Articles, Tips and Resources on Credit Repair
Back in the days when it was okay and acceptable to have dangerous, limb-breaking, skull-cracking playground equipment on school playgrounds (You know, the kind of toys that were actually fun to play on?), I remember fondly the HUGE Teeter Totters we had next to the Kindergarten Portables at Fern Hill Elementary in Tacoma, WA.
Possibly my perspective is affected by my advancing years and the fact that the memory was placed in my brain using my elementary-school-size brain, but I swear that those 3 side-by-side teeter totters had to be 45-50 feet ...
Of course you’ve heard that you need 3-6 months of spending money tucked away in a savings account – just in case. And “someday”, you’ll start working on that. Just as soon as you start making more money, and you’ve paid off the car, and paid down those credit cards, and… um… start making more money (did you say that one already?).
The problem ...
Great news for First Time Homebuyers! The massive economic stimulus bill that was just signed into law has a great incentive in it for First Time Homebuyers. If you buy your first home between Jan 1, 2009 and Nov 30, 2009 (and “First Time” means “Haven’t had any ownership in a home for the past 3 years”), you get an $8,000 IRS Tax Credit. This “Tax Credit” is actually real money in your hand. You buy the home – ...
“We appreciate your loan business very much, but because the economy has gotten difficult we’ve decided to TRIPLE your interest rate effective immediately. When your next statement comes, the payment and interest rate will be higher, but don’t panic – it’s just our way of staying profitable so we can continue to serve you…”
OKAY, BEFORE YOU CALL ME IN A PANIC – THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!
But are you one of the lucky credit card owners who have received such a notice recently from your credit card company? With so many banks in trouble because of their ...
I am often asked by my real estate partners to assist them in marketing their listings. They know I like to write and tell stories and that history is a passion of mine, so when they land a listing for maybe an older home in a community or a home being sold by a long time member of the community, they come to me for help in telling the story.
The stories I write, with maybe some historical pictures of either the home itself or the people or events I write about, end up on the backs of listing flyers, on ...
There are two types of vehicles that you should be able to use right away to fill your Long-Term Bucket.
1) An Automatic 401K, 403B, or IRA account.
2) Your Mortgage Payment.
First, the 401K or 403B account – if available to you – are the best way to get started with your Long-Term Bucket. Begin immediately putting 3% of your income into this account each payday. It’ll come out of your pay without you ever seeing it – or noticing it. See my article on “Easy as 3, 4, 5…” to learn how this is possible. You get to ...
“How do I fill up my Long-Term Bucket when I can’t even afford to pay my current bills? Shouldn’t I just wait awhile until I’m in better shape?”
I know that’s what you’re thinking. And it makes so much sense to wait, right? Logically, you should start paying off your bills and start building up your checking and savings accounts. And then when you have a bunch of money saved up, you can start investing in the stock market. Right?
Wrong, Wrong, Wrong…
In order to reach your retirement years in good enough financial shape to actually retire, ...
We’ve talked about dividing up your future financial needs into 3 Buckets: Short-Term, Mid-Range, and Long-Term. Your assignment was to write out a list of expected financial obligations that will occur in the future, and then group these obligations into these 3 Buckets.
The goal for this assignment is to attempt to actually prepare for the future instead of constantly reacting to the present. Wouldn’t it be cool if when that car of yours needs replacing or your daughter needs braces that you actually have money set aside that you can pay cash for it rather than ...
You’ve written down your needs for your 3 Buckets and divided them up into your Short-Term Bucket, your Mid-Range Bucket, and your Long-Term Bucket. Now it’s time to fill the Buckets with assets – to pay for those future debts as they occur.
Again, I don’t care what you put on your lists – they are YOUR needs, not mine. You’ll just need to figure out a way to pay for them from your 3 Buckets as they occur. When you get to this point – where all your future needs are being funded as you go without ...
