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Posted
Jul 24 2009, 07:05 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
Earlier this week we took a look at how to get your free FICO credit score from myFICO.com. Operated by the Fair Isaac Corp., creator of the FICO credit score, it offers consumers a free credit report and FICO credit score when they sign up for a 30-day trial of Score Watch. The FICO credit score myFICO.com provides is from Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus.
And that's where some confusion can creep in.
There are three major credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. And each of these credit bureaus calculates a consumer's FICO credit score, which can be and usually is different for each credit bureau. In other words, you likely have a different FICO credit score from each of the three major credit bureaus. And to add to the confusion, each of the credit bureaus calls its version of the FICO credit score by a different name.
So let's quickly sort all this out:
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Posted
Jun 23 2009, 06:03 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
I applied for my first credit card as a freshman in college. It was an AT&T-branded Citi card that gave me free long-distance phone minutes and a few rewards points.
I am fortunate to have started building up my credit at the age of 18, which proved to be crucial later on. I am even more fortunate never to have fallen down the credit card debt hole so many college students slip into (in part because I knew my mom would've been furious).
To help all the rising freshmen, or perhaps the parents of rising freshmen, I offer 10 tips for students looking to build credit but not credit card debt.
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Posted
Jun 09 2009, 05:13 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
It's very important that you regularly review your credit history to catch errors and inaccuracies early. Errors can take months to remedy, and they're not something you want to worry about when you are trying to get a mortgage or car loan.
I recommend that every four months you request a credit report through AnnualCreditReport.com, the only Web site you should use to get your annual free credit reports as mandated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Recently, I requested my credit report from Equifax through AnnualCreditReport.com, and I will take you briefly through the report to explain what the sections are and what to look out for. Each of the three credit bureaus structures its reports somewhat differently, but I'm hoping this guide and walkthrough will help illuminate anything that looks strange.
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Posted
Feb 11 2009, 12:33 PM
by
Joan Melcher
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
As if consumers haven’t been alienated enough lately, now a spat involving the nation’s credit-rating bureaus is creating more confusion. And some financial pundits are saying that consumers are the ones who will lose out.
Currently consumers can buy their three FICO credit scores (at myFICO.com) from Fair Isaac, the company that calculates credit scores based on data provided by each of the three major credit bureaus. FICO scores are the ones most lenders use to decide if you should get a loan. (You can get a free credit report every year from each of the bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- by going to AnnualCreditReport.com.)
Now Experian has gone rogue and as of Saturday will no longer allow Fair Isaac to sell the FICO score based on Experian data to the public, and Experian can’t distribute those scores to the public itself. “But,” The New York Times reports, “Experian itself will continue to sell FICO scores based on its data to lenders, so some banks may make credit decisions, at least in part, on a score that consumers can no longer see.”
Adding to the confusion, Experian is all over television and the Net promising free credit scores.
We went to Experian’s site -- freecreditreport.com -- and took the bait.
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Posted
Jan 29 2009, 10:32 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We've read that some credit card companies may ding those who use their card in bars or tire-retreading shops, or live in an area with lots of foreclosures, but this takes the cake: If you're an American Express cardholder, your credit limit could be reduced if other customers who shop where you do have fallen behind on their Amex bills.
Is this yet another way credit card companies are penalizing responsible customers because their own bottom lines are hurting?
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Posted
Dec 03 2008, 06:45 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Filed under: banking, The Dough Roller, mortgage rates, credit rating, credit cards, credit reports, credit card rates, credit score, bad credit, car insurance, insurance rates, homeowners insurance
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. We all know just how important our credit score is when we apply for a loan. High credit scores get approved, while low scores do not, subject to other factors, of course. But your credit score and credit history affect a lot more than whether you get approved for a loan. Here are seven unexpected ways your credit score and credit history can affect your finances.
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Posted
Nov 07 2008, 09:09 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. Several high-schoolers and college students have asked me for advice on how to build a credit history in a safe and responsible manner. One of them is "Jenna": I'm currently a freshman at Washington University. I know I need to build up some good credit for the future, when I have to get a car loan and such, but I don't know where to start. I'm worried about getting way into debt like some people I know. Building a positive credit rating was one of the things I did right during my college and early professional years, and it has paid off time and time again with low insurance rates and good terms on student loans, car loans and our mortgage. How do you go about building a positive credit history if you have never applied for any form of credit?
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Posted
Jan 17 2008, 01:05 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Call it "peer-to-peer" or "social" lending, the online enterprise of loaning money to others outside the confines of a brick-and-mortar bank is taking off. The Silicon Valley Blogger says this "brave new world" is expected to grow by as much as 800% in the next three years, and she plans to be a part of it -- on the lending side. Her post at The Digerati Life explains how Prosper.com, Lending Club and other P2P services work, and how investors can reduce the risk of losing money.
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Posted
Jan 10 2008, 10:06 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from David Wood at partner blog ConsumerAffairs.com. While junk e-mail keeps us busy hitting the delete button, unsolicited advertisements and offers through old-fashioned snail mail also can sow the seeds of confusion. Not many do this better than a Nevada-based credit offer called First National Card. First National Card -- offered by both Consumer Credit Services Inc. and Capital Credit Alliance Inc. -- is one of the most confusing and complained-about credit offers anywhere. The two companies -- CCS and CCA -- reside in the same Las Vegas office building and offer the same products, but are owned by two different people. They generate numerous consumer complaints annually to consumer protection agencies, Web sites and just about anyone else willing to listen.
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