Life After Bankruptcy: Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13

Consumers often get confused as to what the difference is between a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The difference is simple. In a chapter 7 bankruptcy the consumer pays absolutely nothing back prior to filing for bankruptcy and in a chapter 13 scenario the consumer attempts at paying back part of the debts owed. However, there is still uncertainty as to the effects and impacts of the each on individual credit reports. It however may interest you to know that it is possible to rebuild credit after bankruptcy and it is possible to get back on your two feet. However is is essential that you take the right steps.

Rebuild Credit After Bankruptcy

In order to rebuild credit after bankruptcy, you must work on your credit report in a systematic manner.Make an attempt towards obtaining credit after bankruptcy and it will help you a long way in improving your credit score after bankruptcy.

1. Obtain Your Credit Report: After being discharged from bankruptcy, it is advisable to obtain your credit score to gauge your credit score at the point in time. It may surprise you but clients have been known to emerge with credit scores of well in excess of 600 post their bankruptcy periods. Once you have your credit score you can charter a path for credit repair after bankruptcy. It may be beneficial to regularly obtain your free credit report on an annual or semi-annual basis to track your progress.
2. Make Your Repayments During The Bankruptcy Period: At times certain debts are not discharged with bankruptcy. The court may order you to keep making repayments on certain loans even after filing bankruptcy. These often include debts like federal debt or student loans etc. While in your bankruptcy period it is very important that you keep making these payments and make them on time and if possible make higher contributions.
3. Obtain Secured Credit: You will find that in your life after
   

   Obtaining New Credit Is Important After Bankruptcy

   bankruptcy, it is extremely difficult to obtain credit or credit cards due to a poor credit score after bankruptcy. Even if you do, they will be with very low spending limits and with relatively higher interest rates. The way around this issue is to obtain a secured line of credit loan or a secured credit card. What this means is that you will have to place your own funds as security equal to the line of credit or credit card. If you keep paying off your balance in full each month, at the end of a couple of years you should be able to obtain a regular credit card or line of credit. This is an excellent method to help you out with credit repair after bankruptcy.

4. Prepare A Budget: Once you have come out from your bankruptcy period it is important to learn from your mistakes. Prepare a budget and try to ensure that you are making higher contributions than your minimum loan repayments to help build your credit score after bankruptcy.
5. Obtain Short Small Amounts Of Credit: In your life after bankruptcy, it is important that you obtain small amounts of credit and pay them of as soon as possible. While living without debt is advisable, you cannot live completely on cash as that will not improve your credit score after bankruptcy. Obtaining small amounts of credit and paying them off will help with credit repair after bankruptcy.

It is important to remember that while bankruptcy is very serious and affects your credit score in the worst possible way, it is not the end of the road and there is life after bankruptcy. With corrective steps and by following the tips to improve your credit score after bankruptcy you could be on the road to recovery and on to a healthy credit score.

References:

1. Bounce back fast after bankruptcy – MSN Money
2. Credit after bankruptcy – Moran Law
3. Chapter 7 impact on credit – Bankrate

College Education Loan: How Do They Work

Higher education student loans are, as is obvious from the name, a way to pay for your higher education. No matter what your circumstances, college student loans can be the light at the end of the tunnel when there is no other way out. In order to get a college education student loan, clients need to fill out what is called an FAFSA (Free Application For Federal Student Aid) form and submit it with the possibility of correcting any details later. Students should then aim to visit their respective school’s student centers and try and gauge the kind of assistance they might be capable of getting.

Nowadays Perkin Loans are very popular owing to their lower interest rates.  As long as students are enrolled at least at a part-time status they can defer the repayments on their student loan debt.  Once students graduate they enter what is known as a “grace period”. This is generally 6-12 months long and allows students the time to find employment. Once this is over, the repayments on the college student loan (the principal plus the capitalized interest) comes due. At times, when consumers experience tremendous financial difficulty they can temporarily defer paying student loans without hampering their credit reports.

The Student Loan Types

The student loan can be of various different types, each designed to serve a specific purpose. A student must choose their higher education loan depending on their needs.

• The College Student Loans Made Directly To Students (Federal): These higher education loans are quite similar to the ones described above. As long as the student is enrolled at least in part-time status the student loan debt repayments do not come due. However, if the student falls below part-time status they enter the grace period which can be waived once they enroll again as part-time at least. In the event the student falls below the part-time status again the grace period cannot be re-instated and repayments for the college student loan are due.

