Here is some good news for borrowers: The Wall Street Journal reported that the average FICO score is at an all-time high of 700. A 700 FICO score is considered good, just 20 points shy of being considered excellent. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the number of consumers…
As of July 1, tax liens and civil judgments will no longer impact a person’s credit score, as calculated by the three major credit agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. This change to the credit-scoring formula is a result of a settlement between the credit-scoring bureaus and thirty states: States said…
According to a survey from the financial website NerdWallet, nearly half of Americans (41 percent) think that a person has to carry a small balance on his or her credit cards from month to month in order to have a great credit score. But this is untrue. Your credit score…
In many states, homeowners with fair credit pay about 36 percent more on their homeowner insurance rates than those with excellent credit, and homeowners with bad credit pay more than double. This comes from an article in the New York Times and was based on rate-comparison quotes. And the gap…
I host Question & Answer sessions for students who need help rebuilding their credit score. Removing a bankruptcy from a credit report and rebuilding credit after a bankruptcy are both frequently asked questions on these calls. Below is one of the many questions I received and my response. Question: Can…
One of my friends just told me that he owes $68,000 in credit card debt. He’s 26 years old. And he has that feeling in the pit of his stomach—you know that feeling. He can’t ever truly relax because he’s so worried. All these questions start racing through his head……
If you have bad credit, it’s critical that you have and use three to five credit cards. The only way credit bureaus will reward you with a high credit score is if you prove that you can responsibly manage debt. This means: Having at least three credit cards, keeping them…
After renting for years, my wife and I just bought a house. It’s our ideal house—exactly what we were looking for in the exact neighborhood we wanted. We have dreams of raising our children there, and we smile thinking about the birthday parties, sleepovers, and graduation celebrations that will fill…
We went out there and researched the best credit cards on the market, consider things like interest rates, rewards points, fees, and the like. You can see our recommended list of credit cards for people with strong credit here. And keep the following in mind: 1. In our program, we…
Question: “How many credit cards should I have if I want to earn the best possible credit score? I receive a lot of credit card offers in the mail. Should I apply for them?” Answer: Having the right number of credit cards is a big part of your credit score. Ideally, you…
