Which Credit Bureau Should I Use To Check My Credit Report?
There are three main credit bureaus in the United States; Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Each bureau collects your personal and financial information which is then sold to lenders such as banks, credit unions, credit card companies, mortgage and auto loan lenders. Your credit report is the product of this collected information. Lending and credit companies use your credit information to determine if they will approve you or not and at what interest rate you will pay.
Many people are recognizing the importance of checking their own credit report to verify its accuracy and to make sure that they know where they stand in the credit world. Until they begin the process to obtain a copy of their credit report, some people do not realize that they actually have three credit reports instead of just one. The three main credit bureaus keep separate credit records from one another and produce their own credit reports. Instead of the credit bureaus working together and sharing information among themselves like some people may think, they are actually competitors. That is why the information provided on one credit report will more than likely be different from the information provided on the credit report from another credit bureau. Therefore, it is recommended to check your credit report from all three credit bureaus in order to see the complete picture.
What is on Your Credit Report?
Your credit report is a very important piece of the puzzle in your financial picture. It contains a historical record of your personal and financial information including a listing of your current and past debts and the timeliness of your payments. The information contained on your credit report is looked at by many people including lenders, credit card companies, landlords, telephone and cable companies just to name a few. These companies use your credit report to evaluate your reliability and creditworthiness.
With all of these people knowing what is on your credit report - shouldn’t you? Knowing what is on your credit report can save you from unexpected surprises the next time you apply for a loan. Insuring the accuracy of your credit report is also very important. All too often people have found errors on their credit report that were damaging their credit score. Many times people have even been alerted to attempted identity theft by keeping an eye on their credit report.
Why Your Credit Score is Important
Your credit score can either haunt you or reward you. It all depends on how you handle your credit and payment activities. Your credit score determines what interest rates you will pay and if you are even approved for a loan or a credit card at all. In addition, your credit score can play a factor in renting your next apartment or getting hired from a potential employer.
Your credit score is compiled from the information on your credit report. The performance of your credit activity is rated on a numerical scale from 350-850. This number is your credit score. The higher your credit score, the better. Late payments, delinquent accounts and maxed out credit limits are all things that can lower your score. Below is a general guideline to determine what your credit score means in terms of getting approved for a loan or receiving credit and what type of interest rates you can expect to pay.
750-850: Is considered to be an excellent credit score. You can expect approval and should receive a great interest rate.
Credit Verus Debt
Secured and unsecured debt - what’s the difference?
It’s easy to just think that debt is just debt, but in reality, there are different types of loans, and it’s important to know what which type you have.
You will need to understand the differences in order to be a good money manager, or, if the worse happens and you find yourself turning to credit or debt counseling, you’ll need to understand how different types of debt can be handled. Let’s take a look at two types of debt; secured and unsecured loans.
Secured debt is a loan that has something attached of value attached to it-this is called collateral. The most common examples are car loans and mortgages.
Collateral can be cash or the item (or items) that you borrowed in order to get. (For example, your car.)
With secured debt, if you fall behind on your payments, the collateral can be repossessed and the lender will sell it in order to collect the money that they are owed. But that doesn’t always put you in the clear, in reality, even if the collateral has been repossessed or foreclosed on and sold, you may still remain liable for any balance remaining until the entire amount of the loan is paid off.
Rebuild & Keep Good Credit Ratings by Understanding Your Credit Cards
Secured Credit Card is similar to a prepaid credit card since the funds you are using are actually yours and not the issuer of the credit card. Generally people who apply for secured credit card or prepaid credit card are people with poor credit or unemployed. Prepaid Credit Card spending limit is the amount of money you loaded to the card. There are no interest or finance charges on a prepaid card. With secured credit card, your credit line could be from 50% to 100% of your deposit depending on the institution giving you the secured credit. Therefore the company giving you the secured credit card has zero risk.
Secured credit card can be very beneficial because it gives you an opportunity to rebuild your credit history and you are able to make purchases just as if you had an unsecured credit card. Many companies require that you have a credit card to make purchases, such as car rental, airline tickets, etc. Ensure that the company issuing the secured credit, routinely reports customers’ payment history to any of the three main credit bureaus namely Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. This reporting to the credit bureaus will rebuild your credit history over time.
