David Lee George asked:




You all know the advantages to having a good credit rating, and why you need one. Not only can you get approved for a car or home loan, you can also save hundreds of dollars a month with lower interest rates and finance charges. Along with that you are also able to save on deposits and insurance rates because they are directly influenced by your score. It may even surprise you to learn that many companies check your number when you apply for a job, and many land lords check it when you apply to rent a home or an apartment because they want to find out how financially responsible you are and if you have any previous lawsuits against you.

There are dozens of uses for your credit, but there are also a lot of ways to hurt it. The most common ways include; checking it too many times and missed payments. These are common because people are struggling to pay bills and they apply for financing a lot. Other ways to damage it will include; law suits, repossession, foreclosure, identity theft, bankruptcy and much more. If you suffer from any of these the process to fix them in which you pay your bills on time and watch what you try to borrow will work, but it can take months and even years to be effective and give you the result you want.

That is why many people have turned to credit repair to fix their score fast. Credit repair is great because it is so effective it can fix any score no matter the reason it was lowered, but it can also do it in a few weeks. The process is simple for everyone because it is handled for you, and it is very affordable.

Dean

Tom Tessin asked:




Everyone knows that if you have a bad FICO score, you’re not going to be able to get a loan for your next home, auto, or even a personal loan. Since most of us can’t just throw down a few hundred thousand for a house, it’s important that we get a mortgage. Now having a bad FICO score doesn’t mean you can’t get a mortgage ever again. There are just some steps you need to take in order to improve your FICO score so that you can get that loan once again.

Get a credit report – If you haven’t received a credit report yet, you should go out and get a copy of your credit report to look it over. Make sure that you get a free report that the government allows you to get every year. When you get a hold your credit report, look it over and see if anything looks wrong or shady. If something looks fishy, you’ll want to fix it as soon as you can. There are many steps you can take; the first step I suggest you take is by calling the credit bureaus and seeing what you can do from there.

Pay your bills – No matter what you do with your bills, make sure you always attempt to pay off the minimum at least. If you don’t pay your bills, you’re going to get hit with late payment fees and this will affect your credit score a lot. Make sure that you pay at least the minimum. If you can’t afford to pay the minimum, I suggest you go out and find another ways to get money. There are many part time jobs out there that you can pay you a few extra hundred dollars a week like pizza delivery or working a retail store.

Get rid of your balances – When you’re trying to get out of debt, make your number one focus to pay off your credit card balance. Try and put as much money toward your debt as possible. This means you’ll want to cut back on the leisure expenses and focus on debt. So, instead of eating out for thirty dollars, make a five dollar meal at home and put that twenty five toward the debt.

Close a few accounts – If you have a few accounts laying around that you don’t use anymore, call up the credit card company and close them. Make sure that you know what you’re doing thought because some of your old accounts may be helping you. Credit companies love to see older established accounts. If your report shows nothing but new accounts, the companies will be a little suspicious of this. Make sure that you close a few accounts that aren’t as old as your oldest one.

If you can focus on paying off your debt and making a lot of money, fixing your debt shouldn’t be that hard at all. As long as you’re focused and determined to pay it off, you should have a problem at all.

Louise

Bryan Burbank asked:




As the economic conditions in our nation worsen so does the number of people with bad credit. But do keep in mind your bad credit score did not happen over night. It had to start long before our economic down turn. Too many years of too much spending and not enough income to pay all of your bills. In this article I will give you some tips on how you can reverse your bad credit score and put your credit score back to a level you can be proud of.

First, you must admit that you are financially in trouble. If you have your head in the sand you can never work your way out of it. You must dedicate yourself to this task and keep to a strait and narrow path.

Second, get a copy of all your credit reports so you know exactly what they are saying about you. You want to check for any possible mistakes. This does not have to cost you anything as each credit reporting agency will give you one free report each year.

Third, take any good credit cards out of your wallet and stop using them immediately. Only buy things you can pay for with cash, a check or a debit card.

Fourth, start by evaluating how you spend your money. In the beginning you must only spend money on only the absolute essentials. These are things such as rent, utilities and car expenses. To start out with you may want to cut out such things as cable, cell phones maybe even that gym membership. As the bills get paid down you can start replacing these luxuries.

Fifth, start paying your bills on time. Nothing will prove to your lenders that you are back on track then for them to receive your monthly bills on time.

