How to Improving Your Credit After Bankruptcy

Originally posted 2010-01-13 05:00:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

I have several readers that wanted more information on how to bounce back from bankruptcy. Well, here is that information. Enjoy.

It is important to remember that not all bankruptcies occur due to overspending some occur due to illness or unforeseen job loss.

Unfortunately, the individuals who more often than not that are filing bankruptcy are single parents. It is very easy for the expenses of raising a family alone on one income can become daunting to say the least.

Another unfortunate dilemma is that by law a bankruptcy remains on your credit for seven to ten years.

There are tips to improve your financial future after a bankruptcy:

• Create and stick to a budget
• Pay your alternative or trade line credit on time. Examples of alternate or trade line credit is:
  1. utility bills
  2. cell phone bills
  3. rent

• Check your credit once a year. It is free. Make sure all bills that were under the bankruptcy are reflected as paid in full.
• Get secured credit cards that report to the credit bureaus. Pay more than the minimum each month on these cards and do not spend more than you can afford to pay back by the end of the month.

A School Teacher Learns that Using a Debit Card Can Be Dangerous. Find Out How?

Originally posted 2009-10-16 16:27:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

With credit being more important than ever, how would you feel if the cash that you work so hard for is in danger, too?  How?  When you use your debit card, you are using cash from your bank account.  If that account number is stolen you do not have the same protection as if your credit card account is stolen.

If someone steals your credit card number and you report it stolen, you are only liable for $50 of the unauthorized charges.  However, with a debit you must report the theft in two days of the theft to get the smae $50 limited liability protection.

Reporting the theft within two days of occurs is more difficult with a debit card because you receive the statement once a month and fraud protection is not offered by many bank institution for a checking or saving account.

Another important thing to remember about your debit card purchase is that the protection decreases as the fraud or theft continues.  How?  If you miss the 48 hours deadline in reporting the theft, but you report the theft with 60 days of occurs you are liable for up to $500 of the unauthorized charges.  If report after 60 days, you are responsible for all unauthorized spending.

There is good news, though, if you use your debit card as a credit card where you sign for your purchase you are protected by the same laws as an unauthorized credit card usage.  The key here is that it must be used as a credit card purchase.  It is not a credit card purchase if you enter your pin number.

To protect yourself check your balance daily and balance your checkbook.

Has Your Credit Got You Down? There is Hope.

Today’s post is by Tara Colquitt, and she would like to share with you some tips on improving your credit.

 

“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending” – Carl Bard, theologian

 

Hello, I am Tara Colquitt, The Credit Woman. I am here to help you make a brand new ending.

 

Let’s first agree, credit
affects everything. But death, divorce, health issues and our all time favorite
un/under employment can cause anyone to have credit issues. However, credit
isn’t cancer. You can live with poor credit. It is just more expensive and
usually inconvenient. I am not here to make you feel less than Who You Are. I am
here to help you move from Where You Are. If you are ready. I cannot do this
without your
full cooperation. May I have your cooperation?

 

Great!
Then let’s do the following:

●Check your credit at www.annualcreditreport.com. It’s free. And it shows
the approximate date of removal from the report. Sometimes my advice to people with seriously challenged credit is to wait. They do not have the resources to get out of their situation but that is why you get a “do over” in 7+ years. But that does not mean to do nothing now.

●Make a budget and stick to it. Find your “Why”. Home, Savings, Education,
Retirement?

●Save $20 a week.

You can do this yourself, and some people do. But most don’t and
many don’t do it well. Did you pay the delinquent account without negotiating to have it removed from your credit report? Well, is difficult if not impossible to do anything once you have paid the creditor.
The hammer, your money, has been eliminated. Just as important to removing negative items is to build  credit. No one is going to loan you $100k if you can’t handle $1,000. You need to get a prepaid credit card and/or a secured bank loan. These are great trade-lines to build credit.