Learn About Prepaid Credit Card
Prepaid credit cards also called stored value card can be ideal for individuals who are unemployed, have bad credit or difficulty obtaining an unsecured credit card. Prepaid credit cards are also excellent for individuals who have a hard time controlling their spending and prevent the individual from overspending and getting into credit card debt. If your objective is to establish or rebuild you credit over a period of time, make sure the prepaid card issuer reports cardholder transactions to the credit bureaus namely Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union.
It is very easy to obtain a prepaid credit card because there is no credit check or employment verification since the funds you will be using are yours and not that of the prepaid credit card issuer. Prepaid credit card spending limit or credit line is the amount of money you loaded to your prepaid credit card account. Prepaid credit card carries the Visa or MasterCard logo. It can be used anywhere MasterCard and visa is accepted except renting a car at certain car rental companies and setting up automatic recurring payments.
Is Your Credit Score Being Held Against You?
Credit Scores That Hurt
Is your credit score being held against you?
More and more the staples of life depend on your credit score. Your mortgage, insurance premiums, employment opportunities and even your landlord may be using your credit score to determine your financial future.
In some cases even the utility companies are basing the size of your deposit on your credit score. Landlords are determining your reliability as a tenant. Insurance companies are setting the size of your premiums based on your credit score. Many more employers are also using your score to determine your reliability.
According to a 2004 survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 25% of credit reports which list your credit and borrowing activities, had errors serious enough to to cause a consumer to be turned down for a loan or job.
To counteract the erronius information on your credit score you should review your FICO scores at least once a year, or several months before applying for a loan. Check for negative info, errors or any suspicious activity that may suggest identity theft. The best place to check is myfico.com. The three major credit bureaus will also sell you your credit reports, but they’re not as reliable because none of them provide your FICO scores with your credit report.
How To Get Out Of Credit Card Debt
If you’re like the average person, let me warn you ahead of time about what I’m going to reveal in the next few paragraphs. You may be angry after you finish reading this article about how you’ve been misled in the use of credit card debt.
The American economy is designed to make you work yourself to the point of exhaustion, only to build wealth for those very same companies you work yourself to death for ? not for YOU!
The most eye-opening example of this is with consumer debt. For example, if you purchase your home with a conventional mortgage, you’ll pay about THREE TIMES the amount over the life of the loan. Think about it this way. It’s like taking your monthly mortgage payment and tripling it, then sending it off to the bank.
This is how much you will eventually pay back for the privilege of using their money. So you can see how two-thirds of the total amount you’ll pay your mortgage company is primarily INTEREST payments. Interest is pure profit for the mortgage companies and a detriment to your financial well-being.
Teaching Students To Keep Out Of Credit Card Debt - The Parents Role
Parents have the full responsibility for their children and their education. It is up to parents to teach their children what’s right and what’s wrong, how to conduct themselves as good citizens, how to cross the road safely and generally protect themselves from harm. In fact, up until the time that child is an adult, the parents have responsibilities in every part of that child’s life, right up until the time they are a college student.
The influence of the parents, however, goes way beyond college student days. Whether they like it or not, or even admit it, everyone is influenced not only by the way their parents have treated them, but also by the behavioural patterns of the parents. That influence can be good, bad or neutral, but it is there, and it affects many aspects of daily lives. One of the main features of daily life is finance: money, debt, borrowing, lending, spending, and credit cards all fall within that sphere.
It follows that parents can have an influence on their children’s attitude to credit cards and credit card debt. As a good teacher, mentor and financial adviser, the parent can help to create a positive financial attitude in their children that will help them through their college student days, and eliminate or prevent credit card debt from their future lives.
Opting For A Credit Card? Check Out Certain Terms
You’ve just received a “pre-approved” credit card offer in your mail. Without wasting a minute you’re ready to accept it, especially if it’s the “before-the-offer-expires" one. Wait! Don’t be in a hurry. Shop around a little and then make your decision about that credit card.
Do you know that these “pre-approved” offers that pop up almost every time you open your mail are just gimmicks? Actually, the approval of your credit card depends on your formal application. If it fails to meet the criteria, you may be either denied the credit card or offered a higher interest rate on it. Moreover, don’t be in the illusion that just because your credit card is pre-approved, it’ll be compatible to your spending habits. Credit card basically means that you’re borrowing money by paying some charges. So, it’s essential to understand the terms and conditions of the credit card before accepting it.
Every credit card applier should be aware of certain terms before opting for that valuable plastic asset. Are you aware of them? If not, then read on?
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