9 Helpful Tools for Fixing Your Credit

9 Helpful Tools for Fixing Your Credit

by | Apr 5, 2016

You know you have a problem — a credit score problem — but you don’t know how to fix it.

There are so many different possibilities that could be the source of your credit problems that it’s hard to know where to start. Here are some tools to help you understand, diagnose and manage your credit problems so you can fix your credit once and for all.

1. Spending Alerts

One of the biggest factors impacting your credit score is how much debt you have. Setting up spending alerts on your credit cards can help you make sure you don’t let your balances wreck your credit. Spending more than 30% of your credit limits on revolving accounts, like credit cards, can do major credit score damage. In fact, people with the best scores spend less than 10% of their limits. Some credit card companies let you set spending alerts for when you’ve charged more than a certain dollar amount or a certain percentage of your credit line. These alerts can help you make sure you keep that major credit scoring factor in check.

2. A Credit Card Payoff Calculator

The easiest way to hurt that “amount of debt” credit scoring factor is by carrying a balance on your credit cards. When interest charges accrue, they can quickly add to an already-high balance, doing double damage — you’re in credit card debt and your credit score is taking a hit. You can use a credit card payoff calculator like this one to get a handle on your debt and make a plan for paying it down.

3. Free Annual Credit Reports

If you don’t know what the problem is, how can you fix it? That’s why your free, federally-mandated annual credit reports are so important. Your credit reports have the raw data your credit scores are based on. You can get a free annual credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com from each of the three major credit reporting agencies.

4. Free Credit Scores

There are a lot of places where you can get your credit scores for free nowadays. You can check two of your credit scores for free every month on Credit.com, and many credit card issuers and banks offer a monthly credit score for customers as well. Checking your credit scores regularly can help you track your progress as you work to improve your scores.

5. Disputes

By law, every major credit reporting agency must have a dispute process in place for correcting errors on consumers’ reports. Just one late payment reported in error can drop your credit score significantly, so a dispute can be a powerful tool. Here’s an in-depth guide to disputing credit report errors. 

6. Credit Repair

For people with many errors on their credit reports, the dispute process may not be sufficient to get everything fixed with all the credit bureaus. Some people want to hit the easy button and not have to file all the disputes and track whether the errors are removed. Those people may want to consider a credit repair company — here are tips for picking a reputable one.

7. Credit Freezes & Fraud Alerts

If you’re a victim of identity theft, fixing your credit can be incredibly difficult. Someone took your personal information, like your Social Security number, old addresses, maiden name, etc. It’s one thing to dispute incorrectly reported information on your credit report when you hold all the information, but it’s another thing entirely once those details are out of your hands. In fact, you run the risk of being victimized over and over and over again — your Social Security number doesn’t expire, after all. That’s where filing for a credit freeze or fraud alert can come in handy. These are tools the major credit reporting agencies provide to help fraud victims protect their credit.

Fraud alerts require a lender or creditor to further verify your information when anyone applies for credit in your name. This helps ensure it is actually you who is applying for credit and not your identity thief. A freeze goes one step further and essentially shuts down access to your credit file until you unfreeze it. Depending on where you live, a credit freeze may be free or come with a fee.

8. Cash

A credit problem is often a cash problem as well, but sometimes it isn’t. For example, if you’re recovering from bankruptcy, short sale or other credit disaster, it can be hard to get new credit because your credit score is so low. But, you can get a secured credit card and start rebuilding your credit if you have some cash you can use to “secure” the card. These cards require a cash deposit that generally serves as your credit limit. Treating that account right, paying your bill on time and managing your credit usage, can help you build credit quickly and allow you to eventually access a standard credit card.

9. Lifetime Cost of Debt Calculator

Sometimes the key to building good credit is simply to stay motivated. That’s where this lifetime cost of debt calculator can come in handy. Plug in your age, where you live and a few other details and you can see just how much a good credit score can cost you in a lifetime vs. how much a bad credit score will cost you. The price tag alone will keep you focused on a better credit score.

More from Credit.com

This article originally appeared on Credit.com.

Save $1,000 in 3 Months or Less

Save $1,000 in 3 Months or Less

by | Apr 4, 2016

By Jonathan Vasquez

Recent data shows that Americans struggle to save money. We could blame the economy, the government, or the latest weather forecast but at the end of the day, savings come down to understanding your personal cash flow, and managing your budget properly.

Bad money management leads to the accumulation of debt. When you have no savings, and you have an emergency come up, the natural reaction is to use a credit card. This results in ever growing debt accounts, and shrinking or non existent saving accounts.

When I started making better financial decisions I knew I had to create a budget that would work for me and start saving as soon as possible. I set a goal of saving $1,000 as fast as humanly possible without reducing my lifestyle. The best way to save money is by taking money that you are spending on something and moving it to your savings account instead. I found a few ways to save enough money on recurring expenses to save $1,000 in just two months!

