Increase Your Credit Score By Knowing Your Credit Card Company Upload Dates

I included a snippet to the e-book that includes the information about this topic.  Paying your bills isn't as simple as you think.  If you want to maximize the most points on your credit report, there are few things you want to follow.  For starters, you gain on average 1 point per $100 spent on paying back credit.  This holds true, if and only if, you have more than half of the items on your report are positive, meaning say you have 12 items, 6 are negative items (chargeoffs) and 6 are positive items.  At this point you balance out and your credit score is pretty much stagnant.  Now for those 6 positive items, if you are at 50% on your credit balances your score is still stagnant.  If your balance is at 30% or less then you'll see a slight increase, literally unless you pay your bills at least one month in advance, or before your credit card companies cycle date to report to the credit bureaus.  Get the e-book to get the rest of the details on how you can improve your score by knowing your credit card company upload dates.

Here is another one.  When I worked for a loan servicer, I found out that mortgage companies do not report for 45 days your payment history to the credit bureaus, meaning for those who are behind, you won't get dinged unless your payment is received after that grace period.  Another one is companies like JCPenney and American Express report to the bureaus on a quarterly basis because it is cheaper for them to do so.  Imagine paying on average $8.50 per credit applicant to the credit bureaus every month for each customer you have, that gets very costly.

Until next time, these posts will only be once a week, so I'll read your questions for whatever credit concerns you have and will post them in the next blog, maybe sooner, but that all depends.

Stay informed!

Ms. R$ch

How To Save Extra Money Buying Groceries And Household Items Using These Methods

If you aren't into coupon clipping, join 75% of Americans who are missing out on cash saving deals each week.  One of the easiest ways to save money at the grocery store and other places is to frequently clip coupons.  On average, I save roughly $150 - $300 a month by using coupons and buying discounted gift cards from sites like ebay.  Gift cards that get me the most savings are usually Home Depot, Walmart, Target, Visa, and Amex.  And with the gift cards, I double my savings using my coupons I get from coupons.com or my local Sunday paper.  

It's really true that the local paper contains approximately $300 worth of coupon savings each week, but who actually uses all of the coupons in the Sunday paper.  My favorite coupons are for dog food and glade plug ins to be quite honest.  I do find tremendous savings for diapers, soy milk, butter, and other dairy products I use often and typically save around $160 on average each week.  If my husband and I agree on other items that can benefit the family and that are within our budget, then I splurge with other coupons in the paper along with the gift cards.  When you add in the cost of the Sunday paper at less than $6 bucks a month, it's totally worth it.  So whenever those kids come by with the scholarship program offering the newspaper at a cheap price, you betcha’ I’m signing up, their prices are cheaper than going directly to the newspaper.

Recently I added myself to the newsletter of all of my favorite restaurants so I can join in on a free birthday meal.  Places like Ryan's or Country Harvest, Black Angus, Olive Garden, and Spaghetti Warehouse to name a few have some really good bargains for your birthday meal.  Baskin Robins, Chilis, Cold Stone, and Red Robin aren't so bad either.  And if you're like me cutting back during this "Great Recession" being humbled by living on a tight budget, then you will love Red Robins free burger coupon, man I love that place, or Ryan’s and Country Harvest 2 for 1 deal, what a steal! 

Do's and Don'ts of Budgeting - Monique Rich

Budgeting is one of the most important things that you can do in your life. A well put together budget will help you maintain a comfortable life style. You can meet financial goals, monitor monthly cash flow and measure financial progress by utilizing a budget. In order to prepare a budget for your financial success, ask yourself the following questions.

1. What are your financial goals?
2. What do you need to do to make these goals a reality?
3. What will I accomplish by following my budget?
4. How do I maintain discipline by sticking to my budget?

After you have successfully answered these questions you can start putting your plan to work. Remember there are several other things to remember about budgeting.

1. Do learn how to budget. Note how much money you earn every month. On a piece of paper, write down how much you need for rent, utilities, food, transportation, entertainment, personal care and miscellaneous items. Don’t write down things that are not a definite need. Just because you want something doesn’t mean that you can’t live without it. Once you have adjusted your lifestyle accordingly, then you can treat yourself from time-to-time.
2. Do live within your means. An excellent way to track spending habits is by utilizing a debit/ATM card. This method allows you to keep a track record of money spent, making sure you stay within budget. Don’t spend extra money that is left over every month after sticking to your budget. Instead, apply that money to a savings account or towards paying down other bills.
3. Do rearrange your spending habits. A major reason people end up with bad/poor credit is due to overspending. Don’t overspend your budget! Once you start tracking your spending habits, you will be able to find out where unnecessary money is going every month so that you can apply that money to another area of your budget.

