posted by on Jan 6

If you are trying to do the smart thing and take a look at your recent credit report, then you may be wandering what in the world you are looking at.  Understanding your credit score can be a confusing chore and may take a while for you to read.  There are a lot of numbers and confusing literature that can confuse you if you let it. 

Understanding the Score You Receive  

A credit score is a mathematical system that consists of numerous numbers that are used to estimate your credit risk.  The most commonly used form is the FICO score.  This score is used to evaluate your worthiness for credit.  You will receive a certain amount of points based on the information contained in your credit report.  The highest score that you can receive is an 850 and the lowest is a 300.  A score of 650 or higher means that your credit is good, however there is room for improvement. 

Do Your Know Your Score?

A good place for your credit score to be is around 700.  With that score you will be extended any credit with a good rate of interest, if you were looking for a debt consolidation loan for example.  If you can work hard to get our score up to that level and try to keep it there you will put yourself in a good financial situation because you will save a ton of money in interest charges on all credit extended to you.  It is important to understand what the numbers on your credit report are before you can work to improve and control them.

How to You Get Your Credit Information? 

Everyone can obtain a copy of their credit report by simply requesting it from one or all of the three major agencies reporting credit.  Because each agency has different information on you the scores they report will not be exactly the same.

Getting Help With Your Credit Score

If your score is lower than you want it to be, you can get some help with advice about how to improve the score and keep it in good standing.  You can look online for free advice or for books and tapes on credit.  These tapes can give you good ideas for ways to improve your credit score and how to maintain a good score.  There is also credit card counseling services that you can obtain in order to get good advice for fixing your credit score yourself. 

Review Your Report on a Regular Basis 

Reviewing your credit annually is very important in your efforts to keep your credit rating as high as possible.  If there are any errors on your report you will be able to catch them quickly and notify your creditor of needed changes.

posted by on Jan 3

For many people, filing bankruptcy is one of the toughest decisions they face. Considering the stigma often attached to a person who has gone through the process, many will struggle for years attempting to avoid the process. However, those who choose to go through the court for debt relief of find that after bankruptcy bad credit personal loan access has not been lost.

Leaders who issue bad credit personal loans often find individuals who have filed for bankruptcy are more dedicated in paying their loan payments. One reason for this may be that they do not have the option of filing for bankruptcy for several years.

Following bankruptcy bad credit personal loan rates are typically at the high end of the interest rate spectrum and they are also accompanied by initial charges that are considerably higher than a personal loan for someone with an unblemished credit rating. Personal loans with no collateral are dischargeable under even the new bankruptcy laws, cannot be defaulted upon as the lender granting a post-bankruptcy bad credit personal loan has the court on their side in obtaining repayment.

Following a bankruptcy discharge a person cannot file for protection for another seven years and the lender can then use the courts to receive an order of default. With this order in hand, the lender can use wage garnishment to recover the amount loaned. After bankruptcy bad credit personal loan granters have a better chance of recovering the money than those granted before bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy More Common Today

Although people who file bankruptcy still experience the stigma of a negative credit history for many years to come, the increase in the number of people filing for bankruptcy has opened up other options. With this increase in bankruptcy filings, comes an increase in leaders willing to issue out bad credit personal loans.

Even the changes in the new bankruptcy laws have not slowed down the number of bankruptcy filings. The added knowledge that those in debt can still obtain loans after filing bankruptcy makes the option of filing a little easier for some.

Bad credit personal loans may seem like an attractive option for those seeking some debt relief post-bankruptcy. However, these types of loans are usually at the top of the states allowable interest rate and often people who take out these loans find themselves back in the in same boat they were prior to their bankruptcy filing. They may be just as in debt or more so than they were before their bankruptcy discharge.

posted by on Dec 31

When it comes to wanting to learn how to start a credit repair service you have to be prepared that there is going to be a lot of information to learn. Not only are there the basics of credit repair there are going to be laws and guidelines that are different from state to state.

Once you realize how much knowledge you need to set up a credit repair service that will actually help people you might feel a bit overwhelmed.  It can be a daunting task, but not an impossible one.

Learning how to start a credit repair service may be easier if you have some experience with that kind of work. Typically, those who have worked in the industry, even under someone else’s company, will have a better understanding of how to start a credit repair service.

If you do not have any experience in the area it might be a good idea to try to get a job that will give you the experience you need.  That way you will be getting the education you need to start your own company while getting paid.

Where to Learn More

When you start your business you want it to benefit you and your customers.  That means you have to really know what you are doing.  There are tons of books that have been published that explain how to go about credit repair or that explain the laws and regulations that govern this type of work.  You should try to read everything you can get your hands own so that you will be sure you really know what you are doing.  This is going to be quite an undertaking.  But it will equal business success in the end.

Credit repair service is very specific and you need special knowledge of the trade.  You also need a good business sense which means a few business classes would be very helpful.  There are some factors of starting a business that are the same no matter what type of business you are in.  You need to know those basics.

In order to make sure that your business becomes a success you must make sure that you do everything possible to have everything in line and ready to go. In the end, all of your studying and hard work will pay off and you will see your business grow.

posted by on Dec 31

Having poor credit can certainly impede you the next time you want to purchase something that you have set your heart upon, though lack of proper credit standing will mean having to forego such things in life. Yes, bad credit can not only mean that you dont get what you want, but you may even spend sleepless nights worrying about how to fix the problem, though there are many people that will proffer you advice as to how to go about bad credit repair; even so, the best advice would certainly be to do it yourself.

