Do you really know how to improve your credit

The only one who can fix your credit is you, and this process can only happen over time as you take steps to improve your credit on your own.

First, contact your creditors when you realize you are unable to make your payments. If you need help preparing a budget and working out a payment plan, contact your local credit counseling service. To locate a credit counseling service near you, go to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling web site or call 800-388-2227.

Next, check your credit report. About one out of every four credit reports contains errors. You may dispute, at no charge, any items you believe are inaccurate. Each credit bureau usually has its own method for filing a dispute, so contact them for more information.

You should collect copies of any supporting documentation and send these with the form you submit. The credit bureau will investigate your dispute and delete or correct any information found to be inaccurate. You may request that a copy of your corrected credit report be sent to everyone who has requested your credit within the past six months.

If the dispute remains, you can file a written explanation that will be sent with your credit report whenever it is requested. You can also file a written explanation if there was a good reason that you could not pay your bills on time, such as unemployment or sudden illness.

Most negative information will only appear on your credit report for seven years.

However, there are a few exceptions:

Bankruptcy information can be reported for ten years.

Information about a lawsuit or judgment against you can be reported for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs out, whichever is longer.

Information reported because of an application for a job with a salary of more than $75,000 has no time limit.

Information reported because of an application for more than $150,000 worth of credit or life insurance has no time limit.

Continue to pay your bills promptly, and apply for credit only when absolutely necessary.

With your hard work, your credit will improve over time.

You just have to be diligent and set your mind to the task at hand. Yes, it will take time. You have to persevere and get yourself out of the mess you created.

Are you monitoring your credit

Your credit report is the document used to determine how much interest you will pay for credit cards, home mortgage, or personal loans. You need to make sure that it is accurate and correct.

Q. What is a credit monitoring service?

A. With the growing concern about identity theft, many companies now offer credit monitoring services for a fee. Some consumers prefer to monitor their credit reports and personal information by themselves for free; others choose to purchase a service to handle some of the tasks.

A credit monitoring service will keep an eye on your credit report, keep track of certain kinds of changes, and send activity reports to you. For example, a service could alert you if someone tried to get credit in your name. Some services also provide you with additional copies of your credit report or help with resolving problems you discover on your report.

When you consider whether a credit monitoring service is right for you, ask:

Does this service track my credit with all three major consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion)? These companies can have different information about you and it is important to look at all three reports.

Will the service notify me immediately about new activity on my credit files? How will I be notified?

Exactly what services will I get for my money? Does the fee cover daily credit monitoring, all three credit reports, credit scores, help with resolving problems, or insurance coverage for expenses related to recovering my identity?

Q. How can I monitor my credit?

A: Check your credit report regularly to catch mistakes or fraud quickly. Watch for any entries that do not belong to you. Your new right to free credit reports can help with this.

Instead of ordering reports from all three CRCs at the same time, you can order one report from a different CRC every four months. That way, you will get three reports in a 12-month period and be better able to check your credit report for changes or problems. You may also choose to buy your credit reports for about $9 each at any time.

Keeping Your Personal Information Safe

Q. What are signs of fraud or identity theft on my credit report?

A. Your credit report may show that someone is using your personal information: your name; Social Security number; credit card number; or other identifying information. Look for these signs:

- new credit card accounts, loans, or other financial commitments you didn't make;

- inquiries you didn't make;

- bad debts on your own accounts, or debts on accounts that you didn't open;

- legal actions that you don't know about.

Q. What should I do if my identity has been stolen?

A. Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major CRCs and put a fraud alert on your credit files.

The alert means that creditors will contact you before they open any new accounts or make changes to existing accounts. The company you contact must notify the other two.

Close accounts that you think have been taken over or opened fraudulently.

Use the "ID Theft Affidavit" when you dispute new unauthorized accounts.

File a police report.

Send a copy of the report to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC keeps a database of identity theft cases to help law enforcement learn more about the crime and victims' experiences.

Building business credit how credit cards play the key role

Over 90% of business owners have never taking the time to build business credit. The reason why I have chosen to open this article with this statement is for two reasons. #1 to give comfort to those who have not taken the time to establish business. From this statement you can see that you are not alone. #2 To help ones understand that if they take this seriously, and take the time and energy to establish business credit, any one can, then they will enter the elite small group of business owners who have a tremendous edge on their competition because they can leverage themselves financially in a way that their competitors cannot.

A road map outlined by experts.

You must separate your business credit from your personal credit. In order to do this you must set up either a corporation or an LLC. If you are a sole proprietorship or a partnership you are 100% responsible for any money that you borrow perhaps you have herd of personal guarantor. Your business must have an EIN #, and in no way should your business be connected to your social security #. Your business should open a banking account that is not linked to your personal account in any way. Be sure that the account has the correct business name. Your business should also have a business phone # that is separate from your personal Phone #, and it should be listed with your local phone company as a business, and be in a 411 directory. Once you have set up this foundation the next step is to make sure your business is registered with the following credit bureau's and have an open file with all three of them. Eqiifax, Experian, and Dun & Bradstreet.