• The Student Loans To Parents (Federal): These loans are directly made out to parents. However the interest rates on these college student loans are much higher and the repayments fall due immediately.

• The Private Student Loans: These higher education loans are usually used as supplements to federal student loans owing to the fact that the federal loans are sometimes insufficient to cover all expenses. These loans usually have higher limits and the student loan debt repayments are deferred until after graduation.

Paying Student Loan: Impact On Your Credit Report

Student loans are usually one the first credit agreements people enter into. It is essential that this credit contract is managed efficiently or else it can hamper your overall credit score and it can be default to improve your credit score after these defaults. Irregularities on paying student loans will sit on your credit report for as long as 7 years in certain cases, hence it is of utmost importance that consumers try and repay student loan debt as soon as possible and in a timely manner. Below a few tips to help you manage the student loan better:

1. Pay Off Your Loan: It is in the best interest of consumers to pay off their college student loans as soon as possible. This creates good repayment history and at the same time boosts your credit score.
2. Interest Payments: In the event that you have a non-federal higher education student loan, ensure that you are making the interest payments regularly. Your expenses schedule should include all these expenses and your interest payments should be a part of your calculations.
3. The Grace Period: If you have been able to find a job before the expiry of the grace period, accumulate a fair sum of money and deposit a large amount into your college student loan. This will help you stay on top of your student loan debt repayments and ensure that you do not fall behind.
4. Defaulting is Not An Option: For those who are wondering what the consequences on defaulting on a college student loan are, the answer is an unequivocal “severe”. Even in the event of filing for bankruptcy, college student loans are usually still required to be paid. Moreover bankruptcy will sit on your credit report for a period of 10 years and will put your FICO score behind by about 240-280 points and this is always a matter of public record. If you have defaulted on your student loan debt, prepare for a barrage of collection agencies hounding you. In certain cases your employer may use part of your salary to pay off these college student loans and also use your taxation refunds for the same purpose.

Now that we have established the effects student loans can have on our credit report, consumers should be careful while managing this credit contract. It is always best to shop around and look for option that suits you best. Essentially you should factor your college student loan repayments into your expenses and make sure that you work with the view to paying it off as quickly and as smoothly as possible. These few simple steps should ensure that you have a blemish free, goodcredit report.

References:

1. Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans – Federal Student Aid
2. New changes will do you good if you have student loans -USA Today

Managing Personal Finances With Tools

Budget planning tools are financial planning/budgeting applications programs and software that are a great help in managing personal finances. Most personal financial planning software nowadays is extremely detailed and can help you manage a range of your personal finances ranging from your mortgage, taxes, investments, insurance and all the way down to your daily household budget. These accounting personal software tools and applications can help consumers determine whether they are slipping or have a firm grip on their finances.

Budget Planning Tools – Types

There are various kinds of budget planning tools and accounting personal software programs available out there, depending on what you need.

• Personal Financial Planning Software: These personal financial planning software programs allow users to compare their projected budgets to their actual budgets to determine variances in spending. In addition they also allow users to monitor their assets and liabilities. Consumers often use these personal accounting softwares to create financial plans for themselves and also use it for retirement planning, taxation planning and analyzing investment portfolios. An example of such a financial planning tool is Quicken and Managing Your Money.

• Financial Planning/Budgeting: This is another extremely powerful financial planning/budgeting tool to help keep your finances on track. You can simply create a budget for yourself by using spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel. An easy way to create to create a budget on a financial planning tool is by starting out by listing your exact income. Then list out all your expenses and compare them to your income for variances and for places where you might be over spending or might be able to cut back. A example of a budget worksheet is as below:

  

• Personal Accounting Software: Personal accounting software can be very essential in helping you stay on top of your finances. It is beneficial to be able to see all your financial information in one place. These personal financial planning tools can help you see your finances and help you pay bills on time and avoid any sort of late fees or bank charges. Common examples of these a personal financial planning toll or accounting software are Microsoft Money and Quicken Personal Finance.

• Online Financial Tracking: If you have been feeling inundated with paper bills and repayment statements and feel that it would be better to be able to view all your expenses and payments online then online financial tracking might be the answer for you. Online financial tracking software like Quicken Online, Equifax Debt Wise and Mint.Com allow user the capabilities to track their finances online and get rid of messy paper trails.

