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Don’t hit your own debt ceiling - What a maxed-out card does to your credit score The news today is filled with the U.S. government reaching its debt ceiling, which could freeze benefits for millions of American households and send the economy into a recession if not resolved. On a personal level, you can do the [...]
5 Tips to Build (and Maintain) a Good Credit Score Like building a house, constructing a financially stable life requires laying a solid foundation. In difficult economic times like these, though, building that foundation can be a challenge. Good credit remains a core part of any financial foundation. Having good credit can make it easier [...]
Six Factors That Could Hurt Your Credit Score It's no secret that maintaining a good credit score is essential to strong financial health. It is a must if you ever wish to take out a substantial loan or need to apply for rental properties. Most people know the basics of what may hurt and what [...]
Finally, after all that looking, you’ve found the perfect home and are ready to make an offer. Everything is in order – almost. At the last minute, you discover that your credit report contains incorrect information. Errors have negatively impacted your score to the extent that you can’t qualify for an ideal mortgage. Don’t worry, [...]
First thing’s first: there is no magic solution to raising your credit score overnight. If you have a low score due to, say, bankruptcy (which can affect your credit for up to seven years), boosting it requires a long-term plan of consistent on-time payments and other responsible credit practices. However, a low score due to [...]
If you are among the millions of Americans who have not yet used traditional forms of credit, you may think you have to turn to expensive sub-prime lending institutions in order to borrow money. Without a history of using credit cards or loans, you won’t have a traditional credit score – which most financial institutions [...]
Credit scores have a major impact on our financial lives. Lenders and other organizations rely on these numerical “grades” to make objective and accurate business decisions. Good scores enable you to borrow money easily and with attractive interest rates, while poor scores result in high-interest loans and lines of credit – or being denied the [...]
If you are familiar with the way credit scoring works, you probably know that avoiding being “maxed out” on your credit cards and other revolving accounts generally impacts your score in a positive way. You might also be aware that the FICO score – the most popular model – dedicates 30% of its score calculation [...]
Credit cards are a powerful financial tool. If you use them wisely, they will help you achieve your financial goals. But as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Abuse them and you will find yourself in a world of financial hurt. If you recently got your first credit card, here are nine [...]
Webinar: Score a better future | credit basics with FICO Friday, April 23 @ 11:00 a.m. (CST) We all have financial goals but knowing how to get there can be a challenge. Don’t understand how credit scores impact your financial health, or know your FICO® Score? We want to help! In celebration of Financial Literacy [...]
