Why Credit Scores Matter and What They Mean

[Y]ou hear a lot about credit scores when you’re applying for a loan or credit card. You may also hear about good credit and bad credit when you get insurance or rent a vehicle or apartment. With all of this hype about credit scores, why do they matter so much?
A Picture of a Moment in Time
Your ...
Why Credit Scores Matter and What They Mean

What to Expect with VantageScore 4.0

[V]antageScore announced it would have the latest version of its credit scoring model out for use sometime in the fall of 2017. Several updates expect to more accurately measure a person’s credit history.
The Credit Balance
One of the big changes in how balances on credit accounts will impact a p...
What to Expect with VantageScore 4.0

Why Maintaining Your Credit is Harder than Improving It

[Y]ou get the notice in the mail that says your 30 days past due on a credit card. You can’t believe you forgot to make the last payment, and you know it dinged your credit. You had the money; you just got busy with summer vacation or the kids’ soccer games and forgot to make the payment.
You wo...
Why Maintaining Your Credit is Harder than Improving It

How To Live Within Your Means

[A]merican consumers today have a huge amount of credit card debt. The numbers climb each year as people increasingly turn to plastic to finance their purchases. In fact, the most recent numbers from the Federal Reserve show that the nation’s cardholders hold over $920 billion in credit card d...
How To Live Within Your Means

What to Do When You Plan to Marry Someone With a Lot of Debt

When you start planning to get married, you have a lot to think about. There are all of the wedding plans, the decision about the honeymoon location and even where you will live and what “stuff” you will keep. Don’t forget to plan for the financial aspects of marriage as well, which could inclu...
What to Do When You Plan to Marry Someone With a Lot of Debt

What It Means to Have a Good Credit Score

If you are trying to get a home or auto loan, you know how important a good credit score is. It can mean the difference of getting a good interest rate or even getting approved at all. But what else does it mean to have a good credit score?
Better Job Opportunities
While employers cannot check...
What It Means to Have a Good Credit Score

Quick Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

Improving a bad credit score often takes time. It can take years to completely rebuild a credit score that dropped from excellent to poor. However, a few actions can help you see improvement right away.
Ask for More Credit
If you have balances on your credit cards that you are working to pay...
Quick Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

Recognizing Email Scams to Protect Your Credit

Most people today are pretty computer and internet savvy. They have heard about the attacks on major retailers and know the importance of protecting private information. However, many people are not as safe as they thought.
A test conducted by McAfee, a leading internet security firm, showed...
Recognizing Email Scams to Protect Your Credit

How Important is Your Credit Score for a Mortgage?

If you are looking at buying a home, you may know that your credit score will play a key role in whether you are approved or not. However, you may not be sure how sure how important it is and if other factors can override a low or high credit score.
What is a Good Credit Score for a Home...
How Important is Your Credit Score for a Mortgage?

Why a Good Credit Score is Not Always Enough

You’ve worked hard to improve your credit score and now you have a number you can be proud of. Before you apply for that car loan, mortgage or credit card you have been waiting on, you need to think about what else you need.
It Takes More Than a Credit Score
Even a good credit score...
Why a Good Credit Score is Not Always Enough

Why Are There So Many FICO Scores and Does It Matter?

You may hear a lot about a FICO score and how important it is to have a good one. The FICO score is a model that was developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation to determine how much of a credit risk each person is.
What you may not understand is that there are numerous FICO scores. In fact, it is...
Why Are There So Many FICO Scores and Does It Matter?

How Your Smartphone Can Help You Improve Your Credit Score

Smartphones do much more than allow you to talk and text friends and family. They make it easier to check your email, surf the web, play games and even read or watch movies. What you may not think of using a smartphone for is to improve your credit.
If you wonder how it is even possible, just...
How Your Smartphone Can Help You Improve Your Credit Score

New FICO Scores Will Change Credit Opportunities for Many

Fair Isaac is the creator of the FICO score, used by many lenders to approve loan applications. It is changing the way credit scores are determined to give more people access to scores and to help improve others’ credit.
The new score will include non-traditional forms of credit, such as...
New FICO Scores Will Change Credit Opportunities for Many

Should You Choose Cash Over Credit If You Have a Bad Credit Score?

For many people, the idea of paying cash for something seems archaic. They whip out their credit cards and never worry about having cash on hand. But for the person who has had issues with credit in the past, using credit may not be the best option even if he or she now has a credit card.
Too...
Should You Choose Cash Over Credit If You Have a Bad Credit Score?

What Should You Pay Attention To on Your Credit Report?

If you have ever looked at a copy of your credit report, you may find it rather confusing. There are pages of information, symbols, dates and technical terms that you don’t understand. It can be enough to make you toss it aside and forget about it. Since it is important to review your...
What Should You Pay Attention To on Your Credit Report?

Protecting Your Credit Score When You are Married to a Spendthrift

People fall in love and get married. They talk about how many kids they want to have, where they will live and their dreams for the future. What they don’t always talk about is credit scores.
Sure, you may see that someone spends more money than you do, a little “too much”...
Protecting Your Credit Score When You are Married to a Spendthrift

Is Bad Credit a Deal Breaker for Your Valentine?

Credit scores are everywhere. They impact your ability to get a house, a new car and even a job. They may also impact your ability to find a date or get married. While a credit score isn’t the most romantic or exciting trait in a date or spouse, it is an important one.
Would You Date...
Is Bad Credit a Deal Breaker for Your Valentine?

How Saving Money Can Help Improve Your Credit

If you want to improve your credit score and have a good to excellent credit rating for long-term, you must learn how to save money. While you can try all kinds of tricks to raise your credit score, you will be likely to fall back into the same trap unless you have savings to help you along the...
How Saving Money Can Help Improve Your Credit

Why Credit Scores are On the Rise

According to public data, the average credit score has gone up a few points from the low point of the recession. FICO scores for 2008 were at 686 and in 2013, they went up to 690. That is only a four-point increase, but it is significant.
Positive Indications
Any increase shows that the average...
Why Credit Scores are On the Rise

Should You Consider Alternative Lenders When You Have Bad Credit?

One of the worst effects of having a bad credit score is that you have a hard time getting a loan. Whether you need to buy a car or consolidate your debt for lower payments, most lenders will turn you down. Even people with scores around 600 find it difficult to get approved. If your score falls...
Should You Consider Alternative Lenders When You Have Bad Credit?