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The content of your credit report can have an enormous impact on the quality of your life. Your credit score will determine the cost of your mortgage, your automobile payments, and your credit cards. An improvement in your credit score could potentially save you thousands of dollars per year.

Overcoming Your Fear

It is normal to experience a degree of fear when the time comes to look at your credit report. Perhaps you have had some credit issues in the past. No one likes to be reminded of those times. I have spoken to thousands of people about their credit over the years. The majority of those people have felt some resistance to looking at their own reports. I understand! The credit bureaus can be intimidating. But like so many other things in life, once you get started it’s not so bad.

Getting Started Read more of this >>

My credit cards are maxed out! How many times have I heard that cry. Most people only see the terror of the debt, the decreasing FICO score, and the hopelessness that becomes part of the problem. While it is difficult to see the solution when you are in the heart of the problem, often the solution is right in front of our nose. In this article I present three strategies to pay off your debt and to raise your FICO score while doing it.

When faced with overwhelming debt the first step is to not add to the problem. Put your credit cards in a bank vault or some other secure place where you cannot easily get to them. Pay cash, write checks (so long as you have available funds) or use a debit card to pay for everything. Do not apply for new credit. Just stop. Okay, so you won’t be able to make impulsive purchases, but that is good while you are trying to pay off your current debt.

Now that you have placed yourself on a strictly cash diet you will need to make a decision. There are three apporaches that make the most sense. Read more of this >>

Here are the top 7 questions we hear from consumers about credit reports and credit scores…

1. Will closing paid off credit card accounts improve my credit score?

This will surprise many of you, but closing paid off credit card accounts can actually hurt your score in two ways. In “Your Credit Score”, Liz Pulliam Weston explains:

A. Closing accounts can make your credit history look younger than it is. Your credit score factors in the age of your oldest account and the average age of all your accounts. So closing accounts, particularly older accounts can ding your score.

B. Closing accounts reduces the total credit available to you, making your debt utilization ratio soar. Remember that the FICO formula measures the gap between the credit you use and your total credit limits. The wider the gap, the better. If you suddenly lower that limit by shutting down accounts, the gap narrows – and that’s a bad thing.

2. What’s the best way to deal with a collection agency when you don’t have the money to pay them?

The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act clearly states that you do not have to deal with credit or debt collectors. You can stop collectors from calling and writing with a “cease and desist” letter. This is short for “cease communication”. Once this letter is received by your collector, they will no longer be able to legally contact you by phone, at work, by fax, by certified mail, by nothing.

Of course, to improve your credit score, you will ultimately want to get the debt removed from your credit report by either getting the collector to agree to delete the item when you pay in full or by getting the credit bureau to delete the item. Read more of this >>

Have you had problems paying your bills on time lately?

The fact of the matter is that you are not alone. More than 30 Million people in the U.S. have the same problems as you. Poor credit can be the primary cause for a severe inability to obtain credit cards and/or loans.

There is a solution to this problem and it is right at your finger tips.

Here are 7 ways you can fix and improve your credit score and obtain credit cards and/or loans at favorable rates.

1. Reduce your balance to limit ratio.

When a company is reviewing your credit, most of them will look at the amount of balances on your current accounts and compare that figure to the amount of total outstanding credit you have available.

EX. Total Balances = $10,000 and Total Avail. Credit = $20,000.

Now in this example your ratio would be at 50% which in most cases would be frowned upon by lenders. The ideal ration would be anything less than 30%

A good idea would be to pay off those low balance credit cards to get your balance to limit ratio under 30%

2. Cut back your credit card usage.

Even if you are the type of person who typically pays off your credit cards every month, it is a good idea to keep your balances below 30% of the available credit limit.

Even though you are paying off your credit cards monthly your balance is still reported to the credit bureaus.

One of the best ways to keep track is by using financial software like Quicken or Microsoft Money. Using these programs can help you stay below 30% of your available credit limits. Read more of this >>