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Learn From These Credit Score Success Stories
It can happen to anyone: Miss just a credit card payment or two and the next time you check your credit score, you’re stunned to find a low number that makes lenders shun you.
But with patience and discipline, you can move that score from the depths to the stratosphere.
We talked to several people across the country who dug themselves out and brought up their credit scores in a big way — sometimes in just one or two years.
We asked them to pass along their best tips to share with folks who might be dealing with the low-score blues.
Melissa Chinwah
Homewood, Ill.
Credit score before: 348
Credit score after: 702
Tips for Maintaining a Good Credit Score
Credit score danger zone
Rock bottom: After getting divorced, Chinwah, an office manager, was shocked to find that her credit score had sunk to an average of 348, with the lowest reported score among the three bureaus at just 316. There were 43 collections and a repossessed car on her report — “Not one thing was positive, except for my student loan,” she said. “I started to look for housing for me and my two small children and no one would even look at me.”
Turning point: Melissa started researching the ins and outs of her credit report on the forums at MyFICO.com, where people shared their tips for raising their credit scores. For example, she learned that being 120 days late on a payment is basically the same as being repossessed, according to a credit bureau. “The average layperson doesn’t know these kinds of things,” she said.
Marketing from the Inside Out!
Ready to move up a gear with your marketing? This simple shift in mind-set will increase your marketing ROI, guaranteed!
People often ask me “what’s the one thing that I can do quickly and easily to get a better result from my marketing”.
Not surprisingly, everyone’s looking for that elusive silver bullet to transform their marketing output. Well the good news guys, is that there IS a fundamental principle that will transform your marketing results, and what’s most surprising is that so few business people are aware of it.
I believe that business should be like any other professional vocation; you need to know your subject and continually update and expand your knowledge; and you probably feel the same – that’s why you’re reading this blog! Also see the PUSH Marketing Academy if you’re serious about getting better results.
So what’s this amazing principle and how does it work?
Let me describe a scenario that many business owners and managers would recognise. The vast majority of people I meet in business have a view of marketing that looks not too dissimilar to gambling. They expect to pay a price for the risk they take in trying to marketing their offering, be it products or services. They accept, without question, that they’re going to throw money at marketing and hope that they get a result that makes a profit. This is known as ‘spray and pray’. I’ve even met people who tell me that as long as they don’t lose money on their marketing spend they’ll be happy… that’s just crazy, marketing is all about creating a profit!
Building You Credit Score From Scratch
Establishing a good credit history has never been as important as it is today.
It’s not just that you’ll need good credit to get decent rates when you’re ready to buy a home or a car. Your credit history can determine whether you get a good job, a decent apartment, a deal on your cell phone and reasonable rates on insurance. One seemingly minor misstep — a late payment, maxing out your credit cards — can haunt you for years.
If you’re just starting out, you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a credit history the right way. Here’s what to do and what to avoid.
Check your credit report
You’ll first want to see what, if anything, lenders are saying about you. That kind of information is contained in your credit report at each of the three major bureaus: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. You’re entitled to a free annual look at your reports from AnnualCreditReport.com.
Credit reports are used to create your credit scores, the three-digit numbers that lenders typically use to gauge your creditworthiness. Lenders also may look at the reports themselves, as may the landlords, employers, insurers and utility companies who use credit to evaluate applicants.
Can you have a credit report if you’ve never had credit? Maybe.
Somebody else’s information could be mixed in with your report, either through a credit bureau mistake or because of identity theft; i.e. someone using your personal information to open bogus accounts.
Educating Young America About Personal Finance- Lessons From Asia
Following the economic recession that sent tremors across the world, renowned economists have been deliberating on finding the chief factors that led to this adverse economic scenario. According to well known social scientists and economists the financial crisis which showed its worst signs in the United States of America has been a result of prolonged negligence and mismanagement. It has been observed that Americans to a large extent lack the financial management skills that are possessed by young and educated Asians. This probably explains why the financial turmoil did not have any significant impact on the Indian and Chinese economies which have remained largely insulated from the effects of the credit crunch.
There are several reasons behind the stability shown by the upcoming Asian superpowers in recent times. Culturally speaking, Asians have strong family values which helps them to save money. In the US however, most teenagers leave home and start living alone by the time they are 17. In addition, most teenagers after leaving home drop out of college and start working part time. This prevents them from realising the potential problems they could be facing after a few years. Moreover, the availability of quick credit also has a negative impact on young Americans who have limited knowledge about ways in which money can be saved to make the future more secure.
Training for financial services available from CTP
Everyone knows the financial matters are hard to keep up with. Rules and regulations change all the time and even as just a normal consumer it can be hard to keep track. Even just over recent years we have seen conflicting guidelines over things such as unfair bank charges, for example. Most of the media was telling us that we could claim these charges back and in fact most banks probably assumed that they would be made to pay back any of these because any claims were settled quickly. However when the FSA finally made their decision, they ruled that the charges were not unfair so banks were under no obligation to refund. A similar situation is occurring with payment protection insurance policies and the current trend for consumers to claim this charge back. We are waiting on an FSA ruling however most claims at the moment are settled within 12 weeks.
You can see that even just from a consumer point of view and the very basic things that we are involved in that it can be hard to keep up. Imagine doing all of this as a business and ensuring you and all of your staff are trained and have a full understanding.
If you do run a business in the finance industry then it is important that all areas of your business are FSA compliant. You are in charge of making sure that this happens and if it doesn’t then you are liable for fines.