Repair Credit FactsCREDIT Repair FAQs, Credit Repair Kit, Places to Fix your Credit For Free!

If you’ve ever applied for a credit card, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the “household income” section on the application form.

And when you came across it, you may have wondered how to fill it in. If you were a kid, you may have added your parents income to your non-existent income.

Or perhaps you combined the income of your roommate(s) or spouse. And while doing so may have seemed fairly innocuous, those people wouldn’t really be on the hook if you were unable to make your minimum credit card payment.

The reality is that only those who co-signed would be accountable if you were unable to make a payment, or worse yet, missed a payment.

And so credit card issuers will now have to consider a card holder’s ability to repay, not the household’s, per Federal Reserve rules tied to the recently enacted CARD Act.

The Fed felt the term “household income” was too vague, and simply didn’t allow credit card issuers to properly evaluate an applicant’s ability to repay their debts.

So in order to protect consumers from taking on unaffordable levels of credit card debt, the Credit Card Act will require that before opening a new credit card account or increasing a credit limit on an existing account, card issuers will have to consider an individual’s income/salary.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be asking for income documentation. It just means it’ll possibly

Read more…

The Lowest Price we could find is $16.95 $2.16

Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul?

The American economy is dragging, with unemployment rates rising and consumer debt hitting $2.5 trillion. Many people are in deep and need help. Here, a Certified Financial Planner explains the mathematics of debt; strategies to deal with credit card, mortgage, student, and other loans; why debt consolidation and taking loans from a 401(k) can lead to problems; truths about bankruptcy; and how to use debt while eliminating it.

*Includes essential resources and websites, sample letters and forms, loan forgiveness programs, bankruptcy resources
*Author a Certified Financial Planner
*Covers every kind of debt, mortgages to credit cards to student loans
*National credit card debt is growing exponentially

Review:

Debt is a touchy subject.

Read more…

The Lowest Price we could find is $16.99 $2.52

If youre trying to kick the Buy Now/Pay Later habit and get your spiraling debt under control, you need Managing Debt For Dummies now! This practical, commonsense guide provides straightforward strategies for coping with every kind of secured and unsecured debt, including, personal loans, car loans, mortgages, home equity loans, lines of credit, credit cards, finance company loans, and student loans. Youll find out how easy it is to:

• Distinguish between good and bad debt
• Go on a debt diet to get back into financial shape
• Start a filing system to track debt and protect life after debt
• Adopt a smart spending regimen
• Increase your income
• Consolidate your debt
• Decide which bills to pay when you cant pay them all
• Use credit cards responsibly

You can still live well while slashing spending on groceries, clothing, and entertainment.

Read more…

Today’s top news headlines feature advice to consumers about prioritizing their financial goals and new information about the healthcare reform’s pre-existing conditions provision. Plus, find out how Americans’ 401(k) accounts are faring in a troubled market.

Americans Encouraged to Prioritize Their Finances The New York Times Industry experts are urging Americans to place equal importance on all of their financial goals, rather than assigning more significance to the most urgent needs at hand. Professionals say the longer Americans put off long-term goals, such as estate planning and retirement, the less control they may have over their futures when a financial crisis eventually hits.

Americans With Pre-Existing Conditions Gain More Access to Health Insurance The New York Times The new healthcare reform laws may make it easier for individuals with a pre-existing medical condition to attain health coverage, removing a financial roadblock for millions of Americans forced to pay out-of-pocket for expensive hospital visits and procedures. Indiv

Read more…

According to a recent report, consumers are still under-educated about credit scores, and many may be falling for popular myths when trying to improve their financial standing.

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) recently surveyed over 1,000 American consumers and discovered that most of them arent aware that a bad score can actually cost them more money. For instance, those with bad scores typically pay more over the life of a 60-month car loan than those with good scores.

They did not understand the financial cost of a low score, said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the CFA.

This isnt a good sign, given that credit scores reached all-time lows following the Great Recession. Last year, FICO estimated that nearly 43.4 million people had unfavorable credit scores, which FICO defined as scores below 600.

Even if they have bad credit scores, consumers can still avoid overpaying on lines of credit.

Read more…

A new report from credit bureau Experian revealed that the average consumer had 1.97 bank cards and more than $4,200 in debt as of the end of 2010.

This former number has fallen nearly 23 percent from 2007, likely due to credit card issuers tightening their grip on card holders by cutting credit lines and forcing them to pay off more debt.

This has caused credit utilization to rise, with card holders using an average of 30 percent of their total available bank card limit, a near 10 percent jump since 2007.

And if you didn’t already know, credit utilization plays a huge role in determining our credit scores, including both the popular Fico score and the lesser known VantageScore credit score.

The second most important factor in scoring as far as Fico is concerned is amounts owed, just slightly less important than payment history (.

In fact, it makes up 30 percent of your Fico score – for VantageScore, this utilization accounts for 23 percent of scoring, while balances make up another 15 percent of your score.

So it’s pretty darn important to keep both utilization and balances low.

Maxine Sweet, vice president of public education at Experian, warned that consumers could potentially hurt their credit scores by carrying credit card balances and utilizing a significant portion of their available credit.

If you’ve found yourself in such a situation, consider either making a payment plan to pay off the credit card debt, or consider a balance transfer, which can it make it a whole lot easier to pay off the debt without being hit with pesky finance charges.