Who Needs Good Credit!?!?
Credit Score? We don't need no stinkin' Credit Score!... Right?... WRONG!
Like most people, when I was in my late teens and early twenties I didn't have a clue about (much less care about) my Credit Score. Then I had to answer to the interest rate on the first car that I bought on my own!... OUCH! An $18,000 car was going to wind up costing me over $26,000 when it was all said and done!
HOW!?!?
I thought I was doing things well enough to have a fair credit score.
Credit builds Credit... Right???... Not Exactly!!!
While I was busy thinking I was BUILDING Credit, I was busy RUINING it!... Too much AVAILABLE Credit, too many floating balances, TOO MANY THINGS TOO UNDERSTAND!
Everyone NEEDS to understand their own Credit... and how to control if it improves or gets worse! Too complicated? Too many things to know and understand?... Not if you find the proper sources of information!
Nothing in life is free... right? Well... not always true!
Below I have copied the first TWO chapters of the book that helped me save my Credit... AND, in turn... SAVED ME LOTS OF MONEY!
Table Of Contents
Foreword - page 4
Chapter One: How Credit Works - page 6
Chapter Two: First Steps to Repairing Your Credit - page 9
Chapter Three: Credit Reporting Agencies - page 13
Chapter Four: Common Errors on the Report - page 17
Chapter Five: Disputing Errors - page 23
Chapter Six: Debt and Credit - page 30
Chapter Seven: Strange Things that Affect Your Credit - page 34
Chapter Eight: Working with Your Mortgage - page 38
Chapter Nine: Making Money and Credit - page 45
Chapter Ten: Bankruptcy - page 49
Chapter Eleven: Your FICO Expansion Score and VantageScore - page 53
Chapter Twelve: Know When to Hold 'Em - page 57
Chapter Thirteen: Credit and Debt Counseling Services - page 62
Chapter Fourteen: Managing Debt page - 67
Chapter Fifteen: Court Cases - page 74
Chapter Sixteen: Borrowing Without Interest - page 79
Chapter Seventeen: Dude! Where's My Identity? - page 84
Chapter Eighteen: Common Credit Scams - page 89
Chapter Nineteen: All About Cards - page 95
Chapter Twenty: The Fair Credit Billing Act - page 100
Chapter Twenty-One: Marriage and Its Effect on Credit - page 105
Chapter Twenty-Two: Alternate Credit Files and ChexSystems.. - page 111
Chapter Twenty-Three: Areas Credit Affects You - page 117
Chapter Twenty-Four: Other Credit Tips - page 120
Chapter Twenty- Five: Summing Up - page 125
Foreword
Does this sound like you?
You do not have a very good credit score but you want to change your
credit report for the better to help yourself and your family. Why wouldn't
you? You may want to do this quickly, adding positive aspects to your
credit report. But don't be fooled into getting rid of all the negatives on your
account and not leaving any positive credit ratings; this then gives you no
credit score, which can in the long run be just as damaging as a negative
one.
Or, do you have high debt and feel there is no way out? If this is you, then
you probably have some good credit, but you have so much bad credit that
you have debt encircling you and getting ever closer. You need to be able
to pay back your debts for as little as possible to start on the road of
correcting your credit rating. Again, you need to be able to add positive
credit to your report to counteract the negatives.
If you have no credit whatsoever, you are in a minority. The good thing to
be said about that is that all you really need to do is get some credit onto
your account. The trick with credit is to know when enough is enough. Don't
be tempted to get too much credit and not be able to pay it back, thus
destroying your credit rating. That will just send you rushing back to refer to
this guide once again, so just make sure you read it carefully the first time
to avoid that!
In other words, this guide is for anyone and everyone who relies on credit
in their day-to-day lives-and in today's society, that's all of us. Follow
along carefully and learn the secrets the credit card companies don't want
you to know-the secrets that will let you lead a more secure, happier, and
better life.
