Are Your Credit Reports In Need Of A Good Cleaning?

Need to spruce up your credit rating with a review for your credit reports? Here are some free tips help you get started the right way right now!

Now is a great time to get your finances - including your credit - in order. So, if you've been neglecting your credit like those old dusty boxes of clothes you can't quite part with yet, use the spirit of spring cleaning to spruce up your finances.


Experian has developed four tips to help you spring clean your credit:



1. Know your report and your score

Despite what you may have heard, accessing your own credit report does not affect your credit scores. Reviewing a credit report results in what is called a "soft pull," or "soft inquiry," meaning it will only be seen on a personal credit report, not the ones lenders use. Everyone should check their reports at least annually. It's part of good credit management. You can get your credit report at http://www.experian.com/. Purchasing a scored report will help you identify the factors in your report that are most influencing your credit risk.



2. Pay your bills on time

Paying your bills on time is the single most important contributor to a good credit score. If a bill is not paid in a timely manner, the delinquent payment may be reported as late to a credit bureau. Delinquent payments and collections can have a major negative impact on credit scores. Even if the debt you owe is a small amount, it is crucial that you make payments on time. In addition, you should minimize outstanding debt, avoid overextending yourself and refrain from applying for credit needlessly.



3. Start paying off your credit card debt and leave the account open

Paying down debts and paying off credit cards is always good for your credit, but closing a credit account could have a negative impact on your credit scores, at least for a short time. Some people start with their smallest debt. They can pay it off fairly quickly, which gives them a sense of accomplishment. That payment amount can then be added to the payments for a larger debt so that it can be paid off more quickly. Others start with a large debt and get it out of the way. Getting a big weight off your shoulders can help knock out the remaining debts faster. If one debt has a higher finance charge, it is always smart to pay the most toward the balance of that account. That's because so much of your money is going toward fees and interest and is not lowering the amount of the debt. When it is paid off, all the money you were paying in interest can be applied to the balance of another account.



4. Use credit wisely

Once you've paid down your debts, continue to use your credit cards and pay the bills on time each month, and keep your balances low. Credit scoring systems not only look at individual credit card balances, they also consider something called your utilization rate (or balance to credit limit ratio). Your utilization rate is the total of the balances on all of your credit cards compared to the total of the credit limits on all of your credit cards. For example, if your credit card's limit is $10,000 and you owe $2,500 - your credit utilization rate is 25 percent. According to Experian, consumers on average are utilizing more of their available credit. At the end of 2009, the average utilization was 22.1 percent compared to the same time last year when average utilization was at 19.1 percent. Closing accounts reduces your available credit, which can increase your utilization ratio or balance-to-limit ratio - a sign of risk that can negatively impact credit scores.



While there is no quick fix for bad credit scores, there are straightforward steps we can all take to help clean up and improve our financial well-being. So when you're clearing out the clutter in your living room, don't forget to review your finances and see what else you can do to get organized for the spring season. For answers to other financial questions and more information about Experian, visit www.experian.com/crediteducation.


Article courtesy of ARAcontent

Recommended reading:

BestCredit: How to Win the Credit Game, 2nd Edition
Living Well with Bad Credit: Buy a House, Start a Business, and Even Take a VacationNo Matter How Low Your Credit Score
The Road to 850: Proven Strategies for Increasing Your Credit Score
How You Can Profit from Credit Cards: Using Credit to Improve Your Financial Life and Bottom Line

Are Student Loans Ruining Your Credit?

Late payments on your student loans are one easy way to ruin your credit score, and the problem will only get worse if you choose to ignore the problem!
Learn how deferment of your student loans might be the best option to get some breathing room on your education loans, catch up on past due payments, and try to start fresh with a new budget.
You'll also learn what the difference is between deferment vs. forbearance. Good info you might want to share with others you know who are struggling to pay off student loans.

Professional Credit Repair Can Help Credit Dispute... But For A Price

Are you interested in fixing your credit report, but afraid to do it yourself? You can do it. But if you'd rather pay someone else to do it for you, if you don't feel comfortable negotiating debt settlements or writing credit dispute letters, then hiring a reputable credit repair professional does make sense to get qualified, expert help to solve your credit problems.

No matter if your credit problems stem from your past poor credit habits or simple mistakes that the credit bureaus failed to correct, or even more serious issues like identity theft, turning to a professional credit repair attorney will give you immense peace of mind.

The secret is simple: you need to be selective, to shop around, ask lots of questions and hire the best you can afford.

It's said that professional legal credit repair law firms provide the best options for getting black marks erased from your credit report; however, be aware that oftentimes, getting entries removed from your credit report merely depend on the passage of time. Don't let anyone tell you that they can expunge entries for you that are accurate (they can't) and those who might advise you to open a new credit file, alleging "identity theft" (that's illegal).

