Showing posts with label Credit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Credit. Show all posts

Jun 13, 2010

Credit Repair After Bankruptcy

Credit repair after bankruptcy isn't really the right wording for what it is you're really doing, you're not really going to be fixing things specially, you're rebuilding. All of the work you've already done in court was the fixing part of your financial problems, you made the debts go away. Now, you have a fresh start with your finances, well, sort of.

Sadly, you will be looked down on for having these past problems, you can't escape your debt completely. But what you can do is build up a new history to show people when you go to apply for anything where your finances are looked at, and this is how you will work on credit repair after bankruptcy.

You want to start on this immediately after you've finished filing if possible. The first thing you need to do is save up a few hundred dollars in an account.

Then, about a month after filing, you want to check your credit report for errors. This is key to everything else really, and something most people skip over. Companies will often fail to mark down your accounts as 'included in bankruptcy', they'll just leave them marked as 'overdue' or still open. You want to keep calling and talking to managers until someone changes this for you. If you don't, it will look like you have both this discharge in your past, and more debts. This will follow you for years, so do take care of it!

Then you want to use that money you saved and get a secured credit card at the bank. In twelve to eighteen months this card should switch over to an unsecured card if you've made your payments on time every month.

After six months to a year you'll want to look into getting a small secured loan, and make the payments on time each month. Your financial history is made up of both card and loan payments, so having a mix of these will help keep all your bases covered.

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to make all of your payments on time each month, this is the key ingredient for any plans for credit repair after bankruptcy.

Get Your Fico Score Online

In the past few years, the credit score has become one of the most important elements for determining a person's financial stability. What does this actually mean? Well, it means that the credit score is always taken into consideration when applying for a new loan, getting a car or refinancing the existing mortgage on your home. The credit score is not however something you should be afraid of but something that you should rather try to improve.

The first step is to get your credit report. How can you do that? Easy. You go online and search for a specialized resource, getting your credit report from them. Do not delay taking such actions as you might find yourself in the situation where the interest rates on your credit card have increased because of the credit score, or your application for a job has been turned down because of such factors. If you get your Fico score online, then you know from the start the existing problems and you have all the time in the world to search for solutions to solve them.

By reading online about the credit report and the importance of the credit score, you will discover that there are hundreds of reasons why you should consider improving the latter. The credit report can contain mistakes and how else would you know about them, unless you check them out yourself? Things are basically like that. If you decide to get your Fico score online, then you can find out from the start the things that have an impact on that score. The list might include but is not limited to the following items: the history of your payments, the balance, the history of the credit, the different types of credit you have taken or the existence of any new credit cards, that may have a negative impact on your balance as well.


Not knowing what your credit report contains is a big mistake. Even if you know all the actions you have taken and the financial decisions made in the past few months, that does not mean that there is not any room for mistakes. You can get your credit report quite easily from the Internet and take advantage of the specialized services provided by companies with experience in the field. When you get your Fico score online, you find out how many errors have been made, if the score has been properly calculated and other things like that.

For the best possible result, you should get your credit report from all credit reporting bureaus, meaning Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The credit report is sent to your home and it certainly contains all the information that you need to find out. If there are any mistakes that have been made, then you will definitely spot them. If there are any calculations that do not fit, once again, you have the opportunity to see them. This is why it is so important to get your Fico score online and a credit report, learning about ways of improvements and error checking.

Jun 12, 2010

Understanding Your Credit Report Score

Understanding your credit report score can sometimes be like trying to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Until recently, the score itself and the methods for calculating it were a complete secret.

While the exact method of how your credit score is figured is still a secret, as it is proprietary information belonging to its creator, the Fair Issac Corporation, the score and the variables that are used in calculating it have been made available to consumers.

There are five factors that go into calculating your credit score. Knowing what they are can help you to understand your score and how you can improve it. Each of them account for a percentage of your score. Obviously, those variables weighted with higher percentages will have a greater effect.