Chapter One: How Credit Works
Having bad credit affects not just what you want now, but also what you
can have in years to come. Your credit score will affect everything from hire
purchasing to getting a mortgage. That is why it is vital you keep any good
credit that you have and keep the bad credit ratings away.
Bad credit ratings generally come from missed payments on things such as
loans, mortgages and credit card payments. To sum it all up, bad credit
comes from any time that you don't pay back any money that you have
borrowed from banks, building societies or other lenders.
What Kind of Credit Do You Have?
Are you in the so-called 'prime sector,' the 40% of the population that has
an excellent credit rating? If you miss one mortgage repayment you may
drop a point or two, but overall it will not affect your credit rating.
You can see that most people aren't in this group. 60%Sixty percent of us
are in the sub-prime sector with a less than perfect credit score. The way in
which your credit rating is scored varies greatly when you are in this group.
If you miss a payment on your mortgage you may drop 20 points on your
credit score; if you miss a payment on your credit card you may lose more.
But just imagine: If you were in the prime sector of ratings, you may not
drop any points whatsoever. That might not sound fair, but it's true. Also,
there is no way to know for sure how many points you will drop for missing
payments. It's completely unpredictable, and you never know exactly what
is happening.
That is why you need to read this book!
Credit company bosses are getting fat on the profits you give them in
interest payments each month. Don't let that happen! That is why you
should never have more debt than a quarter of what you earn per year.
This way you can be sure you can make the payments on time. Other than
a mortgage or maybe a business loan, you should never get yourself into
any more debt for whatever reason. Remember: Any such debit will hang
around your neck for months, maybe even years.
Building Up Credit
If you need to build up credit because you don't have any, or because you
have extremely bad credit, then you need a plan to get back on the right
track. Pretty much everything you do in your life affects your credit rating,
even things that you would never imagine. This includes things such as:
* How much car insurance you pay,
* How much house insurance you pay,
* How you pay your insurance bills, and
* Possibly even health insurance.
Even your job can also affect your credit rating more than you would think.
The Myth of Paying It Off
If you have no credit but you manage to get a credit card, do you think it is
better to pay the balance all off at once every month, or pay it off in
installments? Many people would say pay it off every month. After all, that
way you have no debt, pay no interest, and establish yourself as a reliable
person, right?
But think about it: If you pay it off in full every month, you are effectively not
borrowing any money; therefore, you do not have any score on your credit
rating. If you pay the debt off in installments you are building up your good
credit rating-provided you make the minimum payment on time.
Chapter Two: First Steps to Repairing Your Credit
You may think that the best way to repair your credit rating is to remove all
of the bad credit from your rating. This is not entirely true. It may sound
weird, but in actual fact a less-than-perfect credit score is sometimes higher
in the list of credit scoring than a 100% perfect score. In some
circumstances, you can raise your credit rating by more than 100 points
without actually removing every negative score from your credit list.
You need to get your hands on your credit report before you can start
repairing your credit history. This way you know what you're up against. It's
no good guessing about what's on there. For a small charge, you can order
your credit report online or through the mail.
Understanding Your Credit Report
Credit reports can be confusing, but don't just give up. That's exactly what
credit companies would prefer that you to do-that way, they earn more
money. Learn to read your credit report and benefit from being able to see
exactly what it is that you need to do. Taking control of your credit report is
the first step towards repairing your credit score. Once you have done this,
it is easier for you to be able to pass on your new knowledge to people who
are close to you, too.
Credit reports are usually divided into four sections: Personal Information,
Credit History, Public Records, and Inquiry. Approach each section
individually and don't get overwhelmed.
1. Personal Information
This is the easy part-name, social security number, etc. Give it a quick
glance to make sure it's correct. If there's more than one spelling of your
name, or any other inaccurate information, it's okay provided the correct
information is there as well. That's because if someone submits inaccurate
information, they leave it on your report in case they resubmit something
with the same wrong information at a later date-it just makes it easier to
find you.
