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A good credit score is a huge advantage when it comes to borrowing money. It can mean the difference between paying 5-6% interest on a mortgage and paying around 9% on a mortgage. It can have similar or even great impacts on other kinds of loans. It’s worth having good credit.

A the best credit scores are in the 720-850 range, although scores over 700 are still pretty good. Go beneath a score of 560 or so and you are looking at paying a lot more when you owe money.

How Do You Get a Good Credit Score?

Be good with your credit, of course. That’s the simple answer but there’s a bit more to it than just that.

If you have no credit at all, start out by establishing your credit with a card you use monthly and pay off. It will show that you know how to use credit. If you want to buy a home, having some sort of credit history is vital. Just one card is necessary, and avoid paying a fee if at all possible.

If you can’t avoid paying a fee, deal with it for six months to a year, then ask for it to be removed or choose a new card that won’t charge you a fee. There’s no point in paying a fee any longer than necessary. Read the rest of this entry »

Filing for bankruptcy is a huge decision, and one that should not be made lightly. In fact, even starting the formal paperwork should be done cautiously, as even the fact that you started filing for bankruptcy then changed your mind can stay on your credit report.

A bankruptcy lawyer can be a big help. Filing incorrectly can limit the benefit you get from bankruptcy. Knowing which kind of bankruptcy to file and how to protect your most important assets.

The Consumer Rights Group website offers some basic, useful information on bankruptcy. They also have an easy questionnaire that can be evaluated for free by a local attorney. If you think you’re going to need legal help with a bankruptcy, finding an attorney is just one more source of stress. Filling out a questionnaire and letting one come to you can be a bit of a relief.

Of course, you should always avoid bankruptcy if at all possible. Paying your bills on time and being financially responsible is the best choice. But sometimes life takes a turn that makes paying your bills impossible, and bankruptcy can be a huge relief.

Rewards credit card offers are all over the place. Sometimes they’re a good deal, but other times they are not. But the gas rewards cards are some of the most popular. Why is that and are they worth it?

What Makes Gas Rewards Cards So Popular?

A part of the popularity right now relates to how fast gas prices have been rising lately. Over the past few years gas prices have gone up and down significantly, but far more up than down. This means that people are spending more money at gas stations and want to get more for their money.

What Are the Benefits?

Gas rewards cards are much like other rewards credit cards. You spend money, you get rewards. The difference is that you get a higher percent back on your gas purchases, generally around 3-6%. These rewards are generally given as a rebate on your credit card. Sometimes you may be able to get other kinds of rewards.

Sometimes your card may even give you a free tank of gas, just for being a good customer. What you get depends on which card you have. Read the rest of this entry »

Many people rely on their credit cards for day to day purchases, even if they don’t carry a balance. It’s much easier than cash in many ways, and if you lose your card you have some recourse. Cash is just gone.

The trouble is that there are so many things that can go wrong with a credit card. If you don’t catch on quickly it can be a major hassle to get these things taken care of.

Stolen credit cards

It’s just painful when your credit card is stolen. You have to report it, cancelling your old credit card with the company and having them issue you a new one. You have to check for purchases you didn’t make so that you won’t have to pay for them.

But compared to other possible problems, this is nothing.

Swiping credit cards

Sometimes a dishonest employee at an otherwise reputable establishment can steal your credit card information. This one is harder to spot since you still have your card. You don’t know that anything is wrong until you get your bill and there are charges you didn’t make on it.

Some theives have a card reader that holds your information for them. All it takes is a quick swipe, just as with the regular credit card terminal. Others will go low tech and just write out the information. In many ways that can be a greater risk for the theif, since writing takes longer, but still not that hard to accomplish.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re going to carry a balance on your credit cards, one of the most important factors is how low an interest rate you can get. The lower the rate, the easier it will be to pay off your debts. It is very much so worth some time comparing rates and fees.

The simplest factor to consider is the annual percentage rate you are likely to be charged. However, the actual rate you get may vary from the original quote in many cases, if your credit score is not sufficient. Most offers will note that the best rate is reserved for the best credit.

However, we’ll assume for the moment that your credit is adequate to get something more or less along the lines of what is offered. You’re not the sort to tell yourself that you have good credit when in fact it’s a mess.

But there can be more to finding the best credit card rates than just looking at the APR. You also have to consider what you need the card for.

For example, if you are going to transfer a balance over from another card, what is that going to cost you? Are there balance transfer fees? What’s the APR on balance transfers? How long does that last? Read the rest of this entry »

When you buy a home, you buy the one that is closest to what you want in a home. That’s good enough at first, but over time you think of things you would like to do to improve your home. A home equity loan is a natural thought, since serious home improvements are beyond most families’ budget.

How much of a loan you can take out depends on the equity you have in your home. This is how much of the value of your home you do not owe on your current mortgage. The standard home equity loan has a term anywhere from 5-15 years.

If you choose a home equity loan, you will want to have a pretty good idea as to how much money you need to borrow. You will want to get enough to cover all the costs of your remodeling. Get estimates first, and don’t cut your budget so close that you cannot cope with changes.

If you’re not sure of what you will need, a home equity line of credit (HELOC) is another good option. Same kind of deal as a home equity loan, save that with a HELOC you can borrow just what you need when you need it. You only pay interest on that which you have actually borrowed already. This can be quite an advantage over the plain home equity loan, where you will be paying on the entire amount as soon as you take out the loan. Read the rest of this entry »

Credit card usage is a fact of life for many people. They’re very necessary for most lifestyles, and a convenience. But you have to think about what makes a credit card good for you.

0% credit cards are interesting to many people. It’s a way to borrow money for no cost for a few months. Where people get caught is when they don’t pay attention to the interest rate later. This is why it is important to compare credit cards.

Some people have a lot of credit cards, but I’ve always felt it best to have no more than two. This means you don’t have to keep too much track of which card needs to be paid when. It’s a number that is not that hard to handle.

My own personal favorite has always been a low interest rate. I don’t like to pay a lot for the times I need to carry a balance. But without that, I’d look at the rewards, and decide which made the most sense to me. It’s a personal choice, and what appeals to one person may not be appealing to another.

It’s painful the day you realize it has happened to you - someone has stolen your identity and done terrible things to your credit score. It’s painful, and getting through this can take years.

The discovery can come about in a variety of ways. Many people don’t realize their identity has been stolen until suddenly they cannot get the credit they just applied for. Upon checking their credit report, they discover accounts they never authorized listed under their names.

Another possibility is that you will simply have had a credit card stolen, and so receive a phone call from your current credit card company noting unusual use on your account. You may have even received one of these calls legitimately, when you have done unusual spending with your card. But these calls can be a wonderful alert that something has gone wrong and someone is abusing your credit.

How you will react depends on the situation. If it’s a stolen credit card or credit card number, you can cancel the credit card and get a new one. You are often well advised to place an alert on your account, which requires some effort on your part, but is one way to know if there are more problems. Read the rest of this entry »