Payment History

Your payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score. This means that any late payments will cause your score to go down, and always paying on time will have a positive effect. It is also time sensitive; in other words, a couple of late payments that happened a year ago won't have much of an effect on your score, while being current on all of your payments today will have a large effect.

Amount of Outstanding Debt

The amount of debt that you carry accounts for thirty percent of your score. Generally, the greater your debt burden the more it will negatively impact your score. However, it is not so simple as that. Where it gets complicated is that it isn't so much about your total debt, as much as it is about how many of your credit lines are at or near their maximums. To help with this portion of your score, keep your credit card balances at no greater than 25% of their maximums.

Age of Your Accounts

How long you've had your credit accounts makes up fifteen percent of your score. For this reason, you should never close your oldest credit account. The reasoning behind looking at the age of your accounts is that the longer your history with a particular creditor or group of creditors is, the more accurately how you've handled those accounts predicts your future behavior.

New Credit

New credit accounts for ten percent of your score. This has to do with the number of new accounts you have and the number of inquiries about obtaining credit you generate. When you open a new line of credit or when you generate an inquiry for your credit report as part of a credit application, it will negatively affect your score for a short period of time. This is because the way they view things, anyone who opens up more lines of credit or applies for more credit is at risk for acquiring too much debt.

Over time, and so long as you do not open up too many credit accounts, your new credit accounts will become established accounts, and will raise your score in the long run.

Types of Credit

The types of credit you have account for the final ten percent of your score. To positively influence this area, you need to have several different types of credit on your report. Types of credit include, credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages.

Ideally, you want to have at least one big ticket item on your credit report, such as a mortgage or a car loan, and no more than two or three credit cards.

As you can see, quite a few variables go into calculating your credit score and for the most part, you have some influence over all of them. However, the biggest factor that underlies all of the others is time.

Jun 7, 2010

How To Start Reducing Debt

Many Americans still have too much credit card debt. They also are not sure how to begin reducing that debt. Many Financial Advisors will give you suggestions on how to reduce that debt but have you failed each time you try to follow that advice. Here are some tips that you can try:

* First determine your disposable income '“ multiply your take home pay by the number of pay periods in one year. Then divide that number by 12. This will give you your monthly net income.
* Compile your monthly expenses '“ use your fixed expenses to start with. Fixed expenses are bills that are the same each month. Things like your mortgage, car payments, insurance and any other bills that are the same each month. Now list your other monthly expenses. Things like your phone bill, your utility bill, and any other bills that you have each month. Add the total of your fixed bills and your other monthly expenses to come up your total expenses.
* Take your monthly income and subtract your total expenses '“ us will give you your disposable income. Your expenses are more then your income you will need to reduce your expenses. Your disposable income is what you have to spend each month on you or your family. This is also where you can begin to reduce your debt.
* Depending on the amount of your debt should determine how much of your disposable income should be used. The higher your debt the more income you should apply. You want your debt to be less than 30% of your available credit. For example, if you have a credit card that has a credit limit of $1000, you want a balance of $300 or less. Apply that example to each of your credit accounts.
* Don't use all of your disposable income each month to reduce your debt. If you use all of your disposable income on your debt you will soon give up reducing your debt. I suggest using no more than 50% of your disposable income to reduce your debt. This will allow you to still have some fun each month. But if you use all of your disposable income you won't be able to enjoy your life each month. This will adversely affect you and your family and will probably lead to failure in reducing your debt.
* Use a monthly budget '“ by setting up a budget you can control your finances. By using a budget you can also determine any expenses that you may not have listed in your expenses. If you were accurate in your expenses and you have an accurate disposable income figure, then you can also do another trick. Take your disposable monthly income and multiply by 12. This will give you your disposable income for the year. If you apply 50% of your disposable income to your debt then divide your disposable yearly income by 2. Then take that number and divide by 365 to get your daily disposable income. This will tell you each day what you can spend on whatever you want. If that amount scares you because you spend more than that each day then you know why you have large credit card debt.