2. Credit History
Typically, this involves a list of all of your past credit: the name of the
creditor, account numbers, etc. It also includes when you opened the
account, the kind of credit, whose name the credit is actually in, the total
amount, how much you owe, minimum payments, status of the credit, and,
of course, how well you've paid the account.
If that's all in English, great, but sometimes they use codes and such.
Some terms you might see:
* Internal Collection: They are in the process of trying to collect the
debt.
* Charged Off: The creditor tried to collect the debt, couldn't, and threw
in the towel.
* Numbers prefaced by R or I: These numbers range from 1-9, with
lower numbers indicating a good payment history.
3. Public Records
Hopefully, this section is empty. It's the part that destroys your credit
report-bankruptcies, defaults, and the like.
4. Inquiries
This is simply a list of anyone who's ever asked to see your credit report.
Don't worry too much about this: It has a relatively small impact on your
credit rating.
Once you understand your credit report, there are four possible courses of
action:
1. Fill out the attached form to correct errors.
2. Work on ways to maintain your good rating.
3. Begin building up your nonexistent rating.
4. Tackle the problem of bad credit.
Think of Your Credit as a Job
You may have your credit rating just where you want it now-at a good
score of maybe around 700. If this is the case, then you will be able to
apply for a lower rate of mortgage and loans-so you could effectively get a
mortgage rate of 2% with a good credit rating. Depending on the size of the
mortgage you actually need, you could save yourself up to and over
$100,000. So repairing your credit is well worth doing.
Now, instead of just saving yourself money, let's talk about you earning
some money through repairing your credit score. Your credit rating, if it's
good, can give you access to money that can be interest rate free. So you
could access to maybe up to $20,000 at an interest rate that is 0%. You
could have many opportunities to use this money and pay it back before
you start paying any interest on it.
In other words, understanding your credit is essential-and rebuilding it
even more so!
This is all I have had the time to copy from the book so far, I hope it helps! I will try to get more up later... if you cant wait, you can buy the book yourself here... http://www.productsupplycenter.com/web100056/
Like most people, when I was in my late teens and early twenties I didn't have a clue about (much less care about) my Credit Score. Then I had to answer to the interest rate on the first car that I bought on my own!... OUCH! An $18,000 car was going to wind up costing me over $26,000 when it was all said and done!
HOW!?!?
I thought I was doing things well enough to have a fair credit score.
Credit builds Credit... Right???... Not Exactly!!!
While I was busy thinking I was BUILDING Credit, I was busy RUINING it!... Too much AVAILABLE Credit, too many floating balances, TOO MANY THINGS TOO UNDERSTAND!
Everyone NEEDS to understand their own Credit... and how to control if it improves or gets worse! Too complicated? Too many things to know and understand?... Not if you find the proper sources of information!
Nothing in life is free... right? Well... not always true!
Below I have copied the first TWO chapters of the book that helped me save my Credit... AND, in turn... SAVED ME LOTS OF MONEY!
Table Of Contents
Foreword - page 4
Chapter One: How Credit Works - page 6
Chapter Two: First Steps to Repairing Your Credit - page 9
Chapter Three: Credit Reporting Agencies - page 13
Chapter Four: Common Errors on the Report - page 17
Chapter Five: Disputing Errors - page 23
Chapter Six: Debt and Credit - page 30
Chapter Seven: Strange Things that Affect Your Credit - page 34
Chapter Eight: Working with Your Mortgage - page 38
Chapter Nine: Making Money and Credit - page 45
Chapter Ten: Bankruptcy - page 49
Chapter Eleven: Your FICO Expansion Score and VantageScore - page 53
Chapter Twelve: Know When to Hold 'Em - page 57
Chapter Thirteen: Credit and Debt Counseling Services - page 62
Chapter Fourteen: Managing Debt page - 67
Chapter Fifteen: Court Cases - page 74
Chapter Sixteen: Borrowing Without Interest - page 79
Chapter Seventeen: Dude! Where's My Identity? - page 84
Chapter Eighteen: Common Credit Scams - page 89
Chapter Nineteen: All About Cards - page 95
Chapter Twenty: The Fair Credit Billing Act - page 100
Chapter Twenty-One: Marriage and Its Effect on Credit - page 105
Chapter Twenty-Two: Alternate Credit Files and ChexSystems.. - page 111
Chapter Twenty-Three: Areas Credit Affects You - page 117
Chapter Twenty-Four: Other Credit Tips - page 120
Chapter Twenty- Five: Summing Up - page 125
Foreword
Does this sound like you?