Managing Personal Finances

We have already stated established that there are numerous ways to help you do a better job of managing personal finances. Consumers can download many free and trial versions of financial planning tools or online tracking software. These personal financial planning tools and software work with the sole purpose of helping consumers to get on top of their finances and maintain good financial health. By investing a little bit of effort consumers can go a long way towards ensuring that they are always in control of their bills, expenses and finances and can these personal financial planning tools can be of great help for rebuilding a credit report.

It cannot be emphasized enough how important keeping tabs on your finances is. Ensuring that you keep up with your bills and are on time with your payments will ensure that your FICO score does not drop on that account and will in fact improve your credit report owing to better repayment history and timely payments. Moreover users must remember that nothing looks worse on a good credit report that late payments or nominal bank charges for payments that were a day or two late. Financial planning tools will help you keep on track with your payments and finances and at the same time will ensure that you maintain a good credit report.

Reference:

1. Budgeting – the Cornerstone of Personal Financial Planning – Financial Planning Advices

Margin Trading: What is Margin Lending

Before we talk about the advantages and disadvantages of a margin loan, it is important to fully understand what is margin lending. Margin loans are investment loans which are backed by the client’s securities or investments. In margin trading, typically, clients offer their investment portfolio as collateral and can borrow funds against that for a wide variety of purposes ranging from buying additional securities, to paying off bills with higher interest rates or mortgage loans for real estate and purchasing new assets such as artwork or holiday homes etc.

Margin loans gained a lot of popularity prior to the dot com era crash as it enabled consumers to purchase investments beyond what their own capital would allow them to afford. With the market seeming to raise again, margin lending once again seem to be gaining ground. A lot of brokerage houses encourage their consumers to obtain margin loans and pay down debt with higher interest margin rates as high value margin loans can be obtained for cheaper interest margin rates than most available rates in the market.

Margin Lending Rates

Margin lending rates have been know to vary between single figures for margin loans with a value of more than $1 million plus o a bit over 10% margin rates on margin lending less than $25,000. Just to give consumers an idea of margin loan rates, a large investment firm might offer margin loans at a margin interest rate of 8.0% for variable rates and from 7.9-7.95% for fixed margin rates.

Margin Trading: Advantages of Margin Lending

Obviously, margin trading is and has been very popular among consumers. Margin lending has a lot of advantages; a few of these are listed below:

• Accelerate you Wealth Quickly: Margin loans allow investors to quickly accelerate their wealth in a rising market as the value of your portfolio increases with market increases. Moreover margin lending enable investors to invest more than they have at their disposal.

• Variety Of Uses: Funds from a margin loan can be used for a variety of purposes, such as paying off bills, buying real estate and other assets or decreasing debt at a higher interest rate. Being able to decrease existing debt ensures that your credit history looks better and also reflects well on your repayment capacity.

• Lower Interest Rates: Margin lending offers margin rates on certain larger amounts that are cheaper than most other interest rates available in the market.

Margin Trading Disadvantages of Margin Lending

While margin loans have numerous advantages, margin trading also comes with its fair share of disadvantages:

• Margin Calls: The biggest disadvantage margin loans have are margin calls. Most margin loan facilities require your portfolio to be at a certain predetermined level. If owing to a fall in market your portfolio falls below a certain level, the margin loan provider can either ask you to put cash back in your portfolio or provide additional security as collateral or in a worst case scenario might sell down your portfolio to recover funds.

• Deceleration of Wealth: In a falling market margin loans can very easily increase your losses drastically. This is owing to the fact that margin loans are directly linked to your investments and they need to be paid back to the lender.

Margin Trading: Impact Credit Report

Adding further to the points stated above, although margin loans are believed not to have any direct effect on your credit report, they might have an indirect effect. If after selling down all your securities and assets, you are still unable to pay off the margin loan provider, the margin loan lender might issue a default against you or might be even declare you bankrupt. This needless to say has a very damaging impact on your credit history as it can set your credit report back by anywhere between 130-280 points back depending upon the type of charge issued on the account and rebuilding a credit report can be a tough job.

It is essential as it is with any investment to weigh your options out before making an investment decision about margin lending. One must remember that while margin loans have a lot of potential advantages they also come with their fair share of drawbacks. Investors must remember that there might be long term damage to their credit history should they be unable to pay back their margin loan obligations. Adjudicate your financial health and credit status before making decisions as it is always beneficial to have a good clean credit report.