Lastly, don’t hide from creditors, make yourself available and willing to work on payment plans that you can stick to and follow. You will find that most creditors will work with you because in the end all they want is to be paid back

Wendy

David Cooke asked:


Every day I meet people who want to buy a home.Some of them are in their twenties but some of them are in their thirties and forties and they know nothing about credit. I decided to put together a simple list of ways to improve your credit. Follow these steps and you can improve your credit score. This will result in lower interest charges for you. You can save thousands of dollars in the future. Are you feeling motivated? Read below and start saving money.

10. Check your credit report every year. Knowing what your credit score is is the first step in improving it. In this age of identity theft you might find someone using your name and credit history and fix it before the police come calling.

9. Don’t apply for new credit cards that you don’t need. This could lower your score.

8. Try to keep your credit balances as low as possible. You can also ask the lender to increase your credit limit which can increase your credit score.

7. Correct any incorrect information on your report. Credit reporting agencies are notorious for the errors they have on credit reports. If you find an error call the credit reporting agency and tell them about it. If it is the bank or store’s fault get them to fix it.

6. If you have damaged credit consider opening new accounts and paying them off promptly. This can add 30 points to your score in a year.

5. If you do not have credit consider getting a secured credit card. This is a credit card where the consumer makes a deposit to the credit card company of $500 . for example. He then has $500. worth of credit on his card. This is a great way to establish or re-establish credit.

4. Pay bills on time, since any payments more than 30 days late will affect the credit score. Note that a bill issued March 15 with a due date of March 31 does not become 30 days late until April 30, but if you have the means, pay earlier rather than later. A single late payment may result in a drop of over 20 points.

3. To minimize the number of inquiries on your credit report don’t apply for multiple credit cards . If your credit rating is important to you, then you also need to consider that when you shop from lender to lender, there is an accumulation of inquires on your credit bureau report, affecting your credit rating and ultimately the rate and terms of your mortgage. This isn’t the case with a mortgage broker who only does one inquiry yet can still get many competing lenders to quote on your business.

2. After you buy a home don’t go out and buy all the furniture to fill it. This will lower your score and pose a problem when the lawyers are closing the deal. Lenders often check your credit 5 days before closing and will refuse funding if the score has dropped too much. Don’t be fooled by “Don’t pay until 2007″ ads. The full cost of the items purchased will be showing on your credit report and lower the score accordingly.

1. And finally the Number 1 way to improve your credit score….

If you fall behind in your payments due to illness, unemployment or family issues TALK TO YOUR CREDITORS Arrange a payment schedule with them.. Talking to them is a lot better than having them call you with threats of foreclosure or bailiffs’ seizures.

David Cooke is a senior mortgage consultant In Calgary Alberta, Canada. You can find more information by calling him at 403-836-1201 or by visiting his website at: www.mortgagealliance.ca/davidcooke



Glenn

David Nalin asked:


If you have a low credit score or are having trouble getting financing, you need to step back and explore how to fix credit and credit scores. Fortunately, it is possible to learn how to fix credit scores and improve your chances of getting credit. Unfortunately, all the information in the world on how to fix credit won’t do you much good unless you make up your mind that you are going to change your spending habits. Once you have made up your mind the key is to actually put the plan in action.

Never the less, it is worthwhile to learn how to fix credit and the best advice on how to fix credit is to pay your bills on time. You should also work to keep only low balances on your cards, and resist the temptation to borrow more money than you actually need, particularly when it comes to revolving credit. Assuming you are looking for help on how to fix credit because you are already in a little bit of trouble, then there are some quick steps you can take to make an immediate improvement.

The first step in how to fix credit is to find out exactly what your situation is. You can do this by obtaining copies of your credit reports. Once you see exactly where you stand you can develop a plan on how to fix your credit scores. Your goal is to reduce your credit to 30% or less of your available credit. Reviewing your credit reports will also help you determine if there are errors that you can quickly repair. Getting any inaccurate information cleaned up is the best first action you should take. While it may not be easy, it will give you a chance to give your credit rating a quick bump right away.

The first advice on how to fix credit is to get your balances paid down. Not only will this help to improve your score, it will make it a little easier to make your payments. Credit scores are calculated using a number of factors such as how your total credit profile looks in terms of the amount of debt you have compared with the amount of credit you ave available. Paying down your cards will definitely help you in this regard.

One key trap that many people fall in to is deciding to repair their credit and then closing the account. Your credit rating is determined based on how much you owe, of course, but this is not the only measure. Factors such as your credit history over time are also important. You want to be sure to keep at least a couple of your older accounts open.

