hard inquiries are those created when you actively apply for new personal credit, whether it is through a bank or credit union, credit card company, finance company, or even a retail outlet. These are inquiries that result when you need to borrow money for credit cards, mortgages, car loans, furniture purchases, high-end electronic purchases, boat loans, etc.

 

Two Great Ways To Boost Your Credit Score

Posted in Finance on 02/28/2011 02:20 am by
Brian Z. Barrett asked:




In this article we will take a look at some of the ways in which a person can boost credit score, which will provide them with a more sound financial basis when it comes to applying for credit in the future.

1. Getting errors deleted from your credit history within 48 hours

The only way that this can be done is through a bank or a mortgage company. What you will need to do if for example you find errors on your credit report when applying for a home loan is to get the lender to conduct a rapid rescore company. However you will need to supply the necessary documentation in order to show that the item on your credit report history is incorrect. This piece of information will need to be sent directly from your creditor.

Normally you would need to supply this information to your bank or mortgage lender for their own credit accounts. But now because you are arranging for your credit score to be improved you will often find that the interest rate they offer to you will be much better than previously.

But to use this particular service you will need to pay $50 to use it and the results that you are after may not be what you actually get.

2. Getting negative credit deleted from your credit report

Although when it comes to removing errors from your credit report can seem quite simple when it actually comes to getting a negative credit deleted can just be as simple.

Firstly the best way of getting of any kind of error from your credit report is by simply sending a dispute letter off to the credit reporting agency. As well as the dispute letter also send them through copies of any documentation that you may have to back up your dispute. This will make their job much easier when it comes to them carrying out an investigation in order to get the problem resolved. But even if you do not have any documentation to back up your dispute letter send it anyway. As under Federal Law in the US a credit bureau then has a reasonable amount of time in which they can then use in order to validate a person’s claim.

In all cases the credit reporting agency will contact the creditor directly in order to get what you are disputing verified. Once they have received the necessary information from your creditor the offending item will either removed or an accurate note made on your credit history report instead. It is generally considered that the time allowed in order for a credit reporting agency to carry out the investigation of such disputes is 30 days.

So if you are looking for a way to boost credit score ratings to provide you with a much more sound financial base then why not consider using either of the methods suggested above.

Judith
 

Boost Your Credit Rating Today

Posted in Finance on 02/22/2011 02:22 am by
Jobo Smith asked:




Everywhere you look in the news today, its always more and more bad news about the credit markets. It is very hard for even people with a decent credit score to get a loan, much less anyone with a score below 650. It used to be easy, now its hard. Everyone can boost their score, it just takes a small amount of work.

The first thing everyone should be doing in this day and age is subscribing to some kind of credit monitoring service. All the 3 main credit bureaus all offer this service, as well as many third party providers. Just type in “credit monitoring” into google and you will get a huge list. But be careful – there are tons of scam artists out there who are looking to steal your information. If you dont go with one of the 3 credit companies (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax), make sure you know and trust the company you are going to give your information to. One additional source here is your credit card company. Most of them now will monitor for you for a yearly fee. The main reason for this is to find out in real time when changes are made on your credit report. It is far far easier to fix something in real time than to find out 2 months or more down the line when a past due bill notice comes in the mail for an account you never opened.

Once this is done, they will send you a copy of your credit report. Check every line, make sure every bit of detail on that report is accurate. If you find something that does not look right, you can usually call the credit bureau and inquire for more information. If something is not right, make sure you also check with the other 2 major credit companies as well, order a copy of your report. Sometimes the error or (fraud) is uniform across all 3, sometimes not.

Either way if you detect any irregularities that would indicate some type of fraud, you have to check all 3 and alert them. If you find there is a fraudulent account that has been opened in your name, often times you will also need to report this to the local police or FBI depending on what has occurred. The representative from the credit agency will be able to tell you if a report needs to be made. One side tip – if someone fraudulently opened an account at a department store or somewhere else that you do frequent but don’t have an account with – do not shop there using credit of any kind while the investigation is going on. If you must use cash. Its harder to prove it was not you if you are actually going there and spending money with another credit card while the investigation is going on – its not illegal or anything, but just a tip to keep it simple.

