The term credit can mean many things. For most people, it is the ability to borrow today and pay later. The idea of “credit-worthiness” defines our personal finances, and reaches out to all parts of our financial lives. Credit can be an accounting term. You can talk about credit cards, your credit history, your credit score, or the three credits you got in college for taking Bowling. This page is the credit nerve center of ThinkGlink.com. From this page you can learn more about what credit means and how having good, bad, or mediocre credit affects your personal finances.
Charged Off Credit Account
What does it mean if creditors put "charged off" on your account? This is a negative reporting that could severely hurt your credit score. A collection agency can pursue you for debt that has been charged off. While it is legal for them to pursue you, they have to live within the rules of the Fair Debt Collection Act.
How To Raise Credit Score To Prepare For Mortgage
To qualify for a mortgage you have to have a clean credit history and a good credit score. What can you to do improve your credit when you want to buy a home? Learn tips to raise the credit score and how to plan for the purchase of property.
Deal With Holiday Debt
Carrying a load of debt could cause your credit score to suffer. While some consumers will pay off their December credit card bills in full, more than half will spend months paying off the $1,500 in presents and holiday cheer they charged. If you pay even one bill late, you'll be paying for that mistake over and over again. Other credit card companies will use that one late payment as an excuse to jack up your interest rate even if you've never paid a single bill late for that particular credit card.
Removing Open Credit Accounts On Credit Report
If you are trying to cancel old credit accounts, make sure you have the correct contact information and then send a "return receipt requested" letter to the credit company. However, it's better for your credit score to keep old accounts open, but at a zero balance.
Refinancing With Higher Credit Score
How much can a better credit score save you? If you aim to get your credit score above 720, you'll be able to get much better offers from creditors. The best thing you can do to raise your credit score is to pay every bill on time.
Boyfriend’s Debt May Hurt Homeowner
A homeowner is concerned about her boyfriend's debt. They own a home together, but he is facing large medical bills. Because they are not married, the co-owner is not responsible for the debt but their equity in the home may be at risk.
Closing Credit Card Account Properly
A person wants to know how to pay off a credit card and guarantee that there is no remaining balance. Ilyce advices once you get your next statement, call the credit card company and verify that if you pay the balance on the statement you will be able to pay off the balance in full. Then, write a check to pay off the card.
How Do Late Medical Bills Affect Credit Scores?
How will being late on my medical bills affect my credit score? If your medical bills go to a collection agency, it affects the "payment history" component in calculating your credit score. Other factors play into determining your credit history, but payment history is the largest one.
Credit Score Myths And Secrets
Keeping your credit score high is more important than ever, since a future employer will probably pull your credit history before offering you a job. But do you know how your score is calculated? Do you have a high credit score or a low credit score? So many questions about credit scores and we've got the facts about how they're calculated and what they mean.
Prioritizing Credit Card Debt Payments
When you have debt on a lot of different cards, and the interest rate is different, you always should first pay off the non-deductible debt (debt other than a mortgage or home equity loan) that carries the highest interest rate. When all interest rates are the same, you should then look to which cards carry the highest percentage of your available credit.