There is a great deal of information available discussing how to repair credit. The fundamentals are your best bet and that means paying down balances and making sure that all your bills get paid on time. Gimmicks and tricks are just not worth it. You also don’t need to engage a company that will require a fee be paid. You can do this on your own. Just make up your mind, be disciplined, and in now time at all you’ll have great credit again.



Bradley

Rose asked:


Credit score is a very important thing for everyone.  This is a determining factor whether you will be approved of a loan or not.  Having a very bad credit score will just make your charges more expensive than the regular.  For example, having a bad credit score will make you pay more in terms of auto insurance.  This is because of the impression that you are not trustworthy when it comes to money matters such as monthly dues.

Because of this, it is important for you to maintain a good credit score.  But if not, here are the things that you can do in order to fix it up.

First of all is that you have to make sure how bad your credit status is.  It would be advantageous of you will get a credit report annually in order to monitor your current status.  You need to get your credit report from the most accurate company and order it online from them.

The next thing that you can do is to check your credit report.  You have to make sure first that there has been some mistake within a certain company transaction that may have affected your account.  Once you found some inconsistencies, it is important for you to contact that company right away and let them fix it for you.

If you have not found any discrepancy, you may want to assess the way how you pay your bills.  Do you settle them on time?  It is important for companies to see that you are a responsible payer.  This is just fair as they are offering you services and it is their right to get payment for you in turn of their services.  At the same time, make sure that if you have promised a payment, it is essential for you to keep it.  By doing a lot of promise-to-pay request and not paying on the stated date will also make companies turn their backs on you.

Check your accounts for balances.  Settle the accounts that have the biggest balance.  Credit scores are also inclined on how high the balances that you have in the account so better settle them first.  In this way, the company will be able to see that you are not making a lot of credits that may put you in a stressful financial situation.

Finally, regular monitoring of your credit score is also very vital.  You can request credit score records quarterly for you to see how you are going along with your credit improvement strategies.  By doing this, you will be aware of your credit scores and will make you meticulous in doing future transactions.

You may think that fixing credit scores is impossible.  Keep in mind that you need to keep everything in balance, like your expenses, in order to manipulate your credits and credit scores.



Fred

Bubbles asked:


My husband’s credit is a mess- I have managed to pay off all his bills. I have a large credit card we are settling and then a small medical bill- then what? How can I improve his credit score? I don’t really want him to have another credit card- he has one that’s connect to mine because he bad about adding things up…. like he keeps charging until he maxes out the card. Granted- he is charging building supplies to our new house- but he can’t budget. So he is a lot more careful with me drilling him ever week about what is on the card- he now tells me before each charge and I tell him the balance for the week. I have to tell him- no wait until next month or next pay check for that purchase.

How else can I get his credit up? House is in my name- cars are paid off……
I went through an agency to get them to lower the amount and we are paying it in one lump sum.
I use my credit cards to build up rewards- last year I paid $0 on Christmas gifts because I earned over $700 in gift cards from discover. I have 0 balance every month and do not carry over- I pay it once a week.
Don’t tell me to use cash- I love my discover card.
My credit is fine- Just HIS credit.

Travis

Dr. Rockso asked:


I think my credit score is funked up. I used to own a house and I missed a payment or two when I was laid off from my job. I sold it and I paid off all my credit cards. I recently applied for a credit card and was denied.

I need to fix my credit score. Any suggetions?
I dont have any bills because I PAID OFF ALL MY CREDIT CARDS. I cant even get credit to pay down the bills early.

Johnny

Ryan asked:


There are 5 main things that affect your credit score. Some weigh more than others, so if you are working on improving your credit score, you want to first focus on the areas that will have the biggest impact.

These five things, in order of importance, are:

1. Your Payment History (35% of your score)

2. How Much Credit You’re Using (30% of your score)

3. How Long You’ve Had Credit (15% of your score)

4. How Often Your Credit is Pulled (10% of your score)

5. The Types of Credit You Have (10% of your score)

The percentages above are how the factors weigh on the average person. The exact balance may vary a little from person to person, but this is a pretty accurate description.

So, from looking at the above, the first thing you want to concentrate on when fixing your credit score is to make sure you have a good payment history. How do you do that? Simply pay your bills on time. In fact, if you have a low credit score, here’s a quick fix. Open a new secured credit card, use it to purchase just small, inexpensive items, and pay your bills in full each month, your credit score will improve in about 90 days.

Probably the most overlooked way to immediately improve your credit score is the “how much credit you’re using” factor. By simply keeping your available credit to outstanding debt ration low (below 25% is a good place to be), some people can almost instantly increase your credit score.



Nicholas