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Showing posts from September, 2019

Consider The Factors Lenders Consider

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MoneyTips Your credit score is one of the most important factors that lenders review when deciding whether to extend credit to you – but it's not the only factor. It's possible to get a loan with a poor credit score and be denied a loan with a good credit score based on other considerations. Your credit score is distilled from five main factors in your credit report – on-time payments, credit utilization (your credit in use relative to your limits), length of credit history, types of credit you hold, and new requests for credit. You can check your credit score and read your credit report for free within minutes by joining MoneyTips . However, your whole credit story may be more complex. Lenders will consider anything that may give clues about your ability to repay – such as these fa... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2oNA1SA

Consider The Factors Lenders Consider

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MoneyTips Your credit score is one of the most important factors that lenders review when deciding whether to extend credit to you – but it's not the only factor. It's possible to get a loan with a poor credit score and be denied a loan with a good credit score based on other considerations. Your credit score is distilled from five main factors in your credit report – on-time payments, credit utilization (your credit in use relative to your limits), length of credit history, types of credit you hold, and new requests for credit. You can check your credit score and read your credit report for free within minutes by joining MoneyTips . However, your whole credit story may be more complex. Lenders will consider anything that may give clues about your ability to repay – such as these fa... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2oNA1SA

How To Get Out From An Underwater Car Loan

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MoneyTips Few things are more satisfying than driving your brand-new car – until you realize that it lost value immediately after you left the dealership. Thanks to depreciation, it's possible for a car to lose over 20% of its starting value within the first year. According to CARFAX data, cars can lose over 10% of their value after the first month. During the early stages of car ownership, it's easy for a car loan to be underwater – meaning that you owe more on the loan than the current value of the car. With a down payment of 20% or less, you're very likely to have an underwater period. If all goes well, it's okay to be underwater. You'll continue to make payments and the car's value should overtake the remaining loan balance as the balance decreases. Early payments are mostly dedicated to interest and not principal – so it takes time to go from negative to positive equity. As long as you hold onto the car long enough, you should be fine. What happens wh

How To Get Out From An Underwater Car Loan

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MoneyTips Few things are more satisfying than driving your brand-new car – until you realize that it lost value immediately after you left the dealership. Thanks to depreciation, it's possible for a car to lose over 20% of its starting value within the first year. According to CARFAX data, cars can lose over 10% of their value after the first month. During the early stages of car ownership, it's easy for a car loan to be underwater – meaning that you owe more on the loan than the current value of the car. With a down payment of 20% or less, you're very likely to have an underwater period. If all goes well, it's okay to be underwater. You'll continue to make payments and the car's value should overtake the remaining loan balance as the balance decreases. Early payments are mostly dedicated to interest and not principal – so it takes time to go from negative to positive equity. As long as you hold onto the car long enough, you should be fine. What happens wh

How Checks Affect Your Credit Score

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MoneyTips Can your checking account affect your credit score? It's possible, but only in certain circumstances that you should avoid. Your credit score is calculated using information from your credit report, which is a history of all of your credit-based transactions. Checking accounts are funded by your deposits – there's no borrowing of money involved. Normal daily activities like writing checks and transferring funds aren't reported to credit reporting agencies and don't show up on your credit report. When you open a new checking account, banks can ask for a hard credit pull as part of your evaluation. Hard credit pulls will cause a small temporary drop in your credit score. However, most banks use soft credit pulls that do not affect your credit score at all. So how can checking account activity affect your credit score? Generally, there's only one way to damage your credit report with a checking account. You have to allow your checking account to be used

School Is In Session! Protect Yourself From Scams

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MoneyTips With the school season starting again, education is job number one for students and parents alike. A proper education includes an education in personal finance, and one of the best ways to start is to learn how to protect yourself against scams. You can and should learn fast, too, because scams can become more common during the back-to-school buying season. Here are some practical suggestions on how to avoid credit and debit card fraudsters: Only patronize known retailers. Avoid jackpot online deals that offer items like $3,000 laptops for $400. These are often scams. "Good PC hygiene" cannot be overstated for every handheld device, laptop, and phone. Anti-virus and anti-malware programs are key to staying safer online. Avoid pooling or sharing credit card information in a dorm setting. There is no reason for students to share... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2MRsQPp

