One Cent At A Time

A Personal finance blog for saving money and earning more and thus having a better life

The Complete Guide To Understand Credit Score

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This weekend I was doing some de-cluttering exercise at home. Many unwanted papers I got rid off. While doing so, I came across a handwritten note at the back of my old bank statement, probably it was the first bank statement I received after opening an account with Bank Of America. The title said “A Complete Guide to credit score”.

I came to America in August 2005, I belonged to a country where there is no system for maintaining credit scores. There, Lenders, and probably government too, believe in the fact that money can be reclaimed by force.

Anyways, that’s another story, which I will touch upon a bit in various upcoming blog posts. Today’s topic is about that handwritten note.

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Plan on Saving Thousands on Mortgage Loan by Repairing Credit First

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When you first anticipate the reality of wanting to become a homeowner, it will also be the time when you get serious about where your credit card stands.

Consumers that tend to pre-plan for all things financial should recognize the importance of getting the financial house in order, including attention to their credit scores. However, that is not always the case with perspective homeowners and as a result they end up losing thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars over the lifetime of a loan.

Importance of Advanced Planning For those who are not advanced planners, getting approved for a mortgage may prove more difficult than initially thought. Mortgage lenders in today’s economy expect a lot more from borrowers than they have in the past decade. Lending requirements are much stricter and borrowers will need to be prepared to meet these expectations.

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How Not to Use Credit Cards – 7 Deadly Sins

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The following is a guets post from Alayna Frankenberry

Do you know how to handle your credit cards? Do you know what the seven deadly sins are? If you ever attended Catholic school, or if you’re a fan of horror movies and fashion editorials, you’re probably familiar with the religious belief that’s become a cultural trope. In fact, if you’re like most red-blooded Americans, you’ve likely checked at least three or four of the deadly sins off your list before it’s even lunchtime.

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Few Simple Steps Towards Excellent Credit Score

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What is credit score? It’s a barometer of your financial health. The reading of this barometer is used to measure your credit worthiness. Its a measure of how well you managed your available credit in the past. A good credit score will ensure the following benefits for you.

  1. Lower mortgage rate and home equity loan rate
  2. Lower car loan rate
  3. Lower insurance premium
  4. Better employability
  5. Better acceptability as a renter
  6. Better rate on your credit cards.

If we quantify all these, we are talking about saving 1000’s of dollars worth of saving in our life time. Credit score affects our finances. Whether you buy or rent, a good credit score enables you to save money either ways.  Below are few immediate steps you can take to build and maintain an excellent credit score.

Check your credit report

In case you don’t know, you are actually entitled to one free credit report every year. You can get it from TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. These are our U.S. credit bureaus. Have yours printed and delivered into your doorstep.

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How to Improve Your Credit Score During Hardship

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Once I heard someone saying “credit score are for people who aren’t a home owner yet”. Buy home and stop worrying about credit score. Well imagine what happened if you lose job before paying off debt and you are out of your sweet home.

Be careful, financial disaster can strike anytime, credit history and credit score are your ingredients to weather this storm. Even when you are going through financial trouble, you can build better score, just don’t lose heart and have faith in you.

Improving credit while you are financially sound is easier but ,during hardship its really hard to improve your credit score.

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How Can a Credit Score Affect Your Finance?

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The following is a guest post from Ross Jackson, a blogger who likes helping consumers understand the difficult terrain that is credit, debt, and finance. 

How Can a Credit Score Affect Your Finances?

Most individuals do not understand how a credit score can directly affect their financial life. This score is a number that helps a company decide if, you as a customer, are a good fit for their business model.

This three digit number is one of many elements that is looked at to establish whether a person may or may not be a risk to their business. Combined with other factors like employment history, income, and savings, a credit score will influence a lender to decide whether to lend you money.

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