In many instances, through no fault of our own, we get a less than perfect credit rating. We can lose our jobs, have lay offs, have an unexpected medical emergency and find ourselves in a tight spot. These situations and numerous more are common to so many today. Do not give up! Any one can recover and get a good credit rating. There are many credit cards that can help you recover a good credit rating. Here are a few tips on how to achieve that goal.
1. When applying for a card read the fine print.
2. Check the annual fee. Some cards have a fee and some do not. Compare offers and try to get a card with no fee.
3. The APR can sneak up and bite you. This is the interest charged so be aware of what will happen if you carry a balance.
4. Use discipline when using your card. Charge items that you will pay for in your regular budget. Then pay it off at the end of the month. Remember, your goal is to reestablish your credit. According to the credit bureaus this on time payment is very important.
5. Secured cards are a good option. These cards are secured by a deposit made by the card holder into an account specifically for that card. These cards are also great for first time card holders with no credit or students. Continued…
Posted in Credit.
When it comes to financial stability, three little numbers can spell a huge difference in your life. Your credit score is one of the most important numbers that you can acquire. It ranks alongside your social security, phone number and driver’s license. Having a low score can mean paying high interests rates, or being denied getting a loan. It is only when they are faced with credit problems that people take notice of their scores, and start wondering what can be done to repair the damage. The answer is credit repair.
Credit repair services are available in many forms, depending on individual cases and the urgency of the situation. To begin with, as a customer needing a good credit report, you must have some knowledge about the system, the factors that pull your score down, and what measures you need to undertake to improve your score. Once you have gotten down the basics, you can begin planning out your next move to improve your credit standing.
Repairing credit problems is not without its complications. First, you have to deal with 3 credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, which means 3 different computations of your score, and even varying details about your debt. The information you obtained from these reporting companies may not reflect what you feel is accurate, and you may then need to dispute your credit report. This entails writing letters and providing supporting documents. Of course, the work you put into this would be invaluable in improving your score, but still, it does take some time and effort to complete. Continued…
Posted in Credit.
There are a few key things that you should never mess up in life. If you’re an immigrant, then you should never mess up you immigration status. When you’re young and few things are more important than your freedom, then you don’t want to do anything that can result in your driver license getting suspended or revoked. And, of course, if you were not born into a very rich family, then you really don’t want to mess up your credit rating. Thankfully, for those who make one or more credit-related mistakes, there are ways to mend a damaged credit history, like acquiring a secured credit card.
With secured credit cards, your credit line is determined by the amount of money that you use to secure the card. Generally speaking, your credit line will range from 50% to 100% of the amount of money you deposit into a special savings account setup by the secured credit card company. When you make regular, timely payments to a secured credit card account, you are working to repair or establish your credit standing.
Having a damaged credit rating is bad, but having no credit rating can be just as bad in the eyes of many creditors. That’s why moderate use of a secured credit card is a good idea for folks who’ve never had credit extended to them - like high school or college students — because the spending activity is very likely to be reported to at least one of the three major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian or Equifax.)
Since a secured credit card is backed by a special savings account it can be much easier to obtain than a standard credit card. However, there are some disadvantages to secured credit cards that you should be aware of: Continued…
Posted in Credit.