 

I am frequently asked how long does it take to improve your credit. Hmmm…how long does it take to lose weight? Well, it’s your effort, right? Breaking those habits. And so many other factors.  Budget and desire to make changes is key. If you do not have the money to repay debt or establish
a secured bank loan, it will take more time. I had a client in February I spoke
to on a Tuesday and by Thursday she did everything I advised her to do and then I had a client that after two years, she and her husband were ready to purchase a home. But they both had plans.

Now, I am also passionate about making myself obsolete. Any young adult with a job has the ability to establish excellent credit and purchase their first home within five years of graduation (high school or college). The concept is simple. Remember that $20, $20/week, $80/month which is approximately $1000 a year.  In 3 years that is $3000 and a starter home can be purchased with an FHA loan. This creates generational wealth. By the way, this concept works for anyone at any age. You must have a plan!

 

So, let me leave you with this offer: If you will not for any reason, but desire to carry out the advice I have just given, I can help you do this.

 

I am Tara Colquitt, The Credit Woman and I am here to help you Begin your New Ending.

Tara Colquitt, The Credit Woman
“Turning Self-Worth Into Net-Worth”
Tara@thecreditwoman.com
TheCreditWoman.com
www.SendOutCards.com/53116
215-350-2483 (c)
267-535-2907 (f)

Related articles

• 5 Tips for Checking Your Credit Report Before Buying a Home (doorfly.com)
• 7 Smart Tips For First-Time Homebuyers (casasugar.com)
• How does credit repair works (wiki.answers.com)

A Real Estate Broker Still Has Credit Lessons of Her Own to Share

Have you set back and determine what having money means or are you always determining what having little money means?Your view or determination may be the difference between living and dying in poverty and living and dying in wealth.

Let’s examine.

An editor of a well known magazine did this analysis of her life in hindsight.I, too, am doing this analysis in hindsight.I see some mistakes, some achievements, and all too often a need for improvement.This editor also saw the same thing, she, of course, maybe looking at this evaluation as valuable lessons as rags to riches.I am, however, looking at them as life changing lessons for the better.
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This editor’s lesson of amassing wealth for yourself involved her grandmother’s plight and a relationship she had will a man that she labeled as “selfish.”My lessons have do with not listening to my inner voice and amassed knowledge of finances until it was too late.

Still both my lessons and this editor’s lessons will make for great warnings and financial victories for you.
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The editor’s grandmother had amassed great wealth with her life long male partners but when he died she was kick out of the home that her and her partner brought because the home and all other accounts was in his name only.Therefore, even though she had amassed wealth because she did not have insight to get joined ownership or at least joint tenancy with the right of survivorship on the home, as a result of this oversight, the editor’s grandmother died in poverty.

The editor’s second wealth lesson was that of a “selfish” lover who taught her the importance of acquire your own wealth.

My lessons were not far from these.My lessons included not having an emergency fund, not having a business nest egg, and not having a little personal savings and the effect of not have the above items.

To make the lessons that the editor and I learn become your personal victories, you must:

• Spend less than you earn
• Value your time; remember time is money.
• Be strategic; create a plan
• Build a retirement nest egg or business nest egg
• Purchase property.Unlike some stock, land, houses, buildings, will never depreciate to zero; it will always be worth something.

I pray that these life lessons that this editor and I learn along our journey can offer insight and improve your financial choices from now on.

 

Your Credit and the Home Equity Line of Credit

If you are like most homeowners you have considered using a home equity line of credit to get out of debt with high interest rate credit cards. There are at rate credit cards. There are at least two schools of thought to consider if you want to get a home equity loan for such a thing.

One thing is that using your home as collateral to get out of debt is risky. Why? If you fail to make the home equity payments you can lose your home. Still yet, the days of your home equity high are gone. Remember, equity is the difference between how much you owe on the mortgage and how much the home is worth. For example, let’s say your home is worth $57,000. In today’s market, it may be worth $65,000. The difference, equity, is $8,000. If you decide to take out this loan remember you now are adding another bill to your already overloaded expenses, so make sure you can handle this before doing it so you will not be facing foreclosure, as a result.

Another option would be to cut up the high interest rate credit card and pay more than the minimum until you get the card paid off. Do not close the account when you are paying it down because that can affect your credit negatively.