Call your cellphone provider – My monthly cellphone bill was $180 per month. I had grown so used to paying that much for my service that it didn’t seem like a lot. After multiple security questions and a few minutes of analyzing different options, I was able to lower my cellphone bill to $105! That’s $75 in savings every month or $900 a year.

Cut the cord – I’m sure the CEOs of Comcast, Time Warner, and Verizon are nice guys, but given he choice of keeping money in my pocket or putting it in theirs, my pocket will always win. Called the cable company in 2011 and cancelled my service. I have not had cable since then. That’s $100 saved every month or $1,200 per year.

Cook at home – On an average day outside of the home, I spend $25 eating out. That’s an $8 protein shake at the gym, a $9 chicken bowl at Chipotle, $5 coffee at Starbucks, and coffee and a pastry at my favorite Cuban spot in Miami. If I were to do that 3 times a week for a month it would add up to a whooping $300! Cook at home and save money. I figure I can cook a meal for about $2.50 – including the protein shakes. Three meals a day, three times a week, over four weeks come out to $90. You can save about $210 per month by not eating out, more if you eat out more often. $210 per month come out to $2,520 per year.

Buy in bulk – This includes purchasing a membership at a whole sale club like BJ’s, Costco, or Sam’s. My Costco membership has saved me thousands of dollars over the years, and as an added feature, it gives me 2% cashback at the end of the year. By purchasing all my main grocery items in bulk I can easily save 30% on my monthly grocery bill. My grocery expenses dropped from around $550 per month to a little under $400. Naturally, this number fluctuates as prices are not fixed, but on an average month I can save $100 on groceries, or $1,200 in a year.

Adjust the lights – It’s very easy to waste energy and inadvertently pay for electricity that you didn’t need to use. Living in Florida it becomes very easy to over spend in cooling expenses. Using the dryer while your AC is running, or even leaving the AC running on your preferred setting while you are away can result in increased energy consumption. Adjust the use of the dryer, dishwasher, and lights throughout your home and you will see a big difference. My electric bill went from $200 per month to $147 over the summer – it is usually lower during the “winter months”. $50 per months add up to $600 a year.

In five simple steps you can save $500+ starting in your first month. In 3 months you can easily save $1000 or more and make yourself ready for any emergencies that may come your way.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Save-$1,000-in-3-Months-or-Less&id=9200414] Save $1,000 in 3 Months or Less

How to Go From Minimum Wage to Six Figures

How to Go From Minimum Wage to Six Figures

by | Apr 1, 2016

Now that is the million dollar question everybody is asking, right? Well let me tell you, I learned how to go from minimum wage to six figures over a period of time. It was an interesting journey that I believe anyone can take with a plan.

So how do you do it? You do it by having a plan of action and actually taking that action until you reach your goal. That’s it in a nutshell. As easy or simple as it sounds, believe me it is not an easy journey and not for lazy or scary people.

My Single Mom Minimum Wage to Six Figures Story

I did it with my two kids, a full-time job, classes and homework, and a ton of determination. There were times I wanted to quit. There are days I cried and felt like giving up. Sometimes there were even people who tried to stop me. I even got distracted and off course for a little while, but I would not give up.

I went from working at the Probate Office in the county courthouse for the then minimum wage of $6.35/hr to a temporary job for $8.00 at AFLAC. Then I was hired full-time with benefits at $10.00/hr. My journey took me back to college after 10 years with a 6-month old and a four year old to a new city. My pay dropped to $8.50/hr working for the college then went up to $12/hr part time as an intern at NASA.

I was then hired as a full-time contract technical writer making $17/hr. Within a year I was promoted to Sr. technical writer and received a raise to $20/hr. From there I went to other companies and made $27/hr, $32/hr, $45/hr, to $50+/hr. As my skills and experience increased so did my income. I went from court clerk to SharePoint Corporate Trainer. None of what I’m sharing is to brag but it’s to show you that my hard work, prayers, and determination made the difference.

Even though I am a single mom it has never kept me from going after my dream. Maybe part of it is that I’ve always been an over achiever, but it’s mostly that I did not and would not let my circumstances or other people dictate my life and financial future. I decided what I wanted to do and I did it because I had two amazing kids keeping me motivated.

Dreams, Goals, & Plans are Key

You simply cannot give up on your dreams. You have to turn those dreams into goals. You have to create a plan. I’m not saying it has to be perfect but it has to at least drive you toward something better.

My process for going from $6.35 an hour to six figures was not a cut and dry path. I did not have a blueprint or cheatsheet. The truth is I had to piece together several parts to get to where I wanted to be. I can share those pieces with you but it’s up to you to take them and apply them to your life. In the end, it will probably look nothing like my journey.

Get the Puzzle Pieces Here

If you want to get the pieces to my puzzle you can join, enroll, or grab my $6.35 to Six Figures Master Class. In it I share how to create a Money Master Plan to elevate your income and upgrade your quality of life! There is no magic bullet but I can say my methods are sound and will help you along this financial journey.