Assuming you have actually checked your report, fixed (or there are no) problems, now its time to boost the score. I will list a few here, there are of course many, many more.

The first big one that most people dont know is to look on your credit card statement, find the billing cycle beginning and end date. This end date is important. Its the date that the credit card company reports your total outstanding balance to the credit agencies (aka credit reports). It is also the date they use to calculate the interest owed for the billing cycle. So – pay your credit card bill BEFORE this end date and you accomplish 2 things: 1 – the balance amount reported to the credit agencies is lower, and 2 – you will pay far lower interest over time because the interest will always be computed on a lower amount.

In essence, if you charge up 500 bucks on the first date of the cycle, then make sure you have paid it off by the cycle end date, you have “used” the credit card companies money for FREE!! Once you start doing this, its an easy way to float money for recurring stuff that has to be paid on someone elses dime for 20 days or so. In addition, make sure you have a credit card that has bonus points for charges – this adds up over time. I know people that pay the rent on a credit card, then before the due date pay the bill and thus get a free 20 day ride or so where that money is still theirs to do something else with until its time to pay back the charge.

A second thing you can make sure to do is to not ever have a larger than 50% of the outstanding credit available as a balance on a card. It seems counter-intuitive, but if they give you a $10,000.00 limit, and you use $7000.00 of it, even if you pay 2x the min payment, your credit score gets dinged. Meanwhile, your buddy, who has a credit limit of $2000.00 and a balance of $600.00 and only pays the minimum gets a bonus for NOT USING CREDIT. While its always good to pay more than the minimum balance due (usually 10% more is fine), if you are over the 50% barrier it will not matter as far as your credit score is concerned. The min payment (or excess payment beyond) is only used to calculate how much credit you might be able to handle.

If you are the type of person that does not like balances and pays off in full each month your card, you too are getting penalized (makes no sense, but it happens). If you charge up $1000.00 and pay $1000.00 each month essentially you have a balance of 0.00 (or 1000.00 depending on when you pay) – you are not getting credit for paying it all off. The best way to boost the score is to NOT pay it all off. Pay it over 3 months, or at least pay half and half. This demonstrates you can carry a balance for a few months, then pay it off. This does work and does boost your score, believe it or not.

The third and last thing I will discuss here is that every recurring bill that anyone has (mortgage, HOA fees, car payment etc) should be put on auto-pay at your bank if possible. The main reason is anything that is a fixed amount and is paid the same date every month is simply easier to auto pay it – that way it is never ever late, and is never forgotten to be paid. In addition, you save stamps and checks, and have less to worry about. Let me tell you, once you get a house, car payment, kids and all the stuff that goes with it, its easy to have 15-20 bills each month of some kind that have to be paid – and its easy to forget one until its too late.

Samantha
 

Instantly Boost Your Credit Score – Raise Your Rating 100 Points

Posted in Finance on 02/20/2011 12:29 am by
Ryan J. Taylor asked:




Did you know that by increasing your credit score, you not only can reduce your credit card payments, but it could help you get a job and even slash your insurance rates? By taking 5 minutes to follow the method below to raise your credit rating, you could take advantage of all the benefits of having good credit.

Ask your self a quick question… When was the last time you checked your credit? The last time you did a background check on yourself, did you take a real good look at the information on this report? If you did, chances are you found a number of mistakes that didn’t belong there. Maybe your Social Security Number was wrong, or a credit card was listed as having late payments that you closed years ago.

It’s very common for these mistakes to show up on your report. Nearly 2 out of 3 credit files contain errors, and these mistakes could be hurting your score and misrepresenting you. When you download your credit information, take a close look at the accounts being listed and make sure nothing seems out of the ordinary.

You could quite easily find multiple mistakes on your file, which you can have removed. As you soon as you find these errors, contact the credit reporting agency to notify them that there are mistakes on your report. By law they must remove any misinformation and immediately adjust your credit score. As a result, you could increase your rating as much as 100 points and allow you to get approved for more credit and reduce payments on your existing debts.

Ted
 

The Fastest Way to Boost a Credit Score

Posted in Finance on 02/16/2011 01:36 pm by
Tim Beachum asked:




Most people don’t think about their credit score until it’s to late. Out of desperation the individual will normally seek the services of a credit repair agency. This is a huge mistake. I don’t want you to make the same mistakes. For that reason I am going to share a few factors that you need to know to boost any credit score.