References:

1. Margin Trading: The Dreaded Margin Call – Investopedia
2. Margin Loans Make A Comeback – The Wall Street Journal

Home Foreclosure Help: Define Foreclosure

Before we start off, it is important to define foreclosure. If a consumer is behind on his/her mortgage payments and has not made any attempt at resolving the situation or catching up on the payments, you can be rest assured that the financial institution will be sending you a foreclosures USA statement pretty soon. In the event of a foreclosure, the mortgage company with which you have your home loan, steps in and takes over your property and sells it at the sheriff’s auction, similar to the process discussed for timeshare foreclosures. This event then becomes a matter of public record and can stay on your credit report for up to 7 years, therefore causing a negative mark on your credit history.

Foreclosures in USA: Statistics

Here are some statistics on US home foreclosures:

• 1 out of 300 homes is likely to be a foreclosed home
• Nearly 250,000 families every 3 months enter into a foreclosure.
• Owing to the falling market conditions, certain homeowners who opted for variable interest rates find that their homes are no longer growing in value and at the same time their mortgage adjusts higher and as a result of this refinancing is no longer an option.
• Nearly 6 out of 10 mortgage owners wished that they had understood the terms of their mortgages better. At the same time another 6 out of 10 mortgage owners are unaware of the services their mortgage companies can offer them in the even that the are struggling with their home loan repayments.

Home Foreclosure Help: Impact On Credit Report

A foreclosure is probably one of the most adverse things that can happen to your credit report and you will definitely need home foreclosure help if you are in a similar situation. Owing to the fact that USA foreclosures are a matter of public record, it can negatively impact your credit by nearly 130-180 points. A foreclosed home can stay on your credit history for a period of as long as 7 years. Even after 7 years credit providers can check the public records and might find the foreclosed home listing against your name, in which case obtaining credit will become extremely difficult. Even after years, when you have a god job and are on top of your bills, a previously foreclosed home listing on your credit report can come back to haunt you.

Foreclosures In USA V Bankruptcy

While bankruptcy can be the worst thing on your credit report, foreclosures in USA are not far behind. While bankruptcies can be on your credit report for a period of over 10 years, a foreclosure remains for a period of 7 years or more. Bankruptcy charges can negatively impact your credit history by nearly 230-280 points while a foreclosed home can have an impact of 130-180 points. It however must be noted that both bankruptcies and US home foreclosures are a matter of public record and are viewed extremely negatively by finance providers. It is in the best interest of consumers to avoid either of these situations as far as possible.

Home Foreclosure Help: Disadvantages

When seeking home foreclosure help, it is very important to understand the disadvantages of a home foreclosure. Some of the disadvantages of a foreclosure are listed below:

1. US home foreclosures can set your FICO score back by as much as 180 points.
2. Mortgage US home foreclosures are viewed extremely negatively by lenders and can make getting credit in the future very hard and very expensive.
3. A foreclosure usually stay on your credit history for as long as 7 years or more.

Home Foreclosure Help: Avoid Foreclosures In USA

If you are behind on your mortgage loan payments and feel that a foreclosure in USA is imminent, try some of these alternatives instead to avoid irreparably damaging your credit history:

1. Speak to your mortgage lender and temporarily reduce your mortgage repayments.
2. Capitalize the unpaid amount and increase your existing payments slightly to cover the deficit.
3. Most mortgage lenders allow their customers who are facing home loan repayment difficulties to enter into payment plans to cover the deficit.

It is always a good idea to consider all your options prior to getting a foreclosure. Many consumers are unaware about the help their mortgage companies can offer them. Seek legal and professional advice before making decisions regarding a foreclosure. It is absolutely essential that consumers completely understand their situation before making any decision because consumers must remember that a  foreclosed home can cause irreparable damage to your credit history.

References:

1. Foreclosure Statistics – Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
2. Facing Foreclosure? 9 Options – Money Central, MSN

Timeshare Foreclosure Sales: The Process Involved

Just as a mortgage foreclosure, timeshare foreclosure sales are also carried out at the Sheriff’s auction whereby it is sold to the highest bidder. Once the consumer wishing to foreclose his/her timeshare contract notifies the lender of their intention, the lender will obtain the timeshare contract and will present the same at the auction. Owing to the fact that the timeshare foreclosure is a public matter it is handled by the legal system and becomes a matter of public record. Consumers must be aware that the three credit agencies, Equifax, Transunion and Experian rate the clients based on the records of public courts.

