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“I Don’t Need Credit”
“I don’t need credit.” It seems like I hear this at least once a week on average. The people I get this from typically know what they’re talking about—they’ve been living with bad credit so long that it’s become a way of life. And while it’s true that it is possible to exist without credit...
What To Do if Contacted by a Debt Collector
It’s a new world out there, to say the least. With the current downturn in our economy, consumers who have never had even one derogatory mark on their credit file are now experiencing something new: accounts in collection. Along with this, we are seeing a dramatic increase, not only in debt collector activity, but also...
The 4 biggest credit card mistakes—make sure you aren’t making them
I think we all make mistakes with credit cards at one point or another. I made mine in college, and paid for those mistakes for years. The trick is to learn from those mistakes—or better yet, learn from other people’s mistakes and never make them yourself. Here’s a list of what I think are the...
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Experian
Chances are you’ve heard the ads for FreeCreditReport.com. They’re the ones with the catchy jingle and the guy walking around singing about the website and how his life was ruined because he didn’t check his credit. In one particular commercial he tries to buy a car and ends up in an old jalopy due to...
Practical credit card management advice
I’ve written about credit card debt several times in the past, but I figured today it would be nice to just consolidate things down to some practical, no nonsense advice on managing your credit cards. TAKE INVENTORY. How many credit cards do you have? What’s the balance and minimum monthly payment on each? What’s the total...
Building credit when you have no credit or damaged credit
You’ve probably noticed your mail load has been lighter over the past months. The once ubiquitous credit card offers aren’t rolling in like they used to in our troubled economic climate of tightened credit requirements and soaring default rates. This can be seen as good or bad, depending on how you view the situation. On one...
What you need to know: new credit card rules spelled out by the Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve’s new rules for credit card companies mean new credit card protections for you. Here are some key changes you should expect from your credit card company beginning on February 22, 2010. What your credit card company has to tell you When they plan to increase your rate or other fees. Your credit card...
Credit Scores
Reprinted from here. It dovetailed so nicely with some of the things I’ve been talking about recently I decided to post it here, for a slightly different perspective from mine. Joan Jensen, president and CEO of The Central Credit Union of Illinois, shares some guidance on Credit Scores. Each and every New Year we are greeted with...
Credit Myths Busted
Myth #1: Checking your credit hurts your credit score. Depends on what type of report is pulled. If you obtain a copy of your report on your own to review from the credit bureaus you will be doing a “soft inquiry” which does not affect your score. If you have a lender pull your...
How helpful is HAMP?
New information has come to light in the past few days regarding HAMP, or the Home Affordable Modification Program. Aside from the fact that they need someone new in Washington to come up with better acronyms, the HAMP program was designed to assist homeowners in danger of foreclosure by reducing their mortgages and interest...
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