Credit

Why and How to Freeze Your Credit

May 16, 2013

Photo: Paalia With identity theft on the rise, more people are looking at ways to protect their identities. Options like identity theft protection and simple credit monitoring can certainly help. But what if you want to take more drastic measures? One drastic measure you can take is to freeze your credit. Basically, a credit freeze [...]

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A College Student’s Guide to Building Credit

May 10, 2013

Photo: Tulane Public Relations Whether you’re in college or just graduating, chances are you don’t have much credit history. And that’s not a bad thing. You haven’t needed credit up to this point, and this is the time when most people start worrying about things like credit scores and credit cards. But now that you’re [...]

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Does Paying Rent Improve Your Credit Score?

May 2, 2013

Photo: sincerelyhiten Not too long ago, paying rent didn’t have much to do with your credit score. Not paying rent could (and still can) wreck your credit score. If you were behind enough to have your account sent to a collections agency, your past-due rent would likely be reported as negative information to the credit [...]

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How Long Does It Take to Improve Your Credit

April 26, 2013

Photo: 401 (K) 2013 How long does it take to improve your credit? That’s a great question. Unfortunately, the answer is, “It depends.” It depends on what your credit score is now, and why. And it depends on how much you want to improve your credit score. Serious credit problems — foreclosures, collections records, etc. [...]

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How to Correct an Error on Your Credit Report

March 29, 2013

Even small errors on your credit report can cause big problems. A typo in your home address could make it difficult for you to pull a copy of your credit report, for instance. A larger error, such as a creditor misreporting your financial information, could cause more serious issues. This is why it’s essential that [...]

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How to Protect Your Credit During a Divorce

March 25, 2013

Photo: EssG Divorce, whether nasty or amicable, can be an emotional roller coaster. It can be a financial roller coaster, as well. Not only can divorce hurt the finances of both parties, but it can be particularly difficult for the spouse who did not handle the money during the marriage. The good news is that [...]

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How Late Payments Affect Your Credit Score

March 19, 2013

Photo: TheTruthAbout Late payments may be the bane of your credit score perfection, or they may just be part of your overall credit mediocrity. How late your payments are, how perfect your score is otherwise, and a host of other factors all play into how much a late payment (or multiple late payments) will affect [...]

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A Simple Plan to Establish Credit for the First Time

February 27, 2013

As my children move into adulthood, the question of establishing credit for the first time is arising. Does a bank account affect your credit? Will a prepaid debit card establish credit? Should I get a credit card? As I work through these issues with my children, it seems like a good time to cover this [...]

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A DIY Guide to Rebuilding Your Credit Score

December 20, 2012

You can rebuild your credit score by following a few simple steps Photo: 401(K) 2012 A reader named Amber e-mailed me recently and asked the following question about repairing her credit: I just settled all of my debt and got my credit score (not good) and printed off my credit reports. They all show that [...]

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