While debt settlement can often be the best means of avoiding bankruptcy or foreclosure, it can also mean doing significant, lasting damage to your credit. Failure to pay bills—a crucial step in the debt settlement process—can severely damage an individual’s credit score. Therefore, the last important step of a debt settlement negotiation is to repair  … Read more

While it seems as though there are an inordinate amount of people who are in credit card negotiations, there are also individuals who are just starting out with their credit lines. With all of the doom and gloom that is surrounding the credit world in the current economy, getting a credit card can seem downright  … Read more

Ever since the financial crash of 2008, credit scores have been more important than ever – and this has been a source of much debt negotiation. Most people who have tried to get any sort of loan over the course of the past few years have noticed that it is increasingly difficult to be able  … Read more

If you have bad credit, but would like to take advantage of super low refinancing options right now, there are a few simple things you can do. If your house is at risk of foreclosure, or sold your home in a short sale recently, you will still have to wait at least 2 years before  … Read more

Credit bureaus and the credit rating system can be cryptic. They tell you that a great score is 700-720 or more. Between 600-700 is decent and anything below that means you are a risk for lenders. Bureaus will have their own way of calculating your credit score, and much of it is based on a  … Read more

It is a common refrain: “Your credit score is vital to your life, your happiness, your continued prosperity.” Regardless of how much this makes someone sound like a broken record, it is so true. Unless you are a financial maverick or can suitably live under a rock, there is nothing more essential to your financial  … Read more

Unless you are living under a rock, you should be well aware that the stock index and credit rating agency Standard and Poor, “S&P,” has issued a shot across the bow to the US government to clean up its debt and spending habits. Though Congress and the White House were able to agree on legislation  … Read more

Creditors are notoriously one-sided when it comes to reporting credit: don’t expect a fair and balanced credit portrait if you miss a payment on your mortgage or fall behind on your credit card payments. Here are some things to know that could save you from painstaking credit card negotiations or a loan modification. Remember, your  … Read more

In light of high credit card debt and delinquent payments, many are worried about how their credit will be effected. This worry is legitimate concern of most Americans. But most people have no idea how the score is calculated. The common conception is that credit scores are good if you’ve “never been late on a  … Read more

Improving your credit score starts by taking stock of your entire financial life. Ask yourself first, “What loans or credit cards have the highest monthly interest rates? What percentage of my budget can afford to put towards paying down debt?” It should be your priority to pay down your debt, first, before improving your credit  … Read more