Simply put, commit yourself to spending a particular amount on each item on your budget every month. In doing so, can help ensure that you can meet all your financial responsibilities, thus empowering yourself to financial freedom and improved credit.

Visit www.keepcashnow.com to download a budget sheet to keep track of your finances, look under the resource section.

How Applications For Credit Are Scored

This information lets you know how potential creditors score your application for credit.  Unfortunately credit application scoring is a form of discrimination based on certain factors, i.e., age, work history, and so on.  The score they come up with determines the amount of credit, if any they will extend to you.

In addition to this information, you want to visit; www.keepcashnow.com and download the e-book that has a list of creditors and banks they use to pull your credit.  The e-book entitled

Increase Your Credit Score By Knowing Your Credit Card Company Upload Dates

It is always a good idea to know which credit bureau a bank will pull from before your credit is pulled.

Credit Scoring System

AGE POINTS
18-21 0
22-25 1
26-64 2
65-69 1

MARITAL STATUS
Married 1
Single 0
Separated 0
Widowed 0
Divorced 0

DEPENDENTS
No Dependents 0
One to three 2
Over three 1

RESIDENCE
Rent Unfurnished 2
Rent Furnished 1
Own without Mortgage 4
Own with Mortgage 3
Live with Parents 1

PREVIOUS RESIDENCE
0 to 5 Years 0
6 Years and up 1

MONTHLY OBLIGATIONS
0 to $250 1
Over $250 0

CREDIT HISTORY
Loan at this Bank 4
Loan at Other Bank 3
Savings Account 2
Checking Account 2

OCCUPATION
Professional 3
Skilled 2
Unskilled 1

YEARS WITH EMPLOYER
Under One 0
One to Three 1
Four to Seven 2
Eight or Over 3

MONTHLY INCOME
Under $600 1
$600 to $1,000 2
$1,000 to $1,250 3
$1,250 to $1,500 4
$1,500 to $2,000 5
$2,000 and Over 6

TELEPHONE
Listed in Applicants Name 2
Not Listed in App's Name 0

In most cases, 18 points is the minimum number of points acceptable if they extend an unsecured credit to you. Qualifying factors most leading institutions weigh the heaviest are a good salary/high paying job, a good payment history if applicable.

9 Steps to Perfect Credit - Monique Rich

9 Steps to Perfect Credit- Monique Rich

Here are 9 things that you can do to get or maintain perfect credit.

1. Pull your credit report quarterly (every 3 months) to ensure accurate information is being reported. Some creditors do not report your credit history every 30 days, but do so every 90 days, for example American Express.
2. If you have negative and inaccurate information reporting on your credit report, dispute it with all 3 credit bureaus. Depending on the outcome of the results, you may need to contact the creditor directly and negotiate a settlement. If you negotiate a settlement, make sure you have the creditor change the account to read “paid as agreed” instead of “paid collection.” In doing so, this account will report as a positive status, thus increasing your score instead of lowering it by reporting as a negative account.
3. Comprise a budget to bring your “revolving” debt to less than 30% of what the actual balance owing on the card is. Doing this will lower what is known as your “DTI,” debt to income ratio, and will increase your overall score. Revolving debt consist of credit cards or lines of credit that may be paid in full or in monthly installments.
4. Review your FICO Score quarterly to see where your credit score is. Doing this allows you to see what areas you need to improve in to increase your score.
5. Enhance your credit score by adding trade lines (trade lines is another word for account) to your report or by piggy backing off of someone with excellent credit. Ask someone that you trust to add you to their credit card as a co-signor if possible which looks a lot better than just being added as an authorized user.
6. Limit the number of inquiries that you have per year. Most creditors frown when you have more than two inquiries every 6-12 months.
7. Try not to apply for new credit. The older the accounts the better. If there is a particular card that you need, try and see if you can use the piggy back method before applying for any new cards.
8. Do not fall behind on payments. Late payments decrease your score by 30 points. If you’re going to be late call and inform the creditor so the late payment does not affect your score as much.
9. Re-evaluate your credit options. If you’re spending unnecessary money on a loan and can re-finance to save money, then by all means, do it. Incorporate your new monthly savings into your budget and apply the money saved to other bills that is listed in your budget.