Everyone wants to improve credit but not everyone knows how. Can you imagine an improvement to your score? Of course you can hire someone to fix it for you and counsel you on the matter. Chances are you cannot afford that if you already have bad credit. You can improve your credit yourself. Just use a few simple tips and you will be well on your way.
Be safe and watch your credit closely. If you have a high credit score you can get anything, but not so with a low credit score. Make sure that you obtain a copy of your credit report once a year in order to make sure that all the information contained in it is correct.
Be sure to watch the due dates on your bills. Make sure to pay things like the phone and light bill on time. Even these will affect your credit standing. Not so much when you pay the bills on time but miss a payment or two and you will see a negative impact on your credit very quickly.
Missed payments lead to delinquent accounts and all of those end up on the credit report with negative terminology lowering the score. Paying on schedule will give you a history of being in good standing with creditors and make it easier to obtain financing.
Avoid the rubber! Checks are nice to have but they do not mean you have money. The checks you write are only covered if you have the money in the bank. Check Systems is what the store just ran your check through and denied it for your purchase because you bounced one. Guess what? The bank sees this as well when you apply for a loan.
Even a small effort makes a difference. With a bad credit history getting a loan is nearly impossible. Start trying to get small loans at places that will report your payments to the credit bureau. This will help to improve credit easily. Making even small payments on time can help you. When you first start you may need a co-signer to ensure the loan is paid.
Do not let a collection agency have your account. Once you have let an account get past a certain point they turn them over to agencies that will do anything they have to in order to get their money. The creditor benefits as well by negotiating and working out an agreement with you because they do not fully recover all their money when this happens. This can lead to judgments as well. Judgments allow your wages to be garnished. In order to improve credit after this you need a near miracle.
Improve your credit by staying at one job as long as possible. It shows stability, so does staying in one home instead of moving around. The longer you are at your job the more you will make. This will give you a large source to show creditors for taking care of your debt.
Alan Largo is the creator and administrator of My Credit Bible and strives to assist others identify with their adverse credit situation through informative reviews. You're invited to visit My Credit Bible to read his most recent article review.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Good Debt Vs. Bad Debt
As a stay at home mom, it's important to fully understand our debt situation so that we can take pains to get rid of all outstanding debt in our lives, and be able to continue to afford staying home with our children.
No debt is truly "good". There is secured debt, which is acceptable, and unsecured or consumer debt, which in most cases isn't.
Most debt is unsecured, and costs you even more money every month you carry it. Debt management is something everyone should learn it for themselves, by looking hard at the debt in their lives and choosing not to borrow when at all possible.
Secured debt is debt you owe against an item that is worth more than the outstanding balance with interest included. A good home loan is the only true example of secured debt most people have, assuming that the mortgage is a good one and you made a decent down payment when you bought the property.
We are encouraged to think that a car loan is a secured debt, but actually it is one of the worst kinds of consumer debt you can have. The depreciation of a vehicle once you drive it off the lot is tremendous, so unless you put an enormous down payment on the vehicle, odds are you owe more than it's worth from day one.
Most of us require a vehicle, however, so a car loan is one of the two "acceptable" types of consumer debt. The other is a student loan, assuming that the purpose of college is for career advancement and not a social life.
That leaves all the other types of debt securely in the "unacceptable" column. We are constantly urged to overspend by advertising and the concept of a certain "lifestyle" we think we should aspire to. We are reassured that everyone has debt, that in fact it is "normal", and offered solutions that aren't really solutions at all.
Credit cards are the root of all evil. That's a little dramatic, but you get the point.
Unless paid in full before the interest starts to accrue, the finance charges alone can run thousands of dollars a year, and many cards will offer you an increase to cover the deficit, which only leads you further away from getting out of debt.
Loans for such high dollar items such as furniture are also common. Stop and think before you take on a loan with "No payments for 2 years!".
If you can't afford it now, what guarantee do you have that you will be able to 24 months from now? Once the grace period is over, interest charges will start to mount fast and drag you deeper into debt.
The best debt advice is the oldest: Don't let the money going out exceed the money coming in. Taking the time to learn to manage your debt is fundamental to getting free of it and remaining a stay at home mom.
Rayven Perkins has been a stay at home mom, surviving on one income, for over 8 years. Visit her site Debt Advice for SAHMs for more important information about consumer debt and ways to reduce your expenses.
No debt is truly "good". There is secured debt, which is acceptable, and unsecured or consumer debt, which in most cases isn't.
Most debt is unsecured, and costs you even more money every month you carry it. Debt management is something everyone should learn it for themselves, by looking hard at the debt in their lives and choosing not to borrow when at all possible.
Secured debt is debt you owe against an item that is worth more than the outstanding balance with interest included. A good home loan is the only true example of secured debt most people have, assuming that the mortgage is a good one and you made a decent down payment when you bought the property.
We are encouraged to think that a car loan is a secured debt, but actually it is one of the worst kinds of consumer debt you can have. The depreciation of a vehicle once you drive it off the lot is tremendous, so unless you put an enormous down payment on the vehicle, odds are you owe more than it's worth from day one.
Most of us require a vehicle, however, so a car loan is one of the two "acceptable" types of consumer debt. The other is a student loan, assuming that the purpose of college is for career advancement and not a social life.
That leaves all the other types of debt securely in the "unacceptable" column. We are constantly urged to overspend by advertising and the concept of a certain "lifestyle" we think we should aspire to. We are reassured that everyone has debt, that in fact it is "normal", and offered solutions that aren't really solutions at all.
Credit cards are the root of all evil. That's a little dramatic, but you get the point.
Unless paid in full before the interest starts to accrue, the finance charges alone can run thousands of dollars a year, and many cards will offer you an increase to cover the deficit, which only leads you further away from getting out of debt.
Loans for such high dollar items such as furniture are also common. Stop and think before you take on a loan with "No payments for 2 years!".
If you can't afford it now, what guarantee do you have that you will be able to 24 months from now? Once the grace period is over, interest charges will start to mount fast and drag you deeper into debt.
The best debt advice is the oldest: Don't let the money going out exceed the money coming in. Taking the time to learn to manage your debt is fundamental to getting free of it and remaining a stay at home mom.
Rayven Perkins has been a stay at home mom, surviving on one income, for over 8 years. Visit her site Debt Advice for SAHMs for more important information about consumer debt and ways to reduce your expenses.
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