How Does Your Banking Choices Affect Your Credit

Despite the fact that banking fees are not part of your credit, those fees do affect your credit. How? Those unexpected fees that happen as a results of:

• A bounce check
• Using a “foreign” ATM (not the ATM for your bank)

Can cause you not be able to pay your other financial obligations. After all, when your check is direct deposited in the bank the fees owed are paid first, then whatever, bills or checks that you write against the account. There are, however, ways to avoid these unnecessary fees and yet a strong grasp of your credit at the same time.

The number one way to get a stronghold on your credit using your banking account is to balance your checking account. Ensure that your write down all your transactions in your check register including any fees that may be associated with the transactions. Next, balance your check book by subtracting the amount of the check, debit card transaction, or ATM transaction from the balance of the account.

Stop using “foreign” ATMS. This alone can save you up to $200 a month depending on the frequency that you withdraw money from the “foreign” ATM. As a matter of a fact, the charges for the use of a “foreign” ATM can be as high as $3.00 per transaction. In addition, your financial institution can charge you additional fees, as well, for honoring that transaction.

Understanding the fee structure of the bank before joining it can save still yet a lot of money. Some banks charge fees if you fall below a certain amount in the account. Still yet, the bank may charge fees if you write over a certain prescribed number of checks each month. For instance, one bank can charge $10.00 for every check over 25 that were written. Still yet, I found out from a friend that his back was charging him an overdraft fee for a debit card transaction that over drafted his account and $10.00 a day until he deposited money into the account to clear the transaction. He had amassed at that time over $400 in bank fees.

Another fee structure or pay structure that could get you in trouble with your banking institution is that of interest bearing accounts. On average an interest bearing checking account requires you to have a minimum balance of $832; where as, a non-interest bearing account has a minimum balance of $88. However, with the historically low interest rate that interest bearing accounts draw it may not be beneficial to have such an account.

A great saving choice is that of an insured money market account. It pays a higher interest rate than a regular savings account. Remember, that you can build a nest egg with as little as five dollars a week. I remember when money was tight for me I started with ten dollars a week. Those ten dollars a week went to purchase stock in a company that was considered a commodity. A commodity is something that you or anyone for that matter can use no matter what the economy is doing. As a matter of a fact, that stock help put a down payment of n a home and a car. Incidentally, I still have that stock, today. My point is start small if you have to but start saving.

Another option is look into internet banking. Be careful and shop around for the best option for you. Some internet banks offer better deals, higher yields, and lower fees than traditional banks. The drawback is that you will have to pay “foreign” ATM fees; however, some internet banks reimburse those fees.

Traditionally, the fees, interest rate, overdraft fees, etc. that you pay or receive is often overlook as having an adverse affect on your credit.

I hope this article has opened your eyes to the importance of shopping around for the best banking options and how doing so can improve your chances of acquiring not only a home soon, but improve your credit.

Do You Sincerely Want to Improve Your Credit?

Credit has become a noose to many first time home buyer.  There are ways to loosen that noose.

One way is to ga copy of your credit report from all three credit bureaus.  The credit bureaus are required to furnish a free copy of your credit report once a year and to provide a copy if you are denied credit.  To get your copy simply write, call, or apply on line:

• Equifax Post Office Box 740241 Atlanta, Georgia 30374 or call at  800 685 1111  www.equifax.com/fcra
• Transunion Post Office Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022 800 916 8800 www.transunion.com
• Experian Post Office Box 2104 Allen, TX 75013 800 493 1058 www.experian.com

You will need to provide proof of who you are.  You can accomplish that by providing a copy of your:

• driver’s license
• social security card
• addresses for the last five years

Still yet, another way that you can improve your credit is:

• pay your debt on time
• only use 30 percent of your debt
• do not cancel credit cards that you have had for years
• do not apply for new credit
• get and maintain different types of credit (ie home, car, credit cards, etc)

To learn more about improving your credit also read:

Credit How Important Is It

Related articles on credit

• History of Credit Bureaus: Equifax, Experian, TransUnion & Innovis (bargaineering.com)
• FTC Approves Federal Register Notice Announcing Increase in the Ceiling on Allowable Charges Required By Section 612(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (ftc.gov)
• ‘Free’ credit reports scam (tech.bl0x.info)
• Should You Sign Up for a Credit Monitoring Service? (hsh.com)
• How to Prepare Your Credit for a Home Loan (homeloans.org)

Is Identity Theft the New Threat to National Security?

