| |
| |
|
Credit Information |
|
|
|
Is Your Credit Score Costing You Money?
Most of us want a good credit report to obtain automobile financing, credit cards, and to purchase a home. But, beyond these consumer loans, your credit report can cost you in everyday living expenses. What you don't know about your credit could be costing you money. Having a credit card means that you can order tickets, rent a car, and reserve hotel rooms. Besides these conveniences, your credit report can mean that you must pay higher deposits and fees for everyday services. Did you know that your credit history can keep you from getting utility connections, good telephone rates, the best auto insurance, home owner's insurance, or even keep you from getting hired? Some utility companies set minimum standards for service connections. If your report shows collection accounts for prior utility bills, you may not be eligible for service at all. And if utility companies do agree to connect your service, you'll need to pay a higher deposit than another customer with good credit who may not need to make any deposit. The same requirements exist for telephone services. People with a good credit history don't need to pay deposits for home telephone or cell phone services. When we first got a cell phone with poor credit scores, we had to pay a $300 deposit, for one cell phone. After fixing our credit, we got eight cell phones for our business, with zero deposits. What many people don't realize is that good credit enables them to get better insurance rates. High-quality, low-cost home owners' insurance, auto, and life insurance companies set minimum credit standards for their policy holders; this means that consumers with poor credit have to pay more for less coverage. Many automobile insurance companies now base your monthly premiums on your credit score; these companies offer a 17% discount if your score is over 625 and a 25% discount if your score is over 725. Why? Because according to their studies, people who are careful with their credit are also careful with their property and careful drivers. Bad credit can cost you a job. More and more employers run an applicant's credit report and hire the person with better credit, assuming that better credit equals better integrity and character. A friend of mine with a Master's Degree and a 4.0 grade average did not get hired; she was told her credit score didn't meet their minimum standard and that they hired another person with less education. Poor credit scores means you pay more for your home financing. Mortgages cost more in upfront fees and interest rates for those with low credit scores. How much can you save? A mortgage loan of $150,000, 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, interest rate of about 5.72 percent costs around $870 a month; poor credit scores raise the interest rate over 9 percent and the payments over $1,200. As you see from these payment differences, good credit means that you can finance a more expensive house with the same income, or save $330 each month. Boost your credit score so you can save money on everyday expenses, get high-quality insurance, and the best mortgage financing. (c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved. Jeanette Fisher, author of "Credit Help! Get the Credit You Need to Buy Real Estate," is on a one woman mission to help people buy their dream home or finance multiple investment properties. Jeanette teaches real estate investing and interior design psychology. For help with your credit, visit the Real Estate Credit Help Center at http://www.recredithelp.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft Identity theft is when someone uses, without permission, your personal information in order to commit any frauds or crimes. Identity theft is a felony that is becoming more and more common. Credit and Its Cost What is Credit?Credit is money granted by a lender (or creditor) to a debtor (or borrower) whereby the lender defers receiving payment of the debt for a period. In exchange for the credit allowed, the lender will get back the money lent plus interest. Five Debt Negotiation Facts These five debt negotiation facts along with a few debt reduction planning tools gives you the ability to control your own debt. For many people today credit card debt is a mounting problem and very few know how to successfully negotiate debt settlements. The Advantages of Credit Cards There are many evils associated with credit cards, but there are benefits that are hard to ignore. One benefit is having the credit card company act in your behalf to recover funds from a disputed transaction. Credit Cards: Pros and Cons Sure, there are a lot of problems with credit cards, but there are a lot of good things attached to them as well. For instance, if you have a small business, fleet credit cards can keep your books in order when you issue them to drivers of company vehicles for gas and automobile repairs. Dont Dig Your Own Pit If you want to enjoy your life out of spending, enjoy if you have your own resources and money.But don't enjoy your life by becoming a debtor to somebody. Credit Report - How to Improve Your Credit Score One of the great mysteries of life is how the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union) score credit. They all have secret statistical formulas for determining your credit score, but they are unwilling to divulge exactly what, exactly, constitutes your score. Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rate Now! With today's credit card companies, there are many opportunities to get your cards rate of 21% or more reduced. The higher the amount of interest your card charges will cost you more for a simple purchase and ultimately may take you years to pay off instead of months, should you make the minimum payment allowed. The Next Person With Credit Problems Got Their First Credit Card Today! One of the focus areas of my information is the absolute necessity of changing the way a person thinks about money and debt while in the process of repairing their credit. I have seen cases where a couple will work really hard for months, and finally get their credit report to the place they can borrow again and go out and buy something on credit just because they can. Is Plastic Making You Happier? If you're like most people, you probably own at least one.And like most people, you've maybe never thought what it's really costing you?At a recent conference held by the Fabian Society at London's Imperial college, one of the issues discussed was happiness, and, more specifically, why it seems to elude so many of us. Bad Checks, Bounced Checks, & NSF Checks Negotiable instruments like checks and drafts have become an indispensable part of any business transaction today. As a result, it has become increasingly important to safeguard a business against financial losses arising from the receipt of fraudulent or bad checks. How To Protect Yourself Against Credit Card Fraud In the high tech world of today, credit card fraud is an ever increasing problem.By 2005 it is estimated that the online payment industry will capture $12. Credit Card Companies Are Out for Your Money You're probably thinking "Tell me something I don't know" but in this time of low interest rates you might be thinking that you've got a great deal since credit card interest rates are low. Wrong. Bad Credit? No Credit? Yeah, Its a Problem. Many companies use the slogan "Bad Credit? No Credit? No Problem!" The truth is that it is in fact a problem and there is no easy way to correct it. It takes a lot of time and effort to obtain credit when you do not have any and even longer to fix bad credit. What Are The Most Common Credit Card Mistakes? Now in a world with so many easy to get credit cards it can be easy for someone who is a first time credit card holder, or even someone who has several credit cards in the past to make mistakes when using the card.One of the most common mistakes when using credit cards is to use the credit card to make purchases of things you are not really able to afford. Myths and Truth about Credit Scoring Credit score is the key factor determining approval of almost any type of credit. It is based on the information contained in your credit report files. Student Credit Cards STUDENT CREDIT CARDS With graduate debt averaging over £12,000, the ability to spread the cost of further education using a student credit card is obviously attractive. Adding to their appeal is the fact that these cards are relatively easy to obtain. Simple Identity Theft Protection How many of you bank, shop, or transact other business online? There are at least 4 million Department pf Defense employees that access their pay records online only. Even offline, stored financial data can be placed at risk in computers that are used on the Internet as well. Avoiding College Credit Card Traps Congratulations college freshman! You're about to embark on one of the most exciting times of your life. By now your parents, siblings, and friends have offered you all kinds of advice on how to make your transition to college smoother - how to get along with your roommate, what classes to take and which ones to avoid, where to find the best off-campus food, and how to stay safe on campus. Credit Worthiness Credit Worthiness is an important business and personal asset each person has to manage. I mean this is an asset which could make or break business relationships and interestingly in some cases personal relationships.
|
| Home | Site Map | |
| © 2007 |
