Understand your credit and how you can use it. Read our articles, guidelines, reviews, and tutorials to learn all about the world of Credit.
Homeownership is part of the American dream, but buying a house can be incredibly expensive. According to Zillow, the median home in the United States costs just under $250,000. In certain markets, you could be paying twice as much as that for the average home. Few people can pay cash for such a large purchase,…
For years, Quicken Loans has prided itself on being the best online mortgage broker in town. Its simple application process has helped it grow into one of the largest mortgage companies in the business, accounting for 6% of the mortgages in the United States. That puts them right behind banking giants like Wells Fargo and…
Was one of your New Years’ resolutions to improve your credit score? Or maybe you’re hoping to buy a home soon? Perhaps you just like to be on top of all of your personal financial data so you can press on towards achieving your goals? Regardless of your reasons, checking your credit often can have…
If you’re looking for a free way to check your credit score, look no further than three websites. Quizzle.com, CreditKarma.com, and CreditSesame.com each offer free scores. Although they offer similar services, each site has its own nuances and unique perks. But before we get into an analysis of each service, it’s important to understand one…
In a financial sense, you are your credit score! It’s just a reality of life in the 21st century. Lenders, landlords, employers, and even insurance companies will rely on your credit score in determining whether or not to extend credit, lease an apartment, offer a job, or even sell an insurance policy to you. The…
The formula that generates a FICO credit score is made up of several components. Some of these components you would expect to see, such as paying your bills on time. But there is one component that takes a lot of people by surprise: credit inquiries. A credit inquiry is recorded every time somebody “inquires” about,…
Chase is offering free credit scores and alerts to virtually anyone. It’s available to all current Chase customers, but you can sign up for the service even if you don’t have an account with the bank. The service–Credit Journey–lets you continuously monitor both your credit score and your overall credit. It can be a valuable…
Have you ever paid off debt only to find that it caused your credit score to drop? Paying off debt is absolutely a good thing. But why would it cause a credit score to drop? It can be very frustrating, if you monitor your score from month-to-month, to pay off a loan only to see…
It seems like a simple question at first. What is a good credit score? But what seems simple on the surface is often more complicated underneath. That’s true when it comes to your credit score, too. In fact, trying to define a good credit score is sort of like trying to define beauty. It’s in…