With banks looking to give loans to good lenders, millions of Americans want to figure out how to increase FICO scores, remove marks from credit reports, and just generally keep their credit clean. To make getting good credit even more confusing, the enactment of the Credit CARD Act alters much credit repair advice of the [...]
Sure, it takes steady nerves to call up your creditors and talk debt negotiations. But if you keep in mind it is legal, cannot hurt your credit score and the worst possible thing is you could end up back where you started, there is no reason not to become your own debt negotiator. If you’re [...]
Perhaps you had intentions of fixing up your credit. Or maybe just keeping the status quo going, which hopefully is a high FICO score. But then this country (and your family) was hit with the biggest financial bomb we’ve ever seen. How do you know when it’s time to make your credit repair wait? Your [...]
Does the idea of calling up your creditors to negotiate down your debts sound about as intriguing as conducting your own dentistry? And maybe just as risky, leaving marks on your credit report and a very sore FICO score? We hire others to do everything for us, from walking our dog to washing our dishes. [...]
To tackle a huge task like paying off your debts, assembling a team is a natural reaction. This type of help has many names: debt settlement or solution, credit counseling, debt management or reduction programs and debt consolidation. While it certainly sounds enticing to have someone else speak to your creditors with amounts owed sliced [...]
Even if unsure about the textbook definition, we know filing such a financial status as bankruptcy in a legal court couldn’t possibly be good news for your credit. But what exactly happens? When a consumer’s debts become highly unmanageable, bankruptcy means a legal declaration about an inability to pay creditors has been filed. Debts owed [...]
Knowing how to improving your credit score used to be an act of faith. The consumer would pay their bills on time, keep their debt to a minimum, and hope this type of good behavior would be the right mix to earn a FICO score of 750. Thanks to FICO’s decision to give full disclosure, [...]
Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) is designed as an incentive to borrowers and lenders for one main purpose – to avoid foreclosure. Taking effect this April, HAFA lasts until the end of the year and provides dollars in funding for homeowners who have an unpaid principal balance no more than $729,750 or monthly mortgage payments [...]
You downsized to one car. Coupons are now as valuable as trading cards. The entertainment budget is limited to video rentals and vacations mean camping in the backyard. Financial sacrifices can bring a budget out of the red and into the black, but how do you deal with this newfound darkness? Here are suggestions to [...]
Before the Credit CARD Act went into effect, you might have noticed credit card rates making a staggering hike upwards. The average APR for standard credit card offers rose to 13.51%, making this number the highest average Annual Percentage Rate (APR) in the past five years. Credit card companies still have a few cards to [...]