I always thought that saying was stupid. “The Future is Now!” That doesn’t make any sense. The future happens later, and right now you have creditors to pay. So you should take care of your old debt before considering the future, right? Those bills are sitting on your counter NOW! Those collectors are calling NOW! That other investing stuff comes later, right?
Absolutely wrong! The problem with this way of thinking is that it causes you to get defeated by upcoming obligations and financial “surprises”. You’re spending every dime you can ...
In the page, “How To Build An Investment Portfolio”, we talked about creating a “Bucket List” for your financial goals. Specifically, you should group your financial goals into 3 Buckets, and then you’ll go about using these 3 Buckets to allocate your savings and investments.
To review what these 3 Buckets are, here they are again:
Divide your list of goals onto 3 lists – or Buckets. You should have a:
Short-Term Bucket (things happening in the next year)
Mid-Range Bucket (things happening in the next 2-5 years)
Long-Term Bucket (more than 5 years away)
Filling Your Buckets
It’ll take us a few ...
In the article, “The Cost of Whistles”, I shared with you a story about how Benjamin Franklin once bought an overpriced whistle from a peddler at a fair, and regretted it all his life.
What Franklin was trying to teach us with this story was that purchases based on emotion – desire & want – are almost always bad purchases. Whenever you emotionally pass the point where you can no longer “walk away” from the purchase, you are going to make a bad decision.
Franklin knew in his head that the whistle was overpriced and not a good deal, but ...
I love reading old books and stories about early pioneers in business. I came across the following article in a little pocket-sized publication series from the 1940’s, titled “The Art of Living Successfully”.
I believe that “There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don’t know”, as Ambrose Bierce once said (click the link for some great quotes and ideas at Amazon). So by studying the past, we can learn to live better in the present and set ourselves up for ...
Would you be interested in a way to save money that doesn’t cost you anything? I mean, if I started depositing money into a savings account for you, would you accept it? Of course you would…
So why aren’t you? What am I talking about? I am referring to your 401K (or 403B) program at work. Most companies today offer these programs, so if you’re working for a company right now, chances are you have the ability to sign up. Have you?
If not, you’re not alone. An extremely low percentage of employees who are ...
One of my favorite authors is Andy Rooney. (For you under-40 youth out there, Andy Rooney is that amply-eye-browed curmudgeon who’d give those whiney-witty editorials at the end of “60 Minutes”. And for you under-30 types who learned about Ronald Reagan from your US History books in school, “60 Minutes” was once a well-respected CBS news show.)
In one of Andy Rooney’s books, he had a chapter about what’s wrong with American society (actually, that doesn’t narrow it down much because most all of what he wrote had something to do with what’s wrong with American society). But ...
There are some nervous times going on in the financial markets right now. What we’re finding right now is a phenomena called “Flight to Quality” – where people are putting their money in the safest investments they can find. You’re not seeing wild speculation going on. Investors are just happy if they don’t lose money and they aren’t expecting big gains on anything they buy.
The housing market is the same way. For many years, it didn’t really matter what house you bought. Real estate values were going up so fast – you just needed to ...
The previous article talked about a powerful and sure-fire technique for getting a raise. We talked about committing to spending time studying your industry and learning how to do your job better. But maybe you think the idea of studying your industry and coming up with ideas to improve your value won’t work because your job isn’t important enough.
You sweep the floors, stock the shelves, answer the phones, etc., and those jobs just aren’t important enough for you to spend any extra time learning about your industry. And you’re not going to be here long enough ...
If you are serious about making more money at work, I can tell you exactly how to do it – without fail. This method is so fool-proof, it’s almost unfair how well it works. And not only will it earn you a raise or promotion in no time at all, it will set you on a course toward something called “success”.
What is this powerful technique? It is actually a two part technique, and it will require just over one hour a day of your time – 5 days a week. That’s about 5 hours a week. ...
Hopefully, you took some time to answer those 3 questions in the article “Maybe You Just Need To Make More Money”. And I mean, REALLY answered them. Were you able to identify some strengths and weaknesses in your work habits from your boss’s (or customer’s) perspective? So now you’ve got some things you can work on to help you create more value. (And remember, you provide VALUE first and the reward will follow.)
