Posts Tagged ‘credit tips’

Total Visa - Review

Monday, January 19th, 2009
by Daniel Moskel

The Total Visa was designed for individuals with a low credit score. It is an unsecured card.

It reports monthly to all three major credit bureaus. By making your monthly payments on time it will help you build a positive payment history.

This is very important when your score is calculated. Your utilization ratio will determine another large part of your score.

This ratio compares the amount of available credit you have versus the amount of debt you have. It is how the bureaus determine if some one can afford more credit.

It is estimated that these two factors alone determine 80% of your score. It can help if you can show available credit.

However it is still a priority to remove any negative marks from your report. This will help to show a positive payment history.

There is an initial limit of $250 and an annual fee of $48. It has a 19.92% APR, and is issued by the Plains Commerce Bank.

There is a 19.92% APR for a cash advance, should you have a financial emergency. Also you will be eligible for a limit increase four times a year.

As of late, we have seen a rise in interest rates. This has been happening to customers that have never paid late, their rates have jumped to 20% and higher.

Congress has responded and made new laws to prevent this in the future. However these laws will not go into effect until 2010. Additionally we have seen lower limits and much more stringent approval requirements.

Your card will have fraud protection and free online account access. Your card is accepted everywhere Visa is.

With responsible use a new credit line can help a damaged score. However with irresponsible use it can damage your score even more.

You should really look at your current expenses and income and decide if you really should take on a new line of credit.

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How to Become Debt Free using 6 Powerful Tips?

Monday, January 5th, 2009
by Finance-Experts-Team

No one can deny that taking care of financial stuff is a must and necessary condition to bring your business to the next level, regardless if you are a beginner or an expert in your business. I admit that it is not an easy job and, therefore, here is your chance to learn 10 powerful tips for saving money and properly organize your financial related tasks.

1. Put and Arrange Your Bills in a unique and Well Known Place.

Aggregating all your bills and the financial related documents in one unique and well known place is typically considered as one of the most important tips on how to save money. If you do not do so, you may loose a bill which leads to a late paying and, therefore, your credit rating is going to suffer.

2. Do not Pay Your Bills at Once, Instead, on a schedule.

Obviously, one of the wise easy ways to save money is to set up a payment schedule for your bills. It has something to do with how many bills your get and how much often you get them. Then, arrange your payment time table accordingly.

3. Reading Your Credit Card Statement is a Must.

It is really amazing that almost every one likes to enjoy the benefits offered by low interest credit cards, but they never read their statements when they have to pay back the bill. Credit cards involve the risk of starting by low interest to attract your and thy gradually raise the interest. Therefore, a wise recommendation of a money saving expert is always to read your statement before you pay and change your card if the interest is always getting much higher.

4. Automatic Payments Offer an Advantage that you Must Benefit From.

Automatic payment option must be properly considered, if we talk about tips for saving money. This is especially true since most of the creditors offer you a lower interest if you agree to pay back your bills using this automatic option. This makes a win-win deal. You win because you pay with a lower interest and they win because they get their money faster and online.

5. Guard Yourself against Overdraft.

Here is really one of the easy ways to save money which is the necessity to avoid over drafting your bank account. Most banks have a service where, if you run the risk of bouncing a check, the money will come from another source in exchange for a nominal fee, which is any way less than the fee you have to pay if you did not pay the check on time. Call or visit your bank to learn about this feature.

6. Consolidate Your Accounts.

Keeping all your accounts that have outstanding balances in fewer or even one place is one of the most useful tips on how to save money. Having several credit card accounts or many bank accounts would increase the guess work involved and increase your errors. Therefore, gather all your accounts to see if any consolidation is possible.

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Remove Tax Lien

Sunday, January 4th, 2009
by Matt Douglas

If you have a tax lien on your credit report, you should take immediate action to remove it. This is a very bad mark and will lower your score considerably.

The first step is to have the bureaus validate the lien. You need to send each bureau a dispute letter.

Surprisingly it is not out of the ordinary for incorrect information to be reported on your credit. It is estimated that 1 in 4 people have inaccurate information on their report.

Upon receipt of your letter the bureau will investigate the mark. They will contact the state or federal government and ask for verification that the debt does exist. If it is verified then you will have to make some form of payment.

Depending on the amount you owe it may be in your interest to contact a tax negotiator. This is because they can often negotiate a reduced payment for you. However you can also negotiate directly with the government.

This debt can be collected on for 10 years. It will be reported on your report for 7 years once it is paid.

