What You Should Know about Experian

[E]xperian is one of the three major credit reporting agencies for the US. It is the newest, formed in 1996. It also happens to be the biggest of the three with around 220 million consumers included and 25 million businesses.
What Experian Does
Just like with the other two credit reporting...
What You Should Know about Experian

What You Need to Know about Disputing Information on Your Credit Report

[I]f you check your credit reports, there is a good chance that you might find an error. Statistics show that one in five credit reports contain errors. That’s not good news for consumers who rely on credit reports for new credit and loans. However, you can dispute any errors and get them...
What You Need to Know about Disputing Information on Your Credit Report

Common Myths on Building Credit

If you are just starting out on your own, you may have a hard time getting credit cards or loans because of a lack of credit history. You must build credit to get access to the best credit cards and loans, but you can mess things up if you don’t know how to do it correctly. Here are some common...
Common Myths on Building Credit

Before You Rent Your First Apartment

[W]hether you’re a returning college student ready to move out of the dorms and into an apartment or a recent graduate getting a full-time job, one of the big decisions you will make is where you’ll live. If you’ve never rented an apartment before, the process may be exciting and even a bit...
Before You Rent Your First Apartment

3 Ways Credit Matters to Everyone

[Y]ou pay everything with cash. Your motto is “If I can’t pay cash, I can’t afford it.” That means no credit ever. You may assume that you don’t need to worry about your credit score if you don’t plan to use credit to buy anything. Unfortunately, credit isn’t just about loans and credit cards. A ...
3 Ways Credit Matters to Everyone

The Basics of a Credit Report

If you’ve been researching about how to improve your credit, you’ve probably read about credit reports. Many times, articles and other information assumes you know what a credit report is and how it looks. For those without that knowledge, here are the basics.
What Is a Credit Report?
It’s a list...
The Basics of a Credit Report

3 Things You Need to Understand about an Emergency Fund

An emergency fund is something every adult should have. It provides funds to have on hand in case an unexpected expense comes up. It may be a car repair, sick person, home repair or other expense that you didn’t budget in. Many people try to build an emergency fund but fail. Here are three t...
3 Things You Need to Understand about an Emergency Fund

Financial Steps to Take Before You Graduate

[I]f you’re about to graduate college and enter the workforce, you want to start out on the right foot. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the idea of a steady paycheck and make some bad financial decisions. Here are a few things you should do about your finances before you graduate.
Think ab...
Financial Steps to Take Before You Graduate

What to Do When a Landlord or Employer Asks to See Your Credit Report

[S]ometimes when you are filling out a rental or job application, you’ll come to a page that asks you to sign and authorize a credit check. Most people will sign it, hoping for the best if they have less than perfect credit. Even when you do sign it, you may wonder if that was the best course of ...
What to Do When a Landlord or Employer Asks to See Your Credit Report

Why Do Employers Look at Your Credit Report?

[I]f you’ve applied for a job, you may have been asked to provide authorization for the potential employer to look at your credit report. While you signed it just to be considered for the job, you may wonder why they need to know about your credit history. What are employers looking at when they ...
Why Do Employers Look at Your Credit Report?

Do Creditors Look Past Your Credit Score?

[Y]ou hear all about the minimum credit score needed to get a credit card or loan. It seems like this one magic number seals your fate. You wonder if creditors or lenders even look at the information in your credit report or if they just use that number to get a decision for your...
Do Creditors Look Past Your Credit Score?

What Creditors Look at on Credit Reports

[T]here’s a lot of information on a credit report. If you’ve ever requested a free copy of your credit report, you may have been overwhelmed at all of the stuff on there. It makes you wonder what creditors and lenders really look at. Do they read every line or do they skim? If they skim, what are...
What Creditors Look at on Credit Reports

Can You Get a Charge-off Removed from Your Credit Report?

[I]f you failed to pay a credit account, it probably was charged off and the account sold to a collections agency. You may think this means you are stuck with the negative information for several years. However, there are ways to get a charge-off removed from your credit report.
Pay for...
Can You Get a Charge-off Removed from Your Credit Report?

How to Stop Being a Co-Signer and Will It Hurt Your Credit?

[M]any people become co-signers as a favor to a family member or friend who doesn’t have a credit history. After some time, they may want to take their name off the account. This is not always an easy fix, and it may have an impact to both people’s credit.
The Process
Generally, you have two opt...
How to Stop Being a Co-Signer and Will It Hurt Your Credit?

3 Things Everyone Should Do Before Getting a Credit Card

[A]s the time nears for students to start college, many parents will help them get their first credit card. Other people may be trying to build or rebuild credit with a new card. Before you submit an application for a Visa or MasterCard, here are three things you should do.
1. Start a Savings...
3 Things Everyone Should Do Before Getting a Credit Card

The Truth about Shopping for a Loan and Credit Scores

[I]f you plan to buy a house or a car, you may shop around with multiple lenders to find the best rates or even just to get approved. While it’s important to try to save money, you need to understand the impact this has on your credit scores.
Multiple Applications, Single Impact
If you apply w...
The Truth about Shopping for a Loan and Credit Scores

3 Things to Do Before Buying a Home

[B]uying a home can be an exciting step in your life. It can also be a frustrating, complicated process that leaves you disillusioned and irritated about “the American dream.” To enjoy the process and avoid many of the problems that plague buyers, you need to do three things before you start loo...
3 Things to Do Before Buying a Home

Tips for Rebuilding Your Credit After Delinquencies

[Y]our credit score is likely one of the most important numbers in your life. It will follow you around when you try to land a job, purchase a new home, or qualify for a loan. If your score has taken a turn for a worse, it doesn’t have to stay that way forever. You can get a new lease on life by ...
Tips for Rebuilding Your Credit After Delinquencies

How To Get A Good Deal On A Mortgage

[A]pplying for a mortgage is a somewhat labor intensive experience. Lenders require borrowers to fill out lengthy applications and provide plenty of documentation. It is important to be ready for everything that the process entails. In order to get the best deal possible on your mortgage, it...
How To Get A Good Deal On A Mortgage

What To Do If You Are Denied Credit

[A]pplying for any type of credit carries with it the potential risk of rejection. If your credit application was denied for any reason, you might feel like you want to bury your head in the sand and forget about it. However, there are steps you can take to prevent this from happening again....
What To Do If You Are Denied Credit