MoneyandBills.com

Make Money, Save Money, and Control Debt

How To Check Your Credit Report/Score and Dispute Errors

Why should you care about checking your credit report for errors? Or know about how to dispute credit report errors when you find them?

Because having good credit makes it easy to rent an apartment, buy a new home, or get a new car loan. But when an error is made on your credit report and you don’t know about it, it can be a big let down and stressful situation. I recently wrote an article about the benefits of having good credit, check it out.

Did you know that approximately 1 in 3 American adults don’t check their credit report regularly for errors? It’s a staggering thought right?

On top of that, the Federal Trade Commission (aka, FTC) even admits in a report that one in five consumers admitted to getting an error fixed. Check out the article here: FTC Study Credit Report Accuracy

Imagine all of the credit report errors that go unreported, ouch. Below, I’ll briefly discuss what you can do to stay on top of keeping your credit report clean from errors.

Step 1: Get A Free Copy Of Your Credit Report

Not many people know how to get a free copy of their actual … READ MORE

My Story: How I Got A 720 Credit Score By The Age Of 21

When I first turned 18, getting new credit was tough. No one (and I MEAN NO ONE) would give me an approval for my first credit card. I even tried getting a new car loan to buy a cheap 1999 Honda Civic DX; I was not approved.

(I really needed that car too, my existing Honda Prelude from 1988 had almost 199,000 miles, and I thought the transmission was going to fall out.)

The most frustrating part of my experience trying to obtain my first credit account was not the constant rejection from creditors. It was seeing my friends getting approved and buying all kinds of things; like High-End Clothes, Sports Cars, Jewelry, and Stereo Systems.

(Looking back I realize that buying those things on credit is a dumb idea. But, at the time, when you’re 18 years old, it’s a different perception of reality.)

Finally, some good news

By the time I turned 19, it finally happened for me. I was at Macy’s doing some clothes shopping and decided on a whim to apply for one of their credit cards. The cashier had offered it to me.

Initially, I was turned down, but then a week later they reconsidered and gave … READ MORE

How To Create A Goodwill Adjustment Letter [sample letter template]

In this article, we’re going to discuss what a “Goodwill Adjustment Letter” is and how it will help you to negotiate the removal of late payments from your credit report.

A Goodwill letter is a written explanation to your creditor for negotiating the removal of a late payment on a delinquent credit account. It can be used for your student loan, mortgage, credit cards, a line of credit, an auto loan, or even a fixed loan. It will also work if the account/loan is with a big bank like Bank Of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, Capital One, or Discover. And many smaller community banks or Credit Unions.

Below, we’ll review how Goodwill Letters work and what information it needs to contain to be effective.

Lastly, I show you an example of an actual Goodwill Letter that you can customize for your own unique situation.

How Goodwill Adjustment Letters Work

A goodwill letter is a written request to a creditor/lender for the removal of a late payment from your account. If the lender is willing to work with you and they honor the request, they will report an update to the credit bureaus which will clear the negative mark … READ MORE

What Are Credit Tradelines? My Thoughts About Them

Tradelines can be a great way to leverage other peoples good credit to build your own credit.  Below we’ll discuss the details of how this works and why for some it’s one of the best ways to build credit fast.

But, for many, you might find yourself involved in a legal mess or worse, a credit building scam!

Before proceeding, read my disclaimer below.

Disclaimer: You should do lots of research and be cautious with the practice of using tradelines. The banks and credit card companies actually allow the practice, so it’s not an illegal process or anything, but it could raise some ethics and red flags if you work with a company who is dishonest. I ultimately leave the decision of whether or not it’s an ethical practice on to you. Also, I’m not a lawyer or offering any legal advice here. Thanks!

How Tradelines Work (piggybacking on someone else’s credit account)

If you have a low credit score, you can build it up fast by piggybacking on someone else’s credit card account as an authorized user. But, for it to be worth the effort, the credit account must belong to someone with an excellent credit score and … READ MORE

Credit Cards & Fixed Loans Can Build Up Your Credit Score!

Opening a new Credit Card, Revolving Line of Credit or a Fixed Loan is one of the easiest ways you can rebuild or establish new credit for yourself. Doing so allows you to build up a history of payments on your credit report, which will help you to build up a high credit score.

In this article, we’re going to review some KEY differences between the options that are available to you.

Quick Tip: Also, it’s always a good idea to maintain at least 2 – 3 credit accounts, so that if you ever decide to close one out, your credit score won’t take a big hit because you’ll have some other credit accounts still reporting to the credit bureaus. This will help sustain your credit score!

Credit Cards

Below we’ll discuss three popular credit card options that most banks offer and let people apply for.

1) Prepaid Credit Cards (no advantage for rebuilding credit)

Prepaid credit cards work more like gift cards or debit cards. They have high fees and are usually offered by big companies like WalMart, GreenDot, and NetSpend. They don’t provide any advantages for rebuilding credit. The big reason for this is that … READ MORE

Follow On Social Media