But along with “doing” those things you’ve identified, there is one more step in the process of getting a raise – and getting it ...
We’ve spent a lot of time talking about cutting expenses and using your money more wisely. In my experience and study of “money problems”, the consistent theme I’ve discovered is that financial struggle is rarely caused by lack of adequate income. The fact is, people are usually in debt or have poor credit because they don’t manage the money they do make wisely. So that’s why financial advice articles focus so heavily on these areas.
But maybe you actually just need to make more money? “If my company would just pay me more… If I could just ...
In the last article, “Get $500 In The Bank Now”, I told you to write yourself a $100 check without cashing it (hanging it on the wall someplace you can see it everyday for motivation) to create a little cushion in your checking account to prevent bounced checks (and hefty bouncing fees). This is the first step towards getting $500 in the bank and keeping it there.
I also told you, in a kind of snotty way, that getting this $500 in the bank was the first step towards home ownership, and if you weren’t able to do this first ...
You’re trying to get in position to buy a home. You may have huge outstanding debts or serious credit blemishes on your record. Maybe collectors are calling you and you’re afraid to answer the phone, and it seems every time you get a paycheck your immediate bills already add up to MORE than your take home pay.
If this sounds like you, or maybe your situation isn’t nearly this severe but things are still tight, the first step to financial freedom and getting yourself ready to buy a home is to start with getting $500 in the bank. ...
Here’s a fancy mortgage loan term that you need to have an understanding of as you move towards buying a home and getting your financing approved. “Reserve Requirements” – something that wasn’t necessary for quite awhile, but, guess what, They’re Baaack!
During the past several years during the big subprime-Stated Income-easy credit frenzy, the idea of “Reserve Requirements” pretty much went away. But now they are coming back and many loans today absolute require them. So what are they?
Can You Prove You Have A Pile Of Reserves Somewhere?
“Reserves” is a fancy term for “Money” or “Assets”, as ...
In other articles on this website, we’ve talked about the need to watch out for “Latte Factors” (A phrase coined by David Bach concerning the tendency of many people to “automatically” spend money everyday on something they don’t really need). The point Bach makes is that most financial troubles can be solved by making better spending decisions. In this article, we’ll look at another way to “automate” yourself to success.
One common “Latte Factor” that many people have has to do with their eating habits. These faulty habits are also one of the primary reasons why Americans have ...
What is this mysterious $7,500 IRS Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers you may have heard about? Who qualifies? How does it work? Do you have to pay it back? Is it a good deal? How can it help borrowers afford a new home? Can it reduce the burdens of the new down payment requirements?
Wow! That’s a lot of questions. I bet you didn’t think you had that many questions about something you may not even know about. But you do, and I’m here to answer them.
First of all, who qualifies?
First ...
Most people understand that there are 3 major credit bureaus who keep track of all your credit transactions, and that they give you a rating – known as a “credit score”. But very few people understand how this “score” is actually determined. It is a complicated mathematical scientific formula locked away in a secret vault somewhere, but you don’t want “complicated”, “mathematical”, or “scientific” mumbo jumbo to stuff in your head, so why don’t we make it simple for you?
Time For Plain English
Okay, here you go: In simple language, your credit score is based on four ...
You just got a copy of your credit report and it is full of errors and accounts that aren’t yours. Your first reaction is to get mad at the credit reporting agency for being so stupid and ruining your life. But hold on a second there pardner…
Before you direct your anger at the wrong place, you need to understand that the credit reporting agencies rarely make errors. The report you have in your hand is from a credit reporting agency. They don’t make up stuff and put it on your credit report – they just report ...
Yes, you read the title correctly. If you need to add a good credit account to your credit report (and the only way you can raise your credit score is if you have some good credit accounts), you can try using a bribe to get one. And , yes, this is legal to do!
The best place to start when trying to add a new credit account is your bank. Go in and talk to a new accounts manager. Yes, physically walk in to the bank and talk face-to-face with a person. If you have a ...
