Credit Card ’s Talk

Big banks, mortgage brokers, credit repair companies, web sites and blogs… seems like everyone is giving advice on how to fix your credit. But what advice is real, and how can you trust it?

This is a difficult question to answer.. after all, I am one of those writers that gives advice. How can you trust my advice?

In this article, I am not going to tell you HOW to fix your credit. Rather I will share WHO to talk to and WHY.

When discussing your credit issues, talk to those that have a history of working with that type of credit. For example, if you walk into one of the big banks out there (you know the ones I am talking about) you must keep in mind that the loans they make are to people with excellent credit. They do not go out of their way to help the credit challenged. So when you ask the advisor there, the advice you most likely will get is to clean up your credit and come back to see me. How? Since they don’t really know how, they may advise speaking to a credit repair company. They must know what they are doing.

Credit repair companies are shady at best. I have yet to find one that offered anything beyond what you could do yourself for free… yet they will charge you upwards to $1000 to help you fix your credit. Even Fannie Mae says to steer clear of them. (Fannie Mae is the largest lender of preferred credit mortgage loans in America.)

What about the mortgage brokers? Well, I must admit right now that this is my field. I am a broker in the mortgage industry. Where I feel you have an advantage here is that a broker can take the time to see what your history really is, and if the broker is experienced in sub-prime or credit issue loans, chances are they work with credit challenges everyday. This is my profession in a nut shell. I work with people on a daily basis that have major credit issues. Through this experience, I have learned what CHANGES credit and improves scores.. and not by old tricks that don’t work.

The best advice I can give to someone seeking advice is to weigh the expert’s experience in actually helping to turn things around. Ask for referrals… ask for proof that they can make a difference. Their advice might not be the conventional advice, but do you want cookie cutter advice for you?

Good luck in your search. It can be tricky out there, but there are still good professionals out there that can make a difference for you.

About the author:

Ed Nailor is a webmaster, writer and works in the financial and credit fields. His websites, BestNewCreditCards.com, OrchardBankApproval.com and PlasticPlatinum.com have the most current credit card offers online. Each card has a comprehensive review, details about each offer, and a link to the site for instant online applications. For more information on home mortgages in North and South Carolina, or to contact Ed Nailor directly, visit his website at DropRent.com

Step 4: Old Negative Credit

Old Negative credit affecting your credit score? You may have been told to pay off the old stuff… or to work with credit repair companies.

Important Note about Credit Repair Services… Buyer Beware!

Most of them offer the same level of service you can provide yourself… and for a lot less money! You can write the credit bureaus and challenge everything just like they do. However, to get something off your credit for good, you must provide proof that the dispute is for real. You can challenge everything without proof, but you will end up where you started, or worse. And despite their claims, majority of these credit repair firms barely provide a temporary fix at best.

How are your scores calculated?

Your credit score is made up of many factors… types of credit, amount of credit, payment history, length of time, etc. However, consistently you will find that what has happened during the past 24 months will weigh the most in your score. Also try to avoid the finance companies (you know, ones with 23% rates) as credit scores typically don’t like that type of credit account!

How will paying old stuff really affect scores?

Not as you expect! You see, most old negative credit is just that… old. Although it is still showing up on your credit report (and will for 7-10 years), if it is one to two years old (or more) it may not be really affecting your score. Paying off that old credit, while it sounds like the right thing to do, may bring your score down! Because the past 24 months mean a lot, by paying something off you will update the last activity date… so that old collection from 2 years ago that wasn’t affecting your score now gets a newer date and gets factored in again. And although it’s a paid collection… it’s still a collection weighing into your scores. If you are considering buying a home, leaving that old account alone for now may be better. Plan to pay off those collections after you close on your home!

The Bottom Line:

Most folks with credit issues simply give up on credit and are afraid to get new credit. Since a major factor in your score is payment history over the past 24 months, a lack of current credit hurts scores. By continuing on this path scores can drop or even disappear. You must have Positive Credit working hard to overcome the negative credit in order to improve your scores! Don’t give up.. you can get your credit back where it needs to be and get everything in life you need. Patience and persistence will make all the difference. Best of luck to you!

