You've probably heard that bad credit can ruin your life, and this is totally true. Having credit that is less than stellar is a great way to set yourself up for financial failure in the future. Bad credit can cost you money, and it can even cost you a job. If you haven't thought about changing your credit score, here are three ways that less than great credit can hurt you. All of these are reasons to pay attention to your score so that you can...more
Credit bureaus are companies that can run a surprisingly large part of your life. They make up your credit score, which can affect your ability to get a job, a mortgage, or a car loan. These companies have all sorts of information on you. They know where you've lived since you've opened your first piece of credit, and they know your social security number. They have information on all the credit you've ever had as well as things like bankruptcies...more
Credit card debt is known by most people as one form of bad debt. It's really the type of debt that no one should have but in an emergency. A credit card is something that gets a very high interest rate, which is one reason to avoid this type of debt. Unlike a car loan, too, you aren't steadily paying off a credit card. Instead, you can run up more and more debt until you reach your maximum limit. Then, you can just pay it down and start all over again.Besides this, credit cards normally have very high payments. This is because they have ridiculously high interest rates. Even if your payments are high, though, making minimum payments can often land you in debt for literally years to come. Even if your original debt isn't that large, credit card interest rates can cause your payments to drag on for months and months on end. Eventually, you can even end up paying twice as much as you originally put on your credit card all because of compounding interest!Another reason to avoid credit card debt, though, is that it can also cause your credit score to suffer seriously. Because this is high risk debt, the credit reporting bureaus mark it very unfavorably on your report. Having a load of...more
This is why the most effective way to quickly raise your credit score is to pay off credit card debt. You can do this by simply paying as much over the minimum payment as possible. If you simply focus your financial efforts on paying off this particular debt, you'll eventually find that it's not too difficult. It will take discipline. You might...more
Your credit history is one of those things about you that is important even though it isn't right on the surface. It's not like your blue eyes or dark hair that affect your looks, and it's not even like your laugh or conversation skills that are obvious after a few meetings with you. Your credit history is a little bit more like your childhood...more
Did you know that bad credit really can ruin your life? An average credit score is bad enough, but a score below average an really wreak havoc on many areas of your life. This is especially true in today's market where banks are more hesitant to write subprime loans. Because of all the loan defaults that have been happening throughout the past months, a bad credit score can really kill your prospects.For one thing, less than average score can keep you from getting loans you need for whatever you need to buy. This is most pronounced in the housing market. As foreclosures skyrocket and banks lose money on housing that homeowner's can't pay for, higher and higher credit scores are necessary to get a mortgage. This phenomenon is also happening when it comes to cars, personal loans, lines of credit, and even school loans. If you don't have good credit, you're simply not going to get the money you need.Also, though, even if you do get the loans you need, you might end up paying much more for them than you need to do. Mortgage rates are at a historic low for those who have the credit score to take advantage of the market, but those with poor scores will find that they are paying too much...more
The three major credit reporting bureaus all use a similar formula based on the Fair Isaacs formula, a proprietary mathematical algorithm that spits out your credit score number based on a bunch of information about you. The math part isn't really...more
Bad credit can really ruin your life. It can cause you to be unable to get a home loan or a car loan. It can even keep you from getting the job of your dreams, since more and more employers are checking credit reports before deciding who to hire. You...more
If you know anything about your credit, you probably know that you have three credit cards. This is mainly because credit reporting is an independent, money-making business, and there are three credit bureaus out there that will report your credit...more
If you've recently ordered copies of your credit reports, you may have noticed some funny things. You have three different credit scores, for one thing. There is one score for each of the three major credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian, and...more
Do you have any idea how much a good credit score can impact your life? It can open up job opportunities, make getting a cell phone contract or a new apartment a piece of cake, and even reduce your monthly payments on a car loan or mortgage. If you...more
Standard loan schemes gives you cash by performing a set of chaotic formalities. But quick loans for people with bad credit are different from normal loan plans. They supply you funds without any type of jarring official procedure and paper work. No...more