Timeshare Arrears & Defaults

Arrears on a timeshare contract are the same as a default on any other consumer credit loan. The timeshare default will affect your credit score negatively. In the event that you are no longer able to afford your timeshare and are looking to foreclose your timeshare contract, the following is a likely outcome:

1. Owing to the fact that the lender will report your foreclosure, it will appear on your credit history, thereby making it very difficult for you to be able to obtain credit and even if you do it will be at a much higher rate until you rebuild your credit report.
2. Once the timeshare financial institution is sure of the foreclosure they report the mater to the IRS. This will culminate in the remainder of the timeshare contract debt being shown on your credit report along with the value of the property at the time the timeshare contract was foreclosed.

Timeshare Foreclosures: Impact on your FICO score

Owing to the fact that the timeshare contract is a matter of public record and is regarded as a court judgement, the timeshare contract foreclosure will impact your credit score negatively by 240-280 points. The timeshare foreclosure is usually visible on your credit report for a period of about 7-10 years. On close inspection companies can access this information for a period of up to 10 years thereby making credit extremely difficult to obtain. In certain situations consumers try and short-sell their timeshare contracts. This too negatively impacts your credit score and puts it back by anywhere between 80-120 points and is visible on your credit report for a period of at least 7 years.

Consumers should be aware that like all consumer credit contracts timeshare credit contracts are to be taken seriously. Blemishes on timeshare contracts like all others have a direct negative impact on your credit score. Remember it is prudent to only get that debt which consumers know they can afford and are comfortable paying off. In a strict credit environment where we are experiencing credit contraction like never before it might be wise to ensure that you do everything possible to maintain and improve a good and healthy credit report.

Reference:

1. Timeshare Foreclosures and Your Credit Score – RCI VIP

Pay Off Credit Card Debts – Advantages

Paying off credit card debts definitely has its advantages, all of which together can contribute greatly towards improving your credit report

• Decreased Credit Card Debt:The biggest and most obvious advantage of paying off credit card debts is of course that it reduces your credit card debt  and reduced debt is a financial situation everyone wants to be in.
• Increase Your Spending Money: Making more credit card repayments, means only one thing, you have lesser money in your hand to spend. Paying off your credit card debt will ensure that your spending money in hand increases.
• Impetus To Your Credit Score: The lesser the debt you have the better the chances of improving your credit report. As you are aware, paying off your credit card debt proves that you have good payment history and also reduces your overall debt. This can greatly help boost your credit score.
• Better Serviceability For Future Loans: Paying off your credit card debt, will ensure that your serviceability (the ability to obtain credit) on future credit contracts improves. Lenders look at applicants with minimal debt favourably and hold clients with prompt and good repayment history in high regard.
• No More Interest Payments: When you buy something on your credit card, you are liable for an interest payment on the value of the item purchase. Regular credit card repayments is a good credit card debt solution and this will mean that you will now be able to purchase goods without having to pay extra in the form of interest.
• Surplus Funds For Investments: While a credit card account can be helpful to build good credit, by paying off credit card debts, you are not only increasing your spending money but will also have surplus funds to contribute towards investment accounts or retirement savings accounts.

Credit Card Debt Solution How Tos
Paying off credit card debts is a great solution and some of these credit card debt tips might help to get you started on your mission to pay off credit card debts.

1. Monitor your spending habits and ensure that you are only spending on what you need.
2. Switch to using more cash. Most consumers find it rather difficult to carry cash around, but when you are trying to pay off your credit card debt this can really help.
3. Calculate your payments and always ensure that you have sufficient monies in your account to cover the payment.
4. Create a budget for yourself and use any surplus funds that you might have towards paying off your credit card.
5. Freeze your credit cards. This means literally freeze them. Do not use your cards if you are trying to pay them off. You might even want to cut up your credit cards to ensure that you do not use them.
6. Try and consolidate your credit cards. Instead of having numerous credit cards with small balances, it might be better to just have one credit card with a larger balance. This will help you keep track of your payments and in turn you will be making one payment instead of many. This will also be particularly helpful when you are making increased contributions.

