Your credit score defines you financially. Establishing and maintaining good credit will make your life infinitely easier. To establish a good credit score you must make your payments on time and in full every month. You can also improve your credit score by minimizing your debt. Learn more here about your credit score and what it means for you.
Late Payments On Credit Card Means Trouble
Late credit card statements can change your credit score, and not for the better. There are many online resources to help shop for a lower interest rate, help you budget, and help make payments on time.
Old Unpaid Bill Ruins Credit Score
Old bills, no matter how small, can ruin your credit if they're reported to a collection agency. If it's an error, you can try fighting the charges to correct your credit history. If fighting a bill doesn't work, then negotiate a payoff in which you pay the bill in full but they agree (in writing) to simply report the sum is "paid in full" on your credit history.
Risks Of Using Non-Profit Credit Counseling Agencies
All credit counseling agencies are not looking out for you - even the ones that claim to be non-profit. Many consumers are surprised to learn that there are good credit counseling companies and bad ones. Just because the one you're using carries the "non-profit" label doesn't mean it isn't making money for its owners. "Non-profit" also doesn't mean the counselors are really working on your behalf. Once you find a good credit counseling agency, there are different ways it can help, some of which will affect your credit history.
Transferring Credit Card Debt
Take advantage of balance transfers to pay off credit card debt with lower interest rates. But, you should keep your old cards open, even if you're not using them. One of the things that helps raise your credit score is having credit cards accounts open for a long period of time. So, if you have a card for 10 years, it's better than having a card for one year and closing the account.
Subprime Credit Score Hurts Loan Rates
If your credit score is just a few points below the prime cutoff, your rate shouldn't be that much lower than someone with grade A credit. Lenders say you could expect to pay an additional 1/4 to 1/2 percent in interest and perhaps another point or so in fees. If you can find ways to improve your credit score just a bit, you will save thousands of dollars over the life of your loan by being a Grade A borrower.
Refinancing Mortgage Out Of High Interest Rate: Possible Obstacles
There are several possible obstacles that can arise while trying to refinance your mortgage out of a high interest rate. If your credit score isn't high, refinancing your mortgage out of a high interest rate may be difficult. Fortunately, getting your credit history and walking through it with a couple of reputable lenders could remove those obstacles to refinancing your mortgage out of a high interest rate.
Credit Counseling To Understand Credit Report
Reading your credit report can be confusing. Ilyce suggests a good place to find a reputable non-profit credit counseling service and decipher their credit report is through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC.org) or through Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS.org). They provide budget counseling that should be free, or very nearly free to help you understand your credit report.
Student Loan Lender Doesn’t Report Credit History
A key sign of a predatory lender is that it doesn't report your on-time payments to credit reporting bureaus that keep track of your credit history and score. Is student loan lender Sallie Mae becoming a predatory lender by neglecting to report on-time payments to the three credit reporting bureaus? Learn about how on-time payments can help you build good credit.
Credit History, Credit Score Determine Best Credit Card Deals
Your credit history and credit score determines the best credit card deals a consumer can get. Lenders treat your credit report and credit history as a running score of your financial life, and use that to decide whether you're worth the risk for a credit card, car loan or mortgage. Clean up your credit score and build a good credit history in order to get the best credit card deals for you.