Originally posted 2009-05-13 05:17:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

More often than not, an individual experiences an invasion to something that we all hold dear, our identity.  An alerting statistic in 2008 stated that identity theft cases have increased by 22 percent.  That fact does not disprove the theory or common knowledge that identity theft will replace terror threats as a breach to every Americans’ right to security and may become the new national security threat.

It is especially important that individuals protect themselves from this threat by:

• exercising precaution
• adding fraud alerts to your credit reports if you become a victim
• shred all financial documents to include pre-approved credit cards, income taxes, credit card information, etc.
• review your monthly statements to ensure that there is not unauthorized use

To exercise precaution, you may want to consider not

• utilizing your pet’s name, children’s name, birthday, or any part of social security number as part of your passwords
• do not write your passwords down anywhere
• make your passwords as long as possible
• avoid repeating characters, letters, or numbers in your passwords

If you unforunately become a victim of identity theft, take action immediately by:

• freezing all credit cards and adding a fraud alert to all accounts
• check your accounts and credit reports to ensure that no new accounts have been opened in your name
• file a police report

In an effort to clear up your identity, you will need to send to each your creditors a copy of your social security card, birth certificate, and utility billl, but do so only by certified mail.   Doing this step proves to the creditor who you are, and it also gives the creditor examples of your signature. 

There are addition precaution that you can take.  AAA offers use of a temporary credit card number when shopping online using your AAA visa account.  Check with your credit card company to see if they offer a similar program. 

Identity theft will replace terror threats if we do not take ownership of our own security by employing these and other safeguards to protect our identity and/or privacy.

Credit How Important Is It?

Originally posted 2008-12-24 06:41:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

If you are considering buying a home, check your credit first.  Most credit reports have incorrect information.  According to the US Public Interest Research Group as many as 79 percent of consumers have mistake on their credit report.

First step, I would recommend is get a copy of your credit report.  The credit bureau can provide one free copy a year and you are entitled to a free copy if your credit is denied.  There are three major credit bureaus, and they are:

• Equifax Post Office Box 740241 Atlanta, Georgia 30374 or call at  800 685 1111  www.equifax.com/fcra
• Transunion Post Office Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022 800 916 8800 www.transunion.com
• Experian Post Office Box 2104 Allen, TX 75013 800 493 1058 www.experian.com

When contacting the credit bureau by mail, please provide the bureau with proof of identity.  Provide:

• Copy of driver license
• Copy of social security card
• Last five addresses

You will need to get all three credit report because to qualify for a mortgage all three credit bureau’s score are used.  This is called a tri-merge report.   The mortgage uses the middle credit score to qualify you for the loan, so you want to make sure all three is as high as you can get them.

Once you have your credit reports look to see if all the information is accurate.  Dispute incorrect information through the credit bureau that is reporting the information in writing.  Some bureaus provide a fill in the blank form for your convenience for this purpose.  If one is not provide, write a letter that gives the name of the creditor, the account number, and the reason the information is incorrect.  The creditor has 30 days to response to the credit bureau as to the accuracy of the information.  If the information can not be verify it must be removed.

Along those same lines, all outdated information on your credit report is supposed to be removed after seven years.

Even if there is bad credit that is true.  Time is the best cure for bad credit.  If a foreclosure is on your credit your score will get better after three years and it has to be removed after seven years.  A Chapter 7 bankruptcy has to be removed after ten years.

With the frequency of identity theft, I would also recommend checking your credit often because credit fraud is difficult and costly to correct.

Related articles on credit

• How to Remove Unauthorized Hard Inquiries (bargaineering.com)
• 5 Ways To Kill Your Credit Scores (creditra.blogspot.com)
• Credit, Risk Assessment Score and Budgeting (slideshare.net)