However once you pay in full, wait three months and dispute the mark again. It has been learned that frequently the government will ignore future validation requests from the bureaus once a lien is paid.

This means your tax lien will not be verified and the bureau will erase it from your report. However if this mark is incorrect to start with you can demand proof that the account is yours, and send any documentation you have to prove your side.

Repayment

The IRS and state government often accept partial payment. To propose this to them you will make an offer in compromise, often called an OIC.

The government will look at; your ability to repay, your income, your assets, and what they expect to recover. Additionally it will help your chances of acceptance, if you attach a letter showing financial hardship.

It may be in your interest to hire a tax attorney or negotiator to help negotiate a repayment amount. It is not absolutely necessary but nonetheless a good idea.

In sum, you can remove a tax lien and other negative marks from your credit report. You do not just have to live with bad credit.

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Credit Repair After Bankruptcy

Friday, December 26th, 2008
by Matt Douglas

If you have filed bankruptcy you should expect your credit will be severely damaged. However there is hope, you can take action to remove your bad credit and by building some positive credit you can have a high score.

Contrary to popular belief this mark can be removed from your report and without waiting 10 years. To remove this mark we suggest:

1. Dispute the mark with each bureau.

You can do this yourself or by hiring a service, a dispute letter must be sent to each bureau disputing the accuracy of the mark. Upon receipt the bureaus will investigate, however because bankruptcies are recorded in public records which the bureaus will not check during an investigation, the mark will not be verified.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act says that a listing that in not verified must be removed from your report. Additionally this act says that you can dispute any item you feel is inaccurate on your report. It is a common concern about the legality of repairing your credit; you will never have any legal consequence for disputing a listing.

Before you dispute the bankruptcy it is a good idea to make sure that all other negative marks read “included in bankruptcy.” The reason is once the initial bankruptcy mark is removed you will dispute all the other negative items because you do not have a bankruptcy mark on your report. There are rumors that it is much easier to remove this mark after two years.

2. When your bankruptcy mark is erased, you can start to dispute each negative account.

This can be done because no where on your credit report does it say you have filed a bankruptcy so how can these negative items be included? Upon an investigation the marks should be erased and this will provide you with a clean report.

3. Open a new revolving line of credit such as a credit card. This will help you build some positive credit on your report.

By making your on time monthly payments you will create a positive payment history. Additionally keep your monthly balance at 25% of your available limit because this will show the bureaus that you do use your card and use it responsibly. This will improve your ratio of available credit to debt, a very important factor when your score is calculated.

It might not be the most ethical to dispute items you know are accurate on your report. However is it ethical for lender to charge you 30% interest rate for missing a payment, no matter how long you have been a model customer?

In sum a positive payment history, report clear of derogatory items, and a good ratio of available credit to debt is the recipe for a 700 plus score. This will improve your quality of life by; saving you money on large deposits, high interest rates, and the embarrassment of a denial.

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Green Dot Visa

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
by Dan Moskel

The Green Dot Visa is a pre paid debit card. Often this is used by individuals that do not have a bank account.

This is a result of card holders having free direct deposit, which can save hundreds of dollars a year on check cashing fees. It is accepted world wide and is a real debit card.

There is no bank account required or credit check. It does have a monthly maintenance fee of $4.95 but this fee is waived if you deposit $750 or more monthly.

You can access cash at over 900,000 ATM’s in 120 countries and it is accepted online and over the phone.

It does have a reload fee of $4.95 when you use a MoneyPak. Common criticisms are; the amount of fees and poor customer service.

These are purchased at retailer locations such as Walgreens, Wal-mart, Kroger, CVS and more. There is also a $2.50 ATM Withdrawal fee and a $9.95 activation fee.

This card is issued by Columbus Bank and Trust Company and comes as a Visa or MasterCard.

You can upgrade your account to Premier Membership; the benefit is priority customer service. The fee for this is a one time payment of $20.

You can purchase this card at retail locations or you can fill out an application online and have a card sent to you within 7-10 business days.

Frequently parents will use this card to teach a child how to manage money. It also gives parents an easy way sending financial help to students that are away at school.

Your money will be protected if your card is ever lost or stolen. It is a much safer alternative than carrying cash.

You use it to pay your bills. Additionally it will give you a convenient way to track your spending and stay within a budget.

In sum this card can help individuals without a bank account and parents. However we are alarmed that there are additional fees for priority service. We feel that when it comes to your money you are entitled to priority service.

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