Locate the best professional help you can afford using these helpful links. We are not affiliated in any financial arrangement with any of these links; we simply wish to provide you the reader with a selection of helpful websites to begin your search:

http://www.lawinfo.com/fuseaction/Client.lawarea/categoryid/1123
http://www.creditrestorationbureau.com/
http://www.creditrestorationbureau.com/
http://www.attorneycreditrepairguide.com/
http://ezinearticles.com/?Credit-Repair-Lawyers---Six-Reasons-For-Using-One&id=3545501
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/02/facta.shtm

How Credit Debt Settlement Letters Can Help Settle Past Due Credit Account

Credit debt problems can generally be resolved with just a few simple steps all by yourself. There's no need to hire professional credit repair to restore good credit. You can fix your own credit rating, and in time, improve your FICO credit score.

Here's what you need to keep in mind when you are preparing a credit report dispute:

Credit debt settlement is one way to settle past due balances on your oldest credit account. There are distinct steps to write a settlement letter that will lay out your plan to pay off your debts in exchange for favorable treatment of your credit rating.

Credit dispute options include phone calls and emails and entries in website forms... but the best option, in my opinion, is still writing a letter to fix your credit.

Your credit reference will be tested when you apply for a new loan, buy new auto insurance, and even, more often than not, when you apply for a new job... so you must take steps to fix your credit. Request credit report from each of the Big Three credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Identify every page of the reports. Take action to get rid of key derogatories that are outdated or untrue. If necessary, add your 100-word explanation to tell your side of the story (i.e., you were late on credit card payments three months due to being unemployed during that period, etc.)

Credit report service availability is available at no-cost from the truly free www.annualcreditreport.com -- so there's no need to pay to check your credit. (It is true, however, that if you want to get your FICO credit score, you must pay a fee for this.)

A credit repair company can indeed offer you professional credit repair services for a fee. But watch out. If you are required to pay for the service upfront or if you are not notified that you can do this yourself, then you may be dealing with a firm that is skirting the law. Stay clear.

So as you can see, it's simple to solve your credit debt problems by yourself. For free tips on how you can fix your own credit rating, and eventually raise your FICO credit score, visit www.FindHow2.com/repair-credit.html. For free sample credit dispute letters and templates to tailor to your own credit relief program, visit http://www.credit-letters.com/.

Should Credit Reports Be Ordered At Same Time Or Spread Out Over 12 Months?

One good question found at the www.AnnualCreditReport.com website revolves around timing to pull all 3 credit scores:

Great question: I've always wanted to get a "snapshot" of my credit all at the same time to compare the different reports. There could be a blemish in one report which isn't showing up in the other two credit reports, and there's no way to know it until you've applied ... and gotten turned down ... for a new loan. Then it's a pain to tackle restoring that credit report. Wasted time.
My take: better to order all three major credit reports at the same time. Review the reports for accuracy. If you find errors or outdated entries, take steps to dispute the credit reports.
More free tips can be found at http://www.findhow2.com/repair-credit.html
Amazon.com has this unique title available:

Free Credit Report: Credit Reporting Agencies and Credit Repair

Q: Should I order all my credit reports at one time or space them out over 12 months?

A: You are entitled to receive one free credit report every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies through the Central Source. It is entirely your choice whether you order all three credit reports at the same time or order one now and others later. The advantage of ordering all three at the same time is that you can compare them. (However, you will not be eligible for another free credit report from the Central Source for 12 months.) On the other hand, the advantage of ordering one now and others later (for example, one credit report every four months) is that you can keep track of any changes or new information that may appear on your credit report. Remember, you are entitled to receive one free credit report through the Central Source every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – so if you order from only one company today you can still order from the other two companies at a later date.

Bad Credit Score Limits Job Prospects

With millions of people on unemployment in this country during this Great Recession, struggling to make ends meet, perhaps falling behind on loan payments and mortgage debts, this article from Philly.com shows how bad credit is keeping the unemployed out of work even longer:
Read full article here

It's a shame employers don't consider all the factors in this. But it's the business. YOUR business is to fix your credit history by getting your credit report cleaned up and working diligently to improve your credit score.

Start today by visiting and bookmarking these free web resources:

http://www.findhow2.com/

http://blog.pay-off-credit-cards.com/

http://www.findhow2.com/restoring-good-credit.html

New credit card laws affect credit debt

The Federal Reserve's newly adopted rules for credit card companies have been in place for nearly 2 years. Has this meant that new credit card protections are still in store for you?
Key changes are: more advance notice and real limits on changes, relief from fees, and simpler disclosure.

Credit card relief will best be felt by limits on credit card interest. Credit card apr and balance transfer credit cards will now have real value to you as you try to escape credit card debt.

Credit card offers may keep multiplying in your inbox and your mailbox as this new law keeps affecting us in every walk of life. Business credit card offers and 0 credit card offers might sound tempting. But it's important to select the credit card that's right for you.

You can visit our website for more free advice on credit cards at http://www.findhow2.com.

And check out these two helpful sites, that can help explain the new credit card laws in plain English:


CreditCards.com


FederalReserve.gov