Lenders and credit card companies use your credit score to help determine how likely it is that you will pay back the money they lend you. Fair Isaac Corporation, the creator of FICO credit scores (the most commonly used credit scoring system) has a breakdown of the relationship between your credit score and your chances of being a “Good Player” vs. a “Bad Player” (see chart here).
So, your credit score reflects an estimate of how well you’ll be able to manage your credit in the future. Your past credit usage and mistakes factor into this score of ...
Many people ask me, “How many credit account should I have?” I could give you a “Well, it depends...” kind of answer, but you are reading this looking for real answers and advice, so I’m going to boldly give you an answer. I don’t know of any scientific study that suggests that my answer is the correct one.
All I can tell you is, I’ve dealt with literally thousands of credit reports over the years, some good and some (ahem) not so good. And based on that experience, seeing reports with excellent scores vs. the kind of reports ...
If you HAD to earn a bunch of money in a short amount of time, could you? Let’s say a friend, a family member, or maybe your pet had a life-threatening medical emergency and could only be saved if you were able to raise $2,000 in the next 30 days. Could you do it?
Most people, if faced with that kind of emergency, would find a way to do this. You’d go to any length necessary to make this happen, and you probably have some ideas about what you could do to raise the money. What that ...
Almost all credit card companies have adopted the policy of Universal Default. So what is Universal Default? This is the legal right for them to change the terms of your agreement if you become a riskier borrower.
What kinds of changes can they make? Well, they can immediately raise your interest rate up to a predetermined “default rate” that you’ll find somewhere in the fine print of your credit card agreement. It is quite common to find these rates ranging from 24% - 32% or more right now.
Oh, but you don’t need to worry about that – you’re responsible ...
Read the fine print of virtually EVERY credit card agreement these days, and you will find a hard to understand clause called “Universal Default”. Most everybody understands that failing to pay your credit card bill on time can result in a late charge being tacked on. This has been going on for years.
And many credit card users have learned the hard way that failing to make your payment on time can result in a significant and immediate increase in your interest rate up to the “default rate” that is also listed in the fine print of your agreement. ...
During World War II, when there was a nationwide program of gasoline rationing, there were signs posted along highways saying, “Is This Trip Necessary?” reminding people to not waste fuel. As we begin to get control over our finances, maybe a good sign to carry with us is one that says in bold letters, “Is This Purchase Necessary?”
In his book, The Automatic Millionaire, David Bach coined the phrase “The Latte Factor” to help us look at our spending habits with new eyes. You see, if you ...
Too many bills? Credit scores suffering? Credit payments taking every last dime each month? You try to pay a little extra on each account, but the balances don’t seem to ever go down? How can you possible get out from under this dark cloud of debt?
Well, don’t fret. Sunnier days are on their way, if you can figure out a good way to start getting rid of some of your accounts. And in this article, I’d like to give you a quick little formula to help you pay off your debts faster and more ...
FUD’s can keep you from success in real estate. FUD’s stands for: Fears, Uncertainties, and Doubts. FUD’s prevent many, many potential real estate investors from ever getting started. You simply cannot invest in real estate until you’re able to counteract your Fears, Uncertainties, and Doubts. Notice I didn’t say “overcome” your FUD’s – I said “counteract”, which is different.
You see, FUD’s will help you be cautious and make wise decisions. If you didn’t have any FUD’s, you would just head out and buy the first property you see, but this is NOT a healthy ...
Before you can start working on raising your credit score, you need to get a copy of your credit report to see what you’re dealing with. You’ve no doubt heard of the website FreeCreditReport.com, and this is one place you can get your report if you’re willing to sign up for a $14.95 a month credit monitoring service (you do have 7 days to cancel before you have to pay anything – just be aware that they make a lot of money from these “free” reports).
Another source is the site www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Congress passed a law requiring ...
