Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Credit Scores, Reporting, and Use

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.

What’s My Credit Score Made Of?

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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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How An Excellent Credit Score Has Helped Us Save Money

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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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The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, And Disclosure (CARD) Act Of 2009- Effect On Credit Card Holders

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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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Another Case For Emergency Savings – Credit Score

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You know you need emergency savings right?

Should something come up where you need money quick you want to have emergency savings handy to help take care of the situation.  Well here’s another aspect to think about:

You need emergency savings to protect your credit score!
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My Experience With myFICO – Review

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We were real close to closing on the sale of our co-op.

As result we needed a place to move to.  These days landlords and realtors tend to ask for a recent credit reports and scores in order to rent from them.  Rather than pay each time we find an apartment we liked, we decided to check our credit reports and scores ourselves to have on hand if needed.  We were also curious to see our credit scores and of course we wanted to make sure our credit reports were accurate.
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