Bouncing Back from Bad Credit

A bad credit rating can have multiple aspects of your life if you are not careful. While most people are well aware that a bad credit score can make it impossible to secure a loan, there is also a litany of other negatives associated with a dismal credit report. For example, even if you are able to secure a loan from a financial institution, if you have bad credit, you will likely be forced to pay a much higher interest rate. In some cases you may also be hit with fees because lenders consider you a risk. In addition to … Continue reading →

Paying For Identity Theft Protection

As stories of identity theft rise so does our concern over how to protect ourselves. Many people purchase identity theft protection services, but are they worth it? Not really when you think of what they don’t cover. For up to $189 per year you will not be protected against: *someone fraudulently filing tax returns in your name *account takeovers *misuse of credit or debit cards *prior instances of identity theft *the establishment of personal identity in your name That leaves a lot of things unprotected but even worse than that, most of the “services” they provide consumers can get for … Continue reading →

Do You Know How to Read Your Credit Report?

Since I realized that I have been allowing myself to keep the big picture of my finances obscured by a sort of fog, I have been taking steps in the direction of learning about what my finances actually look like. Today, I thought that I would just go online and take a look at my credit reports to see what was in them. The reports are written in English, but after looking at them for about ten minutes I realized that I have to educate myself about how to read a credit report before I can actually make sense out … Continue reading →

Things That Could Affect Your Credit Score

Keeping your credit score in good shape is as easy as carrying as little debt as you can and paying your bills on time, right? While most of the time those two simple rules – simple to understand but not always simple to execute – will keep your score at its best, there are some things that you may not be aware of that could be making your credit score lower than it could be. There are things that most people know will affect their credit score such as applying for loans and credit cards, but there are other things … Continue reading →

Sacrificial Credit

It’s rare that a husband and wife will have similar credit scores. They each began their credit history as singles, long before they joined their lives together, and their numbers will sometimes be vastly different. Sometimes the man’s score will be much higher than the wife’s, and other times, it will be vice versa. I’ll use myself and my husband as an example, where mine has always been higher than his. When we were first married, I was at 730, and he was at 650. He’d had a former roommate who ran up the phone bill (in my husband’s name) … Continue reading →

Identity Theft Protection

Do you worry about identity theft? It crosses my mind every time I have to share my social security number or see a commercial for LifeLock. Those LifeLock commercials are compelling. The company has a great ad company writing its spots. The ads tug at just the right emotional centers to get watchers or listeners to want to buy the service. I have always loved participating in online message boards. They are wonderful places to talk to all sorts of people you would never get a chance to talk to otherwise. You can learn new things and share what you … Continue reading →

Credit Reports in Job Hunting

When I was younger and learning about handling my own finances, I didn’t do a great job of it. My parents taught me what I needed to know and set a good example for me. I still needed to figure it out for myself and make mistakes along the way. Those mistakes resulted in a poor credit report. Poor credit affected more than just my buying power. I had a very difficult time getting car insurance for one. Thankfully, my poor credit report did not stop my working at a large California bank for nearly four years. However, it could … Continue reading →

Better Access to Credit Score

A new year has begun. Now is the perfect time to look at your credit report to make sure the information reported on it is correct. You can get a free copy of your report from any agency responsible for the decision to deny credit. A better option is to go to annualcreditreport.com. At annualcreditreport.com you can order a credit report from each reporting agency for free each year. There are many catchy commercials on TV advertising free credit reports. While the commercials are clever, the credit reports aren’t exactly free. You will get a free report, but if you … Continue reading →

Protect Your Family By Knowing Your Credit Score

What is your credit score? Has it changed recently? Is your credit score considered to be low, or is it nice and high? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you might be at risk for identity theft. One great way to protect your family from identity theft is to be extremely careful about whom you share personal information with. But, even the most careful person can become a victim of identity theft. The best way to protect your family from identity theft is by being keenly aware of your credit score, and to know what, exactly, is … Continue reading →

Free Credit Reports

I love the old commercials for freecreditreport.com. I love the “band” singing and I love the songs they sing. I don’t enjoy the new “band” or the new songs. Before I get into the point of the blog, I’ll let you in on a little tidbit. While the adorable Eric Violette fronts the band, he’s lip syncing to the lyrics, voice, and vision of adman Dave Mulhefeld. Mulhefeld is also responsible for cursing our televisions with the Geico gecko and cavemen. While the site is called freecreditreport.com the reports are not entirely free. There are two options available on the … Continue reading →