Does having too many credit cards affect your credit score?

Posted on October 14, 2011 by admin

Does having too many credit cards affect your credit score? Yes it can in many cases reduce or hurt you credit score, especially if they all carry balances.

One important thing to acknowledged and research before taking action or attempting to payoff debt or close accounts. In most cases in can hurt you to close accounts, instead pay the down to zero and let them age.

I would feel more comfortable with the statement being having credit cards with balances can affect your credit score in a negative way. An easy solution to this problem is to pay off balances and keep accounts especially aged or seasoned accounts, a credit factor in your credit score calculation used by the credit bureaus accounts for you credit score calculation wich by the way is a number that can change pretty quick credit scores are reported once per month by many creditors (lenders).

How often do credit scores change? once per month is pretty quick, there a few inexpensive ways to get your credit scores more often. An agency or business that uses credit xpret software can tell you exactly which items will affect your score. You can have your scores updated within 72 hours or wain for a month or two for them to rise along with normal monthly reporting.

Avoid applying for too many credit cards

In many cases this happens with someone trying to establish new credit too quickly. Others may be trying to reestablish credit. Each time you apply for credit a credit inquiry is reported, too many inquires can cause credit scores to drop.

So far we have discussed two important factors that can have negative effects on your credit score.

1. Having too many credit cards with balances
2. Applying for too many credit cards too quickly

These are too easy fixes for improving your credit score. On to some more challenging tasks.

3. Reducing overall balances to credit limits ratio. This is probably and one of the most important factors and one of the tricks that no credit expert should overlook. In many cases people with fair credit, this may be all the credit improvement or repair they need to qualify for a mortgage loan.

Some common questions I get often at my mortgage broker business (day job). People most often ask these questions.

Can you have too many credit cards? Yes, especially if you have more than 4-5 that carry balances.

Does too many credit cards hurt credit score? Yes, too many revolving accounts can hurt you.

Is having too many credit cards bad, yes

Is 4 credit cards too many? Four credit cards is the right number for an ideal credit profile

Tips to eliminate your credit card debt

Posted on June 15, 2011 by admin

Now a days credit card debt is one of the major financial problems in common people’s life. It seems very great before using but after you use it and fall into debt then it will be very difficult for you to get out of it. Now a days most of the people are suffering with credit card debt and its very difficult for them to get rid of it.
If you are one of them then you must consider these steps to eliminate your debt in a simple way : -

1. Stop using your card :- First of all you need to stop using your credit card because if you don’t stop using you card then you will never be get of of its burden. So, begin your debt elimination process by cutting up the cards and making it impossible for you to use them.

2. Payoff your smallest debt first :- First of all you have to know who much amount of debt you have then you need to figure this out by gathering all your statements. Put them in order from the smallest to the largest. You target should be to payoff as much as you can.

3. Add it in your budget :- If you will include your debt payments in your monthly budget then it will be very easier for you to pay off and get out of this debt burden. Just take it as a monthly bill.

4. Try to negotiate :- You should talk to your lenders. It may surprise you at just how willing they are to work with you. Keeping the lines of communication open between you and your lender is important. If they feel you are really trying to work to pay down your debt then chances are they will be willing to negotiate on the monthly payments and maybe even on your interest rates.
If you will consider these tips you will be able to eliminate your credit card debt easily.

These are the tips by which you can easily eliminate your credit card debt in a simple way.

Credit report facts and its importance

Posted on June 15, 2011 by admin

Credit reports are generally prepared by three credit bureaus namely, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.

These three credit bureaus collect information about a borrower i.e, credit history from the creditors and if you have any negative listing in your credit report it will remain for 7 to10 years. So if you have taken any wrong credit decision you need to suffer for a long time to improve it.

But you can improve your credit report by opening a new credit account account and you should manage it seriously.

The credit report helps you when you apply for any loan for example if you have applied for a car loan then first of all the creditors will check your credit history after collecting it from the credit bureaus and If they find the credit report satisfactory then only you will get the loan.

Importance of credit report : Credit report is very important to measure your financial status because it shows how much financially free you are in your life and it helps to solve your financial problems as well . As it is given by the 3 different credit bureaus , the figures may be differ from each other but the appropriate figure are decided by the lenders which check your credit report when you wants financial help from them.

1. Credit report includes your total number of credit accounts .
2. No. of total accounts you are holding like student loan account , installment , mortgage loan etc.
3. Total amount of debt you have .
4. Dates of oprning your credit accounts.
5. Name of your credit card issuers
6. Limit of your credit cards
7. Number of times you have applied for loans.

That was the bsic knowledge of credit report and its importance which will help you to improve your credit.

Consolidating credit card debts: Ways to beat debt blues

Posted on June 15, 2011 by admin

Credit cards are very helpful financial tools that allow you to use money that you do not even possess. However, this advantage of credit cards may cause you to fall into severe credit card debts that you will find very hard to eliminate. In case you have too many credit card debts to pay off and are not being able to handle all your bills together, then you may opt for a debt solution called credit card consolidation in order to address the problem.

