- Personal Finance Blog
- FIT AcademyPower of Pay Check Planning Instructor: Michelle Mealey Learn time-tested strategies to budget, manage and prioritize your paycheck. Take the Course Identity Theft Prevention Instructor: Lori Lamb Tips to protect you from identity thieves and restore your name if you’re a victim. Take the Course Understanding Your Credit Report Instructor: Sheri Stuart A comprehensive breakdown of the credit report and score system. Take the Course Tips for Borrowing Money Produced by: Common Craft This video teaches you the risks and benefits of borrowing money from banks. View the Video Tips for Saving Money Produced by: Common Craftt This video teaches you how to earn and save money from compound interest. View the Video Tips for Investing Money Produced by: Common Craft This video breakdowns the process of investing money and it’s risk factors. View the Video
- DownloadsFree Guides and Materials: Road Map to Financial Freedom This workshop helps you take the first steps on your journey to financial freedom with Springboard through the use of a Debt Management Plan to consolidate and pay back unsecured debt. Download the Road Map to Financial Freedom guide or view it online. The Wise Use of Credit You have credit or need to establish credit —now what? Managing your credit responsibly helps build a solid foundation for your financial future. Download the Wise Use of Credit guide or view it online. Preserving Homeownership and Foreclosure Prevention Information and resources so you will know what action steps to take and what options are available if your mortgage becomes delinquent, you are facing foreclosure, or you are facing a mortgage interest reset which you can no longer afford once adjusted. Download the Preserving Homeownership and Foreclosure Prevention guide or view it online. Couples and Money This seminar helps couples communicate about money matters, offers money and budget saving tips, and helps couples develop a spending plan for their future goals. Download the Couples and Money guide or view it online. Raising a Money Smart Child A parent’s guide to providing children with…
- CalculatorsCalculators for all your personal finance needs Explore your own financial information in greater detail by using these powerful tools for forecasting and assessing your financial choices. During the process, you might discover expenses you can eliminate or more effective ways to manage your money.Allowance Comparison Auto Loan Payment Back-to-School Budgeting Budgeting for a Baby Building an Education Fund Cost of Credit Emergency Fund Entertainment Planner How Much Car Can You Afford? How Much House Can You Afford?How Much Will College Cost? How Much Will My Bonus Net After Taxes? How Much Will My Loan Cost? How Will My Savings Grow? Inflation Impact on Retirement Mortgage Payment Mortgage Refinancing My Bonus After Taxes Needs-Based Allowance Pay Down Debt or Invest?Repaying Student Loans Retirement Fund Rework Your Budget Salary Conversion Save a Million Saving for a Goal Travel Budgeting Your Holiday BudgetCalculators by CategoryAuto Determine how much you’re willing and able to spend on a car and how much your payments will be before heading to the dealership. Auto Loan Payment How Much Car Can You Afford?Budgets and Goals Knowing where your money…
- Events & SeminarsCONTENTS
- Videos
- More Resources
Credit Basics
How Can I Stop The Credit Card Offers?
Everyday millions of consumers get home from work to find a small stack of credit card offers in their mailbox. These offers, many of them from the same credit card issuers who sent you an offer last month, purport to offer you new credit cards.
Dealing With Collection Letters Sent to You by Mistake
Many collection agencies cast a wide net when trying to collect on old debts. You may get a letter that was intended for someone else, perhaps someone with a similar name. It’s important to deal with this issue promptly.
Adding a Personal Statement to Your Credit Report
When it comes to your credit report, you have the right to add a personal statement. This statement can be up to 100 words long and gives you the opportunity to explain information in your file.
Reading Your Annual Credit Report: Public Records and Inquiries
Two important sections of your credit report are the “Public Records” and “Inquiries” sections. Knowing what personal and public information that is on your report is an important factor to taking control of your finances. It is also important to know what companies have requested a copy of your report.
The third step in this series is to review all of the information contained within the public record section of your annual credit report. Public information and inquiries are usually the last sections to appear in your credit report, though each credit report company does things a bit differently.
Reading Your Annual Credit Report: Personal Information
Personal information may be the first thing to appear in your credit report, though each credit report company does things a bit differently.
While this personal information has no direct impact on your credit score, it’s very important that everything reported here be accurate and up to date. The credit bureaus use this information to verify your identity, and if anything here is incorrect or outdated, your security may be compromised.
Reading Your Annual Credit Report: Account History
Let’s begin with the Account History section which may not be the first thing you’ll see when you open your credit report, but it is the most important. It’s usually the largest section of the report, as well. When calculating your credit score, FICO gives more weight to your payment history than any other category.
How To Get a Credit Card With No Credit History
Since the Credit CARD Act went into effect, it’s harder for the typical consumer to qualify for a credit card. This is by design; many parts of the law are intended to keep credit cards out of the hands of college students.
Those who are able to get a credit card under the new laws will pay more in fees and be less likely to earn rewards through their credit card use.
What is a Secured Credit Card?
Sometimes having no credit and having bad credit are the same thing in the eyes of creditors. Your answer should be the same in either situation; establish a new credit account and use it very carefully, paying your monthly payments in full and on time.
If you have no luck getting a credit card from a retailer, department store, or gas company, talk to your bank (wherever you keep your savings or checking) and ask for a secured card.
How to Request a Lower Interest Rate on Your Credit Cards
It’s harder than it used to be to get a lower interest rate on your credit cards. Since the Credit CARD Act of 2009, creditors are charging higher interest and fees, and granter credit to fewer applicants than before.
It’s still worth trying to get lower rates, though. It only takes a few minutes on the phone to ask, and the worst that can happen is your creditor will simply say “no.”
How to Get Your Free Annual Credit Report
In today’s tutorial we will demonstrate how to obtain your free annual credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site that allows consumers to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