Primarily your goal is to get and maintain a credit score of 700 and above. This is what I call the breaking point. At this point you can easily get loans, lower interest rates, the sky is the limit.

To begin work on boosting your credit score you will first need to obtain a copy of your credit report. Then you will need to highlight all of the negative marks on it. The next step is to create a letter of dispute, along with any proof that your accusations are correct to the credit bureaus.

The previously mentioned action alone will boost your credit score. As a side note you should keep in mind that after improving your credit it is pivotal that you maintain your good rating. This can be done by not repeating your old habits. It doesn’t make since to ruin all your hard work by repeating the same negative process.

Although this next tip should go without saying, it is crucial that you pay your bills on time. Late payments are the most common cause of dings on your credit report.

Try not to max your credit limit 50 percent. This is an excellent technique for maintaining a high credit score. This technique will also keep you in a safe place and provide you with more buying power.

As I mentioned earlier my intentions were to give you a brief explanation of a few techniques that you could use to boost your credit score. The above strategies will increase your credit score approximately 100 points.

Lucille
 

How To Boost Your Credit Score

Posted in Finance on 02/07/2011 04:44 am by
James H. Dimmitt asked:




Years ago your credit score was a big secret, known only to a select few such as your mortgage and credit card companies. In 2000, Fair, Isaac Co., the major supplier of credit scoring software, announced they would begin sharing credit scores, also known as FICO scores, with consumers.

What is a credit score? A credit score is a tool used by credit grantors to determine your ability to repay your debts. The information in your credit report is compared and evaluated against tens of millions of other consumer credit reports which gives you a credit score or number ranging from 350 (highest credit risk) up to 800 (lowest credit risk). A higher score means you are less likely to make late payments or default on the credit extended to you. Your credit score will change as the information in your credit report changes over time.

Following is a short overview of the five major categories of credit information that are used in determining your credit score and guidelines for scoring higher.

PAYMENT HISTORY (35 percent)

Paying your current bills on time is the single most important factor in obtaining a high credit score. This category includes credit cards like Visa and MasterCard, retail accounts, installment loans such as those for a car or education, loans from finance companies, and home mortgages. Also included in this category are matters of public record such as bankruptcies, liens, wage garnishments, and collection accounts. The key to a higher score: Pay your bills on time!

HOW MUCH DEBT YOU CARRY (30 percent)

This category considers the amount of debt you owe on your various credit accounts. If you’ve “maxed out” your available credit, this could indicate that you are overextended financially and won’t be able to make your payments on time or repay your debts completely. This category also examines how many of your accounts carry balances and how much money you’ve already repaid. Closing accounts with a zero balance does not generally improve your score in this area. The key to a higher score: Keep your credit card balances low.

LENGTH OF ESTABLISHED CREDIT (15 percent)

The longer you’ve had credit accounts the higher you will score in this area. The age of your oldest account and the average age of all your accounts are used in determining your score. Old accounts that have gone unused are also considered. The key to a higher score: Establish good credit and keep accounts active.

APPLICATIONS FOR NEW CREDIT (10 percent)

Opening multiple credit accounts within a short period of time represents a greater risk of becoming overextended. Each time you apply for credit an inquiry is made into your credit history and these inquiries show up in your credit report. A high number of credit inquiries will lower your score.

Some inquiries are not considered in your score. These include: requests by you for your credit report, inquiries from companies for pre-approved offers or companies that already do business with you, along with inquiries from potential employers. Some requests for credit are treated as a single inquiry especially when you are shopping for the best loan rate. The key to a higher score: Only apply for and open new credit accounts when you need them.

YOUR CREDIT MIX (10 percent)

This category examines the types of credit accounts you have and how many of each. Can a person have too many accounts? Yes and no. It really depends on whether you have an established credit history or no credit history at all. The key to a higher score: Open credit accounts only if you intend to use them.

Don’t despair if you have a low score or are just beginning to establish credit. Your credit score will change for better or worse depending on how well you understand and use these five keys to your advantage in planning your financial future.

April
 
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