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- Bankruptcy Means Test
- Prepare for Bankruptcy
- Bankruptcy Trustee
- Non Dischargeable Debt
- Bankruptcy Fraud
- Bankruptcy Pitfalls
- Debt Collection Practices Act
- Life After Bankruptcy
- Credit Counseling
- Identity Theft and Identity Fraud
- Department Store Credit Cards
- Famous Bankruptcies
Achieve Top Rated Credit – here are some basic steps.
- Beginning today – pay your bills on time. If you have a poor payment history you cannot erase that overnight. It takes time. But start making it a habit to pay bills on time. If you cannot afford the payments on a purchase, do not make the purchase.
- Have a general credit card (Visa or Mastercard) for your purchases instead of many department store cards. Not only do you often pay more interest for those department store cards but having lots of revolving credit is not always going to improve your credit score.
- Do not max out your credit card. Try to keep a healthy separation between how much you charge on your card versus the "available" balance. If you are someone who maxes out their card your credit score is being dinged.
- Do not cancel old credit cards and open new lines of credit. Older credit tends to receive more favoritism when it comes to credit scoring. So even if you have a card paid off tuck it away and keep it active without charging on it.
- Resist having your credit run too often. Anytime you apply for credit your credit report is ordered. Too many of those can ding your score.
- Never be late on any payment – house payment, car payment, credit card payment, etc. Late pays seem to stick on your credit report forever.
- Order your FREE credit report once a year. You can do this easily via the internet. Print your report from all three credit bureaus.
- Check your credit report annually to ensure there are no mistakes. This is more important than ever. With ID Theft a major problem in our society today you could go years before detecting someone using your social security number or other personal data if you are not checking your credit report every year.
- Never, ever co-sign a loan for someone else. And this includes your children or other family members. Just say no.
Whether you make a lot of money or your budget is paycheck to paycheck it is vital to learn and understand how to have top rated credit.
When you buy a car, home, apply for a credit card or virtually any other type of loan your credit score is checked. If you have exceptional credit you receive a lower interest loan which means a lower payment.
If you have bad credit you are likely charged a higher interest rate – which means higher payments. If you have bad credit you pay more for your car payment or house payment that someone with excellent credit.
If you have poor credit today do not lose hope. Improving your score can take time but it is worth the effort. Once you finally establish a great credit score you will find yourself doing everything you can to protect it. And that is a good thing.