About the author:

Ed Nailor is a webmaster, writer and works in the financial and credit fields. His websites, BestNewCreditCards.com, OrchardBankApproval.com and PlasticPlatinum.com have the most current credit card offers online. Each card has a comprehensive review, details about each offer, and a link to the site for instant online applications. For more information on home mortgages in North and South Carolina, or to contact Ed Nailor directly, visit his website at DropRent.com

If you need to establish credit, or rebuild your damaged credit, a secured credit card may be exactly what you need. Even if your credit history is rough, a secured card will not only guarantee approval, but will go along way in establishing good positive credit and habits.

Secured cards are typically guaranteed to get approved. That’s because you are required to deposit money into a savings account with the card issuer. This deposit will be the same as your credit limit, so if you want a $1000 credit limit you would deposit $1000. This pretty much guarantees that the creditor will not lose their money and that guarantee will get you approved.

The credit limit does not have to be high, which is a good thing. To improve your credit, you need to establish good history. Don’t go out and max out your card right away! Don’t wait until the last day of the month to make a payment. And don’t think of this card as anything more than a tool.

If you treat the new card like a good credit tool you will set yourself up to reap the rewards very soon. Here are a few things to do with your card:

Right away, pay off any automatic charges to the card, including the enrollment fee (if any), the annual fee (if any) and any other fees you agreed to pay up front. These will get added to your first statement.

Next, once those fees are paid, use the card sparingly. Don’t max out the limit. Rather only use about 10-20% of the card’s limit. (Again, if you have a $1000 limit, charge between $100-200 a month.) It is recommended you only charge items you would have bought anyway… gas, groceries, etc. When your bill comes in, pay it off completely again so you don’t pay any interest.

By following these simple directions, you will build positive credit and begin to turn the bad credit around. Best of luck to you.

About the author: Ed Nailor is a webmaster, writer and works in the financial and credit fields. His websites, BestNewCreditCards.com, OrchardBankApproval.com and PlasticPlatinum.com have the most current credit card offers online. Each card has a comprehensive review, details about each offer, and a link to the site for instant online applications. For more information on home mortgages in North and South Carolina, or to contact Ed Nailor directly, visit his website at DropRent.com

Often business owners obtain business credit cards in order to take advantage of reward programs like cash back incentives or airline miles. However, business credit cards offer a lot of other benefits to help businesses keep track and manage expenses. With less danger of impulse spending with a business credit card, the specialized statements you can get from your business credit cards can keep your expenses organized and easy to follow.

Many people are concerned about how easy plastic makes spending money. Yet business credit cards are rarely used for impulse or unnecessary purchases, instead they are used as a convenient way to purchase things the business needs. When you use a business credit card, you will be able to rack where your money is going more easily, allowing you to create a more accurate budget.

Most business credit cards offer an expense reporting option that breaks down your purchases into common categories. This breakdown allows you to analyze the data provided by your business credit card in order to see what percentages of your spending are going to specific types of expenses. For instance, you will be able to see how much you are spending on office supplies versus entertainment or travel.

Some business credit cards allows you to customize your statements or provide them to you in a format that is compatible with many brands of business supporting software for accounting activities. Companies can now use these web-based reports to provide real-time monitoring of spending on a daily basis. If you are looking to have more control over your expenses along with creating an audit trail, using a business credit card can help.

Besides creating better reports, business credit cards also allow you to consolidate your expenses for a number of employees. Gone are the days where each employee has to submit detailed expense reports piled high with receipts that need to be reviewed and verified. Many of the companies offering business credit can break down the invoice into specific reports for each business credit card user. Business credit cards also help the employee who used to have to wait for the expense reports to be processed in order to receive a reimbursement check.

Business credit cards that are compatible with new expense reporting software simplify the process for both the employee and the accounting department. While your invoices can be broken down by employee, this reporting software allows your staff to look over and approve their charges before submitting an expense report electronically. The software also allows you to forecast future travel expenses.

Read the rest of the article here: Business Credit Card.