Your business must establish one bank loan, 3 business credit cards and 5 vender trade lines of credit that all report to these three credit bureau's. A few things I thought it might be appropriate to point out at this time is. #1 Business credit is not a substitute for personal credit. Both should be worked on and maintained and will have a bearing on haw much you will be able to receive from lending institutions, often lending institutions will in addition to looking at the business credit, look at the personal credit worthiness of the corporate officers or principles of a corporation or LLC. If you have bad personal credit work on it at the same time you are building business credit. #2 I have personally seen companies extended large sums of money who had a good credit score and report with Dun & Bradstreet without giving much bearing to other sources, the point I' am trying to make here is, make sure that whoever's reporting on your behalf reports to all three, and specifically these three.# 3 Business credit is very different from personal credit. There are laws that govern the accuracy of information on you personal credit that don't exist for your business credit, this means that it is harder to change bad or inaccurate things on your business credit report, thus its important to establish business credit right, right from the start.

Why credit cards are the key.

In essence your business has to establish a credit history. Again reflecting on our road map of 3 credit cards 1 bank loan and 5 vender trade lines, each time we attain one of these elements it will be easier to attain the next.

If we do not qualify for a unsecured credit card it is relatively easy to get a secured credit card provided we have a small sum of money that we can deposit into an account as collateral on our credit limit for the newly acquired credit card. Once we have our credit card it will be easier to get vendors to extend us a 30 or 60 or 90 day line of credit provided that we allow them to keep our credit card on file. After we have paid on our secured credit card for a little while our bank will make it an unsecured credit card. Once this happens it is often much easier to get another issuing bank to give you an unsecured credit card as they can see that your business has established a measure of credibility. At this point things can move forward in a timely fashion and before you know it you have every thing on the road map to success. Once you have reached this point a few things to remember are #1 keep your credit card balances bellow 50% of your total available credit as this will reflect well on your credit score. In addition to this it is important to make sure you do not have any insufficient funds hit you record for checks that your business writes, pay all your accounts on time as well as pay all your taxes on time. If you do this you will build good credit and before you know it you will be in the minority of people who are in a position of financial power able to make strategic maneuvers at key moments. If you are in need of a secured credit card or any credit card for that matter you can find one on my website creditcardumbrella. com under the credit cards to rebuild credit section. A link to this website can also be found bellow.

Small business credit card - credit card services for a business

If you are a new business and looking for a credit card, chances are you want a small business credit card. Because you are a new business, resources may be limited as well as manpower. When you’re looking for that new card, you should consider the credit card services for a business that the issuer provides.

Credit card services for a business when looking for a credit card?

Sure. A small business credit card can provide you with more than extending credit. After all you are new and small. You may need all the help you can get.

Financial institutions understand the additional control and constraints a business needs over their credit. Business card offers vary just like personal credit cards, although some of the incentives are the same. However, various issuers go even further with their business credit card offers and add credit card services for a business.

When looking for a new small business credit card, you want to keep in mind that although you’re new and small, you don’t intend to stay that way. You want a credit card that can grow with you. Here are a few features to consider when looking for that new small business credit card.

- After the initial APR introductory offer, what is the regular interest rate?

- Is there a yearly fee?

- What is the line of credit and can it be increased as time goes by?

- Is there a limit to the number of credit cards that can be issued on the account?

- Do they offer airline mile points?

- Is there a cash rebate program?

- Do they have partnerships with leading retailers for office equipment and supplies so that they will offer discounts when using my business credit card?

- Is my account accessible online so I can manage my daily expenses?

- Is there an extended payment term for larger purchases?

- Does this offer include quarterly and yearly reports?

- Can this information be transferred directly to my company’s accounting software program?

- Is there a choice of how I receive the summary of my expenses?

All of these benefits are not offered for every business credit card. But, the right combination for your situation can save you time and money. Choosing the right small business credit card can add significantly to your bottom line.

10 tips to improve your credit score

These days most of us avail loans to buy a house, set up a business, or buy a car. Many students take loans to further their education. How soon the loan is sanctioned, the rate of interest, and the amount sanctioned will all depend on your credit score which is based on your credit report. People with scores of 700 and more are the beneficiaries of lower interest rates and quick sanctions. Imagine if your score is greater than 700 and another person has a score of 698 then the person with score 698 will have to pay interest that is higher by one-half percentage point. And, this means over a year a person with a lower score will pay USD 19,000 and more as interest on a loan of say USD 165,000.

A credit score takes into consideration: payment history, current earnings, current debt, length of credit history, types of credit utilized, and your new credit. If two or more members of your family are earning then apply for a loan jointly.

You can take a few simple steps and ensure that your credit score is higher than 700.

• Maintain a long healthy credit history. Keep alive your oldest credit card and be sure to pay all bills in time. Never keep bills pending over a 30 day period. If in a crunch at least pay the minimum charges due.

• Do not have too many credit cards. Learn to say “NO,” to offers of free credit cards. And, maintain a good credit limit. Avoid using all the available credit on the cards.

• Ensure that the credit report you have is accurate and that there are no errors clerical or otherwise.

• Plan your finance such that it is healthy. Consider debt consolidation.

• Never suddenly close or open accounts. This leads to suspicion that you are trying to manipulate your credit report.

• If you are having problems speak to your creditors well in advance and work out a stage wise repayment. Request the creditor to refrain from reporting the late payment.

• Late or delayed payments drive your score down so always pay bills dead on time. Keep a tab on due dates and ensure that all bills are paid.

Learn all you can about credit reports and scores and keep the criteria in mind while managing your finances. Maintain the debt-to-credit limit ratio and, if need be take the help of a finance planner. A useful source to learn about managing credit is: balancepro. net/services/index. html they provide in depth coverage on money management, debt management, and credit report review.

Even if advised refrain from filing for bankruptcy. All you need to do is to sit down and curtail expenses, plan you income-expenditure , and avoid spending what you have not earned.