Education: Empower your financial knowledge with Credit1solutions.com’s Education section. Access resources and insights to make informed financial decisions and improve your fiscal health.
I get asked every week from a client, How can we separate our expenses and learn how to create a budget. My answer is usually the best way to attack a problem is to start with the problem. Ourselves? Our budget is not the problem, the money we make is
Fixing credit report errors requires knowing who to contact to resolve a variety of errors that may be found as you examine your report.
A strong federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, protects consumers against certain unfair collection practices. It applies only to outside or third-party debt collectors (not creditors collecting their own debts) and only for personal (not business) debts. State laws may provide additional protection.
Collection companies have done a great job over the years of convincing consumers that paying off collections will raise their credit scores. Many are actually surprised to learn that paying off collections will actually lower their credit scores.
You have probably seen ads on television, the radio, and the internet promoting to “lower your interest rates,” “reduce your monthly payments,” “end collection calls,” and “get you on the road to financial freedom.”
Here is a list of what you will see on a credit report: Accounts/Trade lines: This includes credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, real estate, installment loans and revolving debt like department store cards. The report will include information on the accounts such as the balance, payment history, terms, and account status - such as whether the account was put into bankruptcy, charged off, or repossessed.
I WENT EVERY DAY DOING THE SAME THING AND GETTING NO WHERE, then finally I started tracking my results so I could improve my spending.
Most of us realize that our credit report is reviewed when we apply for a credit card, mortgage, or car loan. However, it is often forgotten that your credit report may also be reviewed when you apply for auto or homeowner’s insurance, utility services, or a cell phone.
When you apply for credit, the lender reviews your credit report before approving your application. The three major credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. These agencies, which are also called “bureaus,” collect and report information about consumers’ financial habits and put the information into a credit report along with a rating, referred to as your FICO Score. Each agency’s report contains the same basic information: name; Social Security number; current and previous addresses; current and previous employers; details about how you have your opened and closed accounts/ loans; public-record information, such as bankruptcies, court judgments, or liens; and a list of companies that have reviewed the credit report.
Isn’t it annoying to get all that junk mail from companies trying to get you to apply for their credit cards? Not only is it annoying but it also puts you at risk for identity theft! All it takes for identity theft to happen to you is your mail being delivered to the wrong address or someone stealing your discarded mail, things we refer to as pass interference. Once the credit card offer falls into the wrong hands, that person can apply for the card for you, essentially hijacking your identity.