What is Experian Boost?
You may have heard about Experian Boost and how it can help people to improve their credit scores. Many people don’t fully understand how it works so today we’ll take the time to provide a simple explanation. Commonly, consumers with low credit scores will suffer from a lack of credit. This means that they either…
Higher Interest Rates Hit Marginal Credit Scores Harder
You can’t turn on the news, read a newspaper, or surf the internet without seeing headlines about inflation and interest rates heading higher. It has a lot of people worried about their ability to manage their household finances. And if you’ve known me or have read anything I’ve written in the past 2-3 years, you’ve…
Don’t Rely on the Luck of the Irish to Improve Your Credit Scores!
Credit and credit scores aren’t typically something that people worry about until they need to… like when they want to buy a house, finance a car, or apply for a loan or credit card. All of the sudden, when these life events occur, credit vaults to the top of the “list of important things”.…
In Times of Uncertainty, Control What You Can Control
The world is definitely a hot mess right now with a huge list of issues that are not good news: Inflation War Gas Prices Supply Chain Issues Interest Rates Almost Surely Going Up Perhaps the most frustrating part of this is that even though all of these things will definitely impact our wallets, there…
Credit Tips for Those In or Near Retirement
As you begin to approach retirement, you’re typically concerned with your savings and trying to make your money last. But sometimes just as important is making sure you have and maintain top tier credit scores. The credit bureaus don’t know your age and they don’t know your income, so when it’s time to walk away…
Beware of These Signs of Identity Theft
Identity theft is becoming a rampant problem all over the world. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission received over 4.8 million identity theft claims in 2020 and they estimate that over 9 million people are victims of identity theft annually. Identity theft occurs when someone gets or steals your personal information and then uses that…
7 Years is a LONG Time
When negative credit items appear on your credit report, they can stick with you like a bad habit… the darn things never seem to go away. Say, for instance, you lose your job or have a financial hardship that causes you to be late on several payment such as your car and a few credit…
Interest Rates are Going Up… Now What?
If you’ve been paying attention to current economic news, you’re probably aware that interest rates are beginning to creep up. What you may not know is how your credit scores, combined with higher interest rates, could profoundly affect your household budget. Over the next 6-8 months (or sooner) here’s what we are likely to see…
What are the Credit Tiers for Mortgage Rates?
You hear (and read) us preaching about how low to average credit scores will impact your finances, especially when it comes to large purchases like cars and homes. So today, let’s look at some real numbers pertaining to credit tiers and mortgage interest rates. The table below shows you average mortgage rates based on your…
5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Credit Scores
When a credit report has multiple negative items on it, credit repair is typically the fastest and easiest way to bring those scores up. However, if your credit is in good shape and you want to keep building good credit and increase your scores over time, here are a few good habits to form. Review…