No one wants to reduce what they spend it each day on themselves or their family but you must know that carrying credit card debt is detrimental to the entire family. By reducing your debt you can improve your credit score which could benefit you and your family in the future. Monitoring your credit is critical and should be done at least every six months. That includes your spouse if you are married. By having an accurate credit report and reducing your credit card debt you will see many benefits. Higher credit scores and lower debt will mean better terms on new loans. You can save thousands of dollars by having a good credit score. Start reducing your debt today.

Jun 6, 2010

How Long Does Bad Credit Stay On Your Credit Report?

How long does bad credit stay on my report? Does it go on my "permanent" record? Or does the slate get wiped clean every year or two? In this article we are going to take a quick and insightful look at how long bad credit remains on your report, and the sort of things you can do to lessen the impact before it comes off completely. Care to learn more? Continue reading as we take a closer look below.

The 7 Year Rule (and why it's not as important as they want you to believe)

The truth is, MOST bad credit remains on your report for about 7 years. Some negative entries can last for longer...such as some types of judgements or public record information (such as tax liens) and whether or not they are "renewed" by the holder. But the fact remains that, the vast majority of common credit delinquencies will disappear FOREVER from your report after 84 months from the date of the INITIAL delinquency, as mandated by law. (take THAT collection agencies!)

The good new is this...

After about 24 months, most negative credit begins to abate a bit on it's impact on your actual credit score. (the most important factor these days in getting approved for a loan) After 3 years, many credit grantors will disregard the delinquency altogether. And if you've maintained a positive credit history in the interim time period...most credit grantors or potential lenders are completely comfortable lending to you, even with a spotty past. (especially if that past is at least 3 years or more in the rear view mirror)

Don't let people scare you into believing that credit blemishes will HAUNT you for 7 years

They really won't....and while it does depend a bit on the severity of the item(s) in question, for the most part, a 30 months and a good solid payment history in the meantime is all you need to re-apply, and rebuild, your good credit once and for all!

Jun 5, 2010

Increase Breast Size Without Surgery - Get Bigger Breasts Naturally!

Have you wondered if it is possible to increase breast size without surgery' You can get bigger breasts naturally - without surgery or dangerous hormones. If nature short-changed you in this area, don't despair. Millions of women just like you have enhanced their figures in order to get what mother nature failed to give them. Completely safe, natural and effective. Does this sound exactly like what you have been searching for' Keep reading to learn more about natural breast enhancement.

No doubt you have heard the horror stories of implant surgery on television and in the media. Chemicals and saline in implants have been known to leak in to other areas of the body, causing all kinds of serious health problems. Hormones are dangerous as well; natural herbal ingredients are proven to work, with no unwanted side effects. Consider that many of the foods you eat are made from plants. Skin care products and cosmetics are as well! Natural products containing herbs and vitamins are best for increasing breast size without surgery.

Now that you know you can get bigger breasts naturally, you may wonder just how herbs work to give you the results you want. Here is a quick overview:

Certain herbs are very effective for enhancing breast size, especially when combined properly. Dong quai, blessed thistle and saw palmetto are a few of the herbs used in many effective supplements. Wild yam is used in many as well. The most effective herbal products usually contain 6 to 8 herbal ingredients that work together to create phytoestrogen, which is very much like the natural estrogen produced by a womans body. These phytoestrogens target receptors in the breast tissue, causing growth.


Most women notice results in as little as two months. In six months, you can expect maximum results of 2 or more cup sizes. Herbal supplements allow you to get bigger breasts naturally without risks or side effects. The only change you need to make is to reduce caffein in your diet, which can affect results.

These days, it seems that nearly every woman you see is well endowed. Television, magazines, the internet, movies - you hardly ever see a flat-chested woman. Why' Most of them had implant surgery, and it's usually obvious. Would you love full, natural looking breasts' You CAN increase breast size without dangerous or risky surgery, and the results will amaze you. Learn the secrets to becoming fabulously feminine with curves exactly where you want them below!