5 Questions to Ask When Your Credit Score Drops

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MoneyTips You're ready to take out a loan, only to realize that your credit score actually dropped since you last checked it. With a low credit score, you'll be paying higher interest rates than you expected – and you may not qualify for the loan at all. What happened? Remember that your credit score reflects your risk to a lender at any point in time. As new information is reported to credit bureaus, your credit report is updated. Your credit score is periodically recalculated to incorporate that new information. If the update implies any risk of non-payment, your score will suffer. To find out why your score dropped, ask the following five questions and think like a lender. Would you be less likely to lend someone money if you didn't like the answer? 1. Did You Miss a Payment? – On-time payments are the most important factor in your credit score. Lenders assume that if you've missed a payment before, you're more likely to do it again.... from MoneyTips

5 Questions to Ask When Your Credit Score Drops

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MoneyTips You're ready to take out a loan, only to realize that your credit score actually dropped since you last checked it. With a low credit score, you'll be paying higher interest rates than you expected – and you may not qualify for the loan at all. What happened? Remember that your credit score reflects your risk to a lender at any point in time. As new information is reported to credit bureaus, your credit report is updated. Your credit score is periodically recalculated to incorporate that new information. If the update implies any risk of non-payment, your score will suffer. To find out why your score dropped, ask the following five questions and think like a lender. Would you be less likely to lend someone money if you didn't like the answer? 1. Did You Miss a Payment? – On-time payments are the most important factor in your credit score. Lenders assume that if you've missed a payment before, you're more likely to do it again.... from MoneyTips

Pros And Cons Of Paying Off Loans Early

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MoneyTips It's always best to pay off a loan as soon as you can, isn't it? Not necessarily. There are several reasons you may not want to pay off your loan early, including the effects on your credit score. The obvious reason for early payoff is interest savings. By paying your loans off early (especially large ones), you can save substantial interest charges. Some loans discourage early loan repayment by charging penalty fees . Know the terms of your loan and include these fees in your calculations when deciding whether to repay a loan early. When assessing early loan repayment, follow two trains of thought. How will this affect my credit score, and is early loan repayment the best use of my money? Consider your credit score first. Five factors influence your score – on-time payments, amounts owed/credit utilization (the amount of your available credit that ... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2PYrxFi

Pros And Cons Of Paying Off Loans Early

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MoneyTips It's always best to pay off a loan as soon as you can, isn't it? Not necessarily. There are several reasons you may not want to pay off your loan early, including the effects on your credit score. The obvious reason for early payoff is interest savings. By paying your loans off early (especially large ones), you can save substantial interest charges. Some loans discourage early loan repayment by charging penalty fees . Know the terms of your loan and include these fees in your calculations when deciding whether to repay a loan early. When assessing early loan repayment, follow two trains of thought. How will this affect my credit score, and is early loan repayment the best use of my money? Consider your credit score first. Five factors influence your score – on-time payments, amounts owed/credit utilization (the amount of your available credit that ... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2PYrxFi

Pros And Cons Of Paying Off Loans Early

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MoneyTips It's always best to pay off a loan as soon as you can, isn't it? Not necessarily. There are several reasons you may not want to pay off your loan early, including the effects on your credit score. The obvious reason for early payoff is interest savings. By paying your loans off early (especially large ones), you can save substantial interest charges. Some loans discourage early loan repayment by charging penalty fees . Know the terms of your loan and include these fees in your calculations when deciding whether to repay a loan early. When assessing early loan repayment, follow two trains of thought. How will this affect my credit score, and is early loan repayment the best use of my money? Consider your credit score first. Five factors influence your score – on-time payments, amounts owed/credit utilization (the amount of your available credit that ... from MoneyTips https://ift.tt/2PYrxFi

Stop Sabotaging Your Credit Score

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MoneyTips After a long search you've finally found out who's dragging down your credit score. Surprise! It's you. Your credit score reflects your entire credit history as recorded on your credit report . Lenders and creditors report your account activity to each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) – whether that activity is positive or negative. It's possible your credit report contains reporting errors that are dropping your score – or worse, identity thieves are running up unexplained charges on your credit report or establishing fake accounts in your name. Get a copy of your credit report and address any mistakes or fraud immediately. If you would like to monitor your credit to prevent identity theft and see your credit report and score for free,

Stop Sabotaging Your Credit Score

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MoneyTips After a long search you've finally found out who's dragging down your credit score. Surprise! It's you. Your credit score reflects your entire credit history as recorded on your credit report . Lenders and creditors report your account activity to each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) – whether that activity is positive or negative. It's possible your credit report contains reporting errors that are dropping your score – or worse, identity thieves are running up unexplained charges on your credit report or establishing fake accounts in your name. Get a copy of your credit report and address any mistakes or fraud immediately. If you would like to monitor your credit to prevent identity theft and see your credit report and score for free,