There is no joy connected to having to deal with unsecured debt issues. It’s something that can absolutely hurt a person’s quality of life. When debt issues get to the breaking point, debtors are eventually forced to face the realities of their situation and act. There are several ways you might deal with your own …
It was recently estimated that around 40% of Americans don’t know what their credit score is – and the number of individuals struggling with insufficient or ‘bad’ credit scores is thought to be higher still. For many, the issue of credit doesn’t even arise until it comes time to secure a loan – whether that’s for a …
Is It Possible to Find a Good Mortgage with Bad Credit? Read More »
FICO credit scores determine whether you’ll qualify for a loan or credit card, and if so, what your interest rate will be. A low score can cost you thousands of dollars over the life of a mortgage To help you learn more about this vital piece of information, I cover what goes into your scores …
Finally, the US consumer is close to winning one. The US Senate has just passed an amendment that would give consumers free access to their credit scores under certain circumstances, such as denial of a loan or a job due to your credit score. (This is currently the law for credit reports.) If passed by the House, …
That DOESN’T Make Me Stabby: Mandated Free Credit Scores Read More »
This is the first of five posts relating to credit scores and credit history. Today we’ll talk about what and who uses VantageScore. If you ordered a credit score along with your Experian credit report, you probably got a VantageScore and wondered “what the heck is this?” It’s a new credit score developed by the …
You’ve probably heard that hard pulls on your credit report can ding your credit score and keep it low for a few months. Since I’m now applying for my third mortgage in eight months (one purchase, two free re-fis), I’ve actually gotten free peaks at our credit scores and watched how quickly they recover. Hard Pulls Last …
As I mentioned in the post about credit monitoring, you can get a free credit report every year at AnnualCreditReport.com. The best approach is to access one of the three free reports every four months. That will give you a year-round view of your credit for free. However, there are other occasions where you can get a …
When Are You Entitled to a Free Copy of Your Credit Report? Read More »
I now return to my series on credit history and credit scores. Monday, I covered the VantageScore. Today, I focus on credit monitoring. FICO, the three credit bureaus, banks, credit card companies, and many other independent services try to use scary warnings about identity theft to try to convince you monitoring is a necessity. So what …
