Your credit scores may be some of the most important financial numbers you have. Really. They can control the rates you get on loans; even determine if you get a loan, and so much more. You need to protect your credit scores and watch your credit reports like a hawk. These articles help you learn more about your credit scores and histories.
Young adults are faced with a unique set of challenges that cause many to struggle with credit. Inexperience, school loans, social pressures, and financial optimism all lead down the path of least resistance – a really bad credit score. However, it’s important to remember that there are long-term consequences of bad credit, and restraint today can pay off big time down the road.
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When we think of improving a credit score, we often think of using credit cards.
Indeed, one of the fastest ways to build credit is to open a credit card account, and use it regularly, paying down the balance on time.
However, many people are wary of credit cards, and would prefer not to use them. Unfortunately, some sort of credit history is needed in order to qualify for some loans, especially home loans and many auto loans.
The good news is that it is possible to establish and build up your credit score, even without credit cards!
We know how important a credit score is these days, don’t we? Yet many people still insist on doing what they can to destroy their score. Since some want to have a train wreck of a credit score here are five guaranteed ways to lower your score:
1) Pay your bills late. Here’s a good one to lower your score. Pay your bills late, especially loans and credit cards. And I’m not talking a few days late, I’m talking 90-plus days late. Wait until you get a collection notice, why dontcha? (According to Credit.com, accounts 90-days late can damage your score up to 7 years. Bingo!)
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Maybe you’re sitting at home looking at your credit card statements, realizing that your APR’s [Editor: Annual Percentage Rates] aren’t quite as low as you’d like, or you’ve recently checked your FICO score and notice it’s low.
You want your credit score in that Excellent check box up there!
Perhaps you want to refinance your home, and want to get the best rates possible before looking into loans. Or maybe you have a very low credit score, getting deeper in debt and need to do some real work to improve your credit score.
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For years credit scores were the best kept secret from consumers by credit bureaus that calculated them.
Only lenders and other credit providers knew what went into a score and how much it weighed on the score’s compositions.
But thanks to pressure from consumer groups and other government agencies, over time not only the credit score number itself has been made available to consumers, but also how the score is determined.
Knowing what affects their scores and by how much, consumers will have a better means in managing their finances.
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Having excellent credit scores has helped my wife and I save in many ways over the years. We didn’t always have great credit scores. Both my wife and I had our periods of credit card debt. Along with that came the occasional late payment and the regular stealing from Peter to pay Paul lifestyle. But we both wised up and, over time, eliminated our credit card debts. With that came better and better credit scores. We’ve discovered that having a good, or great, credit score has its benefits.
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In the last year or more, credit cards and the laws that govern the industry have come under serious scrutiny due to the large amounts of individuals and families facing serious debt problems involving credit cards. Card holders have been subjected to stiff fees and increasing interest rates for seemingly no reason, leaving many so far behind in payments, they had no where to turn. As the credit card industry began to spiral seriously out of control, Congress finally began to take action on behalf of the affected consumers.
Credit card practices have been unfair and deceptive for quite some time and changes need to be made to continue a healthy economy. In May 2009, President Obama signed into law the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. The action was meant to create more protection for consumers and halt unfair and hidden fees they were being charged for being a credit card holder.
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I'm Glen Craig - I used to live paycheck-to-paycheck, drowning in credit card debt. I turned that all around and now I build wealth rather than debt.
My goal is to make personal finance easy for you.
