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How Brain Injuries Can Affect Your Money

I was in a car accident back in March and sustained a concussion in the left quadrant of my brain. That’s right … the left side. The side that controls logic, reasoning, ability to do math, and consequently, how you handle money. I’ve always been the bill-payer in our family. I have a handy-dandy chart, I know when everything is due, and on payday, I sit down and pay all the bills. This has been my routine since I got married. Come rain, come shine … the bills are paid on payday. And yet, for some reason, two months ago … Continue reading →

Fighting Credit Interest Rate Increases

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With the struggles in the banking industry, many financial institutions are looking to their credit card branches to help them recoup losses. Traditionally, credit cards are the most profitable venture a bank or lending institution offers. With the high rates they charge both consumers in interest and the merchants in fees, this is usually a win-win for the company. Unfortunately, consumers are being hurt by this crunch. Many credit card companies are now increasing interest rates to help drive up the profits. Even good customers, with strong credit scores and payment history, are receiving letters notifying them their interest rates … Continue reading →

What makes up a Credit Score?

Ever wonder all the basics of what is used for your credit score? Well, here it is, in black and white… and a little grey. To create a credit score, some of the information on your credit report is fed into a mathematical formula. The critical information and their importance are as follows: Account Types – This includes mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. The importance of your types of accounts is about 10% of the overall score. Number of Recent New Accounts – Just how many new accounts do you have in proportion to the total? This is another … Continue reading →

Credit Card Debt

Last month, Miriam wrote a very good blog on Five Tips to Help you Stop Using Credit Cards. It’s very interesting, and good advice for those who need to get a handle on their spending (which would be the overwhelming majority of us!) If you have a lot of debt, you may want to add another couple of steps – first, negotiating a better interest rate. Some night when you’re not stressed, take out all your cards and their statements. Arrange them from high to low interest. Is there a big range? Assuming that your credit isn’t in shambles, you … Continue reading →

5 Steps to Safely Build a Credit History

It is recommended that young people take the time to build their credit history. This way when it comes time to borrow a car or a home, they can receive lower interest rates, because they have a good solid history. It can be important to do, but at the same time you should proceed with caution. Many end up ruining their credit in the name of building a good credit history. Here are five tips to help you safely build your credit history. 1) The easiest way is to take out an interest free loan from a store. If you … Continue reading →

How Important Is My Credit Score?

Our society has become overly concerned with credit scores. If you have a bad credit score then you do need to be concerned. If you have no credit score, then you really do not need to worry. You may consider getting a credit card to help to build your credit score, but I would only recommend that if you were sure to never carry a balance on the card. Credit scores are used to determine the interest rate that most companies are willing to offer you for a loan. The time that people worry most about their credit score is … Continue reading →