Don’t you just love going to your mailbox and finding all those new pre-approved credit card offers waiting for you? Filled with your personal financial information and easily accessible to thieves, it’s no wonder identity theft is so widespread. And having to take all that time shredding those offers before throwing them in the recycle bin. (You ARE shredding them, aren’t you? Thieves know that stealing your mail is a Federal crime, but stealing your garbage isn’t even considered a crime at all in most places.)
You Can Protect Yourself From Identity Thieves
Did you know you can prevent those ...
With each new article, I hope I’m bringing you some new ideas and new ways of thinking. And hopefully you’ve begun to use some of the strategies that I’ve been sharing with you to improve your credit situation and get control of your finances.
In future articles, we’ll be talking about earning more income, spending more wisely, building an investment portfolio, and buying a home, and how to best settle debts. That seems like a lot of conflicting ideas. I mean, how do you pay down your debts while at the same time you build your ...
Many of you are trying to improve your credit scores before you can, say, buy your home. But there is a lot of confusion and misinformation out there on just how to do that. By not understanding what credit scores are based on, you can hurt your scores by doing the wrong things.
For example, how many of you have been told that you should close your old inactive credit accounts to improve your score? The logic of this advice is that future lenders will get scared off if they see you have access to too much ...
In order to score maximum points towards your credit score, you should always keep your credit card balances below 30% of the credit limit. And one thing many credit users don’t stop to consider is: you don’t know which day of the month your credit card company reports to the credit bureaus.
So you may be paying off your bill in full each month when the statement comes, but if you are charging up the balance during the month to above that 30% mark, and your credit card company chooses that time when your balance is high to report to ...
As you are searching for your home or taking care of your financial situation, let’s discuss what type of mortgage you should get once you’re ready.
Rule #1: If you can’t afford a standard 30 year mortgage, you shouldn’t buy the home.
Let me put that more snottily: If you want to live in a $300,000 house, you should be able to afford a standard $300,000 house payment.
Many of my readers have had financial struggles or are just trying to get ready to buy their first home and want to make sure they do it right. Trust me ...
Something for you to be aware of as you continue your home shopping. For a long time, the 3 main credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian) have been selling your information to marketers. Those pre-approved credit card offers you get in the mail are the result of data purchased from these agencies. This is not a secret to anyone – been going on for years.
Recently, these 3 agencies have rolled out a new product that they are selling within the mortgage industry – something known as “trigger leads”. For a starting price of around $25,000 per ...
As Ira Hill Case looked out his soot-stained window, the view as far as he could see was ruin, darkness, destruction, and ashes – and he certainly must have wondered why he had been called here. Ira had a place to do his work – a single desk on the second floor of a downtown office building which he shared with a dozen other businessmen representing a dozen other businesses. But Ira was a one-man show – the only employee of a hastily-formed, loosely organized association – with little idea what he was supposed to do or how ...
During the current doom-n-gloom economic situation, where the entire economy is going to fall and everyone in America will soon be thrown out of their homes because of the collapse of our banking system, one statistic used to support this gloomy outlook is the abysmal state of the US Savings Rate. “Americans don’t save.” “Americans outspend their incomes.” “Americans have no self discipline.” And on and on the American-bashing goes.
One article puts the current US Savings Rate at 0% to minus 1% and many other articles (easy to find by searching for "US Savings ...
Debt for many Americans is out of control and with all the turmoil in the mortgage markets, does it still make sense to consolidate debt using a second mortgage? The answer is: “Yes” for some people, “No” for some people, and “Maybe” for other people. So, which “people” are you? Let’s look…
But before determining whether this is a good financial strategy for you, be aware that you may not qualify for a second mortgage right now. One of the big casualties of the current liquidity crunch is second mortgage programs. Wall Street ain’t ...
Most Americans today suffer from less than stellar credit. The very first step in improving your credit involves ordering free personal credit reports from the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. However, once the credit reports arrive to you, it is filled with abbreviations, numbers, terminology, and difficult formatting. In order to begin repairing your credit, it is important that you learn how to read a credit report.
