Search Results for: blog credit scores and reports

Just Say “No” to Credit Card Offers

Are you sick of getting credit card offers in the mail? More importantly, do you ever wonder how these companies are able to track you down in order to offer you a card that could potentially damaged your credit rating? Turns out credit card companies use target marketing techniques and services to keep their business going. In some cases, the method is blatant, such as individuals trying to get you to sign-up for the card on a college campus or near an outdoor Farmers’ Market. In other cases, like the offers that are sent via snail mail, credit card companies … Continue reading →

Should Credit Score Influence the Price of Car Insurance?

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A insurance group in Massachusetts wants to prohibit insurance companies from using a person’s credit score as a determining factor in how much the insurer will charge that person for their car insurance premiums. This goes against the viewpoint of another insurance group. Which side is right? The Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA) wants to place a petition on the 2012 state ballot that would prohibit insurance companies from using certain kinds of information in their underwriting process when they are determining the price of a person’s auto insurance premium. Specifically, they want to stop insurers from using a … Continue reading →

Sacrificial Credit

It’s rare that a husband and wife will have similar credit scores. They each began their credit history as singles, long before they joined their lives together, and their numbers will sometimes be vastly different. Sometimes the man’s score will be much higher than the wife’s, and other times, it will be vice versa. I’ll use myself and my husband as an example, where mine has always been higher than his. When we were first married, I was at 730, and he was at 650. He’d had a former roommate who ran up the phone bill (in my husband’s name) … Continue reading →

Better Access to Credit Score

A new year has begun. Now is the perfect time to look at your credit report to make sure the information reported on it is correct. You can get a free copy of your report from any agency responsible for the decision to deny credit. A better option is to go to annualcreditreport.com. At annualcreditreport.com you can order a credit report from each reporting agency for free each year. There are many catchy commercials on TV advertising free credit reports. While the commercials are clever, the credit reports aren’t exactly free. You will get a free report, but if you … Continue reading →

Credit Card Companies Can’t Bully Frugal People

In watching the Today Show Money 911 segment, I noticed a person ask what to do as a credit card company raised her rate to 29%. She always paid the credit card on time and had a zero balance. She seemed panicked. I was amused. Frankly I have no respect for credit cards, so I am looking at the question for a jaded point of view. I feel that credit got the nation into this trouble (the recession) in the first place, and so I don’t feel it is worth holding onto. To me, the easy answer to having the … Continue reading →

Credit Reporting Agencies

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Often in financial advice, you will see the three main consumer reporting agencies mentioned. However, you may not know who all three are or how to contact them. In the United States, there are three national consumer reporting agencies who determine most of your credit reports and scores. Each one is slightly different and contains different information, but all of it should be 100 percent accurate. The following are these three agencies and all their contact information. Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc. http://www.equifax.com/home/ PO Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 303374-0241 Place a fraud alert call 1-888-766-0008 Order a credit report call … Continue reading →

The Credit Reporting System

Ever wonder how the credit report system works? Well, it is a big enterprise for sure, run by voluntary transactions that affect you both negatively and positively. There are three major credit agencies. The information they gather is reported to them voluntarily by businesses. Any business that holds consumer accounts can report information on you both positive and negative. The agencies simply gather the information and place it on individual credit reports. This information is then used to create your actual credit score. Since there are three major agencies, each one of them collects different information, which is why you … Continue reading →

Credit History and Marriage

Often when two come together in matrimony, the question of money and credit will arise. While a husband and wife may love each other, they may not be a match with their credit scores. If one spouse has a significantly worse credit history, does it affect the other? While a couple joins in many ways, their credit history does not have to. Credit reports are entirely individual and so are the credit scores. There is no such thing as a joint credit report or credit score. Even when a couple applies for a loan together, like a mortgage, their individual … Continue reading →

Credit Scores and Life

Some people blow off the concept of credit history and credit scores because they don’t plan to use credit. Living without credit is possible. There are growing numbers of people in this society who have chosen this path. Certainly, debt has its demons. Starting a credit line can be a dangerous path. Still, no matter what your personal feelings are… society has begun to rely on credit scores to determine just how responsible you are in everything. This means, even if you never plan to take a loan or open a credit card, your credit history (or lack there of) … Continue reading →

Ensure your Credit Security Through Credit Cards

I realize many people out there shun credit cards entirely. While I can see their point, they are actually bucking a system ingrained in society. By doing this, they are inadvertently hurting themselves. Yes, credit cards can be black holes into debt and financial ruin, except, they are not a loaded gun. You have to use them incorrectly to get yourself in trouble. There is no accidental debt. The problem with not having credit cards is our society has become so reliant on them. Therefore, so have the credit bureaus for their credit reports and scores. By avoiding credit cards … Continue reading →