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Posted
Sep 18 2009, 07:21 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
Here is one of the most frequently asked questions in all of personal finance: "How do I get out of debt?" At one level, eliminating debt is simply about following a few steps:
- Stop going into more debt.
- Spend less than you make.
- Pay off debt with the difference.
If you follow these steps, eventually you'll be debt-free. The problem is that following these steps isn't always so easy. And to make matters worse, there is a lot of "help" out there that can make matters worse. From debt-consolidation companies to books like Kevin Trudeau's "Debt Cures," which I wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy, there are a lot of promises being made that getting out of debt is easy. It's not.
In fact, tackling your debt may be one of the hardest things you'll ever do. You have to control your emotions, which can play a big part in how we make financial decisions. You have to educate yourself about everything from home loans to credit cards to credit scores. And you have to discipline yourself in the way you manage and spend money.
The fact is that controlling your spending and paying off your debt is not an easy thing to do. But the good news is that you can do it. If you want to be debt-free bad enough, you can make it happen.
To help you reach your goal of being debt-free, I've assembled a list of 23 tips and tools. If you know of others, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post.
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Posted
Aug 31 2009, 11:22 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
TMZ, the news source for all things Michael Jackson, expressed amazement that MJ had terrible FICO scores.
"Here's a shocker -- Michael Jackson had an abysmally low credit score," said a story at the Web site. In 2007, TMZ says it has learned, Jackson's scores from the three major credit bureaus were 592, 524 and 575, averaging out to just under 564.
It's really no surprise, considering his well-documented ultra-extravagant spending and financial woes, including the fact that Neverland Ranch nearly slid into foreclosure. But there's a lesson for everyday people in the specifics that caused the King of Pop to have poor scores.
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Posted
Aug 27 2009, 05:01 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
You know what people always say when they complain that the credit card company slashed their credit limit: I've never missed a payment or been late.
Quite likely, a new study shows, they aren't lying.
The study by FICO, originators of the FICO credit score, found that of the 33 million people whose credit limits were reduced between October and April, 24 million had no new marks against them in their credit reports that would prompt a card issuer to tighten the reins.
Also, reports Pamela Yip of The Dallas Morning News, "Those cardholders generally had low balances, didn't use up a lot of their available credit, had very few -- if any -- reports of missed payments, and had a long credit history."
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Posted
Aug 21 2009, 06:16 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller:
Improving your FICO credit score has never been more important than it is now. Your credit score affects whether you are approved for a loan, the interest rate your pay, and even the cost of insurance. Credit card companies now use credit scores and credit history to determine not only the interest rate that will apply to the account, but other terms such as the length of no-interest balance transfers. And your credit score can even impact whether you get a job.
In short, your credit score has a big impact on your finances. The good news is that you can begin to improve your credit score today with a few simple steps. I've been monitoring my FICO credit score through myFICO.com, and I've noticed that my score has gone up about 15 points in the last month. So I thought it was a good time to review the simple steps we all can take to increase our credit scores.
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Posted
Aug 18 2009, 05:59 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Jim Wang at partner blog Bargaineering.
Breaking up is hard to do, but canceling a credit card is easy. Call the company, tell them it's just not working out, then cut up the credit card. Easy, right?
What's a little harder? Understanding the impact that can have on your credit history and score.
Why canceling hurts your score
What impact can canceling a credit card have on your credit score? Canceling a credit card will, in a majority of cases, lower your credit score. The primary reason has to do with credit utilization, a significant factor in calculating your credit score.
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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 16 2009, 03:16 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Mr. ToughMoneyLove at Tough Money Love.
Recently I read a post by The Finance Buff which the writer entitled "The credit crunch finally hit me." After reading the post, Mr. ToughMoneyLove had to leave a comment that disagreed with the title and premise of the article.
My comment started with this: "The credit crunch didn't hit you. Common sense in lending hit you." I will tell you why I said this.
The author ("TFB") told us that he/she had applied for an unsecured personal line of credit from Wells Fargo Bank. The credit application had recently been denied. TFB was surprised enough by this to post about it:
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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
Jun 02 2009, 01:20 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Now that Congress has set limits on some of the worst practices of credit card companies, let's take a look at who is really responsible for our credit card use/abuse: It's that guy or gal in the mirror.
Michael Rubin at Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck says the lies we tell ourselves about our credit card use can be far more ruinous to our financial well-being than any tricks the card companies can -- and will -- come up with.
Some of his top five lies might surprise you. How about this? "The reward points totally make it worth it."
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