Based on the above facts consumers can conclude that paying off your credit card debt not only has a positive impact on your credit score but also means that you can use those surplus funds towards obtaining more desirable credit e.g. a mortgage. Consumers can also use these surplus funds towards retirement contributions or even towards starting a savings pattern or reducing other debt you might have.

Reference:

1. Tips for Paying Off Credit Card Debt – Credit.com

Filing A Bankruptcy: Credit Report After Bankruptcy

It is essential that consumers understand that bankruptcy is an extremely serious financial situation brought upon a creditor either voluntarily or involuntarily. Either way bankruptcy affects your credit report dramatically. Once you have been declared bankrupt, although you may feel that you are relinquished of your debt obligations, bankruptcy brings with it a whole new string of issues and your credit report after bankruptcy may not paint a pretty picture. Filing a bankruptcy credit is a public record and hence stays on your credit score rating for a period of 10 years or more. The effects of bankruptcy on your credit report may be summarized as follows:

• Filing a bankruptcy is viewed as extremely negative by credit providers. This is considered the worst kind of adversity on your credit report and even supersedes delinquencies and accounts in collections/judgments.
• A bankruptcy on a credit report makes obtaining credit through major channels extremely difficult as lender look at bankruptcy credit clients unfavorably.
• A bankruptcy credit charge on your credit report could lower a good credit report score rating by 100 points or more.
• In the event of filing a bankruptcy all debts are not discharged.
• It is important to understand your debt obligations in the event of being declared bankrupt. Debts such as taxation obligations, student loans, child support and alimony are not discharged. The payments on these obligations need to be made or they will further adversely affect your credit score report.
• Consumers with a bankruptcy credit report may be able to obtain credit through sub-prime channel/non-conforming lenders but this is usually at a very high interest rate and that in turn means you are spending a lot more money.

Fresh Start Bankruptcy

Once a consumer has been declared bankrupt, it is regarded as a fresh start for them and this is known as a fresh start bankruptcy. The consumer with bankruptcy on their credit should now focus on rebuilding their credit report. Although this is a long and tedious process it can be done.

• One way to start is by obtaining small secured amounts of credit and making regular and timely repayments and focusing on paying it back as soon as possible. This will help show good character on the part of the bankrupt consumer.
• Another vital tip is for consumers with bankruptcy on credit reports to obtain their credit score ratings regularly and monitor their progress.

Alternatives To Bankruptcy:

As stated earlier, bankruptcy must be treated as a last resort and consumers should consider all possible bankruptcy alternatives before filing for a bankruptcy. A few possible alternatives to bankruptcy are:

• Managing Your Own Finances: If you feel like you are coming under undue and increasing financial pressure and you money managers are not coping with your changing situation, it might be time to roll up your sleeves and take control of your finances before you end up filing a bankruptcy.
• Debt Mitigation/Restructuring: In the event that you feel you are unable to cope any further with your debts, talk to your creditors and negotiate with them an amount they will accept in return for forgiving a portion of your debt without demanding a bankruptcy on your credit report. Most financial institutions are willing to provide their customers with debt mitigation services.
• Consolidation: Debt consolidation is a powerful tool in managing your debts. This allows consumers to roll all their debt into on facility and make one larger repayment instead of numerous smaller ones and often prevents bankruptcy on credit reports from appearing.
• Filing Chapter 13: This is another powerful tool or bankruptcy alternative which is available to US consumers struggling with their debt obligations. Chapter 13 Wage earner plan is an arrangement which usually lasts for a period of 5 years. The funds earned by the consumers are distributed among the creditors. This could save a person from declaring bankruptcy.

Filing a bankruptcy is a major setback for credit score ratings and therefore it cannot be reiterated enough that a consumer must think seriously before filing for a fresh start bankruptcy. However if you do, your next course of action should be concentrating on removing bankruptcy on your credit report and rebuilding your credit score rating.

Get Free Credit Report – Quick Consumer Credit Guide

Every US citizen is entitled to free copy of their annual credit report from each of the three credit bureaus. This can be done in three ways:

1.      ONLINE: Visit the website www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Please be aware that this is the only authorized website through which consumers can access their credit report for free and others are likely to be “free” credit report scams.

2.      PHONE: You can call the hotline at 1-877-322-8228. However please bear in mind that free annual credit report requests over the phone take about 15 days to process.