You do not have a very good credit score but you want to change your
credit report for the better to help yourself and your family. Why wouldn't
you? You may want to do this quickly, adding positive aspects to your
credit report. But don't be fooled into getting rid of all the negatives on your
account and not leaving any positive credit ratings; this then gives you no
credit score, which can in the long run be just as damaging as a negative
one.
Or, do you have high debt and feel there is no way out? If this is you, then
you probably have some good credit, but you have so much bad credit that
you have debt encircling you and getting ever closer. You need to be able
to pay back your debts for as little as possible to start on the road of
correcting your credit rating. Again, you need to be able to add positive
credit to your report to counteract the negatives.
If you have no credit whatsoever, you are in a minority. The good thing to
be said about that is that all you really need to do is get some credit onto
your account. The trick with credit is to know when enough is enough. Don't
be tempted to get too much credit and not be able to pay it back, thus
destroying your credit rating. That will just send you rushing back to refer to
this guide once again, so just make sure you read it carefully the first time
to avoid that!
In other words, this guide is for anyone and everyone who relies on credit
in their day-to-day lives-and in today's society, that's all of us. Follow
along carefully and learn the secrets the credit card companies don't want
you to know-the secrets that will let you lead a more secure, happier, and
better life.
Chapter One: How Credit Works
Having bad credit affects not just what you want now, but also what you
can have in years to come. Your credit score will affect everything from hire
purchasing to getting a mortgage. That is why it is vital you keep any good
credit that you have and keep the bad credit ratings away.
Bad credit ratings generally come from missed payments on things such as
loans, mortgages and credit card payments. To sum it all up, bad credit
comes from any time that you don't pay back any money that you have
borrowed from banks, building societies or other lenders.
What Kind of Credit Do You Have?
Are you in the so-called 'prime sector,' the 40% of the population that has
an excellent credit rating? If you miss one mortgage repayment you may
drop a point or two, but overall it will not affect your credit rating.
You can see that most people aren't in this group. 60%Sixty percent of us
are in the sub-prime sector with a less than perfect credit score. The way in
which your credit rating is scored varies greatly when you are in this group.
If you miss a payment on your mortgage you may drop 20 points on your
credit score; if you miss a payment on your credit card you may lose more.
But just imagine: If you were in the prime sector of ratings, you may not
drop any points whatsoever. That might not sound fair, but it's true. Also,
there is no way to know for sure how many points you will drop for missing
payments. It's completely unpredictable, and you never know exactly what
is happening.
That is why you need to read this book!
Credit company bosses are getting fat on the profits you give them in
interest payments each month. Don't let that happen! That is why you
should never have more debt than a quarter of what you earn per year.
This way you can be sure you can make the payments on time. Other than
a mortgage or maybe a business loan, you should never get yourself into
any more debt for whatever reason. Remember: Any such debit will hang
around your neck for months, maybe even years.
Building Up Credit
If you need to build up credit because you don't have any, or because you
have extremely bad credit, then you need a plan to get back on the right
track. Pretty much everything you do in your life affects your credit rating,
even things that you would never imagine. This includes things such as:
* How much car insurance you pay,
* How much house insurance you pay,
* How you pay your insurance bills, and
* Possibly even health insurance.
Even your job can also affect your credit rating more than you would think.