Download the Home Based Business Manual (Free $97 Value!) and receive valuable tips, strategies and techniques designed to grow a very successful Home Based Business.

Charles Fuchs is an established Six Figure Income earner and one of the top online marketer’s. He specializes in showing people the fastest way to Starting a business.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would your rate your credit? How about a scale of 350-850? If you aren’t too sure, you might want to check into it. There are plenty of sites online where you can get a free copy of your credit report and credit score.

Did you know that scores below 640 are considered poor credit? If you are currently in this category, here’s a few tips that may help. If you have pulled yourself up from below 640, see if these tips are familiar. If not, they may actually help push your scores up more!

First, lets talk about time. Time is one of the greatest gifts you have in rebuilding your credit… so don’t waste it. By not doing something now, you only make the process longer! The longer you do the right things, the better your scores will get!

Second, if you have simply given up on your credit, get on with life! Your mistakes of the past do not have to dictate your future. Learn from the past and use the right types of credit to build your credit file.

Third, start off easy and small. Don’t worry about getting the $10,000 personal credit line right off the bat. It’s like deciding to buy a new BMW or Mercedes the day after your old car way repossessed! Start off with a secured loan using your savings account. There are credit unions and banks that will lend you as little as $500 provided you put $500 in their savings.

Fourth, get a revolving credit card and use it properly. Do not max it out. Simply charge a small amount each month and pay it off each month when the bill arrives. This will really give your score a kick!

Finally, take it easy and slow. Don’t worry about trying to get from 520 to 780 overnight. It’s safe to say your scores probably didn’t drop overnight, so don’t expect them to raise up that quickly either.

Good luck and happy credit building!

Ed Nailor is works in the financial and credit fields. For new credit cards designed to rebuild credit, visit http://www.BestNewCreditCards.com/poor-credit-cards.htm(the most current credit card offers online.) For more credit tips, visit http://www.BestNewCreditCards.com/free-articles.htm.

If you are credit challenged, you may think that you have no options when it comes to obtaining credit cards. However, with the multitude of banks offering credit cards today, you do have choices if you know where to look. There are a number of credit cards available to you whether you have good credit, bad credit, or average credit.

Many people are under the impression that credit cards are only for people with perfect credit. While the major providers of credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express do prefer to offer credit cards to people with excellent credit, there are a range of credit cards out there available to most people. Financial institutions usually have a range of credit cards for people with all different types of credit.

If you are credit challenged, meaning you struggle with your credit rating, you may still have the option of unsecured credit cards, secured credit cards, and prepaid debit cards. Each one of these credit cards comes with benefits, so you will need to assess your financial situation and how you will use your credit to determine which credit cards are best for you. For instance, if you plan to only use your credit cards in case of emergencies or for securing travel arrangements, then you may only need a prepaid debit card.

However, if you want credit cards that allow you to borrow money for a short period, then you might want to look into traditional unsecured credit cards. Even if you have bad credit, there are unsecured credit cards available for you, though you may have to pay more for your annual fee or interest rate. This means that if you have bad credit, you may want to pay close attention to the types of purchases you put on your credit cards. If you are only planning to pay a minimum balance each month, the purchases you place on your unsecured credit cards will cost you significantly more. Therefore, you will want to avoid putting unnecessary items on your credit cards.

If unsecured credit cards are not an option for you, then secured credit cards are a great way to begin rebuilding your credit. Secured credit cards require that you put a deposit into a saving account as collateral against the balance of the card. Secured credit cards are a way for financial institutions to reduce their risk when offering individuals credit cards. If you are responsible with your payments, your secured credit cards will often become unsecured credit cards as the bank continues to increase your unsecured available balance. Also, since your deposit is in an interest bearing account, you will find that you will be earning money on your investment, too.

Read the rest of the article here: Credit Cards.

Download the Home Based Business Manual (Free $97 Value!) and receive valuable tips, strategies and techniques designed to grow a very successful Home Based Business.

Charles Fuchs is an established Six Figure Income earner and one of the top online marketer’s. He specializes in showing people the fastest way to Starting a business.