Several Steps to Take to Repair Your Bad Credit

There are several steps to take in fixing bad credit- the first of which is to take the simple step of requesting a copy of your credit report from the credit bureau. Once you have this, take a few moments to review it, and make note of any potential errors or questionable entries.

The next step in a do it yourself fixing bad credit process is to visit the website of the Federal Trade Commission and know about what consumer rights protect you and how you can use them to your advantage.

Once you are aware of your rights, you will find that you can get false and incomplete transactions removed from your credit report. This is a huge step in repairing your credit. Removing such transactions must be done by credit agencies, which they must do to keep from paying penalties.

Once this step is complete, you should write a letter to the credit reporting agencies, disputing what you’ve found to be wrong with your report. After taking this step, be sure to continuously monitor the progress of your complaint with the agency.

Sometimes, it may take a month before the errors are verified by the creditors, and if you are right, then the errors will need to be rectified, and once the credit agency acknowledges that you own disputed claims, you can be sure that the simple steps you have taken for bad credit repair will have resulted in the error being removed from your credit report and your credit standing will then have improved.

With persistence and hard work, repairing your own less-than-perfect credit report is doable. Following proper and sound advice on how to do so, can lead to your credit scores improving within a short time, and the only cost to you is the time and effort it took to contact the credit reporting agencies.

posted by on Dec 29

debt consolidation
monkeemyspace asked:


I have several personal loans out. My monthly payments add up to about 800 a month, i only make a 1000. I’m not behind on payments but i cant keep up much longer. I cant seem to get any local banks to even listen to me. They also ping my credit report every single time i tried to get a loan so now i have even more negativity on my report. I can afford 300 a month or less to pay on a consolidation loan. Anyone know a loan company or debt consolidation company that will actually listen to me and not just look at my credit score?
I make 200 a week, thats good pay for my area. I dont have a single credit card. Never have.

posted by on Dec 26

debt consolidation
Naterz asked:


Creditor = Capital One
Debt Consolidation Worksheet
Balance Transfer Fee = $0; Interest 7.9%

•First National Credit Card
Account number = NOT 4 U TO KNO
Amount = $150.00; Payment = Remaining Amount (4/18/08); New Balance =$0
First National Credit Card
PO Box 5097
Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5097

•Direct Rewards Platinum
Account number = NOT 4 U TO KNO
Amount = $43.54; Payment =$79.56; New Balance = $0
Payment Center
PO Box 17313
Baltimore, MD 21297-1313

•When account is reported on May’s credit reports, my available credit will be roughly, excluding no pending charges will be roughly 74%. My debt on this card is roughly 25% to the available credit limit.
Capital One Credit Limit = $750.00
Available Credit = $556.46
Balance = $193.54

My credit score now is a 687….
Will there be an increase doing this?
The only negative factors on my credit report is 27 inquiries last year =/………Yea, I needed credit badly….
And short payments history
Im only 20 tho

posted by on Dec 22

Debt Management
duritzgirl4 asked:


Here is the scenario:

A couple wants to buy a house. They do not have 5% to put down (expensive housing market). His credit is poor (in the 500’s) but he makes well-above average income and his only debt is his vehicle (bad money management in the past). Her credit is good, but her income is just average and she still has a good amount of debt (college loans, credit cards, vehicle).

When applying for a mortgage, would it be better to use the combined income ($100K+ per year) even though it would pull his low credit score, or is the credit score so important that they should try to just get the mortgage on her alone, even though she has a high debt to income ratio?

Will most companies agree to run both scenarios to see what the better deal is?

posted by on Dec 18

debt consolidation
Melanie B. asked:


I have about $6,500 worth of debt, my income after taxes is about 21,000 a year. Most of my creditors have closed my accounts (all of my credit is maxed out). I recently got my FICO score and it is 529 (very, very poor). I have called some companies that specalize in debt consolidation and I have been told that I do not have “enough debt”. I talked to a professional about bankruptcy and was advised against filing because I do not have “enough debt”. I am a renter, and do not have any assets that could be held for collateral. With my credit score being the way it is, and closed accounts on my credit record… what are my options?

posted by on Dec 15

Debt Management
K.C. asked:


I am enrolled in a debt management plan and have about a year to go ~ I check my credit score and it’s at 586 (OUCH but it was expected) The problem here is that I ran into some financially difficult years ago and paying for it big time I had late payments (never more than 30 days) anyway I was looking into a secured credit card and wanted opinions on if I should get one now while in the program or wait until I’m finished ~ I want to get back to rebuilding my credit which is why I was looking into the secured credit card option.

Also
How long does it take for a credit score to go up after paying a credit card in full

posted by on Dec 14

Debt Management
AmberC727 asked:


This question is for homeowners who rent their houses. My husband and I are applying to rent a house. Our credit is not perfect, but we have taken a financial class and live on a strict budget now. We have not used credit cards in over 2 years. We are also working with a debt management company to pay our debt off responsibly. Also, my husband has an eviction on his history, thanks to his cousin who was supposed to turn in an application and have his name put on the lease and take over paying the rent when we moved two years ago. He did not, and skipped town, and we found out about the eviction a month later. We’ve written up a letter explaining all of this in detail, we have excellent rental history where we’ve been living for the past 2 years, and my husband has 2 full time jobs. We’ve also got about 6 personal references as well. Would you look past the credit score and the word “eviction” and rent to us? Any advice to improve our chances? Thank you!
I realize that my husband made a huge mistake by not making absolutely certain that his cousin had turned in the application and that his name was on the lease. I wish every day that we could go back and do things differently. That eviction was not for my husband’s refusal to pay the rent, it was a special circumstance. For all those with a “no eviction” rule…do you not look at the circumstances? We have YEARS of positive rental history with that one blip.