The Myth of Paying It Off
If you have no credit but you manage to get a credit card, do you think it is
better to pay the balance all off at once every month, or pay it off in
installments? Many people would say pay it off every month. After all, that
way you have no debt, pay no interest, and establish yourself as a reliable
person, right?
But think about it: If you pay it off in full every month, you are effectively not
borrowing any money; therefore, you do not have any score on your credit
rating. If you pay the debt off in installments you are building up your good
credit rating-provided you make the minimum payment on time.
Chapter Two: First Steps to Repairing Your Credit
You may think that the best way to repair your credit rating is to remove all
of the bad credit from your rating. This is not entirely true. It may sound
weird, but in actual fact a less-than-perfect credit score is sometimes higher
in the list of credit scoring than a 100% perfect score. In some
circumstances, you can raise your credit rating by more than 100 points
without actually removing every negative score from your credit list.
You need to get your hands on your credit report before you can start
repairing your credit history. This way you know what you're up against. It's
no good guessing about what's on there. For a small charge, you can order
your credit report online or through the mail.
Understanding Your Credit Report
Credit reports can be confusing, but don't just give up. That's exactly what
credit companies would prefer that you to do-that way, they earn more
money. Learn to read your credit report and benefit from being able to see
exactly what it is that you need to do. Taking control of your credit report is
the first step towards repairing your credit score. Once you have done this,
it is easier for you to be able to pass on your new knowledge to people who
are close to you, too.
Credit reports are usually divided into four sections: Personal Information,
Credit History, Public Records, and Inquiry. Approach each section
individually and don't get overwhelmed.
1. Personal Information
This is the easy part-name, social security number, etc. Give it a quick
glance to make sure it's correct. If there's more than one spelling of your
name, or any other inaccurate information, it's okay provided the correct
information is there as well. That's because if someone submits inaccurate
information, they leave it on your report in case they resubmit something
with the same wrong information at a later date-it just makes it easier to
find you.
2. Credit History
Typically, this involves a list of all of your past credit: the name of the
creditor, account numbers, etc. It also includes when you opened the
account, the kind of credit, whose name the credit is actually in, the total
amount, how much you owe, minimum payments, status of the credit, and,
of course, how well you've paid the account.
If that's all in English, great, but sometimes they use codes and such.
Some terms you might see:
* Internal Collection: They are in the process of trying to collect the
debt.
* Charged Off: The creditor tried to collect the debt, couldn't, and threw
in the towel.
* Numbers prefaced by R or I: These numbers range from 1-9, with
lower numbers indicating a good payment history.
3. Public Records
Hopefully, this section is empty. It's the part that destroys your credit
report-bankruptcies, defaults, and the like.
4. Inquiries
This is simply a list of anyone who's ever asked to see your credit report.
Don't worry too much about this: It has a relatively small impact on your
credit rating.
Once you understand your credit report, there are four possible courses of
action:
1. Fill out the attached form to correct errors.
2. Work on ways to maintain your good rating.
3. Begin building up your nonexistent rating.
4. Tackle the problem of bad credit.
Think of Your Credit as a Job
You may have your credit rating just where you want it now-at a good
score of maybe around 700. If this is the case, then you will be able to
apply for a lower rate of mortgage and loans-so you could effectively get a
mortgage rate of 2% with a good credit rating. Depending on the size of the
mortgage you actually need, you could save yourself up to and over
$100,000. So repairing your credit is well worth doing.
Now, instead of just saving yourself money, let's talk about you earning
some money through repairing your credit score. Your credit rating, if it's
good, can give you access to money that can be interest rate free. So you
could access to maybe up to $20,000 at an interest rate that is 0%. You
could have many opportunities to use this money and pay it back before
you start paying any interest on it.
In other words, understanding your credit is essential-and rebuilding it
even more so!
This is all I have had the time to copy from the book so far, I hope it helps! I will try to get more up later... if you cant wait, you can buy the book yourself here... http://www.productsupplycenter.com/web100056/