3.      MAIL : If you wish to order your credit ratings history by mail, complete the Annual Credit Report request brochure and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, PO BOX 105281, Atlanta GA 30348-5281

Please remember that consumers are entitled to only one free credit report each year and each additional request incurs a charge of about $10.00. In addition to this, please also keep in mind that approaching a consumer credit agency directly will also incur a charge.

Order Free Consumer Credit Report – Advantages

Even though it is free, many consumers do not order their free consumer credit report because they believe it is pointless. However, regularly checking one’s credit rating history has several advantages, some of which are:

• Credit Report Errors: Viewing your free annual credit report regularly will allow you to pick up on any discrepancies and credit report errors that might have crept in to your credit report such as:- Payments not being credited to your accounts
  - Incorrect defaults shown on your account
  - Credit applications or enquires not applied for
  - Incorrect bank judgments and defaults, etc

• Viewing your own Credit Ratings Score: Obtaining your own credit ratings history enables you to view your own credit score and thereby see your credit standing

• Identity Theft : Viewing your annual credit report frequently could protect you against identity theft. Identity theft has been growing at an alarming rate in the country and it might be a good idea to ensure that you are not a victim. In fact, identity theft victims legally qualify for free credit reports at any time of the year.

Adverse Circumstances – Obtain Free Consumer Credit Ratings History

Apart from identity theft, certain other adverse circumstances qualify a consumer for a free credit report which can help them view and if necessary, improve their consumer credit history.

• Negative Outcomes: If you have been denied credit or employment based on adverse comments in your credit ratings report, you can obtain a free credit report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action.

• Unemployment: In case of unemployment, consumers are entitled to a free credit report within 60 days from the date that they lose their job. Under these circumstances you are only allowed one per year.

It is recommended that consumers review their credit reports quarterly or half-yearly as it has been found almost a quarter of all consumer credit ratings reports contain errors. By regularly obtaining and viewing your free annual credit report, you can prevent and rectify errors in your credit ratings history to improve your personal credit ratings history and maintain a healthy credit standing.

Credit Card Accounts To Build Good Credit

Having credit card accounts is not necessarily a bad idea if you use them wisely. To build good credit, you must have a credit history and often applicants with no history on their credit scoring report find it hard to get new credit or loans. For this reason, credit card balance can be useful and help to build good credit. Even if you are in the low income bracket, you might be able to get a low credit limit credit card. However, only apply for a new credit card account if you can afford the repayments or it will just end up damaging your credit scoring report.

Close Credit Card Accounts For Credit Card Balance Transfer?

If you have a credit card balance with Bank A and Bank B comes along and offers you better interest rates, it seems the only logical thing to do would be to close your credit card account with Bank A and transfer your credit card balance to Bank B’s credit card immediately. But before you do that, consider what that means for your credit scoring report.

When moving from one credit card account to another, if the credit line on both accounts is the same, your “debt percentage” stays the same. Your debt percentage is the amount of money you owe in proportion with your credit line. So if you have a $5000 credit line on your credit card account and have used $2500 of it, your debt percentage is 50%. Credit card balance transfer from one account to another with the same credit line does not decrease your debt percentage at all. If your new account has a lower credit line, this increases your debt percentage.

Leave Credit Card Accounts Open For High Credit Score

Transferring your credit card balance to a new account makes sense when you can save money on interest but do it the smart way. If your credit card account with Bank A has been open for 5 years and you have only just opened a new credit card account with Bank B; Bank A is a valuable asset on your credit scoring report. Even if you do not use the account, leave it open. This gives you a larger credit line (Bank A + Bank B) but since the amount of money you owe remains the same, your debt percentage decreases and this is a good way of maintaining a high credit score. If you close your account with Bank A, your well-established credit scoring report history is deleted and you start afresh and this will affect your high credit score.

Build Your Credit With New Credit Card Accounts

Each time you apply for new credit, your credit scoring report rating falls slightly however if used wisely, new credit card accounts can help to build your credit. Here are some tips:

• To build your credit score, your new credit card balance should decrease your debt percentage so think hard before applying.
• Only apply for credit card accounts that you can afford to repay and really need.
• Applying for  too much new credit and too often will negatively impact your credit scoring report and you definitely do not want that.
• Credit card balance transfers to new credit card accounts with lower interest rates will save you money but consider the implications on your credit scoring report and act accordingly.
• If you transfer your credit card balance to a new account, leave the unused old account open for a few years to maintain a high credit score on your credit scoring report. This will help build your credit rating until you have established a repayment history on your new account.