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.
Pay Off Debt Before Purchasing Home
If you're serious about buying a house anytime soon, it's important to know whether you will qualify for a home loan. If you're saving money for a down payment, but paying credit card debt, you won't get yourself anywhere. Pay down those cards so you're debt-free when it's time to buy your home.
Save Cash Or Pay Off Debt?
Student loans and credit card debt are haunting a couple. Should they put their cash in savings or pay off their debt? With volatile credit card interest rates, it's always a good idea to get that debt paid down quickly and find out where you can save money elsewhere.
Student Loans And Credit Card Debt: Reduce It And Start Saving
Finding a way to reduce student loans and credit card debt while still saving money can be like walking a tightrope. Sometimes in order to save money and reduce student loans and credit card debt, you may have to take on a part-time job to generate extra income. Don't do just one or the other; instead try to reduce student loans and credit card debt each month, while also putting some money away in savings.
Retirement With No Savings
What happens if you are ready for retirement and you have no savings account? It means you may have to work longer than you hoped to and push off retirement a bit. Pay off your credit card debt, stash away as much cash as possible, and try to rebuild your savings.
Working Toward Retirement With High Debt
A couple is in debt and close to retirement. They need to stash away as much cash as possible to rebuild lost savings, pay off debt, and get into a position where they can retire. Since the husband traded a higher-paying job for a lower-paying one, they may have to wait several years before they build enough savings to retire.
Credit Errors a Problem For Home Buyer
How should a first time home buyer deal with the errors on her credit report? The husband file for mortgage while the wife sorts out her credit history. Get errors on your credit report resolved immediately. You never know when you will need to rely upon your credit score.
Reduce Interest Rates Through Multiple Payments
Learn how to setup an online smart payment and reduce your credit card debt. By paying multiple times during a month, you can reduce the interest you pay on your credit card debt. Avoid late payments by setting up accounts online with all of your credit cards.
IRS Tax Refund: Pay Debt And Loans Down, Start IRA
Getting a tax refund from the IRS isn't much to brag about. If you're getting a tax refund from the IRS, you just gave the government an interest free loan by overpaying what you owed. There are some smart moves you can make with your tax refund from the IRS.
Paying Credit Card Bills Online
Paying credit card bills online can improve your credit history and your credit score. Just as you can prepay your mortgage, and save thousands of dollars in interest, you can also prepay your credit card debt, saving hundreds or thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. Set up online payments to streamline the payment process and avoid late payments. Setting up online payments eliminates the possibility that you'll pay late because your payment got lost in the mail. Late payments are not only expensive, but it can also damage your credit history and lower your credit score.
Purging And Shredding Your Household Files
While a simple filing system is inexpensive to purchase and easy to put together, it can quickly get out of hand if you don't purge unnecessary documents at the end of the year. Just after tax time is an excellent time to purge what you don't need. Make sure you shred anything that has personal information.