Three Ways To Raise Your Credit Score

Everyone always ask me what they can do to raise their credit score. Here are three ways to raise your credit score and keep it high.

First, keep credit card and other revolving balances low compared to your limits. So, the two ways to make this happen is to pay off debt and raise your limits. This can be accomplished by calling your credit card companies and ask them to raise you limits. Also, if you have a lot of balances on a lot of cards, you can do a debt consolidation that will transfer your debt to installment and in most cases instantly raise you score.

Second, do not close credit cards. As you pay off your credit cards, leave them open. This is because the older the cards you have, the higher the credit score.

Lastly, pay your loans and credit cards on time. I cannot stress how important this is to keeping a high credit score. This is the key to building good credit over the long run.

How to Increase Your Credit Awareness

This is an article I wrote and published on ezinearticles.com. I thought I would post it here because it has some good content on credit.

Consumers need to become more credit aware now that lending institutions have stricter approval criteria. One way to do this is to check your credit report and score periodically. There are many resources available to check your credit report and score. Some are free and some are "free". Some "free" sites give you a free trial, but if you do not cancel the service, you will be charged a monthly fee. I am going to tell you about several free sources to help you become knowledgeable about your credit.

Your first stop should be to website called www.annualcreditreport.com. This website was created by the three credit bureaus - Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian - as a way for consumers to request one free credit report per year. For an additional fee, you may purchase add-ons like credit score and credit analysis. I recommend using the following tactic. There are three credit bureaus. The information found in each report is often times very similar. Instead of requesting all three at the same time, you should request one every 4 months. That way you are getting a look at your credit report more regularly then once a year.

Your next stop should be to www.creditkarma.com. This website allows consumers to get their Experian credit score for free. You can recheck your score as often as you like. I use this website myself and find it user friendly and accurate. It also rates different areas on your report so you can see how you stack up against other consumers. The way this website makes money is from banks and credit card companies that pay them to display products that they feel you would purchase.

For more in depth information on credit and to learn more about actively monitoring your credit, I recommend equifax.com This website offers a credit monitoring service for a small monthly fee. This will alert you to changes on your credit report, new accounts, and a host of activities. Also, it includes real-time credit scores. There are also forums where you can post questions about credit and find help in correcting credit discrepancies, finding loans, and much more.

By getting more information about your credit, you can increase your awareness and become a credit savvy consumer. As you monitor your credit and improve it over time, you will notice many benefits including lower interest rates on loans, better credit card offers, and much more.

Christopher Byrd has years of banking and credit union experience. He has a degree in Marketing specializing in Sales Management from the University of West Florida. He is a recognized credit expert and assists consumers in building better financial habits and improving their credit score.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6413680

Equifax Credit Watch Service

Equifax offers an excellent credit monitoring service. There are several options to choose from depending on the level of protection you are looking for. Check out this link to see if there is an option that will meet your needs.

Do Not Get Comfortable With Credit Card Debt

For many Americans, credit card debt is a big burden on their financial freedom. Yet they can't seem to give them up. This is partially due to the "must have it now" mentality. You see that new big screen TV and have the credit card in your pocket. Even better, the store will give you a sweet deal if you get their store credit card at 29.99% interest. Take two seconds to breath and then remember that you will save money in the long run if you put money aside and pay cash (debit or check). By doing so, you will save yourself from paying interest. Keep this in mind next time you see something you MUST have.

So You Have Spent All Your Money on Christmas Presents, Now What...

Many Americans woke up Friday morning before the sun was up, got in line at a retailer, and when the doors flew open grabbed everything they wanted and paid for it with money they did not have. I personally know people who have financial troubles but somehow found $500 or $1k to buy Christmas gifts. If you have to take out debt to buy Christmas presents, what is the point? You are creating a bigger hole for you to big yourself out of and this stuff is not even for you! You are just going to give it away! If this is you, WAKE UP! You are under no obligation to buy gifts for anyone. If a friend or family member gives you a hard time about you not giving them a gift, then they are not truly a friend OR family to you. If someone really cares about you, they will not let you do something so detrimental to your well-being.

Remember, spend only what you have, not what you want to spend. If you have any debt, give yourself the greatest Christmas present of all and pay down you debt.

Seven Questions You Need to Ask Your Loan Officer

Most consumers who get loans rarely ask any questions. They walk in, sign the documents and start making payments. There are things that consumers need to know in order to understand what exactly they are signing. A great number of consumers with loans cannot tell you what their interest rate is or the term of the loan. This is an unfortunate situation that costs many consumers thousands of dollars each year. Here are seven questions that every consumer needs to ask about their loan before signing the dotted line.