Debt consolidation is a process in which all your multiple debts are combined together to form a single debt and the rate of interest is also reduced. Thus, you pay much lower than what you were supposed to pay originally and you also make only a single payment instead of multiple payments.

There are many ways in which you may consolidate your credit card debts. However, there are a few important ways that you must understand and remember. Some of the important ways are as follows.

1. Consolidating credit cards with the help of consolidation companies :

You may consolidate your credit card debts with the help of consolidation companies. When you are no longer able to tackle your multiple debts, then you must approach a debt consolidation company. They will first assess your finances and then they will decide the amount that you will need to pay towards your debts. The consolidation company will also try and get your interest rates reduced by negotiating with your creditors. This ensures that you pay a much lower amount than what you were to pay originally towards your debts.

You are to pay the amount decided as per your financial situation, to the consolidation company. This amount is then distributed by the debt consolidation company among your creditors. Thus, you do not even need to bother about making multiple payments. You just need to pay the set fixed amount to the debt consolidation company and they will take care of the rest. Your creditors are also notified that you have enrolled with a debt consolidation company and any calls that they need to make to you must be directed towards the debt consolidation company. Thus, you get to be free from multiple payments and the harassing calls of creditors.

2. Consolidating credit cards with the help of debt consolidation loans:

You may take out a debt consolidation loan in order to get out of credit card debts. A consolidation loan is a loan that is taken out in order to pay off all your debts. After you have paid all your debts you will only need to pay towards the debt consolidation loan. This means that you are rescued from making multiple payments that may cause a lot of harassment. Another aspect of these loans that prove to be advantageous to you is that these loans come at a very low rate of interest. This rate of interest is much lower
Than the rate of interest that is charged by the credit card companies. Thus, you get to pay much lower than the amount that you were supposed to pay towards the debt as your interest rate reduces. You also do not have to deal with harassing creditor calls as you have already paid all your credit card bills with the help of the consolidation loan.

3. Consolidating credit card debts all by yourself:

You may opt for consolidating your credit card debts all by yourself. In order to do this the first thing that you will be required to do is to make a list of all your debts and to whom you owe it to. You are to then start negotiating with your creditors asking them to lower the rates of interest that they are charging on the debt. You are to then figure out ways in which you will be paying off the debts. You may take the help of your savings or may also draw from your retirement funds.

These are a few important ways that you may use and consolidate your credit card debts.

3 Ways to consolidate your bills and the pros and cons

Posted on June 15, 2011 by admin

When you have too many credit cards and it becomes problematic for you to manage them. Bill consolidation helps you consolidate your outstanding multiple bills into one single payment that you have to pay.

3 Ways to consolidate your bills

Read on to know about 3 ways to consolidate your credit card bills.

Consolidation program – In a bill consolidation program, you make a single monthly payment for all your multiple outstanding debts/bills. When you enroll in this program, the consolidator negotiates with your creditors to reduce interest rate on your debts.

Pros and cons:

With single monthly payment and reduced interest rate, it becomes easy for you to pay off your outstanding debts within a specific time period.
If you want to pay off your debts with the help of the professionals, you need to pay fees for the services that they provide you.

Consolidation loan – You can also take out a loan for the purpose of bill consolidation. Consolidation loan helps you pay off several loans at once and you need to make one monthly payment to one creditor instead of many. You may get low-interest rate when you consolidate your loans. There are two types of consolidation loans – secured and unsecured.

Pros and cons:

The monthly payment on your new loan may get reduced as compared to the sum total of your existing monthly payments.
In case of a secured loan, your loan is secured by house/property. So, there is always a risk of losing your house/property, if you cannot pay off your loan on time.

Balance transfer – Balance transfer method helps you consolidate your credit card debts by transferring all your dues to one card which has low-interest rate. You can also search for a balance transfer card with a zero percent or low introductory rate.

Pros and cons:

The credit card companies provide interest free balance transfer cards to attract more customers. This helps you pay off your debts with ease and you can also save money in this process.
If you cannot pay off your outstanding balance within the low introductory rate period, you will have to pay high interest rate on your outstanding dues.

It is necessary that you assess all the options available to you in order to ensure that you choose the right one to clear your debts within a definite time period.

Suze Orman Recommends A Free Credit Report

Posted on February 23, 2011 by admin

Suze Orman , Dave Ramsey and many other financial experts recommend getting your annual free credit report as a starting point for managing your personal finances and credit rating. Credit Report Central will show you how to get your free credit report from annualcreditreport.com and will review the best credit management practices and tools.

Keeping up with your finances, good credit management and repairing bad credit will ensure easy credit and the best terms when you need to borrow money for a major purchase or family emergency.