The credit reports that you obtain from the credit bureaus are consumer files, and thus, they are consumer friendly. Of all of the reports, the Experian report is easier to ...
Your first step to financial well being is to take control of your consumer debt. There are many credit counseling and debt management options - however, there are some that may be detrimental to your financial health. It is important to research and ask questions, even if a credit counseling service purports that it is non-profit. Once you have done your research and found the consumer credit counseling agency that you are comfortable with, you should be on your way to achieving your financial goals. This article will help you choose a legitimate one.
Together with your ...
If you have less than stellar credit, one option is to try and repair your credit report yourself. Having a good credit score is important for almost any major activity in life, including obtaining a mortgage, car loan, and even car insurance. In addition, more and more employers are beginning to review a candidate’s credit score and credit history as a factor in making their hiring determination.
If you have poor credit, not only are your lending options minimized, but your ability to obtain a job or sign a good lease are also jeopardized. If you feel you ...
Strike while the iron is hot! That is exactly what scammers and fraudsters are doing with credit repair. Because of the current financial crisis, more and more people are getting into uncontrollable debt and, as a consequence, many of these people are seeking help.
There is help available, but telling the difference between legitimate organizations who offer assistance and duplicitous fraudsters who are out to take advantage of the current credit crunch is nearly impossible, unless you know what to look for.
Recognizing the Problem
If you are realizing there’s a problem and you’re slowly, or even hastily, taking steps backward, ...
If you have never received mail pre-approving you for a new credit card, you are in the minority. Most consumers have at least one credit card, and the statistics show that credit card debt is sharply on the rise. If you are deep in debt and are struggling to pay off your bills, you must come up with a financial plan and understand the fundamentals behind how the debt accrues.
Understanding how credit card debt impacts your financial health
Credit cards are great for quick and easy purchases without having to carry hordes of cash in your wallet. ...
Thinking that debt consolidation is a way out of your financial woes? When weighing the pros and cons, you must maintain your focus on your goal of becoming debt-free. Too many times, consumers incorrectly believe that their lower monthly payment on the bad debt means that they are paying less. In reality, many people who obtain a debt consolidation loan pay more money in the long run, due to the long shelf life of the loan. Basically, you are trading future cash in your pocket for smaller monthly payments today.
Pros of consolidating your loans
Eliminates penalties and interest ...
Research demonstrates that three quarters of all credit reports contain inaccurate information, which can negatively impact your credit score. An effective way to repair your credit is by writing credit repair letters disputing incorrect information. By law, the credit agencies and creditors must provide the evidence to prove that the information on your credit report is correct; therefore, the burden of proof is on their shoulders, and this is great news for your credit score.
HOWEVER ... disputing items the wrong way will range from being ineffective all the way to get creditors to sue you for a ...
While credit repair can be easily done yourself by disputing erroneous entries on your credit report, it still can be a confusing and time consuming task. Most of the time, credit repair can be done effectively yourself. However, there are definitive benefits associated with a reputable credit repair service, who ensures that your credit is fixed correctly and comprehensively.
If you are thinking of paying a credit repair agency to improve your credit history and score, it is important that you choose a reputable company. While most legitimate credit repair services do charge fees, normally ...
Did you know your spending habits are being monitored? This may be common news to you, however, do you know exactly what information is being compiled about your finances? Your credit report is a compilation of all your debts, spending habits, savings, payments and all other financial transactions you have made in the last seven to ten years. Unless you take some action to obtain these necessary credit reports, you have no idea if they are accurate or not. The more "bad" or negative credit on your report, the higher the interest you will have to pay the next time ...
Debt silently creeps up on many individuals. It's not the debt that traps people in the quicksand of messy finances, but the heavy interest to pay for that debt. If you know your credit line is about to be yanked, and the bills are piling so high that
you can no longer see the kitchen table, stop for a moment and take a breather. Weigh your options to see what you can do to grab that rope and pull yourself out. A reputable credit counseling service in your community or online is one such way to pull yourself free of ...