What is the interest rate?

Some consumers do not care what the interest rate is as long as they like the monthly payment amount. This is a common mistake made by many consumers each day. Often times, you can get a shorter term and lower interest rate if you are willing to pay a little bit more each month. It may slightly raise your monthly payment, but you could be saving yourself some serious money.

Are there any discounts I can receive on the interest rate?

In this fast pace world, loan officers sometimes forget to apply available discounts to loans. Many financial institutions offer discounts on the interest rate if you have other relationships with them like a checking or savings account, direct deposit, or sign up for automatic payments.

Does this include any add-ons or additional products?

There could be add-ons including extended warranties that will cover the vehicle mechanically for a set period or GAP protection which covers the difference between your loan balance and what the insurance company pays you in a total loss situation. These add-ons sometimes can be beneficial, but you should weigh the costs with the benefits. Just make sure to find out how much each one costs before agreeing to it.

If I pay more than the minimum payment each month, does it go towards principal?

It is good to know that if you want to pay extra each month that it goes towards principle and not against your next payment due. Some lending institutions have default settings that will only reduce your next payment due instead of having the difference automatically apply to principal. This is because as you pay down the principal, you are saving interest. As you save interest, they make less money. So make sure to ask the bank this important question. If the extra cash you throw in each month does not reduce your principal, you should probably put that extra cash towards your credit cards or to loans that any additional payments actually reduce your principal.

Is there any pre-payment penalty?

Sometimes deals can seem too good to be true. This is the case with pre-payment penalties. Pre-payment penalties are fees imposed by the lender if the consumer pays off a loan before a certain time has been reached. This is in place to ensure that lending institutions that have costs associated with making loans get some type of payback on that investment. These kind of fees are especially common if the lender covers your closing costs or in another words if you have a zero-closing-cost loan. Prepayment penalties are good for lenders, but bad for unwitting consumers who try to pay off loans early. If you are faced with getting a loan with a pre-payment penalty, make sure to ask when the provision expires and to explore all other options before signing.

What options do I have if I cannot make one of my payments by the end of the grace period?

It is always good to know how financial institutions handle this situation. The grace period is the period starting when your payment is due and ends the last day you can make a payment without a late fee. Some institutions have generous grace periods and even options on skipping payments if you had some unexpected bills come up. There usually is a small fee, but it beats being late. Be sure to know all the options you have and who to talk to if the need arises.

Do you report information to the credit bureaus?

For credit conscious consumers, it is important to know that your payment history will be reported to all three credit bureaus. It is common for some loan products to skip the whole credit reporting process. It would be a shame to make years of on time payments and not have anything to show for it. If it is not being reported, it never really happened.

Keep these seven things in mind when you go to close on your loan. Asking the right questions will save you some serious money!

Quick Tip on Paying Down Credit Card Debt

Paying just the minimum payments on all your credit cards means that it will take you years to pay off the balance....5, 10, sometimes 20 years! If you look at your monthly credit card statements, it will tell you how long it will take to pay off the debt just making minimum payments. For those of you trying to pay down your credit card debt, here are some quick helpful tips to help you pay them off as quickly as possible.

First, you need to write down your balances on each card along with the interest rate being charged on each debt. This will allow you to come up with a plan of attack to pay your credit cards off quicker.

Now, instead of paying cards randomly, you need to start paying just the minimum payments on your lowest interest rate debt and apply the most money you can to the debt with the highest interest rate. This will help you tackle your debt faster because you are paying down the most expensive debt first.

After you pay that debt off, move to the next highest debt and repeat until your debt is paid off completely.

The Three Credit Bureaus

When it comes to personal credit in the United States, there are three companies that make up the credit reporting bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. These three companies issue scores based on your credit information. Now, I will not go into the details on each company, but your score with each company will be different. This has to do with the differences in the information about you that is reported to each bureau.

I recommend obtaining a complete copy of your credit report from all three bureaus once a year. The best place to go is www.annualcreditreport.com which was established by the credit reporting companies in accordance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act or FACT Act. Here is a tip! Since the information reported to each credit bureau is similar, request one free report every four months. That way you are spreading it out over the year and more likely to catch any discrepancies quicker.

Check out my Credit Score Power eTips which is a list of specific actions I have used to help hundreds of people increase their credit score immediately and for the long term!